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.
Australia
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&fras1;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 (11&fras1;4 mi) northeast of St Breward on Bodmin Moor.
The Hurlers are a group of three stone circles on Bodmin Moor.
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.
West Yorkshire
Twelve Apostles, West Yorkshire – grid reference SE12614506
Wiltshire
Avebury – A large stone circle surround the village of Avebury.
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
For a more comprehensive list, see List of stone circles in Dumfries and Galloway.
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.[8]
Whitcastles stone circle 10.5 km (61&fras1;2 mi) northeast of Lockerbie: grid reference NY 2240 8806
North Ayrshire
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland records 20 stone circles in North Ayrshire, all on Arran.[9] Five of these are listed as 'possible'.[9] Aubrey Burrel's gazetteer records 19 stone circles on Arran.[7]
There are two stone circles on Orkney, both on the Mainland.[10] The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland records a possible third at Stoneyhill, also on the Mainland.[11]
Croft Moraig – 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Aberfeldy, Scotland (grid reference NN79754726).
Scottish Borders
For a more comprehensive list, see List of stone circles in the Scottish Borders.
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'.[12]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.[13] The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland records three stone circles.[14] It does not include Hjaltadans, which is instead categorised as a 'stone setting'.[15]
Ōyu Stone Circles 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 regionof northern Japan. The site consists of two large stone circleslocated 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.[16]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.[17]
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.
The site has been submitted for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the Jōmon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaidō, Northern Tōhoku, and other regions.
Poland
Odry – Odry in Poland.
Syria
Rujm el-Hiri (4~3000 BCE) – Located northeast of the Sea of Galilee.
See also
Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany
List of Stone Age art
Gobekli Tepe
References
^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. S2CID 129660313.
^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. JSTOR 2843758.
^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. ISBN 3447043296.
^Habu, Junko (2000). Ancient Jomon of Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 184. ISBN 0521776708.
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