Prehistoric Britain - OpenStreetMap Wiki
Prehistoric Britain
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Contents
Megaliths
1.1
Mapping
1.1.1
Dating
1.1.2
Access
1.1.3
Condition
1.1.4
Links to other websites
1.2
Cornwall
1.3
Dorset
1.4
Devon
1.5
Wiltshire
External Links
Megaliths
Currently (September 2014) OSM data of UK megalithic sites is poor, with many sites unmapped. Furthermore the tagging of sites that are mapped is generally incomplete, using various and incompatible tags making it difficult for map renderers and applications to find and display. Some examples of tags currently in use;
historic
ruins
man_made
stone_circle
historic
archaeological_site
site_type
dolmen
or
site_type
bigstone
The aim of this project is to map the extant prehistoric man-made stone structures in the United Kingdom. As such we want to;
Add missing megaliths to the map, using Bing aerial imagery or ground surveys.
Make tagging consistent
Make tags as complete as possible
Add links to external sources of information - Wikipedia etc.
I propose the following schema to standardize the mapping of prehistoric megaliths in the UK, including a set of tags which, as far possible, follows the majority of the tagging schemas already in use for megaliths in the UK and abroad.
Mapping
Megaliths should be mapped with one of;
node
at the centre of the site
a closed
way
marking the perimeter of the site.
relation
connecting a set of
nodes
or
ways
which mark structures in the site
At a minimum the following tags should be applied to all prehistoric megalithic sites;
name
=*
tourism
attraction
historic
archaeological_site
historic:civilization
prehistoric
site_type
megalith
And one of;
megalith_type
dolmen
For megalithic tombs,
dolmens
quoits
and
cromlechs
megalith_type
menhir
For standing stones
megalith_type
alignment
Stone alignments or rows
megalith_type
stone_circle
Stone circles
If required, individual stones or structures can be mapped as closed
ways
and tagged;
building
yes
Optionally, the following tags can also be used for individual stones (though these tags and values seem non-standard);
historic
monument
monument
obelisk
If individual or multiple stones are mapped, then either
a) an area around them should be mapped by a closed
way
(this may only be approximate), with the
tourism
=*
name
=*
historic
archaeological_site
etc tags.
or
b) they should be connected with a
relation
, which is itself tagged with the standard set of tags.
Dating
A distinction can be made between stone age and bronze age megaliths - in the British Isles the beginning of the bronze age is often stated as somewhere between 2000 and 2300 BC.
However this is not a completely objective distinction - the 'bronze age' arrived at different times in different places around the globe, and furthermore the age of many megaliths in the UK are uncertain.
However, if there is a generally accepted era for a site then the following tags could be used;
For stone age sites;
historic:period
stone-age
historic:era
neolithic
For bronze age sites;
historic:period
bronze-age
More specific dates can also be used, if they exist.
start_date
3100 BC
start_date
before 2000 BC
start_date
~1500 BC
Access
access
yes
Site is on public land or land over which the public has legal right of way.
access
permissive
Site is on private land but is open to the public. The owner can at some time in the future revoke permission.
access
no
or
access
private
Site is inaccessible to the public.
fee
yes
Site has an entrance fee.
opening_hours
=*
Site opening hours.
operator
=*
The company or authority that runs the site, e.g.
operator
English Heritage
Condition
Britain's prehistoric megaliths exist in a variety of states; some well preserved, others have been recently restored, but many have been completely destroyed or survive only as a few scattered rocks. I would propose a tagging scheme to indicate the current condition of megaliths, something like
site_condition
=*
or
megalith_condition
=*
, with perhaps a descriptive or numerical value attached.
Would be worth investigating how this could be objectively quantified, or what, if any, authoritative sources exist for this information.
Links to other websites
wikipedia
=*
Link to the Wikipedia article for the site, if it has one.
website
=*
Link to the official website for the megalith, if it has one.
Cornwall
Name
Type
Rendering
Notes
Boscawen-Un
Circle
301802425
301802425
Boskednan
Circle
240343058
240343058
Bosporthennis Quoit
Dolmen
Unmapped
Carwynnen Quoit (The Giant's Quiot)
Dolmen
3071462066
3071462066
Chûn Quoit
Dolmen
1415828235
1415828235
Craddock Moor stone circle
Circle
266408369
266408369
Devil's Quoit
Dolmen
3071485102
3071485102
Duloe stone circle
Circle
302807759
302807759
Fernacre
Circle
60879866
60879866
Goodaver stone circle
Circle
302817147
302817147
The Hurlers
Circle
189091883
189091883
Multiple unconnected ways and nodes
Lanyon Quoit
Dolmen
600206371
600206371
Leaze stone circle
Circle
Mên-an-Tol
Circle
600206218
600206218
The Merry Maidens
Circle
Nine Maidens Stone Row
Alignment
302868054
302868054
Nine Stones of Altarnun
Circle
The Pipers
Menhir
302822731
302822731
Stannon stone circle
Circle
118846317
118846317
Stripple stones
Circle
Tregeseal East stone circle
Circle
Trethevy Quoit
Dolmen
2150848970
2150848970
Trippet stones
Circle
240342854
240342854
Zennor Quoit
Dolmen
3073528646
3073528646
Dorset
Name
Type
Rendering
Notes
Stonehenge
Circle
37118074
37118074
Devon
Name
Type
Rendering
Notes
Kingston Russell Stone Circle
Circle
425722873
425722873
Wiltshire
Name
Type
Rendering
Notes
Stonehenge
Circle
37118074
37118074
External Links
Overpass Turbo
a rendering of the megalithic sites in Britain following the above schema
Retrieved from "
Categories
United Kingdom
British tagging guidelines
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