Visible landscape features which seemed artificial, yet had no practical function and no known history, frequently feature in local legends. They are associated with the Devil, giants, fairies, and legendary heroes or wizards. Many are said to conceal treasures, or to be places where ritual actions (such as running round them) can raise ghosts. How much of all this was seriously believed, and how much merely repeated for fun, is hard to assess.
See also BARROWS, STANDING STONES, CADBURY CASTLE, LONG MEG,
Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.
- Grinsell, 1976, is a systematic listing; more detail for individual sites will be found in regional collections, and in some cases also in Westwood, 1985
