| | What's new on Xylabion's "Photo Albums" pages Recently created and updated albums: | © Xylabion 2008 - 2011 | - . Winter
- Winter landscapes.
- Album was created 4 years 3 months ago and modified 7 months ago
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| © Xylabion 2008 - 2011 | - Four Seasons
- Repeat scenes, different times of the year.
- Album was created 4 years 2 months ago and modified 7 months ago
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| © Xylabion 2008 - 2011 | - Expressions
- Elements of the 'here' and the 'now'.
- Album was created 4 years 3 months ago and modified 1 year 7 months ago
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| © Xylabion 2008 - 2011 | - Moods
- Evocation and passion.
- Album was created 4 years 3 months ago and modified 1 year 7 months ago
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| © Xylabion 2008 - 2011 | - Castlerigg
- Dating from about 3200 BC and therefore one of the oldest stone circles in Europe, the Castlerigg Circle seems to have been erected on the northern edge of the Cumbrian Lake District uplands as simply a multi-functional 'meeting place', acting as both an important trading post for stone axes and perhaps animals, and also an equally important site of pagan worship. Many stones are astronomically aligned, though no clear evidence exists to completely support the theory that the site might have been used as an astronomical observatory. Equally, the positioning of certain stones within the circle seems to mirror the shape and features of the surrounding landscape, though this is not unusual in the construction of such circles. Archaeological evidence at Castlerigg does exist to suggest that it may have at least partly served as the sacred monument overlooking a Neolithic burial ground just to the south, although at present there seems some confusion as to the complete viability of this idea, as scattered Roman remains have also been frequently discovered throughout the area.
Originally constructed of 41 stones, all of which were formed from un-worked but naturally elongated boulders of the local Skiddaw Slate, the main Castlerigg circle nowadays contains a remaining 38 stones, and also displays an utterly unique rectangular structure just within the eastern edge of the circle known as 'The Cove', constructed from a further 10 stones. The purpose of this curious feature presently remains largely unknown though archaeological excavations carried out in 1882 revealed large quantities of charcoal buried deep beneath the surface soil within the rectangle, perhaps deposited by ritual burnings during pagan worship. Another suggestion is that Castlerigg served as a way-marker and that The Cove was in fact a beacon, connecting via leys to other Neolithic monuments in the district. This idea would certainly seem likely at certain times as the scenery seen looking southwards towards the summit of Helvellyn, the third-highest mountain in the English Lake District, was in those days densely forested but was also being systematically stripped for early agriculture, so cleared stone circles and other megaliths standing well above the forest canopy would have acted in much the same way as a line of more modern stone cairns might do across a boggy plateau landscape.
Although some stones at Castlerigg have fallen over time, either naturally or as a result of manual destruction, many remain in their original upright positions, a near-miracle considering the elevated exposure of the site to the harsh elements of nature over its' 5000 + year history. The tallest of the stones stands at 2.3 metres, whilst the largest is estimated at weighing over 16 tonnes. The circle, best seen in either the hours following sunrise or before sunset when tourists are at their minimum and the site against its’ surrounding backdrop of Lakeland mountains seems to invoke a feeling of brooding solitude, provides not only a perfect location in which to contemplate the mysterious beliefs and lives of our far from primitive ancestors, but also a natural magnet for the camera! - Album was created 1 year 7 months ago and modified 1 year 7 months ago
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