Swinside

Swinside
	The entire stone circle
	Swinside Location in Copeland Borough Swinside Location in Cumbria
Location	Cumbria ; grid reference SD172882
Coordinates	54°16′57″N3°16′26″W / 54.2824823°N 3.2738449°W Coordinates: 54°16′57″N3°16′26″W / 54.2824823°N 3.2738449°W
Type	Stone circle
History
Periods	Neolithic / Bronze Age

Last updated January 15, 2023

Swinside, which is also known as Sunkenkirk and Swineshead,^[1] is a stone circle lying beside Swinside Fell, part of Black Combe in southern Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 recorded stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during what archaeologists categorise as the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.^[2]

In this period, the Lake District – a mountainous area in which Swinside is located – saw particularly high levels of stone circle construction, with other notable examples including the Castlerigg stone circle and Long Meg and Her Daughters. The original purposes of these circles is still debated, although most archaeologists concur that they were built for ritual or ceremonial reasons. Constructed from local slate, the ring has a diameter of about 93 ft 8ins (26.8m),^[3]^[4] and currently contains 55 stones, although when originally constructed there probably would have been around 60.^[3] An entrance-exit was included on the monument's south-eastern side, which was defined by the inclusion of two outer portal stones.

In the Early Modern period, local folklore about the stones held that they had once been used in the construction of a church, but that the Devil continually thwarted these plans, creating the stone circle in the process. Archaeological investigation into the monument began in the early 20th century, with an excavation taking place in 1901.

Location

The stone circle at Swinside is located in the south-west corner of the Lake District in the ancient district of Millom, 5 miles north of the town of Millom (map reference SD171881 ) .^[3] There is no visitors centre or car park at the site, which can only be reached by travelling on foot.^[3] To reach the site, the visitor must get to Crag Hall, where there are limited places for parking, and then walk along a rough track for 2¼ km (1¼ miles) uphill towards Swinside Farm, where the megalithic ring lies to the right of the path.^[4]

Megalithic specialist Aubrey Burl called Swinside "the loveliest of all the circles" in north-western Europe.^[5] In his study of the stone circles of Cumbria, archaeologist John Waterhouse commented that Swinside "can be compared only to Castlerigg and Long Meg and her Daughters in its visual impact; but its charm – for great charm it undoubtedly has – is greater even than theirs."^[4]

Background

"After over a thousand years of early farming, a way of life based on ancestral tombs, forest clearance and settlement expansion came to an end. This was a time of important social changes."

Archaeologist and prehistorian Mike Parker Pearson on the Late Neolithic in Britain (2005)^[6]

During the Late Neolithic, British society underwent a series of major changes. Between 3500 and 3300 BC, prehistoric Britons ceased their continual expansion and cultivation of wilderness and instead focused on settling and farming the most agriculturally productive areas of the island: Orkney, eastern Scotland, Anglesey, the upper Thames, Wessex, Essex, Yorkshire and the river valleys of the Wash.^[7]

This period was also signalled by what archaeologists have interpreted as a change in religious beliefs across Britain. Communities stopped building the large chambered tombs for the dead, and instead, they began the construction of large wooden and stone circles.^[8] The prominent megalithic-specialist and archaeologist Aubrey Burl (2000) argued that the change from building tombs to building open air rings signalled a change in religious belief for the peoples of north-western Europe. As he noted; "There was a change from the cramped, gloomy chamber or a tomb to the unroofed, wide ring, a change from darkness to light, from the dead to the living, from the grave to the sky."^[9]

Purpose

Exactly for what purpose prehistoric Britons originally constructed stone circles is a question that continues to elude archaeologists. Despite this, many suggestions have been put forward, most of which argue that they were a form of a church.

Based on his study of those examples found at Orkney in northern Scotland, the archaeologist Colin Richards suggested that the stone and wooden circles built in Late Neolithic Britain might have represented the centre of the world, or axis mundi , for those who constructed them,^[10] an idea adopted by fellow archaeologist Aaron Watson as a possibility in his discussion of why Late Neolithic peoples constructed the great ring at Avebury in southern England.^[11]

Construction

The stones used in the construction of Swinside were porphyritic slate collected from the adjacent fells, and are of the type that was known locally as 'grey cobbles' by the 20th century.^[3]^[4] The ring has a diameter of about 93 ft 8ins (26.8m),^[3]^[4] and currently contains 55 stones, although when originally constructed there probably would have been around 60.^[3]

Swinside's builders included a "well defined" entrance, 2.1 m (7 ft) wide, at the south-eastern side, which was signalled by the placing of two large portal stones outside the circumference of the circle.^[3] Such portal openings can also be found at other stone circles in the Lake District, such as Long Meg and Her Daughters.^[3] These features are also found in stone circles in Dumfriesshire.^[12] In particular, Swinside has a number of features in common with the Girdle Stanes.^[12]^[13]

Folklore

Local folklore holds that at night, the Devil would pull down the stones of a church that was being constructed in the daytime, in the process creating the stone circle; it is for this reason that the site has also been called Sunkenkirk.^[4]^[14]

In the 1930s, it was recorded that there was a local belief that it was impossible to count all of the stones.^[15]

Antiquarian and archaeological investigation

In 1901 the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society sponsored the first archaeological excavation at Swinside. Under the direction of C. W. Dymond FSA and W. G. Collingwood, the dig lasted from midday on Tuesday 26 March 1901 through to the evening of the following day. Two crosstrenches were dug, each 18 inches (45 cm) wide, covering just over one-thirteenth of the interior of the site. The excavators reported finding a lump of charcoal and a piece of decayed bone as well as some modern coins in the turf layer.^[16]

Related Research Articles

The Ring of Brodgar is a Neolithic henge and stone circle about 6 miles north-east of Stromness on Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.

Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in the world. It is both a tourist attraction and a place of religious importance to contemporary pagans.

A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The best known examples include those at the henge monument at Avebury, the Rollright Stones, and elements within the ring of standing stones at Stonehenge. Scattered examples exist from other parts of Europe. Later, during the Iron Age, stone circles were built in southern Scandinavia.

Addington Long Barrow is a chambered long barrow located near the village of Addington in the southeastern English county of Kent. Probably constructed in the fourth millennium BCE, during Britain's Early Neolithic period, today it survives only in a ruined state. Built of earth and about fifty local sarsen megaliths, the long barrow consisted of a sub-rectangular earthen tumulus enclosed by kerb-stones. Collapsed stones on the northeastern end of the chamber probably once formed a stone chamber in which human remains might have been deposited, though none have been discovered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Meg and Her Daughters</span> Neolithic stone circle near Penrith, England

Long Meg and Her Daughters is a Neolithic stone circle situated north-east of Penrith near Little Salkeld in Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that emerged during Neolithic, and continued into the Early Bronze Age. The stone circle is the third widest in England, behind Avebury in Wiltshire, and only slightly smaller than Stanton Drew in Somerset.

CastleriggStone Circle is situated on a prominent hill to the east of Keswick, in the Lake District National Park, North West England. It is one of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from approximately 3,200 BC to 2500 BC, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.

The Hoarstones, or Hoar Stone Circle, is a stone circle in the civil parish of Chirbury with Brompton in the English county of Shropshire. The Hoarstones are part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown.

The Whetstones are, or were, a stone circle beneath Corndon Hill in the parish of Church Stoke, Montgomeryshire, Wales, near the border with Shropshire, England. They lie immediately to the west of the village of White Grit and close to Priestweston. The site is also a short distance from the better-known Hoarstones and Mitchell's Fold circles.

The stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany are a megalithic tradition of monuments consisting of standing stones arranged in rings. These were constructed from 3300 to 900 BCE in Britain, Ireland and Brittany. It has been estimated that around 4,000 of these monuments were originally constructed in this part of north-western Europe during this period. Around 1,300 of them are recorded, the others having been destroyed.

Nine Stones Close, also known as the Grey Ladies, is a stone circle on Harthill Moor in Derbyshire in the English East Midlands. It is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of the monument is unknown.

The Nine Stones, also known as the Devil's Nine Stones, the Nine Ladies, or Lady Williams and her Dog, is a stone circle located near to the village of Winterbourne Abbas in the southwestern English county of Dorset. Archaeologists believe that it was likely erected during the Bronze Age.

Kingston Russell Stone Circle, also known as the Gorwell Circle, is a stone circle located between the villages of Abbotsbury and Littlebredy in the south-western English county of Dorset. Archaeologists believe that it was likely erected during the Bronze Age. The Kingston Russell ring is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, over a period between 3,300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that they were likely religious sites, with the stones perhaps having supernatural associations for those who built the circles.

The Hampton Down Stone Circle is a stone circle located near to the village of Portesham in the south-western English county of Dorset. Archaeologists believe that it was likely erected during the Bronze Age. The Hampton Down ring is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, over a period between 3,300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that they were likely religious sites, with the stones perhaps having supernatural associations for those who built the circles. However, it has been suggested that the site is not a stone circle at all, but is instead made up of kerbstones from a Bronze Age round barrow.

Withypool Stone Circle, also known as Withypool Hill Stone Circle, is a stone circle located on the Exmoor moorland, near the village of Withypool in the southwestern English county of Somerset. The ring is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that the stones represented supernatural entities for the circle's builders.

Almsworthy Common is a small area of unenclosed land in Exmoor, south-western England. It contains a number of archaeological sites.

Fir Clump Stone Circle was a stone circle in Burderop Wood near Wroughton, Wiltshire, in South West England. The ring was part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown, although some archaeologists speculate that the stones represented supernatural entities for the circle's builders.

Clatford Stone Circle, also known as The Broadstones, was a stone circle located in the village of Clatford in the south-western English county of Wiltshire.

Tisbury Stone Circle and Henge was a stone circle and henge in the south-western English county of Wiltshire. Archaeologists believe that it was likely erected during the Bronze Age.

Broome Stone Circle was a stone circle located in the south-western English county of Wiltshire. The ring was part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that the stones represented supernatural entities for the circle's builders.

References

Footnotes

↑ Lewis 1886. p. 475.
↑ Burl 2000. p. 13.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Burl 2005. p. 48.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Waterhouse 1985. p. 43.
↑ Burl 1979. p. 235.
↑ Parker Pearson 2005. p. 57.
↑ Parker Pearson 2005. pp. 56–57.
↑ Parker Pearson 2005. pp. 58–59.
↑ Burl 2000. p. 38.
↑ Richards 1996. p. 206.
↑ Watson 2001. p. 304.
1 2 Burl, Aubrey (2000). The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 194.
↑ Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 121–123.
↑ Burl 2005. p. 49.
↑ Grinsell 1976. p. 165.
↑ Burl 2005. pp. 48–49.

Bibliography

Academic books

Burl, Aubrey (1979). Rings of Stone. London: Francis Lincoln. ISBN 978-0-517-34723-2.
Burl, Aubrey (2000). The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany . New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-08347-7.
Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11406-5.
Bradley, Richard (1998). The Significance of Monuments: On the Shaping of Human Experience in Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-15204-4.
Grinsell, Leslie V. (1976). Folklore of Prehistoric Sites in Britain. London: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-7241-6.
Hutton, Ronald (1991). The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy . Oxford and Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-17288-8.
Parker Pearson, Michael (2005). Bronze Age Britain (Revised Edition). London: B.T. Batsford and English Heritage. ISBN 978-0-7134-8849-4.
Waterhouse, John (1985). The Stone Circles of Cumbria. Chichester: Phillimore. ISBN 978-0-85033-566-8.

Academic papers and articles

Dymond, C.W. (1879–81). "A group of Cumberland megaliths". Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. V: 39–57.
Lewis, A.L. (1886). "On Three Stone Circles in Cumberland, with Some Further Observations on the Relation of Stone Circles to Adjacent Hills and Outlying Stones". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 15: 471–481. doi:10.2307/2841826. JSTOR 2841826.
Richards, Colin (1996). "Monuments as Landscape: creating the centre of the world in late Neolithic Orkney". World Archaeology. London: Routledge. 28 (2): 190–208. doi:10.1080/00438243.1996.9980340. JSTOR 125070.
Watson, Aaron (2001). "Composing Avebury". World Archaeology. London: Routledge. 33 (2): 296–314. doi:10.1080/00438240120079307. JSTOR 827904. S2CID 219609029.

External links

Swinside stone circle at Megalithia.com.
Images of and notes about Sunkenkirk at The Modern Antiquarian.

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[1] Lewis 1886. p. 475.

[Burl_2000_13-2] Burl 2000. p. 13.

[Burl_2005_48-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Burl 2005. p. 48.

[Waterhouse_1985_43-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Waterhouse 1985. p. 43.

[5] Burl 1979. p. 235.

[6] Parker Pearson 2005. p. 57.

[7] Parker Pearson 2005. pp. 56–57.

[8] Parker Pearson 2005. pp. 58–59.

[Burl_2000_38-9] Burl 2000. p. 38.

[10] Richards 1996. p. 206.

[11] Watson 2001. p. 304.

[:0-12] 1 2 Burl, Aubrey (2000). The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 194.

[13] Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 121–123.

[Burl_2005_49-14] Burl 2005. p. 49.

[15] Grinsell 1976. p. 165.

[Burl_2005_48-49-16] Burl 2005. pp. 48–49.

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