Location: 4 miles north-east of Penrith, and just north of Little Salkeld, beside a farm track. (NY 571372)
This stone ‘circle’ is in fact oval in shape, and is one of the largest in Britain, measuring approximately 360 feet by 305 feet. Traces of a bank outside the circle suggest that the site may have been similar to a henge. Long Meg is the tallest stone, 12 feet high and standing outside the circle. Carvings on one face include a cup and ring mark and a spiral, which may have been sun symbols and also related to life and death, suggesting that the people who built this monument were concerned with the continuance of the eternal rhythms of existence. As if the size of the circle were not proof enough of the effort expended in constructing it, archaeologists have shown that Long Meg was brought from a site li miles away. She is of red sandstone rather than the local granite, which forms boulders rather than pillars, and the latter shape was obviously more desirable or necessary for the builders’ purpose.
The intriguing name of the site comes from a legend that a coven of witches was turned into stone by a saint who disapproved of their pagan practices. Similar legends are used to account for the presence of other circles and standing stones, for example the Merry Maidens (Cornwall) were dancers turned to stone, with their music-makers, the Pipers, being standing stones nearby.‘Possibly these tales were attached to the stones by the early Christians in order to dissuade the people from gathering there and continuing to observe their pre-Christian rituals which may have included music and dancing.
World History
