Duddo Five Stones — Northumberland
Duddo Four Stones · Duddo stone circle · NT930437
Early Bronze Age (c.2000–1800 BCE)·British Early Bronze Age (Collared Urn)·🇬🇧 England, Northumberland, Duddo, north of Wooler, Anglo-Scottish border, United Kingdom
About
About Duddo Five Stones — Northumberland
Duddo Five Stones (Early Bronze Age c.2000 BCE) is a 10-m sandstone circle on a low rise 4 mi south of the Scottish border, with five soft, deeply weathered pillars up to 2.3 m tall standing in a gentle hollow with panoramic Cheviot views. Marked as Four Stones on 19th-century OS maps, excavation 1890s found packing pits for seven sockets, indicating two stones fell. Its soft sandstone naturally sculpted by wind gives anthropomorphic faces, fostering witch–petrification folklore.
Why it mattersFinest sandstone circle of Northumberland; erosion sculpture case study.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Original seven vs five — when did two fall?
Theories
- 01Family or ancestral circle for border farming group
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 BCE
- Period
- Early Bronze Age (c.2000–1800 BCE)
- Culture
- British Early Bronze Age (Collared Urn)
- Builders
- British Early Bronze Age
- Purpose
- Small ceremonial stone circle with burial cairn association
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.2000 BCE
Seven-sandstone circle erected on rise
1890s
J. Scott excavates, finds seven sockets
1908
Fifth stone re-erected from field wall?
1975
Scheduled Ancient Monument protection
On the ground
Structures & features
55.6868° N · 2.1120° W · 85 m · 2 mapped features
Duddo Tallest Pillar — East Stone
standing stone2.3-m weathered Fell Sandstone pillar with face-like pits, eastern arc tallest
55.6868° N · 2.1119° WDuddo Hollow — Socket Pits
socket1890s pit depressions for two missing stones, showing seven-socket plan
55.6867° N · 2.1122° W
Gallery