Looking south west along the stone row.
Location
| England | Cumbria | Rest of England | SD 15169 81274 |
| Lat 54.22014861 Long -3.30254888 | |||
Plan of the Lacra stone rows (Source: survey by Mr K. Barlow). Original available here (pg. 6)
Stone rows shown red, the stone circle shown black and other stones grey.
Characteristics
| Type: Double | Length: 49.8m |
| No. of stones: 10 | Size of stones: Medium and large |
| Orientation: 60° | Altitude: 140m |
| Upper end: – | Lower end: – Stone circle |
| Straight (Yes or No) : No | Sea View: Yes |
| Context: Stone circles and stone alignment | |
| Notes: | |
Other Information
| Public Access: Yes |
| Land Status: |
| Scheduled Ancient Monument: Yes |
Identification
Category: Plausible. No doubts have been expressed regarding the prehistoric interpretation of this row.
Photographs
View from north.
View from the stone looking north eastward along the row. The stone in the foreground forms part of the stone circle (Scale 1m).
View from the north eastern end of the row looking south west (Scale 1m).
View from the north eastern end of the row looking south west (Scale 1m).
Looking north east along the row (Scale 1m).
The upper end of the row. View from the south (Scale 1m).
The row appears on the top of the near ridge viewed from the lower end of Lacra SW, with the end of the row in a prominent position on the skyline. This sort of visual relationship is likely to have been of significance to the row builders.
Sea View Reveal
The sea is visible along the entire length of the row, but a visual relationship of note is apparent at the upper end of the row. A view of the sea to the north east only appears at the point where the row terminates. From the penultimate stone the sea is not visible (Scale 1m).
When the final stone is reached the sea suddenly becomes visible. View from south west (Scale 1m). The often repeated nature of this sort of visual “treat” provides powerful evidence that rows were carefully positioned to provide precise visual relationships with the landscape.
Access Information
Parking is available at SD 14256 80685. From here walk carefully along the busy main road to SD 14106 80780. Take the footpath on the right and follow to SD 14880 81350. From here take the track to the row.
Online Resources
Megalithic Portal Dixon, J.A. and Fell, C.
Other References
Burl, A., 1993, From Carnac to Callanish – The prehistoric rows and avenues of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, Yale University Press, New York and London, pg. 214.
Dixon, J.A. and Fell, C., 1948, ‘Some Bronze Age burial circles at Lacra, near Kirksanton’, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, Series: 2, Volume 48, 1 – 22.
