Ley Lines and Standing Stones

(Gareth Wiscombe Photo) Stonehenge

Ley lines are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures, prehistoric sites, and prominent landmarks.

The idea of ley lines was first proposed in the 1920s by the amateur archaeologist Alfred Watkins. In his book, ‘The Old Straight Track’, Watkins suggested that many ancient sites in Britain – such as standing stones, barrows, and old churches – could be joined by drawing straight lines across the landscape. He believed these alignments were not accidental but reflected a deliberate system of connecting key points across space, which might once have served as navigational or trade routes.

A distinctive part of Watkins’ theory was his belief in dodmen, or ancient surveyors, who supposedly laid out these lines across the countryside with surveying rods. He imagined that these early engineers intentionally aligned sites to create a coherent network of straight tracks. One crucial aspect of Watkins’ theory is often misunderstood: he did not believe people physically walked in perfectly straight lines. Instead, he argued that the straight “ley” was a conceptual line of sight between prominent landmarks. While travelers still had to navigate around natural obstacles like hills and rivers, they would use the visible monuments as a series of beacons to guide them toward their ultimate destination.

Standing stones (also called menhirs) are stones set into the ground vertically. They were put there by Neolithic people in the British Isles and Brittany. They also occur elsewhere in the world.

There may be single standing stones, circles, lines or groups of them. Their dates are mostly from 4000 BC to 1,500 BC. Since Neolithic peoples did not have writing, we do not know much about what they were used for. It is generally thought they had both practical and ceremonial or religious uses. Pottery found near some of these stones suggest that some standing stones in Europe belonged to the so-called ‘Beaker culture’.