Brisworthy stone circle facts for kids
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Location | Devon |
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Coordinates | 50°28′16″N 4°01′27″W / 50.47125°N 4.02423°W |
Type | Stone circle |
History | |
Periods | Bronze Age |
The Brisworthy stone circle is an ancient monument located on Dartmoor, in the county of Devon, England. This fascinating site is a type of stone circle, which means it's a circular arrangement of standing stones. It was built a very long time ago, during the Bronze Age.
You can find this stone circle about three miles east of the A386 road. It's also northeast of a small village called Shaugh Prior. The Brisworthy stone circle is part of a group of important archaeological sites in the Upper Plym Valley. In fact, it's only about 300 metres away from another ancient site called the Ringmoor stone row and cairn circle.
What is the Brisworthy Stone Circle Like?
The Brisworthy stone circle isn't perfectly round. It has a slightly oval shape. It measures about 24 metres across. Imagine a circle about the size of a tennis court!
How Many Stones Are There?
Today, there are 24 upright stones that make up the circle. However, experts believe this is only about half of the original number of stones. The stones themselves are not very tall. They are usually less than 1 metre high. They are also quite wide rather than thin.
History of the Circle
For many years, most of the stones at Brisworthy had fallen over. They weren't standing upright anymore. But in 1909, the stone circle was restored. This means people carefully put the fallen stones back into their upright positions.
During this restoration, a small excavation was carried out. An excavation is when archaeologists carefully dig into the ground to find clues about the past. In this case, they found a small amount of charcoal. Charcoal can tell us about ancient fires. They also found one rough flint flake. Flint flakes were often used as tools by ancient people. These small finds help us learn more about the people who built and used the stone circle thousands of years ago.