Mystic Britain: The Rollright Stones

One of Britain’s Ancient Pagan Sites, the Rollright Stones Are Steeped in Mystery and Legend

Located on the border between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, the Rollright Stones sit in the heart of Britain’s Cotswolds, one of the centres of paganism and witchcraft in the country. The stones cover different periods in prehistory and have attracted all manner of folklore and rituals over the many millennia that they have stood. From legends of kings and witches to fertility rituals and modern occultism, the history of the stones is shrouded in the arcane. Yet, amongst the mysteries, valuable archaeological work is also being done to try and preserve one of Britain’s most ancient monuments.

The Rollright Stones consist of three separate megalithic structures, all built close to each other during the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The names of the three constructs derive from local folklore surrounding the site and have been adopted by archaeologists and historians. They are the evocative King’s Men, King Stone, and the Whispering Knights.

The structures were first identified in De Mirabilibus Britanniae (The Wonders of Britain), a 13th-century account of Britain that comes from an unknown author. The manuscript describes the stones as having no known purpose, being built by people…