Home › All legends › Standing Stones & Stone Circles (page 2 of 3) Standing Stones & Stone Circles
The prehistoric monuments of Britain and Ireland gathered folklore for thousands of years after they were raised. Circles said to be dancers or maidens turned to stone, megaliths that cannot be counted, stones that walk to drink at midnight — the traditions preserve a folk memory of the monuments as living, watchful and not to be meddled with.
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Sacred Sites Glantane East Glantane, County Cork Glantane East is a megalithic complex situated 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) from Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland. It is set in the Keel River valley on the north-west upper slopes of Musherabeg mountain, in the townland of Glantane. The complex includes a wedge tomb, two stone circles and a pair of stone alignments. Sacred Sites Granny Kempock Stone Gourock, Scotland The megalithic Kempock Stone, popularly known as Granny Kempock, stands on a cliff behind Kempock Street, the main shopping street in Gourock, Scotland. The stone, or menhir, is grey mica schist and of indeterminate origin, but it has been suggested that it is an old altar to the pagan god Baal, or a memorial to an ancient battle. Sacred Sites Grubstones Yorkshire The Grubstones is a stone circle on Burley Moor in West Yorkshire, England. It is believed to be either an embanked stone circle or a ring cairn. Sacred Sites Heapstown Cairn Heapstown, County Sligo Heapstown Cairn is a large ancient cairn and protected National Monument in County Sligo, Ireland. It was built in the Neolithic, around 3000 BC, and is believed to cover a passage tomb. The cairn is one of the largest in Ireland and is near Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery. Sacred Sites Knocknakilla Knocknakilla, County Cork 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. Deities La Gran'mère du Chimquière St Martin's Parish, Guernsey A 4,500-year-old goddess stands at St Martin's church gate in Guernsey. A churchwarden smashed her in 1860; parishioners glued her back. Newlyweds still leave flowers at her feet for luck. Sacred Sites Labbacallee wedge tomb Glanworth, County Cork Ireland's largest wedge tomb is known as Leaba Caillighe — the Hag's Bed — and treasure-hunters who dared dig here met an enchanted cat with a tail of fire. Sacred Sites Lochmaben Stone Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway A megalith on the Solway Firth linked by name and tradition to Maponos or Mabon, a youthful Celtic divine figure. It also marks a landscape of border law, ritual, and deep time. Witches Long Compton Witches Long Compton, Warwickshire, England Long Compton in Warwickshire was believed to harbour a coven of sixteen witches, a tradition so alive that in 1875 John Haywood stabbed 79-year-old Ann Turner to death with a pitchfork, claiming she had overlooked his cattle—a murder that exposed the unbroken force of witch-belief in Victorian England. Sacred Sites Long Meg and Her Daughters Cumbria A stone circle said to be a coven of witches turned to stone for dancing on the Sabbath. Long Meg herself stands apart, taller and marked with strange carvings. Sacred Sites Meehambee Dolmen Meehambee, County Roscommon The Meehambee Dolmen, also known as the Mihanboy Portal Tomb, is a Neolithic portal tomb located in the townland of Mihanboy, near Athlone in County Roscommon, Ireland. The monument is dated to around 3500 BC and is listed as a Recorded Monument under the National Monuments Acts. Sacred Sites Moel Tŷ Uchaf Llandrillo, Denbighshire, Wales Moel Tŷ Uchaf is a stone circle near the village of Llandrillo, Denbighshire, north Wales. Sacred Sites Mount Venus Rathfarnham, County Dublin
Mount Venus is a megalithic site on the Mount Venus Road in Edmondstown, County Dublin, Ireland. It is a national heritage site. Sacred Sites Mên Scryfa Cornwall Mên Scryfa is an inscribed standing stone in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The inscription, dating to the early medieval period, commemorates "Rialobranus son of Cunovalus." Sacred Sites Mên-an-Tol Cornwall The Mên-an-Tol is a small formation of standing stones in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is about three miles northwest of Madron. It is also known locally as the "Crick Stone". Sacred Sites Nine Maidens Stone Row Cornwall Nine Maidens stone row is an ancient monument in the parish of St Columb Major, Cornwall, England. The Nine Maidens are also known in Cornish as Naw-voz, or Naw-whoors meaning "the nine sisters". This late neolithic stone row is 2 miles (3.2 km) north of St Columb Major. Sacred Sites Porlock Stone Circle Somerset A small Exmoor stone circle whose weathered stones sit in a landscape of moorland lore. Its current 'Ireland' label was a scrape error; this belongs firmly to Somerset. Sacred Sites Rollright Stones curse Oxfordshire A Bronze Age stone circle said to be a king and his knights turned to stone by a witch. The stones are impossible to count twice and reach the same number. The King Stone bleeds if cut. Sacred Sites Rudston Monolith East Yorkshire The tallest standing stone in Britain, rising from a churchyard like a leftover sentence from an older religion. Its original purpose is unknown, which leaves folklore plenty of room to breathe. Sacred Sites Stanton Drew Stone Circles Somerset The Stanton Drew stone circles are just outside the village of Stanton Drew in the English county of Somerset. The largest stone circle is the Great Circle, 113 metres (371 ft) in diameter and the second largest stone circle in Britain ; it is considered to be one of the largest Neolithic monuments to have been built. Sacred Sites The Merry Maidens Cornwall The Merry Maidens, also known as Dawn's Men is a Late Neolithic stone circle located 2 miles (3 km) to the south of the village of St Buryan, in Cornwall. A pair of standing stones, The Pipers is associated both geographically and in legend. Sacred Sites The Pipers Cornwall The Pipers are a pair of standing stones near The Hurlers stone circles, located on Bodmin Moor near the village of Minions, Cornwall, UK. They share the name with another pair of standing stones near the Merry Maidens to the south of the village of St Buryan, also in Cornwall. Sacred Sites Timoney Stones Timoney, County Tipperary The Timoney Stones are a collection of standing stones forming a National Monument in County Tipperary, Ireland. Sacred Sites Townleyhall passage grave Townleyhall, County Louth Townleyhall passage grave is a chamber tomb located around 2 km north of Dowth tomb. It is part of the megalithic complex of Brú na Bóinne in County Louth, Ireland.
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