Trethevy Quoit

This dolmen has a strange doorway and a mysterious port-hole on its capstone.


This quoit, locally known as The Giant's House, is one of England's most impressive dolmens. The capstone is 3.7m (12ft) long and, in its half-fallen state, 4.6m (15ft) high. There's also a natural hole piercing its highest point. The function of this port-hole is still a mystery: experts speculate that it was used for astronomical observations.
The rectangular chamber is 2 x 1.5m (6ft 6in x 5ft) and is made of six uprights (originally seven), averaging about 3m (10 ft). A strange doorway cut out of the entrance stone may have been for the passage of bodies. Curiously, the sloping angle of the top of this hole is reminiscent of many free-standing stones, as the Stones of Stenness, in the Orkney Isles (Scotland).
Trethevy is surrounded by the remains of a mound, which -probably- only covered the lower part of the stones and acted as a ramp to aid access to the chamber.