Castlerigg Stone Circle

Castlerigg stone circle (alternatively Keswick Carles, or Carles) is situated on a prominent hill to the east of Keswick, in the Lake District National Park, North West England [1]. The stones are glacial erratic boulders composed of volcanic rock from the Borrowdale Volcanic Group [1]. Castlerigg sits on a deposit of glacial till, and it is likely that the boulders were originally part of this deposit [1]. The stones are set in a flattened circle, measuring 32.6 metres at its widest and 29.5 metres at its narrowest [1]. The heaviest stone has been estimated to weigh around 16 tons and the tallest stone measures approximately 2.3 metres high [1]. There is a 3.3 metre wide gap in its northern edge, which may have been an entrance [1]. Castlerigg stone circle was one of the monuments included in the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 [1]. It thus became one of the first scheduled monuments [1].