Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 221-234). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 221-234). Also available on the Internet.

This thesis discusses the material histories of stone circles in Scotland to consider the practices that have brought them into being as monuments in the early twenty-first century. Focusing on stone circles in North-East Scotland, this study is the first to examine the influence of the long nineteenth century on current thinking and practices about an important aspect of Scottish prehistory. Cultural historical, archaeological and anthropological approaches provide a framework for the analysis of visitors’ practices between the later eighteenth century and the present. This includes the analysis of the publications and archives of archaeological societies and field clubs, and was complemented by ethnographic fieldwork to investigate current practices and understandings. This took the form of semi-structured interviews with archaeologists, artists and others, participant observation during the excavation of a stone circle in Aberdeenshire, field visits to stone circles elsewhere and a survey in 2006 with questionnaires which were completed by about 700 people, and disposable cameras which were used to take some 300 photographs by visitors. I argue that the analysis of the sensuous experience of being at a stone circle cannot be separated from understandings of the non-material aspects of these sites, particularly ideas of the ‘sacred’, ‘art’ and ‘heritage’, to broaden their biographies beyond that of solely being archaeological monuments. Considering the many different meanings they engender shows that North-East stone circles are not places of contention or conflict, but places where different views are accommodated alongside governmental efforts to manage and interpret them. A particular focus of the thesis is a discussion of how stone circles have been seen and visually recorded. I argue that many aspects of recent views, including photographs by visitors, published photographs and interviews with artists and archaeologists, have been influenced by illustrations and attitudes that developed during the long nineteenth century.

No / This paper outlines the types, developments and relationships of British enclosures in the middle and later Neolithic.

The sequence of timber circle - henge monument - stone circle is widely accepted. This is in spite of the reality that the datable evidence and contextual data upon which this series is based has seldom been subjected to any real form of critical evaluation. The aim of this research was to determine whether this order could still be deemed tenable in light of contemporary research and the continued advances that have been achieved relating to the application of radiocarbon dating. The findings of this study demonstrated that sufficient contextual data exists to enable phases of construction to be identified. However rarely did these data appear to support the currently accepted chronologies. Indeed more commonly they alluded to an alternative series, one that demonstrated how some individual site sequences may have been previously misinterpreted. This study has also proven how methodological and interpretative weaknesses, relating to the use of radiocarbon dating, have created a quantifiable degree of accuracy between individual radiocarbon determinations and their ability to be reliably associated with the event or act that they have been used to date. These findings have not only cast sufficient doubt upon the reliability of the currently accepted chronologies for these three monumental forms but have also alluded to the existence of a far more appropriate sequence that conforms to the overall conclusions of this review far more convincingly. Accordingly a new series of timber circle(s) - stone circle - henge monument is proposed by this study.

Domarringarna (Stone circles) are mysterious monuments preserved from Prehistory. With this study, I will discuss them and their meaning from different angles. I have mainly used a qualitative method of working through of previous research on Stone circles, but I also worked with a quantitative approach by compiling statistics. A clear result was difficult to achieve. Several of the new sources are based on the older research. More research and archaeological studies are required to obtain more evidence that can support new interpretations.