The Rollright Stones
A king and his knights, the legend says, were turned to stone by a witch on an Oxfordshire hill. Count the stones, and you'll never get the same number twice.
What was reported
The Rollright Stones, on the border of Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, are a group of ancient monuments: a stone circle called the King's Men, a single standing stone called the King Stone, and a cluster called the Whispering Knights.
Legend says a king, marching to conquer England, met a witch on the hill. She told him that if he could see Long Compton in seven strides, he would be king of England. He couldn't, and she turned him and his men to stone, and herself into an elder tree. It's also said that the stones can't be counted the same way twice.
Explanations offered
The stones are much older than any king: the circle was built around 2500 BC, and the Whispering Knights are older still, a burial chamber. The weathered, uneven stones really are hard to count. People once chipped pieces off the King Stone as lucky charms.
- When
- Built from about 3000 BC
- Where
- Rollright Stones, Oxfordshire, England, UK
- Witnesses
- English folklore
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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