Long Meg & Her Daughters

Long Meg and Her Daughters, is a probable Bronze Age stone circle near Penrith in Cumbria, England. The number of stones used in the circle seems pretty liquid judging from the number of stones quoted by different sources. I didn’t check on the ground, but aerial photography suggests 68, although more may have originally been present.

The Long Meg part of the name derives from the 3.5m high monolith, approx 17m southwest of the main circle. Long Meg is different geology to the rest of the stones, being comprised of red sandstone. In addition to the geology, Long Meg also has a number of motifs belonging to the ‘cup and ring’ tradition on the east vertical face. Some have suggested that the different geology and carvings may indicate that Long Meg had already been in situ prior to the stone circles construction. Others have argued that the same evidence indicates that the stone may have been brought from several miles away, with the already existing carvings being hewn from an outcrop and transported in. All good healthy debate, but probably something we’ll never know for sure. Another topic of debate about Long Meg is the apparent notch on top: fractured naturally or carved.