King Doniert’s Stone
This ancient site on the edge of Bodmin Moor is home to two fragments of granite Cornish crosses - the last surviving examples in the county. King Doniert’s stone is the base of a cross thought to commemorate its namesake, the last king of Cornwall, who drowned in AD875.
The stone is 1.37 metres high with a deep mortice on top and is carved on three sides with an inscription on the fourth: ‘Doniert rogavit pro anima’. This roughly translates as ‘Doniert asked for this for his soul’s sake’. Beside King Doniert’s Stone is the Other Half Stone. At over 2 metres tall and adorned with elaborate carving, it’s believed to be the shaft of another cross.
These mystical stones sit in a field just off the B3254, a mile north west of St Cleer. They’re easy to access and you can park in the nearby lay-by.
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The concealed and unexplained underground rock chamber beneath the stones. A passage begins 8 metres to the south east of the stones and turns into a cross-shaped chamber beneath them.
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The beautifully designed patterns carved onto both stones – intricate six and four cord plaits with interlaced knots, a classic Celtic design.