 The entire stone circle | |
 | |
  Swinside Location in Copeland Borough  Swinside Location in Cumbria | |
| Location | Cumbria grid reference SD172882 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 54°16′57″N 3°16′26″W / 54.2824823°N 3.2738449°W |
| Type | Stone circle |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic / Bronze Age |
Swinside, which is also known as Sunkenkirk and Swineshead,[1] is a stone circle lying beside Swinside Fell, part of Black Combe in southern Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 recorded stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during what archaeologists categorise as the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.[2]
In this period, the Lake District – a mountainous area in which Swinside is located – saw particularly high levels of stone circle construction, with other notable examples including the Castlerigg stone circle and Long Meg and Her Daughters. The original purposes of these circles is still debated, although most archaeologists concur that they were built for ritual or ceremonial reasons. Constructed from local slate, the ring has a diameter of about 93 ft 8ins (26.8m),[3][4] and currently contains 55 stones, although when originally constructed there probably would have been around 60.[3] An entrance-exit was included on the monument's south-eastern side, which was defined by the inclusion of two outer portal stones.
In the Early Modern period, local folklore about the stones held that they had once been used in the construction of a church, but that the Devil continually thwarted these plans, creating the stone circle in the process. Archaeological investigation into the monument began in the early 20th century, with an excavation taking place in 1901.