Castlerigg Stone Circle, Mysterious Megaliths
Lesser Known than Stonehenge, Castlerigg is One of the Oldest Structures in Europe
May 1, 2009
Castlerigg Stone Circle, also known as Keswick Carle and Druid’s Circle, in the Lake District near Keswick, is a prehistoric structure in Cumbra, Great Britain. The stones are on a level top of a low hill with scenic views of Blencathra, Skiddaw and Lonscale Fell.
Description of Castlerigg Stone Circle
There are thirty-eight metamorphic slate stones of various shapes and sizes, in a circular outline approximately one hundred and seven feet in diameter. Inside of the ring is a rectangle, a cave, of ten standing stones.
The circle was, most likely, built around 3200 BCE, during the Late Neolithic and early Bronze Ages which makes it one of the oldest megalithic structures in Europe.
Like Stonehenge, there are some significant astronomical alignments. Sunrise on the Autumn Equinox appears over the top of Threlkeld Knott, a hill to the east. Some stones are aligned with other solar and lunar positions.
Castlerigg Stone Circle’s Recent History
- 1878 and 1881: C W Dymond mapped the first accurate positions of the stones.
- 1882: W. Kinsey Dover was in charge of the Castlerigg’s excavation, targeted on the cave. He gave a detailed report on its measurements.Dover found what he believed was charcoal or pieces of burnt wood and took some samples to be analyzed. What happened to these is not known. They’re probably lost or, if not, too contaminated to be of scientific value.
- 1913: Castlerigg Stone Circle was bought by Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, co-founder of the National Trust, and others and placed under the organization’s care.
- 1919: T. Singleton, with a friend, watched white light balls move slowly over the stones. Mysterious lights are present at most ancient sites. These lights might have been one of the reasons why ancient people built monuments at specific sites. There’s much speculation as to the nature of the lights.
- 2004: Dr Margarita Díaz-Andreu, of the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, surveyed Castlerigg, responding to claims that prehistoric art had been discovered there. A laser survey technique was used to record three-dimensional images of the stones. Only graffiti from recent times was discovered. There was no trace of the alleged prehistoric carvings.
Castlerigg Circle – Theories
Although who built it and its purpose are unknown, it’s thought that Castlerigg was used for ceremonial or religious rites.
Psychometrist Iris Campbell interpreted the circle’s purpose in 1944. Psychometry is the psychic ability to read a place or an object. According to her, the stones were part of a memorial site where kings came to mourn their dead. Priests came from surrounding areas to perform funeral rights by weaving cosmic colors around the casket to speed the departure of passing souls of high-ranking priests so they could be freed for more important work elsewhere.
Aubrey Burl and Alexander Thom have written about megalithic structures with opposing opinions. Burl speculates these circles were built by primitive people and that any geometry within the circles or astronomical alignments are coincidental or symbolic. Thom postulates circle builders were expert astronomers and mathematicians.
Current theory links Castlerigg with nearby Langdale fells. Archaeologists believe Langdale was a center of specialized stone tool manufacturing because of the greenstone found there. Ritually deposited stone axes are found all over Great Britain, suggesting their use went beyond the practical. Any exchange of stone axes may not have been possible without taking part in a ceremony. Castlerigg might have been the site where these ceremonies took place.
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Readers may also enjoy America's Stonehenge, Mystery Hill, NH along with Glastonbury Abbey and Stonehenge -- UK's Mysterious Monoliths.
Source:
- 100 Strangest Mysteries, Matt Lamy, (MetroBooks, 2005).
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