Shadows on the solstice

Somewhere between 4,500 to 5,000 years ago, ancient Britons dragged as many as 40 giant stones onto this grassy plateau in what is now the Lake District National Park in Cumbria. They grouped them into the stone circle at Castlerigg, seen here casting shadows from the low winter sun. Archaeologists believe stone circles were arranged to align with solar and lunar positions. They were used in elaborate rituals to celebrate occasions like today’s winter solstice, the shortest day (and longest night) of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
© Alan Copson/plainpicture