Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths (because of their large and cumbersome size) are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties.Some Standing Stones or Menhirs have been built around in buildings which often have some early or current religious significance. One example is the South Zeal Menhir, which in South Zeal Devon, formed the basis for a 12th Century Monastery built by lay monks, which in later years and to current date became the Oxenham Arms Hotel at South Zeal. The South Zeal Standing Stone remains in place in the ancient snug bar at the Oxenham.
Standing stones are usually difficult to date, but pottery found underneath some in Atlantic Europe connects them with the Beaker people; others in the region appear to be earlier or later however.
Where they appear in groups together, often in a circular, oval, henge or horseshoe formation, they are sometimes called megalithic monuments. These are sites of ancient religious ceremonies, sometimes containing burial chambers.
Famous quotes containing the words standing and/or stone:
“And so, standing before the aforesaid officiator, the two swore that at every other time of their lives till death took them, they would assuredly believe, feel, and desire precisely as they had believed, felt, and desired during the few preceding weeks. What was as remarkable as the undertaking itself was the fact that nobody seemed at all surprised at what they swore.”
—Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)
“And every stone shall cry,
In praises of the child
By whose descent among us
The worlds are reconciled.”
—Richard Wilbur (b. 1921)