The New Student's Reference Work/Stone-Circles

Stone-Circles or Standing-Stones are groups of stones, sometimes two or three standing alone and sometimes arranged in circles, found in Britain, Scandinavia, France and elsewhere. They were called druidical circles in Britain, cromlechs in France and dom-rings in Scandinavia. Sometimes they are bowlders rolled into place, and sometimes pillar-stones, fastened in position by smaller ones at the base. Sometimes there is a single circle, and again there will be one or two smaller circles within. Examination of these circles in Scotland proves that they were cemeteries of the bronze age. The largest stone-circle in Scotland is that of Stennis, Orkney. It is surrounded by a trench 30 feet wide and six feet deep, inclosing two and a half acres. There are 13 stones still standing, the highest being 14 feet.