Nine Ladies Stone Circle

History Tour: The Bronze Age World

"This Bronze Age stone circle is situated in a woodland clearing high on Stanton Moor. The curious arrangement consists of nine upright stones purposefully set in a 30-foot diameter circle. An additional lone stone sits about 100 feet away. As with most stone circles, nobody really knows why the strange formation was built. Generations of fertile imaginations have come up with their own mythological explanations. According to local legend, each of the nine boulders was a maiden turned to stone for the crime of dancing on the Sabbath. The tenth unfortunate individual, known as the King Stone, was their fiddler, who is said to come back to life to play once a year. These days, visitors to Stanton Moor are able to engage in recreational activities seven days a week without fear of being petrified. The area is popular for walking, picnicking, and of course the odd neo-Druid ceremony, particularly around the summer and winter solstices. Recent plans to reopen a quarry close to the stone circle were overthrown by the national park authority, so this tranquil Bronze Age relic should be guaranteed to persist for the foreseeable future." - ATLAS_OBSCURA