the whispering knights.

the whispering knights. they form part of the rollright stones complex that spans across the neolithic and bronze age. constructed from local oolitic limestone, the three monuments now known respectively as the king’s men, the king stone and the whispering knights,

standing stone. merrivale. dartmoor.

standing stone. merrivale. dartmoor. this standing stone lies just south of the stone circle by about 30m and whose stones are no more than 40-60cm high and around 18m in diameter. this stone stands about 3m high on a south

merry maidens and stone rings.

merry maidens stone circle. these stone rings seem closely related to the round houses which are contemporary with them. the tradition of circular monuments is long standing, from henges to stone circles, round barrows to round houses and that they share the same ground plans suggest an overarching cosmology. ‘the geometric form of the circle provided a template for understanding the world’ (bradley 1998). that on ‘bodmin moor and in west penwith and elsewhere we find circles within circles within circles, in the form of rings of cairns on the hills, stone circles, circular houses, and circular post rings within these houses. (bradley 1998). here again, form and content are intimately related and provide a further interdependence between the house as a practical entity and its symbolic value, its importance in the material provision of life and in which daily ritual becomes imbedded

boleigh standing stone.

boleigh standing stone. one of two ‘pipers’ that are part of the merry maiden stone circle ceremonial complex and are one of a set of outliers aligned to the circle. at 4.1 metres high it leans heavily to the northwest and like many similar stones has up to a third of it total length below ground making it around 6m in overall length. at around two tonnes in weight this fashioned menhir would have required a large well organised community to have erected it. sited close to two large granite grounders which seem to be significant in it positioning it forms with its taller companion part of a ceremonial route that might have connected the stone circle to the sea via lamorna valley and its water courses

merrivale stone row.

merrivale stone row. dartmoor. part of a complex of two stone circles, a double row (of which this is the southerly) a single row, a large cist, stone cairns, hut circles and standing stones. this double stone row is 264m long but just .9m wide and aligned 2degrees further to the north than the east west alignment of the northern double row. it terminates at the western end with paired pillars and a ground slab. it’s eastern end like the northern row has a triangular stone set against the line of the row. along its length, not quite at its centre is a small cairn circle 3.6m in diameter with its severn stones enclosing a cist

castlerigg stone circle. cumbria.

castlerigg stone circle. cumbria. 10 stones make up the cove that attaches itself to the eastern edge of the circle. it measures 7.5m by 3.5m and probably was associated with burial ceremonies. there are two barrows now flattered within the