Of all prehistoric monuments, few are more emotive than the great stone circles that were built throughout Britain and Ireland. From the tall, elegant, pointed monoliths of the Stones of Stenness to the grandeur of Stonehenge and the sarsen blocks at Avebury, circles of stone exert a magnetic fascination to those who venture into their sphere. In Britain today, more people visit these structures than any other form of prehistoric monument and visitors stand in awe at their scale and question how and why they were erected. Building the Great Stone Circles of the North looks at the enigmatic stone structures of Scotland and investigates the background of their construction and their cultural significance.Table of ContentsPart 1 and tBuilding the great stone circles of the North1. and tInterpreting Stone Circles (Colin Richards)2. and tMonuments in the the stone circles of Western Scotland (Colin Richards and u0026 Joanna Wright)Part 2 and tStone circles in Orkney3. and tWrapping the constructing house societies and the tall Stones of Stenness, Orkney (Colin Richards)4. Investigating the great Ring of Brodgar, Orkney (Jane Downes, Colin Richards, John Brown, A. J. Cresswell, R. Ellen, A.D. Davies, Allan Hall, Robert McCulloch, David C. W. Sanderson and u0026 Ian A. Simpson) and t and t5. Monumental megalithic quarrying at Staneyhill and Vestra Fiold, Mainland, Orkney (Colin Richards, John Brown, Sian Jones, Allan and u0026 Tom Muir)6. Surface over the Vestra Fiold horned cairn, Mainland, Setter cairn, Eday, and a reappraisal of late Neolithic funerary architecture (Colin Richards, Jane Downes, Ellen Hambleton, Rick Perterson, and Joshua Pollard)Part 3 and tStone circles in the Outer Hebrides7. The peristalith and the context of transformational architecture in the Hebridean early Neolithic (Vicki Cummings and u0026 Colin Richards)8. Erecting stone circles in a Hebridean landscape (Colin Richards, Adrian Challands and u0026 Kate Welham)9. Expedient Na Dromannan and the high stone circles of Calanais, Lewis (Colin Richards, George Demetri, Charles French, Robert Nunn, Rebecca Rennell, Mairi Robertson and u0026 Lee Wellerman)10. The sanctity of mythopraxis, transformation and the Calanais low circles (Colin Richards)11. A time for stone circles, a time for new people (Colin Richards and u0026 Seren Griffiths)12. Constructing through the folklore of stone circles and standing stones (Tom Muir and u0026 Colin Richards)