Editing Trellech (section)

===Harold's Stones===
[[File:Harold's Stones.jpg|alt=|thumb|Harold's Stones, looking north east]]
Three large monoliths of [[Conglomerate (geology)|conglomerate]] stone, commonly referred to as ''[[Puddingstone (rock)|puddingstone]]'', are located in a field on the eastern side of the  B4293 to the south of the village. (SO 498051)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/262365 |title=Photo of "Harold's Stones" |publisher=Geograph.org.uk |accessdate=2012-09-06}}</ref> The stones, situated on publicly accessible land belonging to the Davies family of Crosshands Farm, are a [[scheduled ancient monument]].<ref>{{Coflein|num=221159|desc=Harold’s Stones, Trellech|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref> The stones have been described as "one of the more substantial megalithic monuments in Monmouthshire".<ref name=children/>

The stones are on slightly elevated ground close to running water and springs, which might be relevant to the choice of site.<ref>{{cite book|last=Burgess|first=Colin|title=The Age of Stonehenge|year=1980|publisher=J M Dent|page=350|isbn=0-460-04254-8}}</ref> They are believed to date back to the [[Bronze Age]].  Such remains are rare in this part of Wales.  Various local traditions are ascribed to them: that they were erected by [[Harold Godwinson]] to celebrate a victory over the Welsh in 1063; that they commemorate three chieftains who fell fighting against the Romans; or that they were flung from the [[Skirrid]] by the mythical [[Jack o' Kent]] in a trial of strength with [[the Devil]].<ref name=stonepages/><ref>[[Fred Hando|Hando, F.]], (1944), ''The Pleasant Land of Gwent'', Newport: R. H. Johns</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jlb2011.co.uk/walespic/churches/trelech1.htm|title=John's Homepage|work=jlb2011.co.uk|accessdate=7 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207122715/http://www.jlb2011.co.uk/walespic/churches/trelech1.htm|archive-date=7 February 2015}}</ref>

The stones form an approximate line running between north-east and south-west at an [[azimuth]] of about 229°, which probably indicates the midwinter sunset,<ref>{{cite book|last=Burl|first=Aubrey|title=From Carnac to Callanish|year=1993|publisher=Yale University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fromcarnactocall0000burl/page/159 159–60]|isbn=0-300-05575-7|url=https://archive.org/details/fromcarnactocall0000burl/page/159}}</ref> though the midsummer sunrise cannot be excluded on account of the lack of precise alignment of the stones.<ref name=powell>{{cite web|first=Martin J. |last=Powell |url=http://www.aenigmatis.com/archaeoastronomy/stone-rows.htm|title=Archaeoastronomy in South Wales: Stone Rows & Stone Pairs|publisher=Aenigmatis.com|accessdate=2016-10-04}}</ref> They have been described as "the most visually impressive of the alignments in South Wales."<ref name=powell/> Their location, without good views beyond the immediate surroundings, suggests that its alignment may be significant.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/cadw_reports/pdfs/GGAT%2072%20Overviews.pdf |publisher=Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust |title=The Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Monument Survey of Glamorgan and Gwent |page=53}}</ref>  The stones are respectively {{convert|2.7|m}}, {{convert|3.7|m}}, and {{convert|4.6|m}} high, the tallest being at the south-west; the overall length of the row is {{convert|11|m}}.<ref name=stonepages>{{cite web|url=http://www.stonepages.com/wales/haroldstones.html |title=Stones of Wales - Harold's Stones standing stones |publisher=Stonepages.com |accessdate=18 May 2015 }}</ref><ref name=burl1>{{cite book|last=Burl|first=Aubrey|title=From Carnac to Callanish|year=1993|publisher=Yale University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fromcarnactocall0000burl/page/4 4–5]|isbn=0-300-05575-7|url=https://archive.org/details/fromcarnactocall0000burl/page/4}}</ref>  The central stone has what are thought to be [[cup marks]].<ref name="newman">{{cite book|last=Newman|first=John|title=The Buildings of Wales: Gwent|page=578 }}</ref>  It is supposed that the stones were dragged to the site on logs and levered into position, probably either for seasonal information or for use at religious ceremonies. Houlder (1978) speculates that they were once part of a much larger and impressive alignment,<ref>{{cite book |author=C. H. Houlder |title=Wales: An Archaeological Guide |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |location=London |year=1978 |isbn=978-0571082216}}</ref> but Castleden (1992) suggests that they did not form part of a stone circle<ref name=children/><ref>{{cite book |author=R. Castleden |title=Neolithic Britain: New Stone Age Sites of England, Scotland and Wales |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London |year=1992 |isbn=978-0415058452}}</ref>

[[Aubrey Burl]] asserts that short stone-rows of this kind were used as the ritual centres of families of "perhaps ten or twenty adults and children", though the erection of large stones required the co-operation of several such families. He compared the Trellech stones to the row at Le Vieux-Moulin, [[Plouharnel]], near [[Carnac]], and says that "Similar short rows were erected by communities in Ireland, Britain and Brittany in the centuries of the Bronze age between 1800 and 1000 BC".<ref name=burl1/> The source of the Trellech stones may have been the nearby [[Beacon Hill, Monmouthshire|Beacon Hill]] where there are outcrops of a similar conglomerate.  A fourth stone, on nearby common land, is believed to have been destroyed in the 18th century.<ref name=children>{{cite book |last1=Children |first1=George |last2=Nash |first2=George |title=A Guide To Prehistoric Sites In Monmouthshire |publisher=Logaston Press |year=1996 |isbn=1-873827-49-0 |pages=41–44}}</ref>