Stone Circles and Megaliths
Before man put ink to paper to leave us records of his thoughts, he wrought his messages on the landscape.
Through unimaginable labours at a time when every calorie wasted could mean death, great edifices of stone were quarried and lifted into place.
Today, they still stand. Silent testimony to long-forgotten motivations.Often, their arrangement and internal alignments suggest some kind of relationship with the heavens and the seasons. But whether those relations were practical ones - perhaps as calendars - or spiritual, the stones themselves are mute.
Among the greatest unknowable features of our landscape, the standing stones will remain long after we and our speculations have passed into history ourselves.
Today, the have become touchstones for debates about identity: whether we are really a nation of moon-worshipping pagans, descendants of barbarian kings or merely the technocratic keepers of an unknown heritage.
- Stonehenge
Few sites in the world are as iconic as the few dozen pillars of sarsen stone that stand upon the rolling landsc - Avebury
One of the best preserved and largest ancient monuments in Europe, Avebury has stood for aroud 5000 years sin - The Devils Arrows
In the somewhat unromantic location of a field just off the A1 stand the Devil's Arrows. These weatherworn sp - Silbury Hill
- The Preseli Hills
The bluestones that form the inner circle of Stonehenge were quarried here - possibly at the craggy outcropping known as - The Rollright Stones
This weather-worn, fetching and mysterious (if small by the standards of many) stone circle is believed to take its name - Castlerigg Stone Circle
Among the loneliest of England's megalithic sites, Castlerigg sits in a spot that could best be described as mournful du - The Ring of Brodgar
This ring of 27 stones (originally 60 stood here, but have been lost or moved over the millenia) have kept their lonely - The Thornborough Henges
The Thornborough Henges are an unusual complex of megalithic features of pre-Christian ritual significance. The site is - The Rudston Monolith
Standing amongst the headstones of a quiet Yorkshire graveyard is the tallest standing stone in Britain. At 25ft t