A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany

From Stonehenge to Callanish, from Newgrange to Er-Lannic, great prehistoric stone circles have drawn thousands of admiring visitors to their sites every year. This practical guidebook deals comprehensively with the stone circles of Britain and Ireland and with the cromlechs and megalithic "horseshoes" of Brittany. The book describes over 400 sites and discusses the archaeology and architectural features of each ring. Burl tells the reader how to find a specific site and what to look for, considers problems of dating the remains, points out interrelationships between widely separated sites, explains place-names, and provides stories about legends, witchcraft, and funerals associated with the rings. He also gives suggestions for practical work on site, telling how to deduce the source of the stones, estimate their weight, calculate the number of people involved in the construction of a ring, and investigate the possibility of alignments to the sun and moon. Featuring information, useful maps, and 70 photographs, this is a resource for those interested in the mysteries of the ancient sanctuaries known as stone circles.