Doll Tor Stone Circle
Six Stones · Birchover Doll Tor
Early Bronze Age (c.2100–1600 BCE)·Bronze Age Peak District (Food Vessel)·🇬🇧 Derbyshire, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom
About
About Doll Tor Stone Circle
Intimate Early Bronze Age kerb circle and cairn on gritstone shelf west of Stanton Moor, near Birchover, Peak District. Six gritstone blocks form oval 4.5 x 6 m ring kerbing a low central cairn covering multiple cist burials with incense cups, Food Vessel, faience beads and cremations — a rich Bronze Age cemetery rather than pure circle. Excavated by Thomas Bateman 1852 and re-excavated by Heathcote after vandalism. Tight, chapel-like enclosure often interpreted as family mausoleum of moorland community. Adjacent field system walls. Scheduled monument in woodland clearing.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Restoration accuracy after 1993 vandalism — stone positions debated
- 02High concentration of incense cups — one family or lineage cemetery
Theories
- 01Doll Tor as kin-group cemetery focus for adjacent Stanton Moor field settlement
- 02Six Stones reflect six individuals interred — circle as memorial count
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 2000–1800 BCE
- Period
- Early Bronze Age (c.2100–1600 BCE)
- Culture
- Bronze Age Peak District (Food Vessel)
- Purpose
- Cemeterial stone circle kerbing elite cremation burials
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 2000–1800 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1179 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
53.1625° N · 1.6450° W · 260 m · 3 mapped features
Six-Stone Kerb Circle
stone circleOval kerb of six gritstone orthostats retaining cairn
53.1625° N · 1.6450° WCentral Cist Cemetery
cistMultiple cists with Food Vessel, incense cups and faience bead necklace
53.1625° N · 1.6450° WOuter Bank and Field Wall
bankLow curvilinear bank linking to prehistoric field system
53.1624° N · 1.6452° W
Gallery