In archaeology, a stone row or stone alignment is a linear arrangement of standing stones. Rows may be individual or grouped in parallel lines and three or more stones lined up can constitute a stone row site. It differs from a prehistoric avenue in that the stones are always in a broadly straight line rather than following a more curving route. They can be few metres or several kilometres in length and made from stones that can be as tall as 2m although 1m high stones are the most common. The terminals of many rows have the largest stones and other megalithic features are sometimes sited at the ends, especially burial cairns. Archaeology or archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Standing stones, orthostats, liths or more commonly, megaliths because of their large and cumbersome size, are solitary stones set vertically in the ground. ... Avenue can mean any of the following: Most commonly, it refers to two parallel lines of trees specially planted as a landscape feature. ... A cairn to mark the way along a glacier A cairn is a manmade pile of stones. ...

The stones are placed at intervals and may vary in height along the sequence, providing a gradated appearance. It is unclear whether this was done deliberately. They were erected by later Neolithic and Bronze Age peoples in the British Isles, parts of Scandinavia and northern France. The Neolithic (or New Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ...

The most famous example is the complex of stone rows at Carnac in Brittany. Others include the row at Stall Down on Dartmoor and the Hill O Many Stanes in Caithness. In Britain they are exclusively found in isolated moorland areas. Carnac is a village and commune in the Gulf of Morbihan, on the south coast of Brittany. ... National motto: Kentoch mervel eget bezañ saotret (Breton: Rather dead than soiled) Official languages French Capitals Rennes and Nantes Largest city Nantes Area -Total 27 208 Km² km² Population -Total (2004) 4,198,500 Currency Euro (€) (EUR) Time zone UTC, Summer: UTC +2 National emblem Ermine Patron saints St. ... Stalldown Barrow, sometimes called Staldon, is a megalithic site in Devon, about 5km from Harford. ... Dartmoor is a National Park in the centre of the English county of Devon. ... The Hill O Many Stanes is a south-facing hillside in (at Grid reference: ND295384) in Mid Clyth, about 14 kilometres (9 miles) south of Wick in Caithness, Highland Scotland, which now has about 200 upright stones, none more than a metre high, set out in rows running approximately north... Caithness (Gallaibh in Gaelic) is a traditional county and former administrative county within the Highland area of Scotland. ...

The term alignment is sometimes taken to imply that the rows were placed purposely in relation to other factors such as other monuments or topographical or astronomical features. Archaeologists treat stone rows as discrete features however and alignment refers to the stones being lined up with one another rather than anything else.

Their purpose is thought to be religious or ceremonial perhaps marking a processual route. Another theory is that each generation would erect a new stone to contribute to a sequence that demonstrated a people's continual presence.

External links

English Heritage Monument Description Thesaurus listing

Megalith Map of Stone Circles and Rows[[fr:Alignement mégalithique]

Stone Rows, a practical solution.R.B.Hutchins.

 There have been many attempts to explain the function of the prehistoric alignments of Britain and Brittany. They have all failed to be convincing for various reasons, one of which is the tendency to choose examples that fit the proposed theory, while ignoring the majority that do not fit. The orthodox view that they are "thought to have ceremonial or religious function" is untenable because there is insufficient evidence. Astronomical interpretations have been refuted by the statisticians. All solutions to problems must be based on "information", imaginative guesswork will not be good enough. There is sufficient information available now to put forward a practical solution to this most ancient of mysteries. It is useful to remember that "All the best ideas begin as heresy" (New scientist editorial 22 May 2004)and that when there are several possible solutions, the simplest one is most likely to be the correct one(Occams Razor) The simplest solution,and the one that was suggested over 100 years ago is that the stone rows indicate way marked routes, but the writers could not suggest accepable destinations.They did not have the advantage of our modern maps The simplest and most obvious solution to a line of stones in the landscape is that it contains information of distance and direction, or that it is the prehistoric equivalent to a sign post. Academia dismissed all trackway theories, and the idea has been treated as "heresy" ever since. Perhaps the baby has been thrown out with the bath water. 

 It has become increasingly obvious that the stone alignments of Britain and Brittany have a geographical/navigational function.They are part of a system of way marked routes.The stone row contains information rather like a linear map,informing the traveller of direction and distance to a coastal or estuary port or haven. 

Way mark stones were set up along the indicated route, and the row indicated the distance between way mark stones, and the amount that he would find on his journey.

 Many of these way mark stones can still be found on the routes, although most have been removed to make gateposts or building material. A more modern way marked route (Tavistock to Ashburton) across Dartmoor has been similarly vandalised in the past three hundred. years. 

Who would have set up such a system?

 It seems that the rows were when the flint trade was in decline, and the need for copper and tin was increasing. Tin in particular was a rare mineral, and prospectors travelled far and wide to find it. When tin was found in Devon and Cornwall, it is probable that it was exported and traded on to various markets overseas.Traders in small boats would need to find convenient places to pull their boats ashore.Marking out routs to these "havens" would be useful if not essentuial. 

 It is possible to demonstrate that the stone rows of Devon and Cornwall mostly align to these ports or havens, and that the length of the row is related to the distance to the destination. There are a few interesting exceptions, that appear to have more distant objectives. Where the stone row is still intact it is possible to calculate the scale of the row compared to the distance of the destination, although it has not been possible to find an indication of scale built into the row. 

 If a straight line was the best route, then the row would have been a straight line, but in some cases the best route involved changes in direction. If this was the case, then the stone row would indicate these changes in direction. Examples of both can be found on Dartmoor. 

 Working on the stone rows of Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, it is possible to find destinations for all the recorded stone rows. (No cherry Picking) Stone rows in Wales, Scotland,Ireland, and other parts of England have not yet been evaluated, but the massive alignments in Brittany have, and the results are surprising and exciting. 

Roger B Hutchins (rogerbhutchins@hotmail.com)