Long Meg and Her Daughters
The southern arc of the circle and the monolith, viewed from the east
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 Shown within Cumbria
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| Location |
Little Salkeld grid reference NY571372 |
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| Coordinates | 54°43′41″N 2°40′04″W / 54.72794°N 2.66765°W |
| Type | Stone circle |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Public access | Yes |
Long Meg and Her Daughters is a Bronze Age stone circle near Penrith in Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BCE, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. The stone circle is the sixth-biggest example known from this part of north-western Europe, being slightly smaller than the rings at Stanton Drew in Somerset, the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney and Newgrange in County Meath.
It primarily consists of 59 stones (of which 27 remain upright) set in an oval shape measuring 340ft (100 m) on its long axis. There may originally have been as many as 70 stones. Long Meg herself is a 12ft (3.6 m) high monolith of red sandstone 80ft (25 m) to the southwest of the circle made by her Daughters. Long Meg is marked with examples of megalithic art including a cup and ring mark, a spiral and rings of concentric circles.
Infra-red aerial photography has identified several undated enclosures that seem to pre-date the Long Meg circle in the area. There is also the smaller stone circle of Little Meg (Maughanby) close by.
The Long Meg monolith and accompanying circle (grid reference NY571372) forms one part of a complex of monuments in the Penrith area that includes, as well as the nearby Little Meg circle, a smaller circle seen by Stukeley in 1725 to the south-west, no longer extant, plus the impressive henge at Mayburgh, a partly destroyed henge at nearby King Arthur's Round Table (KART), and a third, completely destroyed, henge just a few yards to the south of KART. The terrace upon which Long Meg and the circle sit extends along the Eden river to also include, besides Little Meg, the Glassonby Circle and Old Parks, all of which are decorated with rock art.
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