Arbor Low Stone Circle

Abor Low Stone Circle is Sometimes referred to as ‘The Stonehenge of the North’, Arbor Low is described as ‘One of the most important prehistoric monuments in Britain’. The circle-henge was almost certainly constructed in a number of phases during the 3rd millennium BC. The stones were added later and were almost certainly in place by 2000BC.

It lies on a plateau 375m (1230ft) above sea level, in an area of arid high moorland. It is managed by the Peak District National Park Authority.

The site of Arbor Low now consists of a ruined circle (actually egg-shaped) of around fifty large locally quarried limestone blocks with seven smaller blocks in the centre forming a cove, close to which human skeletal remains were discovered. Some of the fallen, broken stones do appear to fit together, indicating there were probably between forty-one and forty-three standing stones originally.

All but one of the stones are now recumbent with only one to the west-south-west remaining partially upright.

They are of varying shapes and sizes ranging from about 1.6m to 2.1m in height, with the exception of the monoliths at the entrances which are between 2.6m and 2.9m tall. The stump of one stone, perhaps the remains of a portal stone, can be found in the southern entrance while a large pit in the northern entrance indicates this may also have contained a stone.

The stones are surrounded by an oval earthen bank is approximately 90m by 85m externally in diameter and 2m high,  with a surrounding ditch being about 2m deep and between 7m and 10m wide. The inner platform is 52m by 40m. The bank and ditch are broken by two causewayed entrances which are not exactly opposite, one 9m wide to the north-west and one 6m wide to the south-south-east.

Google Maps, see link below, shows this site very clearly on their aerial photographs.

See also

Our section on stone circles

The discussion on the purpose of stone circles

Planning Grid

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