A stone row or stone alignment is a linear arrangement of upright, parallel

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. T ...

s set at intervals along a common axis or series of axes, usually dating from the later

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

.Power (1997), p.23 Rows may be individual or grouped, and three or more stones aligned can constitute a stone row.

Description

Stone rows can be few metres or several kilometres in length and made from stones that can be as tall as 2m, although 1m high stones are more common. The terminals of many rows have the largest stones and other

megalithic A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

features are sometimes sited at the ends, especially burial cairns. The stones are placed at intervals and may vary in height along the sequence, to provide a graduated appearance, though it is not known whether this was done deliberately. Stone rows were erected by the later

and

peoples in the British Isles, parts of

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

and northern France. The most famous example is the Carnac stones, a complex of stone rows in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

. There are a number of examples on

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

including the row at

Stalldown Barrow Stalldown Barrow, sometimes called Staldon, is a megalithic site in Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is th ...

and three rows at

Drizzlecombe Drizzlecombe or Thrushelcombe is an area of Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England, containing a number of Bronze Age stone rows, cairns and menhirs. There are three principal stone rows each with an associated barrow and terminal menhi ...

and the

Hill O Many Stanes The Hill O Many Stanes is a south-facing hillside (at ) in Mid Clyth, about south of Wick in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland, which has about 200 upright stones, none more than a metre high, set out in rows running approximately ...

in Caithness. In Britain they are exclusively found in isolated moorland areas. The term alignment is sometimes taken to imply that the rows were placed purposely in relation to other factors such as other monuments or topographical or astronomical features. Archaeologists treat stone rows as discrete features however and alignment refers to the stones being lined up with one another rather than anything else. Their purpose is thought to be religious or ceremonial perhaps marking a processual route. Another theory is that each generation would erect a new stone to contribute to a sequence that demonstrated a people's continual presence.

Examples

Beenalaght Beenalaght (''An Seisear'' in Irish, meaning ''The Six'') is an alignment of six standing stones located on a flat pasture in Reanthesure, 0.5km west of the village of Bweeng, County Cork, Ireland. It is 13.6km (8.5 miles) south-west of Mallow ...

- Six stones (one fallen),

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland *

Coolcoulaghta Standing Stones The Coolcoulaghta Standing Stones are a pair of standing stones forming a stone row and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland. Location Coolcoulaghta Standing Stones stand in a field southwest of Durrus. History The stones ...

- two stones, County Cork, Ireland *

Eightercua Eightercua ) is a four-stone alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel m ...

- Four stones, County Kerry, Ireland *

Knocknakilla Knocknakilla is the site of a megalithic complex () situated between Macroom and Millstreet, in County Cork, Ireland. It is set in blanket peatland on the north-west upper slopes of Musherabeg mountain and is thought to be 3500 years old. Envi ...

- Four stones (one fallen), County Cork, Ireland *

Maughanasilly Stone Row Maughanasilly Stone Row is a stone row and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland. Location The stone row is located to the northeast of Lough Atooreen, on the eastern slopes of Knockbreteen, north of Kealkill. Another stone cir ...

- five stones (one fallen), County Cork, Ireland

Notes

Sources

* Power, Denis (1997). ''Archaeological inventory of County Cork'', Volume 3: ''Mid Cork, 9467''. ColorBooks. . * Lancaster Brown, P. (1976). ''Megaliths, myths, and men: an introduction to astro-archaeology''. New York: Taplinger Pub. Co.

External links

English Heritage Monument Description Thesaurus listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone Row Megalithic monuments Types of monuments and memorials Bronze Age Europe Stone Age Europe Stone monuments and memorials