<P> A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle . Such monuments have been constructed in many parts of the world throughout history for many different reasons . The best known tradition of stone circle construction occurred across the British Isles and Brittany, France in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age . More than 1000 examples survive to this day, including such famous examples as Avebury, the Rollright Stones and Stonehenge . Another prehistoric stone circle tradition occurred in southern Scandinavia during the Iron Age, where they were built as mortuary monuments to the dead . </P> <P> Outside Europe, stone circles have also been erected, such as the 6300--6900 BCE Atlit Yam in Israel and 3000--4000 BCE Gilgal Refaim nearby, or the Bronze Age examples from Hong Kong . The size and number of the stones varies from example to example, and the circle shape can be an ellipse . </P>

Stone monuments often collective tombs from europe's neolithic period are often referred to as