Stone Circles & Megaliths

Long before the pyramids were finished, people in Atlantic Europe were raising huge stones. They built circles, rows and great mounds that still stand after five thousand years. Many of them line up with the sun or the moon.

This guide takes you to five of the most remarkable sites: Stonehenge, Avebury, the Carnac Stones, Newgrange and the Callanish Stones.

How to use the app: pick your city to see how far each site is, sort the sites by age or distance, follow them on the interactive timeline and keep your own notes on every site.

Explore the sites

Your city (to show distances)

Oldest firstNearest firstA–Z

Stonehenge

Wiltshire, England · Stone circle & henge

The world’s most famous stone circle, aligned with the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset.

c. 3100–1600 BCSarsen circle about 30 m across

Avebury

Wiltshire, England · Henge & stone circles

Britain’s largest stone circle, so big that a whole village grew up inside it.

c. 2900–2400 BCOuter circle 331 m across

Carnac Stones

Brittany, France · Stone rows

Kilometres of standing stones marching across the Breton countryside in long parallel rows.

c. 4500–3300 BCMore than 3,000 standing stones

Newgrange

County Meath, Ireland · Passage tomb

A great passage tomb older than the pyramids of Giza, lit by the rising sun at midwinter.

c. 3100 BCMound 85 m wide, 12 m high

Callanish Stones

Isle of Lewis, Scotland · Stone circle & rows

A cross-shaped setting of tall gneiss stones above a sea loch in the Outer Hebrides.

c. 2900–2600 BCCentral stone 4.8 m tall