The Long Stone

From Wightpedia
The Long Stone, Mottistone Down
The Long Stone

Above the hamlet of Mottistone stands the ten foot high prehistoric Long Stone with the adjacent 'Altar Stone' which give the village it's name.

The name 'Mottistone' comes from the Old English 'the stone of the speakers', so it appears the Long Stone was possibly a point of assembly in Saxon times.

Both stones are of a type not found in the area, to the west of the stones are what appears to be the remains of a long barrow of the type associated with burials going back 5000 years. The remains of more burial mounds can be found to the north on top of the down.

Access to the Long Stone is via footpaths from Mottistone or from the Tennyson Trail along the top of the Down to the north.