Long Meg and Her Daughters

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Long Meg and Her Daughters - the southern arc of the circle and the monolith, viewed from the east.

Long Meg and Her Daughters, photographed at 19:37 on 14th May 2005

Long Meg and Her Daughters, also known as Maughanby Circle is the name of a Bronze Age stone circle near Penrith in the English county of Cumbria. It is the largest stone circle in the north of England.

It primarily consists of 51 stones (of which 27 remain upright) set in an oval shape measuring 100 m on its long axis. There may originally been as many as 70 stones. Long Meg herself is a 3.6 m high monolith of red sandstone 18 m to the southwest of the circle made by her Daughters. Long Meg is marked with examples of megalithic art including a cup and ring mark, a spiral and rings of concentric circles.

Aubrey Burl has argued that Meg is from an earlier period than the stone circle and is possibly an unrelated Neolithic menhir.

The most famous of the many legends that surround the stones is that they were once a coven of witches who were turned to stone by a wizard from Scotland Michael Scot. It's said the stones cannot be counted - but, if anyone is able to count them twice and come to the same total - the spell will be broken. Or it will bring very bad luck.

Another legend states that if you walk round the circles and count the number of stones correctly, then put your ear to Long Meg, you will hear her whisper.

The name itself it said to come from a local witch, Meg of Meldon, who was alive in the early 17th century.

Aerial photography has identified several undated enclosures in the area and the smaller stone circle of Little Meg is close nearby.

On the trees within the circle small gifts and offerings can be found.

[edit] References

Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, "Meg and Her Daughters: Some Traces of Goddess Beliefs in Megalithic Folklore," in Sandra Billington and Miranda Green eds., The Concept of the Goddess (1996): pp. 78-90.