Prehistoric stone circle's "Sanctuary" may predate Stonehenge by 700 years (2024)

A prehistoric Stone circle in England may have been erected some 700 years before the origin of the iconic Stonehenge monument, an archaeologist has proposed.

The Castlerigg stone circle, located in the northwestern county of Cumbria within the Lake District National Park, has long been a draw for tourists and was taken into guardianship in 1883—becoming one of the first prehistoric monuments in the country to receive state protection.

The monument is thought to be one of the oldest stone circles on the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, of which there are hundreds of known examples. England comprises most of the island of Great Britain, which it shares with the countries of Scotland and Wales.

Previous estimates based on circ*mstantial evidence have placed the construction of the Castlerigg stone circle at around 3000 B.C. or slightly earlier. But no solid dating work has been conducted at the site.

Now, Cumbrian archaeologist Steve Dickinson has shed new light on the monument's possible age, proposing—based on his recent research—that at least part of the stone circle was erected around 3700 B.C., he told Newsweek.

The part Dickinson is referring to is known as the "Sanctuary"—a rectangle of large boulders, measuring around 23 feet by 15 feet, that projects into the middle of the stone circle from its eastern interior.

The northern side of the rectangle has a roughly six-foot-wide entrance. The eastern side of the rectangle, meanwhile, forms part of the stone circle and does not appear to be a later addition, according to Dickinson.

While the function of the Sanctuary remains a mystery, the plan and size of this structure is similar to that of many small timber structures excavated in Ireland—and one recently uncovered in the English county of Yorkshire—all dated to the early Neolithic archaeological period, Dickinson said. In Britain and Ireland, this period lasted from around 4300 B.C. to 3300 B.C.

The archaeologist has been researching Cumbrian stone circles—as well as related timber structures—for at least 20 years and is currently writing a book on the subject, focusing on Castlerigg. The Lake District National Park and the wider county of Cumbria have a particularly high concentration of stone circles, featuring around 80 of these monuments.

The fact that the Sanctuary displays similarities to examples of small early Neolithic timber structures from Ireland is significant, according to Dickinson.

Radiocarbon dating of these timber structures suggests their construction began around 3730-3660 B.C. and that their use ended between roughly 3640-3600 B.C. This evidence is one of the reasons that Dickinson is proposing an early Neolithic date for the construction of the Castlerigg Sanctuary.

"The first part of my case for an early Neolithic Castlerigg is that the Castlerigg rectangular structure replicates the forms of some of the Irish examples. It monumentalizes them in stone," he said.

"This monumentalizing in stone is a feature of the timber to stone transition widely regarded by many prehistorians as occurring across Britain and Ireland where enclosures and circles marked out with timber posts were turned into, or remodeled in, stone," he said.

A classic example of this is Stonehenge, located in the county of Wiltshire, southwest England, where the large stones at the center of the monument that is visible today (erected around 2500 B.C.) have features—such as the mortise and tenon joints—that replicate those used in timber carpentry.

"The second part of my early Neolithic case for Castlerigg is that the Sanctuary there was erected around 3700-3640 B.C.—following the use-life of the Irish structures," Dickinson said.

Dickinson's proposal has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and will likely require further research to confirm it. But if the theory is correct, it would date the Sanctuary to around 700 years before the first phase of construction at Stonehenge, which occurred around 3000-2900 B.C.—long before the large stones made an appearance. This initial phase involved the digging of a circular ditch and banks, as well as the erection of smaller stones.

If the Sanctuary at Castlerigg dates to around 3700 B.C., how old might the rest of the Cumbrian stone circle be? In the absence of dating evidence, it is "highly probable" that the Sanctuary and the stone circle are of the same, or similar, early Neolithic age, according to Dickinson.

This is because the Sanctuary is "integral" to the circle and not a separate element of it, the researcher said.

In addition, three stone axes—possibly originating from prehistoric axe production sites in the heart of the Lake District—had previously been found in and near the stone circle, the latest in 1875.

Recent radiocarbon dating of some of the Lake District axe production sites indicates that examples in the Langdale area were operating around 3900-3700 B.C., according to Dickinson.

"This also suggests that the stone circle is early," he said.

While the original function and purpose of stone circles in Britain and Ireland remains the subject of debate, it is generally thought that they served some kind of ritual or ceremonial purpose. In some cases, such as that of Castlerigg, researchers have linked the monument to the axe production sites.

"There are a number of theories about the purpose of Castlerigg," Dickinson said. "I've mentioned the stone axes found there—one theory proposes that the site was a node for distribution and veneration of these axes."

"The more testable of the other theories propose that the site was a kind of 'calendar' in stone [this has also been proposed for Stonehenge's later iterations] and that astronomical observations were made there [also proposed for Stonehenge]," he said.