Banniside Stone Circle View all content for Banniside

Excavated in 1910 by W.G. Collingwood (ref. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, Original Series, 1910, vol. 10, p 342). Included in "The Stone Circles of Cumbria" by John Waterhouse (ISBN 0858335663). Described as an embanked circle, the stones are only 2 feet high at best. It is hard to find, due to its lack of presence. From a distance it is hard to believe there is anything there other than grass and bog. The first time I visited was many years ago, when great, grey curtains of cloud were sweeping across the site. A steady drizzle added to the misery, but the site held a presence all of its own under those conditions. In my mind I peopled it, and tried to imagine the rites enacted there. Today it was spring-like,and a totally different atmosphere pervaded. Pottery found there dates it to the early Bronze Age, and it held several cremations. Also found were fragments of calcined bone, charcoal, urns, a flint scraper and a bead of white-ish-grey porcelain. Fragments of skull found are thought to be female. Also, attached to one of the urns was a fragment of finely-woven woollen cloth. Some of the finds can be seen in the Ruskin Museum in Coniston (see link). Roughly 100 yards ENE (ish) of the circle, I found an old cairn, very overgrown, and composed of boulders. I couldn't help wondering if it was related to the circle in some way.

Posted by The Eternal 30th April 2005ce Edited 5th June 2005ce

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