Stone circle
Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built between 3300 to 2500 BC.
Although it is often assumed there are thousands of stone circles across the British Isles and Europe, such enclosures are actually very rare, and constitute a regional form of henge.
Although many theories have been advanced to explain their use, usually related to providing a setting for ceremony or ritual, no consensus exists among archaeologists regarding their intended function.
[2] Growing evidence suggests that megalithic constructions began as early as 5000 BC in northwestern France[3] and that the custom and techniques spread via sea routes throughout Europe and the Mediterranean region from there.
Around that time, stone circles began to be built in the coastal and lowland areas towards the north of the United Kingdom.
The Langdale axe industry in the Lake District may have been an important early centre for circle building, perhaps because of its economic power.
Recent research shows that the two oldest stone circles in Britain (Stenness on Orkney and Callanish on the Isle of Lewis) were constructed to align with solar and lunar positions.
Megalithic monuments are found in especially great number on the European Atlantic fringe and in the British Isles.
[11] Experts disagree on whether the construction of megaliths in Britain developed independently or was imported from mainland Europe.
A 2019 comprehensive radiocarbon dating study of megalithic structures across Europe and the British Isles concluded that construction techniques were spread to other communities via sea routes, starting from north-western France.
[4][3] In contrast, the French archaeologist Jean-Pierre Mohen in his book Le Monde des Megalithes wrote that the British Isles are "outstanding in the abundance of standing stones, and the variety of circular architectural complexes of which they formed a part ... strikingly original, they have no equivalent elsewhere in Europe – strongly supporting the argument that the builders were independent.
[12] Although stone circles are widely distributed across the island, Ireland has two main concentrations: in the Cork/Kerry area and in mid-Ulster.
This sometimes appears to have been used as an altar but more often as a central burial structure, originally surrounded by megaliths that show only sparsely survived erosion and human activities.
[19] These circles are also known as harrespil in the Basque country, where villagers call them mairu-baratz or jentil-baratz, meaning "pagan garden (cemetery)".
[23] In the Near East, possibly the oldest stone circles in the world were found at Atlit Yam (about 8000 BC).
