The Rollright Stones, Oxfordshire
An ancient monument, parts of which are older than Stonehenge
These are the “King’s Men”, a circle of 77 weathered pieces of limestone that form part of the Rollright Stones, an ancient monument on the border between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.
The whole site comprises three distinct features, namely the King’s Men, the King Stone and the Whispering Knights, although they do not date from the same time. The Whispering Knights, which is a dolmen — the stone interior of a burial mound — dates from the Neolithic era and could have been constructed at any time from 3800 BC to 3000 BC, whereas the King’s Men were erected during the early Bronze Age at about 2500–2000 BC. The King Stone is probably later still, at about 1800–1500BC.
For comparison, it is believed that Stonehenge was built over a period of time that corresponds roughly with that of the Rollright Stones, namely between 3000 and 2000 BC.
