What are standing stones?
Q: What are standing stones?
A: Standing stones, also known as menhirs, are large stones that have been set into the ground vertically.
Q: When were they put there?
A: They were put there by Neolithic people in the British Isles and Brittany between 4000 BC and 1500 BC.
Q: What is their purpose?
A: It is generally thought that they had both practical (meeting place) and ceremonial or religious uses.
Q: Where can they be found?
A: Menhirs can be found across Europe, Africa and Asia, but they are most numerous in Western Europe; in particular in the British Isles (Great Britain and Ireland), and Brittany. There are about 50,000 megaliths in these areas.
Q: How do we know when they were erected?
A: Standing stones are usually difficult to date, but pottery found underneath some of them in western Europe connects them with the Beaker people. Radiocarbon dating and tree-ring calibration have also added to our knowledge of their timing.
Q: Are standing stones always single stones?
A: No, sometimes they appear in groups forming circles, lines or horseshoe formations which are called megalithic monuments. These sites often contain burial chambers used for ancient religious ceremonies.
Q: Is Woodhenge an example of a henge formation?
A: Yes, Woodhenge is a henge and timber circle monument located 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of Stonehenge within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England.
