Doll Tor and the Sprit of Place

[Deamond]

Hello!,
long time no see (that is if you remember me hope you do),

Im back!

anywho, basicly today i set out on a epic quest!
I decided to visit the stone circle Doll Tor I decided to visit this stone circle due to its proberbly not as well known and i was looking for a quiet circle .

after a treck through fields and up a very rocky hill and very thick shrubery with thorns everywhere. (yes i stupidly didnt know the quick way and decided to go through the woods) Out the clearing we found Doll Tor very beatifull very seculed.

I took some ale and made an offering.


*not my image*

Now the question is: I read something about how when you visit a site it should be left with no indication that you had been there.

However it was clear a fire had been in the middle of the circle and mobiles (stick pentagrams and celtic knotwork) was hanging in the surrounding trees.

My question is do you agree with this?
and do these items left by people affect the sprit of place?
And what do you think of Doll Tor?

Me and the wife did construct a small Awen from the surrounding area and left it on one of the stones. but a breeze will blow that away in time.



I found the easy way back lol.
After being Brambled up badly on the way there I say it was a quest to start from the bottom of the woods and go up lol.
was worth it.

again the questions are.

My question is do you agree with this? (leaving items)
and do these items left by people affect the sprit of place?
And what do you think of Doll Tor?

[Muddy Fox]

You were probably brambled very badly, because you refer to your soul mate/spiritual companion/lover/maybe mother of your children/best friend as "THE WIFE". I have seen that a few times here, and it infuriates me as a derogatory term towards women and one that my ex husband used when referring to me, especially when debt collectors were at the door. And he would pass the problem over "TO THE WIFE".
But getting back on topic I think organic offerings which are absorbed back into the land/water are acceptable.

[Deamond]

You were probably brambled very badly, because you refer to your soul mate/spiritual companion/lover/maybe mother of your children/best friend as "THE WIFE". I have seen that a few times here, and it infuriates me as a derogatory term towards women and one that my ex husband used when referring to me, especially when debt collectors were at the door. And he would pass the problem over "TO THE WIFE".
But getting back on topic I think organic offerings which are absorbed back into the land/water are acceptable.

lol she doesnt mind,
I only really use it in the past tense. As literaly a kind of dialect to say me and my wife you know.

I dont mean it in "a putting down" sence.

[Muddy Fox]

I know Deamond, take no notice, I know it is used as a term of endearment between couples and if "The wife" is happy with that, that's fine. It just carries the connotation that "The wife" is an apendage and inferior to yourself,much the same as "The dog". I' m old and hard bitten and different labels mean different things to different people. Sorry.

[Lily]

I agree you should leave nothing behind, ideally nothing but footsteps, i.e. no string, no offerings of food that will not with certainty be eaten by wildlife in a short amount of time, even the thorn tree in Glastonbury suffered further damage by offerings of alcoholic beverages...
a fire is HORRIBLE. to make at a site.

I guess rearranging a few sticks and pine cones as you did is sort of ok.

[Ade Sundog]

Lovely site Deamond , where abouts is it?

I agree , take awl your things home with you when you leave .

[Deamond]

I agree you should leave nothing behind, ideally nothing but footsteps, i.e. no string, no offerings of food that will not with certainty be eaten by wildlife in a short amount of time, even the thorn tree in Glastonbury suffered further damage by offerings of alcoholic beverages...
a fire is HORRIBLE. to make at a site.

I guess rearranging a few sticks and pine cones as you did is sort of ok.

yeah, ide hate to see what sort of damage stonehenge gets.

@ Ade
Its in Derbyshire in a town called birchover
next to 9 ladys which is northeast, a second incomplete circle and hillfort is north west and a cave south west.

A very celtic area people still find clay pot parts/money in the wood still.

Breif history
[Doll tor taken 24-3-2011 (PID:74929)] Stone Circle in Derbyshire

"Maintained by English Heritage and the Peak National Park Authority, Doll Tor is a delightful little stone circle consisting of six standing stones, no more than a metre in height, with an adjoining cairn. The circle is approximately 6m by 4.5m in diameter with five stones of similar size and height, and one smaller wider one. It is surrounded on three sides by trees, but there are wonderful views to the west across the valley and hills beyond.

Shortly before the spring equinox in 1993 there was an incorrect reconstruction by persons unknown. During this tampering, the circle was wrongly changed to consist of fourteen standing stones with much of the eastern cairn removed to form a stone bank over three sides of the cairn’s central setting. Having been recently restored by English Heritage and the Peak National Park Authority, the site is seen today as it would have been originally in the Bronze Age.

After a recent visit, I was disappointed to find at least 2 of the stones in need of repair. In 1931 during Heathcote's "Excavation" 2 stone's were mysteriously broken and cemented back together. The cement is now cracking and the stones WILL soon be in pieces."

The site is around 5000 years old and has a cairn and cremation pots were excavated there.

as stated above the sites taken a bit of a beating.
and what i found today isnt really helping (the fire remains).

[Heddwen]

Deamond, the last time I was at Stonehenge for the summer solstice it was roped off for the day. Imagine my surprise to find that during the evening thousands of people are in the area, a minority of which are very drunk. There were five arrests for climbing the stones, which is small as the police keep a presence but a low profile there. Some were seen openly vomiting and urinating on the site, but at least no fires are allowed.

[DaRC]

Hiya and welcome back

My question is do you agree with this?

I don't have any issue with things that don't deface the monument, however, fires can. I don't think a fire in the middle of the circle shows respect for the place.

and do these items left by people affect the sprit of place?

I think they do. If you think, as I do, that spirit of place is a portal of interaction between the human, natural and spiritual world.

And what do you think of Doll Tor?

Doll Tor is lovely - I visited a few years back when we holidayed in Derbyshire.
I didn't notice any fire but did notice there were Clooties on a nearby tree. I had no issue with this and felt it enhanced the spirit of place.

[Badger Bob]

Doll Tor is just one of many stone circles and ancient sites in that area, the main ones being

Nine Stones Close
The Stanton Moor Sites
Rowtor (Druid) Rocks

I have had issues with "offerings" in the past, sometimes the nine ladies can resemble a council tip of candles, plastic bags with photographs, discarded bottles, broken glasses, rags tied into the trees, fire remains and the usual pagan tat. I have written a short article on another site about eco-friendly offerings and I am in the process of writing a slightly longer one for either here or Touchstone. I prefer people to make arrangements of natural materials found in the locality (sensibly gathered of course rather than tearing chunks of tree down), these sites are still on private ground and access in the past has been tricky to say the least. Pine cones and twigs are definitely the way to go.

[DaRC]

Agreed BB anything non bio-degradable is baaaad
A few rags tied to trees I can cope with but anything plastic or the usual commercial pagan cargo should be transported home....

[Arth Seren]

Totally agreed here too BB!
I went up to the nine ladies on Alban Elfed and although the circle was clear, there were the usual fire pits around the area and a lot of the offerings on the oak tree were definately not biodegradable or natural in any form. I have no issue with people's good intentions but any offerings should be of natural materials.