Long Meg and her Daughters

The stone circle 'Long Meg and her Daughters " and" Little Meg " are to the east of the Eden Valley, on a gently sloping hill northeast of Little Saltkeld or south of Glassonby in Cumbria in England.

Long Meg and her Daughters

" Long Meg and her Daughters" (the long Meg and her daughters ) is one of the largest stone circles in the British Isles. He is said to be one of the oldest and most date from the late Neolithic period.

Long Meg

Long Meg is a 3.8 m high, nine tons predominant " outlier " of red sandstone which is 18 meters from the entrance of the circle. On the side facing the circle of Long Meg to rock carvings are composed of cup-and -ring marks, concentric circles and spirals.

The daughters

The stone circle ( the daughters ) forms an oval from 109 to 94 m in diameter, from 69 granite boulders, some of which have fallen. Access to the circuit through a couplet, which is located just outside of the circle is located in the southwest.

More discoveries

In recent years, a containment was discovered by a moat in the north of the circle, which explains the flattening in the northern part of the county. Apparently the builders of the circle have respected an older Erddenkmal. To the west of the circle aerial photographs have revealed the existence of a Cursus, which could also be older than the circle, while old reports from a couple Cairn report within the circle, which was probably younger than the circle. It is unclear whether the "daughters" and " Long Meg " are contemporary.

Little Meg

Although Little Meg (also called Maughanby Circle ) is sometimes referred to as a stone circle, it is the remainder of a round Late Bronze Age Cairns. It originally consisted of a destroyed central stone box, which was covered by a low mound of stones and earth, which was surrounded by curbs (which are the preserved remains ). The ten or eleven remaining stones stand about 800 east of 'Long Meg and her daughters " on the edge of a field. The curb circle approximately 8.5 m in diameter, although the positions of the stones has been probably changed in the past. The stone cist containing an urn burial.

Two rock carvings have been discovered. One is located in Penrith Museum. The remaining spot is a clockwise spiral running on the left side, which is connected to the concentric circles on the right side. The design has about 80 cm in diameter.