Stanton Drew

In the sleepy Avon village of Stanton Drew stand the forgotten remains of the third major neolithic temple complex of Southern Britain after Stonehenge and Avebury. Three stone circles, a cove, stone avenues and a vanished Quoit, all with breathtaking alignments.In this small and unique guidebook to the site, packed with rare images, Stanton Drew boffin Gordon Strong explores some of the deeper questions raised by sites such as this. What were the ancients up to

• An early depiction of a druidical grotto. Here the Welsh druids are hiding Caractacus who is meetin
• First published 2008 AD Wooden Books Ltd 2008 AD Published by Wooden Books Ltd. 8A Market Place, Gl
• CONTENTS Introduction 1 The Area Surrounding 2 Early Plans 4 Quarrying 8 An Overview
• C. W. Dymonds 1896 survey of the site, clearly showing two westerly stones, now vanished.
• 1 INTRODuCTION Stone circles are found throughout Great Britain and Europe, but only Avebury and Sto
• 2 3 The AreA Surrounding history and location The name Stanton Drew derives from the Old Saxon for S
• 4 5 eArly PlAnS antiquarian maps and surveys The circles at Stanton Drew were first noted by the 17t
• 6 7
• 8 9 QuArrying and transporting the stones The stones that make up the three circles of Stanton Drew
• 10 11 An overview of The SiTe the megalithic complex Stanton Drew consists of three stone circles, t
• 12 13 The Third TemPle sibling of Stonehenge and Avebury Although often regarded as a minor megalith
• 14 15 A greAT henge surrounding the site An enormous henge ditch, 135m in diameter and 7m wide, once
• 16 17 The wooden Building before the stones Possibly contemporary with the henge ditch enclosure, on
• 18 19 The STone CirCleS megalithic magic The stones at Stanton Drew are the final characters to play
• 20 21 viewS of STAnTon drew entering the sacred place Although the stones of the Great Circle run ou
• 22 23 hAuTevilleS QuoiT another megalithic mystery The most northerly feature of the complex, Hautev
• 24 25 The Cove irregular stones in the distance The Cove derived from Old English cofa, an alcove, a
• 26 27
• 28 29 unexPlAined the enigma of the megaliths It is interesting to bear in mind just how little we u
• 30 31 AlignmenTS leyhunting at Stanton Drew Leylines alignments of ancient sites over distance appea
• 32 33 geomeTry of The CirCleS triangles octagons It was C. W. Dymond, in his 1877 essay Megalithic
• 34 35 vAniShed SToneS the lost megaliths A number of stones from the original design of Stanton Drew
• 36 37 mySTeriouS forCeS light phenomena at the stones Major F.A.Menzies, a distinguished First World
• 38 39 dowSing STAnTon drew ways to the beyond The dowsers surveys on these pages were rescued off a
• 40 41 SToney liTTleTon and other local sites If you are visiting Stanton Drew then nine miles to the
• 42 43 The neoliThiC viSion and the Priddy Circles The original earth structures at Stanton Drew are
• 44 45 legend And heAling spirit of the stones A legend attached to Stanton Drew tells of how the sto
• 46 47 riTuAl AT The SToneS who knows what went on Although not widely discussed in learned volumes t
• 48 49 The druidS keepers of the stones Despite Stukeleys promotion of the Druids as guardians of Sto
• 50 51 godS And goddeSSeS spirit of place When trying to understand the complex religious or ritual p
• 52 53
• 54 55 The Song of STAnTon drew they danced and they danced Midsummer eve it fell on a Saturday Su
• 56 noTeS If the Great Circle is figured as the size of the Earth, then the NE Moon Circle will be th