Stone Circles

You have heard of Stonehenge, but did you realize there are literally thousands of stone circles, scattered around the globe? Stonehenge may be the best known, but it isn’t the oldest (by a long shot!) or even the biggest. This little book, part of the Wooden Books series, introduces you to many, many more megaliths and megalithic sites than you would have ever imagined.

While there are stone circle sites around the world, and this book tells you about some of them, most of the stone circles in this book are from England and around the United Kingdom, from Wales to the Lake District and all the way north to the Scottish Highlands, and many, many points between. The author explains the various geometries found in these circles, which is incredible (points plotted on right triangles, pentagons, and perfect obloids, to name a few) and their alignments – not only with celestial bodies or astronomical events such as equinoxes, which are amazing enough, but even in alignment with each other, on grand, continent-wide scale. Of course, the shaping and placing of the several-ton stones is another wonder, and fascinating to learn about. All of this is great content, although the scope of the book necessarily limits it to a very brief survey. However, in addition, the real delight of this book comes from the lovely black-and-white prints, mostly of 19th-century drawings (although there are a few photos and diagrams), of many of these sites. Since then, although many more stone circle sites have been identified, others have fallen due to vandalism and lack of care, so it is wonderful to see how early European adventurers experienced and recorded these sites in less disturbed states, or their guesses of how these millenia-old circles looked when they were first completed. There is so much here that only scratches the surface of this topic, and is sure to lead you on to more exploration. This beautiful, intriguing little volume is perfect for gifting – and who knows? You may become a megalithomaniac yourself!