Castlerigg and Swinside

These are among the best-known early (ie Neolithic) stone circles in the UK -- at Castlerigg (top) and Swinside (bottom) in Cumbria.    They are much smaller than the proposed stone circle at Waun Mawn.  But probably this is what the archaeologists imagine that the "lost" stone circle might have looked like -- a mottley collection of stones of all shapes and sizes, picked up in the immediate vicinity, and set into a circular arrangement.  (Except, of course, that at Waun Mawn the archaeologists want the stones to have been quarried, transported and invested with "special" qualities.)

These old stone circles apparently are not associated with burials or earthworks, but they may be linked to other stone settings in the neighbourhood.  In some cases there may be standing stone "outliers" and/or two especially large stones set on either side of an "entrance".

It will be interesting to see, when the diggers arrive at Waun Mawn in September, whether their discoveries conform with the features in other upland Neolithic sites in the western parts of the British Isles.