EARLY MAN at some time after the block was detached, as a shapeless mass, from its parent bed, it was subjected to a flood of falling water charged with sand and other grinding materials, with the result that a number of grooves were formed upon it. The name which this stone bears — ' Queen Stone ' — is believed to be derived from ' Cwen-st4n,' or woman-stone, a term used by our Saxon fore- fathers in allusion to the resemblance the grooved stone bears to the folds of a woman's dress. From the south-west side, especially when seen from a short distance, there is a kind of neck visible, which in a dim light might easily be mistaken for the head or upper part of a woman. Another monolith, of larger size, with which the Queen Stone may be compared, is the mass of millstone grit known as the 'North Arrow,' ^ which stands erect at Boroughbridge, Yorkshire. It is i8ft. high and 22 ft. in circumference, and is believed to weigh about thirty-six tons. It forms one of the well-known group of standing stones called the Devil's Arrows, of the artificial character of which there can be no doubt. The North Arrow has several parallel grooves running in a vertical or nearly vertical direction, and due, it is believed, to the action of the weather. The Bronze Age The great importance of the Bronze Age as a phase of human culture has already been briefly referred to, and it would be difficult to over-estimate the significance of the introduction of metal into this county. The posses- sion of metal must have given the warrior, the hunter, and the artificer immense advantages over those enjoyed by tribes whose weapons and tools were made only of stone, bone, horn, and wood. The knowledge of bronze is believed to have been brought to our shores by a branch of the Celtic family known as Gaels, and there is reason to believe that the new race quickly became friendly with the Neolithic inhabitants. This is indicated in some parts of England by contiguity and evident contem- poraneity of interments of the two peoples. Judging from the remains found in the district we now know as Herefordshire, one may fairly assume that the Neolithic population was sparse ; although one would be prepared to expect that a thorough exploration of the whole of the county would produce evidence of more general and extensive population. However this may be, the Bronze-Age remains already found and recorded are certainly more numerous and more important than those of the Stone Age. Bronze implements and weapons nave been procured Bronze socketed Celts found at Dorstone, Vowchurch, from Aston Ingham, Bishop- and Turnastone (i) stone, Ardley Moor, near (Now in Hereford Museum) ' Tie Antiquary (Jan. 1903), 8-1 1. I 161 21
