This article is about ancient megalithic stone circles. For other uses, see Stone circle (disambiguation).
Swinside stone circle, Cumbria, EnglandBryn Cader Faner, North Wales
A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The best known examples include those at the henge monument at Avebury, the Rollright Stones, and elements within the ring of standing stones at Stonehenge. Scattered examples exist from other parts of Europe. Later, during the Iron Age, stone circles were built in southern Scandinavia.
Stone circles are usually grouped in terms of the shape and size of the stones, the span of their radius, and their population within the local area. Although many theories have been advanced to explain their use, usually related to providing a setting for ceremony or ritual, no consensus exists among archaeologists regarding their intended function. Their construction often involved considerable communal effort, including specialist tasks such as planning, quarrying, transportation, laying the foundation trenches, and final construction.[1]
^Richards, Colin. Building the Great Stone Circles of the North. Windgather Press, 2013. pp. 3-4
A stonecircle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date...
This is an incomplete photographic list of stonecircles. See also Aboriginal stone arrangement Stonecircles in Australia are sometimes revered as sacred...
Castlerigg StoneCircle (alternatively Keswick Carles, or Carles) is situated on a prominent hill to the east of Keswick, in the Lake District National...
Drombeg stonecircle (also known as The Druid's Altar) is a small axial stonecircle located 2.4 km (1.5 mi) east of Glandore, County Cork, Ireland. Although...
in several phases from around 3100 BC to 1600 BC, with the circle of large sarsen stones placed between 2600 BC and 2400 BC. The surrounding circular...
arrangement of standing stones placed in a cruciform pattern with a central stonecircle, located on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. They were erected in the late...
of three stones inside the Calendar Circle represented the three stars of Orion’s Belt and the other three stones inside the calendar circle represented...
Uragh StoneCircle is an axial five-stonecircle located near Gleninchaquin Park, County Kerry, Ireland. The Bronze Age site includes a multiple stone circle...
Grange stonecircle (Irish: Lios na Gráinsí, meaning "Fort of the Grange") is a stonecircle in County Limerick, Ireland. It is located 300m west of Lough...
Beltany is a Bronze Age stonecircle just south of Raphoe town in County Donegal, Ireland. It dates from circa 2100-700 BC. There is evidence that it may...
The stonecircles in the British Isles and Brittany are a megalithic tradition of monuments consisting of standing stones arranged in rings. These were...
The Birkrigg stonecircle (also known as the Druid's Temple or Druids' Circle) is a Bronze Age stonecircle on Birkrigg Common, two miles south of Ulverston...
A recumbent stonecircle is a type of stonecircle that incorporates a large monolith, known as a recumbent, lying on its side. They are found in only...
Avebury (/ˈeɪvbəri/) is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stonecircles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One...
Drew stonecircles are just outside the village of Stanton Drew in the English county of Somerset. The largest stonecircle is the Great Circle, 113 metres...
Castleruddery StoneCircle is a recumbent stonecircle and National Monument located in County Wicklow, Ireland. Castleruddery StoneCircle is located 2...
Tomnaverie stonecircle is a recumbent stonecircle set on the top of a small hill in lowland northeast Scotland. Construction started from about 2500...
circus and circuit are closely related. Prehistoric people made stonecircles and timber circles, and circular elements are common in petroglyphs and cave paintings...
barrows and stonecircles in this area before 1786: "About eighty yards S.W. of the ... Great Cannon is a large tumulus of earth and stones one hundred...
small village of Milbury, which is built in the midst of a megalithic stonecircle. Filmed at Avebury, Wiltshire during the hot summer of 1976, with interior...
Withypool StoneCircle, also known as Withypool Hill StoneCircle, is a stonecircle located on the Exmoor moorland, near the village of Withypool in the...
prehistoric stonecircle are in the grounds. It is the ancestral home and seat of the Stonor family, Baron Camoys. The current Lord Camoys is William Stonor. The...
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