Castlerigg Beautiful Neolithic Stone Circle Photos

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Castlerigg Beautiful Neolithic Stone Circle Photos, in the wild picturesque foothills of the Lake District, England. Photos by Paul E Williams. (TIP: Use the small icons below the slideshow for info & thumbnails)

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Photos of Castlerigg Standing Stones of the Lake District

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Photos of the Neolithic stone circle at Castlerigg also known as Keswick Carles, Carles, Castle-rig or Druids’ Circle.

Castlerigg stone circle is situated near Keswick in Cumbria, North West England on the edge of the Lake District. The stones of Castlerig are glacial boulders composed of volcanic rock from the Borrowdale Volcanic Group.

Measuring 32.6 m (107 ft) at its widest and 29.5 m (97 ft) at its narrowest, the stones are set in a flattened circle. 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. Constructed around 3200 BC (Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age), Castlerigg is 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. Current archaeological thinking has linked Castlerigg with the Neolithic Langdale axe industry in the nearby Langdale fells: the circle may have been a meeting place where these axes were traded or exchanged.