Editing Stone circle (section)

{{Short description|Ring of standing stones}}
{{about|ancient [[megalithic]] stone circles||Stone circle (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Swinside (p4160146).jpg|right|thumb|350px|[[Swinside]] stone circle, [[Cumbria]], England]] 
[[File:Bryn Cader Faner stone circle - geograph.org.uk - 185579.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Bryn Cader Faner]], [[North Wales]], a Welsh [[ring cairn]] / tumulus often misinterpreted as a stone circle]]
A '''stone circle''' is a ring of megalithic [[standing stone]]s. Most are found in [[Northwestern Europe]] – especially [[Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany]] – and typically date from the [[Late Neolithic]] and [[Early Bronze Age]], with most being built between 3300 and 2500 BC. The best known examples include those at the [[henge]] monument at [[Avebury]], the [[Rollright Stones]], [[Castlerigg stone circle|Castlerigg]], and elements within the ring of standing stones at [[Stonehenge]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ibbotson |first=Adam Morgan |title=Cumbria's Prehistoric Monuments |publisher=History Press |year=2024 |edition=2nd |location=UK}}</ref> Scattered examples exist from other parts of Europe. Later, during the [[Iron Age Europe|Iron Age]], stone circles were [[Stone circle (Iron Age)|built in southern Scandinavia]].

The archetypical stone circle is an uncluttered enclosure, large enough to congregate inside, and composed of megalithic stones. Often similar structures are named 'stone circle', but these names are either historic, or incorrect. Examples of commonly misinterpreted stone circles are [[ring cairn]]s, [[Tumulus|burial mounds]], and [[kerb cairn]]s. Although it is often assumed there are thousands of stone circles across the British Isles and Europe, such enclosures are actually very rare, and constitute a regional form of [[henge]].<ref name=":0" /> Examples of true stone circles include [[Long Meg and Her Daughters]] in [[Cumbria]], henges with inner stones such as [[Avebury]] in [[Wiltshire]], and [[The Merry Maidens]] in [[Cornwall]].

Stone circles are usually grouped in terms of the shape and size of the stones, the span of their radius, and their population within the local area. Although many theories have been advanced to explain their use, usually related to providing a setting for ceremony or ritual, no consensus exists among archaeologists regarding their intended function. Their construction often involved considerable communal effort, including specialist tasks such as planning, quarrying, transportation, laying the foundation trenches, and final construction.<ref>Richards, Colin. ''Building the Great Stone Circles of the North''. Windgather Press, 2013. pp. 3–4</ref>