51 Items Tagged

Standing Stones

Blieskastel, Germany

Gollenstein

After Nazi forces smashed this 4,000-year-old Neolithic standing stone, locals banded together to restore it.

Lochgilphead, Scotland

Stane Alane Standing Stone

A mysterious solitary standing stone from the Neolithic period.

The Cuckoo Stone

Wiltshire, England

The Cuckoo Stone

This neolithic stone was once used for ceremonial practices similar to its neighbor Stonehenge.

One of the Twelve Stone faces.

Torrig, Denmark

Dodekalitten

An air of mystery pervades this modern-day singing Stonehenge.

Carn Goedog

Eglwyswrw, Wales

Carn Goedog

This rocky outcrop served as a quarry for some of the bluestones that sit at the center of Stonehenge.

Strichen stone circle

Strichen, Scotland

Strichen Stone Circle

This ancient monument has been dissembled and put back together at least twice.

Looking in from the gap left by the missing stone

Duddo Five Stones

There were once more than five stones in this ancient monument.

Torhouse Stone Circle at sunset

Wigtown, Scotland

Torhouse Stone Circle

A circle made up of 19 boulders has stood in Scotland's Bladnoch Valley for some 4,000 years.

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

standing stones

Puzzle Monday: Deciphering Ireland's Ancient Standing Stones

Alex Bellos May 9, 2022

Glenquicken Stone Circle in the mist

Creetown, Scotland

Glenquicken Stone Circle

A gap marks the spot where a now-missing stone once completed the circular arrangement at this Neolithic site.

Drumtroddan Standing Stones

Mochrum, Scotland

Drumtroddan Standing Stones

These stones date back to the 3rd or 2nd millennium B.C.

Livingston, Scotland

Livingston Stone Circle

Scotland is filled with standing stones that date back hundreds or thousands of years. This is not one of them.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Huly Hill

If you fly into Edinburgh Airport, it's possible to spot this prehistoric site without even getting off the plane.

Kilmartin, Scotland

Dunchraigaig Cairn and Baluachraig Rock Art

No other place in Scotland has such a high concentration of prehistoric carved stone surfaces.

Croft Moraig Stone Circle entry stones

Aberfeldy, Scotland

Croft Moraig Stone Circle

This Neolithic stone circle is the most complete of its kind in Scotland.

Nether Largie Standing Stones

Kilmartin, Scotland

Kilmartin Glen Prehistoric Monuments

This collection of Neolithic monuments make up one of The U.K.'s richest archeological landscapes.

Ballymeanoch Standing Stones set out in two parallel rows

Kilmartin, Scotland

Ballymeanoch Prehistoric Monuments

This Neolithic-era complex boasts standing stones, a cairn, and the only henge in Western Scotland.

The flat circular centre of the henge

Eamont Bridge, England

King Arthur's Round Table

Though this large circular site is now named for the legendary king, its history dates back to the Neolithic era.