Summary

Situated on a plateau of land on Castlerigg Fell is the prehistoric site of Castlerigg Stone Circle. This oval shaped site has over 38 large standing stones, associated with this site are two bowl barrows.

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Description

Castlerigg stone circle is located on a plateau of the northeasterly projecting spur of Castlerigg Fell and is divided into two separate areas. The monument includes an oval enclosure of stones which contains a smaller enclosure and two barrows, and an outlying stone. The oval enclosure includes 38 large stones, some standing up to 3 metres high and some fallen, and 3 smaller stones; it encloses an area measuring approximately 32 metres north to south by 29 metres east to west. There is an entrance between the two tallest stones on the northern side. Within the eastern side of the circle, abutting the internal face of three stones forming part of the circle, is a rectangular structure of 10 stones measuring 7.6 by 3.6 metres internally. Within the southwestern side of the circle is a low bank up to 0.1 metres high which runs in an arc adjacent to the stones for a distance of about 8 metres. In the north-eastern and northwestern quadrants of the circle are two barrows, both approximately 3.5 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres high. Each barrow is surrounded by a shallow ditch that is 0.6 metres wide by 0.05 metres deep. An earthen bank up to 7 metres wide and 0.3 metres high flanks the northern side of the circle. There is a separate stone outlier some 70 metres west-south-west of the circle. Limited antiquarian investigation of the rectangular structure within the circle found charcoal, black soil mixed with stone and a 'dark unctuous sort of earth' near the bottom of the excavation. This site remains unencumbered by modern development and is one of the finest examples of a large irregular stone circle in England. The circle was taken into state care in 1883 (English Heritage, 1974).
Archaeological Comments - Site:20131*0 These sites are prehistoric monuments comprising of one or more circles of upright or recumbent stones. The circle of stones may be surrounded by earthwork features such as enclosing banks and ditches. Single upright stones may be found within the circle or outside it and avenues of stones radiating out from the circle occur at some sites. Burial cairns may also be found close to and on occasion within the circle. Stone circles are found throughout England although they are concentrated in western areas, with particular clusters in upland areas such as Bodmin and Dartmoor in the south-west, the Lake District and the rest of Cumbria in the northwest. This distribution may be a reflection of present survival rather than an original pattern. Where excavation they have been found to date from the Late Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age (c2400-1000 BC). It is clear that they were designed and laid out carefully, frequently exhibiting very regularly spaced stones, the heights of which also appear to have been of some importance. We do not fully understand the uses for which these monuments were originally constructed but it is clear they had a considerable ritual importance for the societies that used them. In many instances excavation has indicated that they provided a focus for burials and the rituals that accompanied interment of the dead. Some circles appear to have had a calendrical function, helping mark the passage of time and seasons. This is indicated by the careful alignment of stones to mark important solar or lunar events such as sunrise or sunset at midsummer or midwinter. At other sites the spacing of individual circles throughout the landscape has led to a suggestion that each one provided some form of tribal gathering point for a specific social group. Large irregular stone circles comprise a ring of at least 20 stone uprights. The diameters of surviving examples range between 20 and 40 metres, although it is known that larger examples, that are now destroyed, existed. The stone uprights of this type of circle tend to be more closely spaced than in other types of circle and the height and positioning of uprights also appears not to have been as important. They are widely distributed throughout England although in the south they are confined largely to the west. Of the 250 or so stone circles identified in England only 45 examples of large irregular circles are known.

(Northern Archaeological Associates 2020)
The monument is Castlerigg stone circle. It is located on a plateau of the north-easterly projecting spur of Castlerigg Fell and is divided into two separate areas. The monument includes an oval enclosure of stones which contains a smaller enclosure and two barrows, and an outlying stone. The oval enclosure includes 38 large stones, some standing up to 3m high and some fallen, and 3 smaller stones; it encloses an area measuring approximately 32m north-south by 29m east-west. There is an entrance between the two tallest stones on the northern side. Within the eastern side of the circle, abutting the internal face of three stones forming part of the circle, is a rectangular structure of 10 stones measuring c.7.6m by 3.6m internally. Within the south western side of the circle is a low bank up to 0.1m high which runs in an arc adjacent to the stones for a distance of about 8m. In the north-eastern and north-western quadrants of the circle are two barrows, both approximately 3.5m diameter by 0.05m high and each surrounded by a shallow ditch 0.6m wide by 0.05m deep. An earthen bank up to 7m wide and 0.3m high flanks the northern side of the circle. 70m west-south-west of the circle, and in a separate area, is a stone outlier located adjacent to the field boundary. Limited antiquarian investigation of the rectangular structure within the circle found charcoal, black soil mixed with stone, and a 'dark, unctuous sort of earth' near the bottom of the excavation. The stone circle was taken into State care in 1883.

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