Interesting. So, would the simple act of moving something (to specific position) make it a work of art or cultural meaning ? It is thought that the old people may have had animistic beliefs about them. i.e. that they had "spirits"

Anyway, they are both very nice megaliths. One of them is (naturally) perforated, and they may have some unusual lichens growing on them. (The sarsen "train" in the Valley of Stones near Portesham in Dorset is in a National Nature Reserve. One of the reasons for the designation is the wonderful assemblage of rare lichens growing on these ancient and mysterious rocks)

just thinking...

before they moved them, they were perhaps just stones.

After moving them, they presumably had meaning (I assume that moving them meant something to those who moved them...?)

So by moving them they were changed, and hence became mega megaliths :)

From Wikipedia An artifact or artefact (from Latin phrase arte factum, from ars skill + facere to make) is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"

So artefacts by definition must be formed or at least shaped by man. So these are not artefacts, but because they had significance to our ancestors, they are of interest to us.

Last time you had a real artefact for us as well as the skeletons of a band of Viking marauders.

Do I need to get out more ? Only if you want to see more megaliths ;-)

We noted two megaliths while checking the route, both near the path. They are easy to see, but may not be obvious unless you are really looking for them We may offer a small prize for anyone doing the event who can tell me exactly where they are. (They are not on any map) Now, here is an interesting question, which I think follows from this.

Are these megaliths (i.e prehistoric standing stones) actually "artifacts" in the usual sense of the word ?

The huge sarsens that were used to construct Stonehenge clearly are artifacts, because they were cut and shaped by man. But most of the standing stones in Dorset (there are quite a few) are naturally occuring sarsens. They are thought to have been moved (and erected) in mesolithic and neolithic times, but were not otherwise changed.

Do I need to get out more ?