i'd just like to add, being the pedant that i am, that the cairn on the north-western edge of the circle is in fact prehistoric, and possibly roughly contemporary with the circle. bill pearson investigated it along with the circle in 1967 with the teeside archaeological society, & found that it was built on the prehistoric land surface. a number of flints were also found within the cairn, although no burials. the care with which the cairn had apparently been constructed suggests that it may have had a ritual purpose rather than being simply a clearance cairn.
it would be interesting to know if the cairn lines up with the summit of rosebery topping from the circle. i didn't think to check when i visited the circle last year as i wasn't privy to this information at that point and thought that the cairn was modern. it looks as though it might from the pictures i took but it's hard to be certain. i do like the idea that the circle represents the area bounded by the ridges along the horizon, with the sacred hill reproduced in miniature on the periphary.
source:
pearson, bill 1995. two early bronze age sites in sleddale, in b. vyner (ed.), moorland monuments: studies in the archaeology of north-east yorkshire in honour of raymond hayes and don spratt. york: council for british archaeology research report 101.
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