Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany
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The stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany are a megalithic tradition of monuments consisting of standing stones arranged in rings. These were constructed from 3300 to 900 BCE in Britain, Ireland and Brittany. It has been estimated that around 4,000 of these monuments were originally constructed in this part of north-western Europe during this period. Around 1,300 of them are recorded, the others having been destroyed.
Swinside stone circle, in the Lake District, England, which megalithic specialist Aubrey Burl called "the loveliest of all the circles" in north-western Europe.
The interior of West Kennet Long Barrow in Wiltshire. Long barrows such as this one were the dominant form of megalithic architecture before the development of the stone circle tradition.
Alongside the stone circles, earthen henges (such as Maumbury Rings in Dorset) were erected in Late Neolithic Britain. Maumbury Rings (above) was later converted into a Roman amphitheatre.
Long Meg and Her Daughters in Cumbria, the largest example of Alexander Thom's Type B Flattened Circle. Long Meg is the detached stone at the bottom of the picture.
Stone circle
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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.
Swinside stone circle, Cumbria, England
Bryn Cader Faner, North Wales
Easter Aquhorthies recumbent stone circle near Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Dunnideer recumbent stone circle near Insch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland