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A stone row or stone alignment is a linear arrangement of upright, parallel
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 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
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
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 ...
ic standing stones 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 p ...
or 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 prin ...
.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 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 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 p ...
and 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 prin ...
peoples in the British Isles, parts of Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
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: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
. 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 P ...
including the row at Stalldown Barrow and three rows at Drizzlecombe and the Hill O Many Stanes 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 - 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 a ...
, 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 - Four stones (one fallen), County Cork, Ireland
* Maughanasilly Stone Row - 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