Standing stone

For the Paul McCartney album, see Standing Stone (album). For Tennessee State Park, see Standing Stone State Park.

One of 60 standing stones from the Ring of Brodgar located in Stenness, Orkney.

Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths (because of their large and cumbersome size) are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties.

Standing stones are usually difficult to date, but pottery found underneath some in Atlantic Europe connects them with the Beaker people; others in the region appear to be earlier or later however.

Where they appear in groups together, often in a circular, oval, henge or horseshoe formation, they are sometimes called megalithic monuments. These are sites of ancient religious ceremonies, sometimes containing burial chambers.

See also

• Carlin stone
• Carnac stones
• Cove (standing stones)
• Cromlech
• Dolmen
• Fulacht fiadh
• Gowk Stone
• Henge
• Ley Lines
• Menhir
• Nature worship
• Orthostat
• Stone circle
• Stone row
• Stone ship