The Stones
The Rollright Stones consist of
three groups of Stones the Whispering Knights
the oldest, the Kings Men Stone circle and the King Stone. The
Stones are Oolitic
Limestone believed to be of local origin probably from Chaselton,
which is on the
same geographical strata.
The Whispering
Knights
The Knights are the earliest of
the stones there are five of them but only three
remain standing.They are located 360m ESE of the stone circle in
the next field.
They are early Neolithic 3500-4000bc and are a portal dolmen,
these are mostly
found in Cornwall, Ireland and Wales and this is the eastern most
example
known of in Britain. The chamber would originally have contained
disarticulated
remains. The only evidence of this was a human jaw bone found in
the 1920's.
The Kings Men Stone
Circle
The Kings Men Stone Circle are
probably the most famous of the Rollright stones
They are later Neolithic and were erected around 1000 to 1500
years after the
Whispering Knights. The circle consists of 77 stones with a
diameter of 31.6m.
The probable entrance to the circle is on the east side formed by
two outlying stones.
The stones themselves are of local Oolitic Limestone probably
from Chaselton.
Gnarled and weathered through the ages they are a sight to
behold. The Stones were
scheduled as an Ancient monument in 1882 and the remaining fallen
stones were
put back in there original positions by the land owners in the
same year.
The King Stone
70m north-east of the Circle is
the 2.6m high King Stone part of a long barrow
(which was the mound that blocked the Kings view). Close by the
King Stone
is a Cairn about 17m across, and evidence has been found of
Bronze Age
cremations nearby. These were marked with wooden posts. The age
of the
King Stone is unknown but it is probably 1000 years later than
the circle.
What is not known is whether the stone was there before the
burials or, it was
put there later to mark the burial site.
