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Five stunning stone circles (besides Stonehenge)
Every year thousands of tourists flock to Stonehenge, the iconic stone circle on Salisbury Plain, England. While so much attention is focused on this site, especially with the recent discovery of another monument near Stonehenge, people often forget there's more than a thousand stone circles in the British Isles and Continental Europe. Built during the Neolithic starting about 5,000 years ago, these sites are beautiful and have gathered a lot of strange folklore over the centuries, like the mistaken belief that they were built by Druids or giants. Here are five of the best.
The Ring of Brodgar, Orkney Isles, Scotland
The windswept Orkney Isles north of Scotland are covered in prehistoric remains. The Ring of Brodgar, seen above in this photo courtesy of Beth Loft, is built of thin, tall stones on a narrow isthmus between two lochs. Its architects obviously had an eye for dramatic setting. It dates to between 2500 and 2000 BC, a boom time for monumental building in the Orkneys. It's the northernmost stone circle in the British Isles and also the third largest at 104 meters (341 ft) in diameter. Like many major circles it's part of a network of sites, with tombs and single standing stones scattered in the area around it. Legend has it that the Vikings were so impressed with the Ring of Brodgar when they arrived in the ninth century AD that they worshiped their gods here. Some Viking Runes carved into the stones may support this theory.
Avebury, England
Bigger than Stonehenge, the site of Avebury just 17 miles north of Stonehenge consists of a massive stone circle 331.6 meters (1,088 ft) in diameter with two avenues of stones leading to a pair of smaller stone circles. Construction began around 2900 BC, roughly the same time as its neighbor. Other monuments, such as the mysterious artificial mound of Silbury Hill and the West Kennet Long barrow, an ancient tomb, are an easy walk away. During the Middle Ages the locals got religion and decided this pagan monument needed to go. They knocked over several stones until one fell over and crushed one of the vandals. Everyone thought this was just a legend until modern archaeologists dug up a fallen stone and found the skeleton of a man underneath with some 14th century coins in his pocket!
Gallery: Stunning Stone Circles
Rollright Stones, England
This stone circle makes a fun day hike from Oxford. Most stone circles are pretty small. This one is only 33 meters (108 feet) in diameter but has some interesting details. One stone has a hole through which you can see a tall monolith called the King Stone in a nearby field. A nearby dolmen (a small roofed tomb of stone) is called the Whispering Knights. Legend says the circle and these two outlying monuments are a king and his knights who were turned to stone by a witch. Actually the circle and monolith were built by prehistoric people between 2500 to 2000 BC. The Whispering Knights date to about 3500 BC. In prehistoric times, the presence of one monument encouraged people to build more.
Drombeg Stone Circle, Ireland
Drombeg Stone Circle in County Cork is a tight little collection of stones 9 meters (30 feet) in diameter. It's of a type known as a recumbent stone circle because the largest stone lies on its side flanked by two smaller ones. This was deliberate; the stone didn't fall down. What this means is anyone's guess, although the local claim that it's a "Druid's Altar" is fanciful because the circle dates to the Bronze Age, about 2000 BC, and the druids were priests of the Celts, who didn't appear on the scene until around 300 BC. Radiocarbon dating on a burial found in the center of the circle yielded a date between 150 BC and 130 AD. Just like at the Ring of Brodgar, later people were attracted to the site. While Drombeg didn't start out as a Druid's altar, maybe it ended up as one!
The Stone Circles of Senegambia, Senegal and The Gambia
Stone circles in Africa? Yep, these monuments aren't as grandiose as the ones in Europe but they're equally mysterious. There are about a thousand of them in a region of central Senegal and Gambia, meaning there's about as many stone circles here as in all of Europe. The stones are as tall as 2.5 meters (8 ft.), although some are only a foot or so high. They mark burials dating from the 3rd century BC to the 16th century AD. There's a large concentration of them at Wassu, Gambia. Locals put small stones on top of them as a sign of respect. Not much is known about these stone circles but they are beginning to attract attention from the archaeological community. A certain Gadling blogger may be visiting them next year, so stay tuned.
This stone circle makes a fun day hike from Oxford. Most stone circles are pretty small. This one is only 33 meters (108 feet) in diameter but has some interesting details. One stone has a hole through which you can see a tall monolith called the King Stone in a nearby field. A nearby dolmen (a small roofed tomb of stone) is called the Whispering Knights. Legend says the circle and these two outlying monuments are a king and his knights who were turned to stone by a witch. Actually the circle and monolith were built by prehistoric people between 2500 to 2000 BC. The Whispering Knights date to about 3500 BC. In prehistoric times, the presence of one monument encouraged people to build more.
Drombeg Stone Circle, Ireland
Drombeg Stone Circle in County Cork is a tight little collection of stones 9 meters (30 feet) in diameter. It's of a type known as a recumbent stone circle because the largest stone lies on its side flanked by two smaller ones. This was deliberate; the stone didn't fall down. What this means is anyone's guess, although the local claim that it's a "Druid's Altar" is fanciful because the circle dates to the Bronze Age, about 2000 BC, and the druids were priests of the Celts, who didn't appear on the scene until around 300 BC. Radiocarbon dating on a burial found in the center of the circle yielded a date between 150 BC and 130 AD. Just like at the Ring of Brodgar, later people were attracted to the site. While Drombeg didn't start out as a Druid's altar, maybe it ended up as one!
The Stone Circles of Senegambia, Senegal and The Gambia
Stone circles in Africa? Yep, these monuments aren't as grandiose as the ones in Europe but they're equally mysterious. There are about a thousand of them in a region of central Senegal and Gambia, meaning there's about as many stone circles here as in all of Europe. The stones are as tall as 2.5 meters (8 ft.), although some are only a foot or so high. They mark burials dating from the 3rd century BC to the 16th century AD. There's a large concentration of them at Wassu, Gambia. Locals put small stones on top of them as a sign of respect. Not much is known about these stone circles but they are beginning to attract attention from the archaeological community. A certain Gadling blogger may be visiting them next year, so stay tuned.
Filed under: History, Learning, Africa, Europe, Gambia, Senegal, Ireland, United Kingdom
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TIMOTHY MYERS Aug 1st 2010 2:18PM
Nice shots more info in the book "The unknown lore of Amexem's indigenous people" (c2007) Noble Timothy Myers-El
Marush Aug 1st 2010 2:11PM
This still isn't as cool as the Newgrange burial tomb in County Louth south of Drogheda, Ireland by the River Boyne.
Marush Aug 1st 2010 2:13PM
Oops. I meant County Meath. ;)
Rich Aug 1st 2010 2:59PM
These big circles were used as landing areas for alien spacecraft. :)~
B.P. Dumas Aug 1st 2010 5:59PM
maybe, maybe not, but better to be safe than sorry and always keep a open mind and never rule anything out.
Our ancestors, definitely had visual and close up contact with aliens at some level, since we were not there with video cameras we can only speculate at best.
Theres alot of unanswered questions, like how perfectly carved /shaped blocks of stone weighing 1000 and even 2000 tons were moved at all.
Arlene Aug 1st 2010 3:09PM
I believe the good professor might have meant to say that in the middle ages the people were "encouraged" to become Christians... Paganism is a religion.
Fran Aug 1st 2010 8:02PM
Thank you for saying that before I could. As a practicing Pagan I get a little annoyed with glib little put-downs like these by people who think that the only religions that count are patriarchal ones.
duckie Aug 2nd 2010 11:15AM
the stone circle in my yard identifies where to pump out the septic tank, aliens placed it there
Mike Aug 1st 2010 3:57PM
Aliens placed the stone circle or the septic tank?
Rick Aug 1st 2010 9:12PM
on a similar note, I found Newgrange, a burial mound of giant corbelled stones just north of Dublin Ireland even more impressive than Stonehenge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6XAFJ_FdOA
sherry Aug 1st 2010 3:56PM
I guess it is a little known fact that we have a stone circle in Illinois in the city of Cahokia. This area is called Cahokia Mounds State Park and there is indeed a circle of stone. The place is only minutes from St.Louis, MO. You can look it up under above on its web site. Very educational and well done museums, site visiting, climbing the mounds themselves. Nice excursion for a few hours.
Sean McLachlan Aug 1st 2010 5:19PM
We've written about it too!
http://www.gadling.com/2009/08/17/cahokia-mounds-native-american-marvel/
Kathryn Aug 1st 2010 6:39PM
I believe the circle at Cahokia is what remains of a wooden circle, commonly called Woodhenge. There's a lot of mounds at that site, also.
serenowens Aug 1st 2010 4:26PM
What about G'Gantia in Malta?
Barb Aug 1st 2010 4:50PM
Thank you for sharing. I love all of this and will be looking up more info on these.
Of course, don't forget Easter Island. Those monoliths are in circle formation.
jack Aug 1st 2010 7:26PM
Barb - just for your info - when I was on Easter Island a couple of years ago, none of the Moa (statues) there were is a circle. Most are on rectangular platforms (called Ahu), except for those still in the quarry, or along the mountainside, or those that were abandoned as they were being transported from the quarry to their orginally-intended destinations. As far as some other comments - I too was more impressed by Newgrange ( in Ireland), several of the megalithic temples in Malta, and by Avebury than with Stonehenge itself.
BRUCE Aug 1st 2010 5:06PM
Those stone circles can also be found over 10,000 miles away in the South Pacific country of Tonga
sunny Aug 1st 2010 6:01PM
I don't understand all the specualtion and mystery about the origin of Stonehenge.
Simply watch the Xena: Warrior Princess episode titled "The Deliverer".
It will answer all you questions.
js Aug 1st 2010 6:09PM
Stone circles? Well, there's about 50 of them in England's Lake District (Umbria) near Keswick. Take your pick . . . .http://www.visitcumbria.com/stonecir.htm
jany Aug 1st 2010 6:16PM
there is also in New Hampshire U.S.A., the Stonehenge of America.