Gunnerkeld
The concentric stone circle Gunnerkeld (Old Norse for Gunnar's source) is located two kilometers north of Shap , a few meters from the M6 motorway in Westmorland and Cumbria in England .
Gunnerkeld is one of only 15 concentric stone circles in England and part of a concentration in the Lake District . The slightly oval double circle has an outer ring of 30.2 by 27.4 m and an inner ring of 14.2 by 12.7 m. In the classification system for these circles, Gunnerkeld falls into the frequent class A of the irregular-concentric double circles.
Gunnerkeld lies on a small hill that runs parallel to the motorway. Because of the damage, it is impossible to say whether the stones were originally set up in height. The original stone number of the rings is given by J. Barnatt as 32–42. Today there are 18 stones of which 15 fell over. The stones are likely local boulders . The outer ring still has three stones, including the only two standing upright. They are 1.7 m and 1.4 m high, stand immediately east of the north axis and were interpreted by Aubrey Burl as possible portal stones. Portals are a feature of the Lakeland rings.
Burials have been found in every concentric circle excavated and Gunnerkeld is no exception. In the middle lies a shallow pit in which an upright plate can be seen as the rest of a stone box .
The time frame for the concentric circles was created in the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age , a period of around 1500 years.
Nearby are the Hill of Skulls and the Shap Stone Row .
literature
- John Barnatt: Stone Circles of Britain. Taxonomic and distributional analyzes and a catalog of sites in England, Scotland and Wales. (= British Archaeological Reports British series 215). Oxford 1989, pp. 9-14.
Web links
Coordinates: 54 ° 33 ′ 11.3 " N , 2 ° 40 ′ 8.6" W.