Menu
 
Portfolio
 
Terms of Use
 

The stone circle at Castlerigg is situated near Keswick in Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.

The stones are glacial erratic boulders composed of volcanic rock from the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. Both andesitic lavas and tuffs (volcanic ashes) are represented. Castle Rigg sits on a deposit of glacial till, and it is likely that the boulders were originally part of this deposit. The stones are set in a flattened circle, measuring 32.6 m at its widest and 29.5 m at its narrowest. The heaviest stone has been estimated to weigh around 16 tons and the tallest stone measures approximately 2.3m high. There is a 3.3m wide gap in its northern edge, which may have been an entrance. Within the circle, abutting its eastern quadrant is a roughly rectangular setting of a further 10 stones. The circle was probably constructed around 3200 BC (Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age), making it one of the earliest stone circles in Britain and possibly in Europe. It is important to archaeoastronomers who have noted that the sunrise during the Autumn equinox appears over the top of Threlkeld Knott, a hill 3.5 km to the east. Some stones in the circle have been aligned with the midwinter sunrise and various lunar positions.

 

More posts..

Christchurch Castle

Christchurch Castle is located in Christchurch, Dorset, England. The earliest stonework has been dated to 1160. It is a Norman motte and bailey castle. The castle’s site is inside the old Saxon burh dominating the River Avon’s lowest crossing.   The Constable’s House standing adjacent

Read More
Wistman’s Wood

Wistman’s Wood has been mentioned in writing for hundreds of years. It is likely to be a left-over from the ancient forest that covered much of Dartmoor c. 7000 BC before Mesolithic hunter/gatherers cleared it around 5000 BC. Photographic and other records show that Wistman’s

Read More
Thor’s Cave

  Excavations in 1864–65 and 1927–35 found human and animal remains, stone tools, pottery, amber beads, and bronze items within Thor’s Cave and the adjacent Thor’s Fissure Cavern. The caves are estimated to have contained the burial sites of at least seven people. The finds

Read More
Orford Castle

Orford Castle is a castle in Orford in the English county of Suffolk, 12 miles northeast of Ipswich, with views over Orford Ness. It was built between 1165 and 1173 by Henry II of England.   Prior to the building of Orford Castle, Suffolk was

Read More
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on pinterest
error: