Dave P writes:
There are 15/16 stone circles on Dartmoor and the Brisworthy stone circle is one of the more impressive sites. I recently encountered a link to LIDAR data around the country. The first thought I had was it would be interesting to look at Brisworthy Circle because i knew there are reports of a bank around parts of the circle. Comparing the LIDAR data at Brisworthy with the other Dartmoor circles was a revelation. The other circles are "invisible" - there is no bank to be seen. There is something odd about this site.
There is now available LIDAR imagery which shows that the bank is not just restricted to the north-east quadrant it is indeed all around the circle although this may not be immediately obvious to a visitor to the site. However, on close inspection the bank can be seen in some of the photos on my page.
LIDAR imagery at the locations of the other circles, including those that have been restored, not only show no bank but in fact show nothing at all as the stones are just pin-pricks in LIDAR imagery. Closer inspection of this image gives a hint of two entrances. It is difficult to confirm the entrances and maybe higher resolution LIDAR data or other geophysics techniques will confirm or discount the existence of entrances. The other feature required for a henge is an internal ditch next to the bank. Again modern techniques could confirm whether or not there was once a ditch or whether there are still remnants of one.
So what is Brisworthy Circle? Well maybe it is a stone circle, maybe it is a ring cairn and maybe it is henge monument. What is clear is this is not a typical Dartmoor stone circle.
Whilst I maintain a site on archaeology I wish to make it clear that I'm NOT a qualified archaeologist.
More here
http://www.dartmoorwalks.org.uk/site/brisworthy.php
Something is not right. This message is just to keep things from messing up down the road