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Shap Stone Alignment is a Neolithic or Bronze Age ceremonial monument located in Westmorland in the Lake District. The site consists of a line of standing stones, originally forming an avenue or processional way that extends across the moorland landscape, though several stones have been lost or moved over time. The alignment dates from the prehistoric period, likely between the Neolithic and Bronze Age, and represents an important example of ritual monument construction in upland northern England. Its precise original function remains subject to scholarly interpretation, though such alignments typically served ceremonial or astronomical purposes associated with prehistoric communities' ritual and social practices.
Shap Stone Alignment is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1011637. View the official record →
Shap Stone Alignment is a Neolithic or Bronze Age ceremonial monument located in Westmorland in the Lake District. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1011637.
Shap Stone Alignment is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1011637.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Round cairn 670m north-east of summit of Long Scar Pike (4.3 km), Round cairn 35m east of summit of Long Scar Pike (4.4 km), Round cairn 30m east of Wicker Street Roman Road (4.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Shap Stone Alignment's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Shap Stone Alignment stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is sandstone, limestone and argillaceous rocks.