Long Meg and Her Daughters

Long Meg and Her Daughters is a Neolithic stone circle situated north-east of Penrith near Little Salkeld in Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that emerged during Neolithic, and continued into the Early Bronze Age (circa 3200 - 2500BC). The stone circle is the second widest in England, behind Avebury in Wiltshire. It consists of 59 stones (of which 27 remain upright) set in an east/west oval configuration measuring 380 ft (120 m) on its long axis. There may originally have been as many as 70 stones. Long Meg herself is a 12 ft (3.7 m) high monolith of red sandstone 80 ft (24 m) to the southwest of the circle. The stone is marked with examples of megalithic art including a cup and ring mark, a spiral, and rings of concentric circles. This art mirrors examples from Neolithic Ireland, including the contemporary Newgrange.

Infra-red aerial photography has identified several Early Neolithic enclosures. These include a so-called 'super henge', a possible cursus monument, and a henge similar to examples found near Millom to the far west of Cumbria. These appear to pre-date the stone circle, and its northern edge dips to avoid the lost ditch. There is also the smaller kerbed burial mound of Little Meg to the north.