A stone circle is a monument of stones arranged in a circle or ellipse. Such monuments have been constructed in many parts of the world throughout history for many different reasons. The best known tradition of stone circle construction occurred across the British Isles and Brittany in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with over 1000 surviving examples, including Avebury, the Ring of Brodgar and Stonehenge. Another prehistoric tradition occurred in southern Scandinavia during the Iron Age, where stone circles were built to be mortuary monuments to the dead. Outside Europe, examples of stone circles include the 6300~6900 BCE Atlit Yam in Israel and 3000~4000 BCE Gilgal Refaim nearby, and the Bronze Age monuments in Hong Kong. Stone circles also exist in a megalithic tradition located in Senegal and the Gambia.[1][2]
This is an incomplete photographic list of these stone circles.
See also Aboriginal stone arrangement
Stone circles in Australia are sometimes revered as sacred sites by the Australian Aboriginal people. While often small, there are some large stones comparable to their European counterparts, particularly in Victoria. While some are small and not well attended, others are well-known, for instance the stone arrangements in Victoria at Carisbrook and Lake Bolac.[3]
Aubrey Burl's gazetteer lists 1,303 stone circles in Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Most of these are found in Scotland, with 508 sites recorded. There are 343 on the island of Ireland;316 in England; 81 in Wales; 49 in Brittany; and 6 in the Channel Isles.[5]
Channel Islands[]
Aubrey Burl records six sites in the Channel Islands, four on Guernsey and two on Jersey. All six are Cist-in-Circle monuments, which are influenced by chambered tomb design. Their relationship with the stone circle tradition of Britain, Ireland and Brittany is unclear.[6]
Guernsey[]
La Plate Mare
Jersey[]
Ville-ès-Nouaux
England[]
Cornwall[]
Boscawen-Un – Stone circle with a leaning pillar in its interior.
Boskednan – a partially restored stone circle near Boskednan, around 6 kilometres (4 miles) northwest of the town of Penzance.
Craddock Moor – near Minions on Bodmin Moor, 800 m (1⁄2 mi) northwest of The Hurlers.
Duloe – in the village of Duloe, 8 km (5 mi) from Looe.
Emblance Downs stone circles – a pair of circles located in the parish of St. Breward on Bodmin Moor.
Fernacre – located on the slopes of the De Lank River, 2 km (1+1⁄4 mi) northeast of St Breward on Bodmin Moor.
The Hurlers are a group of three stone circles on Bodmin Moor.
Rempstone stone circle – a damaged stone circle near Corfe Castle in Dorset. It is located next to the B3351 road on the Isle of Purbeck: grid referenceSY994820.
The Nine Stones – A small nine stone circle near Winterbourne Abbas.
Lancashire[]
Cheetham Close – Image of one of the remaining stones at this Druidic, Bronze Age site on the picturesque moors of Egerton, Bolton.
Northumberland[]
Duddo Five Stones – 6 km (4 mi) south of the Scottish border, formerly known as the Four Stones.
Stanton Drew – One of three circles located near the village of Stanton Drew.
Withypool Stone Circle – Located on the Exmoor moorland, near the village of Withypool. Only the stones present on the two ends of the circle are visible.
Avebury – A large stone circle surround the village of Avebury.
Stonehenge – A World Heritage site.
Northern Ireland[]
Down[]
Fermanagh[]
Drumskinny stone circle
Tyrone[]
Beaghmore – Located outside Cookstown. Seven circles, along with cairns and stone rows. One circle, known as the Dragon's Teeth, is filled with more than 800 small stones.
Republic of Ireland[]
See also: List of axial multiple-stone circles and List of axial five-stone circles
There are 187 stone circles in the Republic of Ireland. The vast majority of these are in County Cork, which has 103 circles. There are 20 circles in County Kerry and 11 in County Mayo.[7] There is also a large fully intact stone circle in Grange in County Limerick, near Lough Gur[8]Grange[9]
Cork[]
Ardgroom SW – Known locally as "Canfea", located southwest of the village of Ardgroom on the Beara peninsula.
Aubrey Burl lists 43 stone circles in Dumfries and Galloway: 15 in Dumfriesshire; 19 in Kirkcudbrightshire; and 9 in Wigtonshire.[7]The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland records 49 stone circles in the region. Of these 49, 24 are listed as 'possible'; one is an 18th-century construction; and a number have been destroyed.[10]
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland records 20 stone circles in North Ayrshire, all on Arran.[11] Five of these are listed as 'possible'.[11] Aubrey Burrel's gazetteer records 19 stone circles on Arran.[7]
There are two stone circles on Orkney, both on the Mainland.[12]The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland records a possible third at Stoneyhill, also on the Mainland.[13]
Ring of Brodgar – A 60 stone ring (27 still standing).
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland records 16 stone circles in the Scottish Borders. Of these, three are marked as 'possible'.[14]Aubrey Burl's gazetteer lists the same number: 2 in Berwickshire; 2 in Peebleshire; 10 in Roxburghshire; and 2 in Selkirkshire.[7]
Aubrey Burl's gazetteer lists seven sites in Shetland, but notes that all are dubious.[15]The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland records three stone circles.[16] It does not include Hjaltadans, which is instead categorised as a 'stone setting'.[17]
The Ōyu Stone Circles (大湯環状列石 Ōyu Kanjyō Resseki) is a late Jōmon period (approx. 2,000 – 1,500 BC) archaeological site in the city of Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The site consists of two large stone circles located on an artificially flattened plateau on the left bank of the Oyu River, a tributary of the Yoneshiro River in northeastern Akita Prefecture. The site was discovered in 1931, with detailed archaeological excavations taking place in 1946, and in 1951–1952.
The larger circle, named the “Manza” circle has a diameter of 46 meters, and is the largest stone circle found in Japan. A number of reconstructions of Jomon period dwellings have been built around the site. The slightly smaller circle, named the “Nonakado” circle, is 42 meters in diameter and is located around 90 meters away, separated from the “Manza” circle by Akita Prefectural Route 66. Each circle is made from rounded river stones brought from another river approximately 7 kilometers away. Each circle in concentric, with and inner and an outer ring separated by an open strip approximately 8 meters wide.[18] Each circle contains smaller clusters of stone, including standing stones surrounded by elongated stones in a radiating orientation, forming a sundial which points toward the sunset on the summer solstice and allows for calculation of the winter solstice, the vernal equinox and the sun's movements.[19]
Each circle is surrounded by the remains of buildings, storage pits and garbage dumps, and clay figurines, clayware and stoneware (including everyday pottery), stone swords and objects have been discovered. Although the form of the stone circles made have been based on the shape of circular settlements, there is no indication of permanent settlement on the site.
Medicine wheel of Indigenous peoples of the Americas
References[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stone circles.
^McIntosh, Susan Keech; McIntosh, Roderick J. (1993). "Field survey in the tumulus zone of Senegal". The African Archaeological Review. 11–11: 73–107. doi:10.1007/BF01118143. S2CID129660313.
^Parker, Henry (1923). "Stone Circles in Gambia". The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 53: 173–228. doi:10.2307/2843758. JSTOR2843758.
^Long, A. & Schell, P., 1999, Lake Bolac stone arrangement (AAV 7422-394); management plan. An unpublished report to Aboriginal Affairs Victoria.
^Naumann, Nelly (2000). Japanese Prehistory: The Material and Spiritual Culture of the Jōmon Period. Asien-und Afrika-Studien der Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin (Book 6). Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 36–37. ISBN3447043296.
^Habu, Junko (2000). Ancient Jomon of Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 184. ISBN0521776708.
