Eoin's Blog

Harestanes & The Lost Stone Circle

By Eoin Cox

One of my “what do you want to be when you grow up? ” answers was always - an archaeologist. After a few wrong turns, a couple of breaks and 50 digging sites later, I got there at the age of 25 and spent 10 years being an archaeologist.

All world archaeology interests me but there is none better than what’s on your own doorstep. It’s odd that it’s taken me 50 years of working life to come round to really looking and examining the historical record of the area that I now call home.

Over the years I have had contact with historical groups and societies, “amateur” archaeologists, metal detectorists, antiquarian clubs etc. all over Scotland and have had the greatest respect for most of them, despite some weird ideas and malpractice. What drew me to ADHS was what appeared to be their unassuming depth of knowledge, practical and pragmatic approach to research, willingness to share and inform others, engaging communications, public meetings and some weird ideas!

Becoming a member has given me such a renewed interest in the way community archaeology could be organised. There is some serious intellectual clout amongst the membership, a fastidious approach to research, exemplar academic peer reviews and an amazing shared and common vision. This is definitely how community archaeology should be run. It’s the future of examining the past!

Regarding my specific interest in time periods, I see it as:

- Industrial is about preserving something that we’ve only just recently lost, and is the root of a lot of present problems with land ownership and labour rights.

- Post-medieval society triggered most of these problems.

- Medieval (most of the sites I have worked on) is all about money, politics, religion, architecture and one-upmanship.

- Romans are controlling and predictable (what did they ever do for us?).

However, here in the Borders the prehistoric age has begun to intrigue me. In terms of infrastructure, these people were busy! There are forts, henges, hut circles, ramparts, homesteads and field systems. They had less technology than all before them yet their impact was perhaps greater on the landscape in most cases, yet not always so visible. Lockdown walking these past 12 months has made me look and think more about the ancient environment around me.

I’ve worked from Buy Design Gallery at Harestanes since 1996 and have looked out onto the field opposite every day. I was always aware of a lost stone circle that once stood in the field right outside the shop. I have walked that field so many times and found nothing in it whatsoever. It's commonly known as the Cricket Pitch field because this was the home turf of Lord Lothian’s team. Matches ceased being played there in 1939 apparently. Dairy Cottage next door to the gallery was used to take tea. There is a beautiful oak panelled room with lavish walls and floor tiles, with bay windows and a small terrace looking out over the field.

So to “Hairy Stanes”, “Holy Stones”, “Hairstones”, and word-shifted into Harestanes at some point. (there is another Harestanes stone circle near Blyth Bridge by the way). This is what we know about the circle near Ancrum...

Blaeu’s Atlas of Scotland and Pont’s map of 1654 shows an extra wee circle next to the medieval Spittal and Nunnery site which is next to Monteviot House. Could this be the first recorded image of the stone circle? (Image 1 - Interestingly a similar blank circle is also marked next to Frogden near Morebattle a site of another disappeared circle at Five Stanes Field).

Roy’s map of 1747 show the site as Hairstones but no obvious circle. (Image 2)

However a more definitive circle of dots shown on Stobie's 1770 map of Roxburghshire. This is surely the recording of a physical monument here. (Image 3)

Ainslie's beautifully drawn (and accurate) 1795 Ancrum Estate Map clearly shows the stone circle to the north and east of Harestanes farm steading. The south-west portion of the stone circle (labelled 'Old City of Refuge a Druids Temple') coincides with a curvilinear enclosure dyke for the steading, and this appears to still have been existing at the time of the OS 1st Edtion 6" map. The circle is depicted in the Refuge field as having 13-15 stones, with presumably others missing in a small woodland just inside the curvilinear dyke. (Image 4)

The stone circle was removed in the intervening period between the 1795 map and the 1858 OS 1st Edition. On the balance of evidence, the location and shape of the circle shown on Ainslie's map may be accurate. This would place the hypothetical centre of the circle in the area of NT 6424 2449.

In the 1908 'Transactions of Hawick Archaeological Society' it is also interesting to note a reference to “Spittalstanes” and more evidence to push the circle position to the site of the revamped playpark. Still can’t believe Jedburgh’s own John Ainslie would have drawn it to the east of the original steading though - he was just too good a cartographer. Spittalstanes presumably being arrived at because of the proximity of the medieval nunnery and hospital at nearby Monteviot House.

The Scottish Royal Commission reported in 1947: "The stone circle that stood in the vicinity of Harestanes Cottages had been reduced to a single stone by 1845, (New Statistical Account [NSA] 1845) and this stone has since disappeared. No details of the circle are recorded and the evidence for its exact position is contradictory. Stobie's Map of Roxburghshire (1770) marks the site a little to the NE of Harestanes Cottages, while an estate map of 1795 is said to have placed it at the SW corner of this group of buildings.” (G Watson 1908).

RCAHMS 1956, visited 28 March 1947 and noted that “This circle stood on mining ground, formerly known as 'Sillary Knowe', near Harestanes cottages. And in 1890

D Watson stated that “Enquiries at Harestanes Cottages proved negative. A 91 year old resident had never heard of the name "Sillery Knowe". Perambulation of the area found an alluvial ridge, planted with trees, at NT 643 243. Whether this could be the 'Knowe' in question, however, is conjectural; the position does not agree with Stobie's map or the 1795 estate map. Visited by OS (WDJ) 23 January 1967 “.

Some more conjecture on the place name of Seillery Knowe / Sailors Knowe and Harestanes / Haugrstánes / Warriors Knowe - and the coincidental proximity of the Norse (?) hogback stones at Ancrum and Nisbet could be worth considering.

2019 was a good year for crop marks and Richard Strathie, of ADHS, flew his drone over the site. His image doesn't shown any definitive pits in a round or circular way that looks on first sight like a large stone circle. Pity - Richard and I were hoping for a classic 13/14 dark pit marks showing up. The drift geology and thin river washed soils make it difficult. It does however show up the straight line of the mill lade cut right across the "Cricket Pitch" field which fed the water to drive the overshot wheel which was sited at the home farm which is now the Visitor Centre. (Image 5)

So, sometime around 1845 there was a single stone left. I'll put money on there being an early Victorian photographic image of people posing at the Hare Stane - anybody seen one? It’s unusual in other parts of Britain undergoing agricultural reform to remove all traces of prehistoric habitation or ceremony. It’s particularly prevalent in the Borders and can only be seen as a drive for uninterrupted ploughing and difference estate management policy towards “pagan heritage” – shame.

It would be great to pinpoint the exact position of the circle but I suspect the river gravel soils on this particular spot might not be cooperative. So for me, more walking in that field, more work on the other missing stone circle sites of the Borders and more exploring the hills around me for the enigmatic Cup and Ring Marks of a similar period 5000 years ago.

References

Ainslie J. (1795) Reduced Plan of the Estate of Ancrum Survey'd by John Ainslie 1795.

NSA. (1834-1845) The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy, 15v. Edinburgh. Page(s): Vol.3, (Roxburghshire), 244 RCAHMS Shelf Number: B.2.2.STA

RCAHMS. (1956) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. An inventory of the ancient and historical monuments of Roxburghshire: with the fourteenth report of the Commission, 2v. Edinburgh. Page(s): 60, no.22 RCAHMS Shelf Number: A.1.1.INV/14

Stobie, M. (1770) Map of Roxburghshire or Teviotdale, Scale 1"=1 mile.

Watson, D. (1890) 'Ancient remains in Teviotdale- prehistoric, historical', 'The destruction of ancient monuments', Archaeol Rev, vol. 4, 1889-90. Page(s): 385

Watson, G. (1908) 'The stone circles of Roxburghshire', Trans Hawick Archaeol Soc, 1908. Page(s): 26