Stanton Moor Through a New Lens: How LiDAR Changed My Mind About an Ancient Alignment
Sometimes the Landscape Changes Your Mind
Stanton Moor lies in the Derbyshire Peak District, a broad, elevated landscape of gritstone outcrops, heather, woodland and prehistoric remains. It is one of those places where archaeology and the natural landscape seem inseparable. Stone circles, burial cairns and remarkable weathered rocks occupy a relatively small area, while the surrounding slopes offer views across the valleys and hills of the southern Peak District. Much of the moor can be explored on foot, although woodland and the scars of later quarrying make its original landscape rather more difficult to understand.
Towards the northern part of the moor stands Nine Ladies Stone Circle, a small but atmospheric Bronze Age monument accompanied by a solitary standing stone known as the King Stone. Further southwest, beyond the elevated ground, lies Andle Stone, an enormous natural gritstone outcrop with cup-like markings and a strangely face-like morphology, a characteristic it shares with several other rock formations in the area. Beyond Andle Stone, tucked away in woodland, is Doll Tor, another Bronze Age stone circle associated with burial activity. These are very different places, but each contributes something distinctive to the character of Stanton Moor.
Earlier this year, I published an article exploring a remarkable geographical relationship between them. A line drawn from Nine Ladies past the standing stone outlier towards Doll Tor, on a bearing of approximately 240 degrees, passes almost exactly through Andle Stone. The precision surprised me. I have generally preferred to think about prehistoric alignments as broad corridors of movement and observation rather than mathematically exact lines, so this particular relationship gave me considerable pause for thought.
My original interpretation was that the monuments might have been connected through movement across the moor, possibly involving the setting sun around the seasonal turning points of early November and February, dates associated in later traditions with Samhain and Imbolc. These were the seasonal periods I had been investigating in relation to the 240-degree alignment. I also wondered whether Doll Tor and the western horizon might have been visible from Nine Ladies itself. But I suspected that the ground between them rose considerably, and I wanted to understand the shape of that landscape more precisely.
Meanwhile, I had been enjoying a rather different challenge. Inspired by Tim Daw's LiDAR Lens project, I had decided to see whether I could build a version for Stone Temple Gardening. There was no grand research programme behind the decision. I simply fancied having a go, and thought that if I could get it working, it might become a useful addition to my archaeological investigations. Stanton Moor was the obvious place to start, not least because I wanted to survey the ground between Nine Ladies and Doll Tor.
What followed was one of those satisfying examples of research taking on a life of its own. I built the tool because I thought it would be interesting and potentially useful. Once it was working, I began exploring the terrain, initially to answer a fairly simple question about the rise and fall of the ground. What emerged was something rather more intriguing.
Between Nine Ladies and Andle Stone lies a ridge, and the LiDAR made me appreciate its significance in a way I hadn't before. What I had initially regarded as a possible obstruction to the alignment began to look like an essential part of the landscape experience.
One observation had led to another, and before long I was reconsidering the very hypothesis that had brought me to Stanton Moor in the first place. I was also rather chuffed that we had managed to build something so genuinely useful.
Building the STG LiDAR Lens
LiDAR uses laser measurements to produce remarkably detailed pictures of the Earth's surface. For archaeology, one of its great advantages is its ability to reveal the shape of the ground beneath vegetation. An apparently featureless stretch of woodland might conceal an old track, a shallow bank, a circular mound or the remains of quarrying. LiDAR cannot tell us how old these features are or what they were used for, but it can show us where to look.
Tim Daw's free online LiDAR Lens allows anyone to explore detailed terrain information and recognise subtle landscape features. His work provided the starting point for my own Stanton Moor version.
The result was the STG LiDAR Lens for Stanton Moor.
Building it involved a fair amount of experimentation, several wrong turns and more persistence than I had originally anticipated. I am not a software developer, and much of the process involved learning as I went along. Eventually, however, I had a working map of Stanton Moor that I could explore in extraordinary detail.
I could change the way the terrain appeared, compare different views, examine elevations and investigate features that were difficult to recognise on ordinary maps. The woodland was no longer obscuring the underlying shape of the landscape. Instead, I could follow the rises and falls of the ground, identify hollows and banks, and begin to understand how different parts of the moor related to one another.
Naturally, one of the first things I wanted to investigate was my alignment.
The Line Across the Moor
The recorded positions of Nine Ladies and Doll Tor give a calculated bearing of approximately 240 degrees.
Even more strikingly, the recorded position of Andle Stone lies almost exactly between them, with very little deviation from the calculated axis.
This is an intriguing relationship between three distinctive places. Nine Ladies and Doll Tor are prehistoric ceremonial monuments, while Andle Stone is an imposing natural rock formation whose shape and cup-like markings invite closer examination. The accuracy of the alignment is particularly interesting because it sits uneasily with my usual preference for interpreting landscape relationships through broader corridors of movement rather than narrowly defined sightlines.
My earlier article explored whether the alignment might have significance in relation to the setting sun around the seasonal turning points associated with Samhain and Imbolc. One possibility was that people standing at Nine Ladies might have been able to look towards Doll Tor and the western horizon, with Andle Stone occupying an intermediate position.
But a straight line on a flat map does not guarantee an uninterrupted view. The ground itself has a shape, and that shape can determine what is visible, what remains concealed and how a person experiences movement through the landscape.
When I examined the alignment through the new LiDAR Lens, this became impossible to ignore.
The Ridge That Changed the Interpretation When Using Stanton Moor LiDAR
On the ground, tree cover had obscured the relationship between the alignment, the surrounding terrain and the horizon. LiDAR allowed me to examine the underlying landform without the vegetation getting in the way.
Following the line southwest from Nine Ladies, the terrain rises towards a pronounced ridge before falling away towards Andle Stone. The elevation profile suggests that this ridge interrupts the direct view along the alignment. My initial assumption that Doll Tor might be visible from Nine Ladies was now seriously challenged by the terrain.
Initially, this appeared to weaken the hypothesis. Here was an intriguing alignment between prehistoric monuments, apparently interrupted by the very landscape through which it passed. But the more I examined the terrain, the more I began to wonder whether I had misunderstood the importance of the ridge.
What if the ridge was not an obstacle to the alignment, but an essential part of the experience?
In my original article, I explored the idea that Stanton Moor's natural topography might have influenced both movement and monument placement. My suggestion was that the shape of the landscape encouraged an approach from Cork Stone towards Nine Ladies, passing through the principal cairn field before reaching the stone circle at the northern end of the moor. Here, the King Stone might have provided a new direction, turning attention towards the southwest. What the LiDAR revealed was that this direction led towards rising ground and a distinct ridge. Rather than simply obstructing the view towards Doll Tor, the ridge suggested another possibility. Might this have been a further turning point in the experience of moving through the landscape?
You might not need a constructed path or a standing stone to indicate where to stop. The terrain itself could provide the cue. Having reached the ridge, you would encounter a different relationship with the western landscape, previously obscured but now potentially revealed, with Andle Stone and Doll Tor occupying positions along the same geographical axis and the horizon stretching beyond them.
Perhaps the experience was never about seeing everything from Nine Ladies. Perhaps it involved moving from a place where the distant landscape was concealed towards a place where it could be revealed.
The distinction matters. Instead of imagining a continuous route between three monuments, we might be looking at a sequence in which Nine Ladies provided a point of departure, the ridge provided a place of arrival and observation, and the western landscape became the focus of attention.
The ridge, previously an inconvenience to my interpretation, had become its most interesting feature.
Does the Ridge Need a Monument?
Having reached this point, I began examining the LiDAR around the place where the alignment crosses the elevated ground. Different terrain views revealed hollows, irregular banks and areas of considerable disturbance, features that are difficult to interpret simply by looking at the modern surface.
I also returned to archaeological surveys of Stanton Moor, including work undertaken by English Heritage around the former quarry. These investigations recorded possible cairns, stone features, tracks and extensive evidence of later disturbance. One possible cairn is recorded at SK 2458 6325, approximately 47 metres southeast of the calculated alignment. Although outside my initial 30-metre investigation corridor, it remains relevant to the wider archaeological landscape of the ridge.
The LiDAR also highlighted a substantial hollow approximately 25 metres from the axis. Its form and surrounding disturbance suggest that quarrying must be considered as a possible explanation. Neither this hollow nor the nearby possible cairn can currently be interpreted with confidence as a prehistoric marker of the alignment, although Stanton Moor contains numerous recorded cairns.
Yet this brought me back to a more fundamental question. Why should the ridge require a marker at all?
If a particular place commands attention because of the landscape visible from it, the experience need not depend upon a cairn or standing stone occupying an exact mathematical position. A natural ridge might already provide the necessary cue, particularly if it marks a transition between high ground and low, restricted and more extensive views.
This is one of the reasons I find prehistoric landscapes so fascinating. Archaeology understandably concentrates upon what people constructed, buried or left behind, because these are the things we can investigate directly. Yet the natural places people encountered may have carried meaning independently of any surviving monument. A distinctive rock formation, a ridge overlooking a valley or a point where the landscape suddenly opens could have been important without necessarily requiring additional construction.
Of course, Stanton Moor presents a further complication. Quarrying has substantially altered parts of the landscape, and we cannot simply assume that the ridge survives in precisely its prehistoric form. That is another question for continued investigation.
Andle Stone, Doll Tor and the Western Prospect
The revised interpretation has also changed how I think about the monuments beyond the ridge.
Andle Stone is an extraordinary piece of natural gritstone. Its size makes it conspicuous, but its morphology is equally interesting. From certain viewpoints, it presents a strikingly face-like appearance, a quality it shares with other natural formations around Stanton Moor. Its surface also bears cup-like markings that have attracted attention over the years. The stone's physical character makes it a compelling presence in the landscape.
A photograph hosted by the Megalithic Portal offers an interesting perspective from the top of Andle Stone, looking back towards Stanton Moor. Although the proposed alignment lies slightly to the left of the photograph, the rising ground towards the ridge is clearly visible. It offers a useful comparison with what the LiDAR reveals.
Doll Tor is different. This small Bronze Age stone circle has produced evidence of burial activity and underwent architectural changes during its use. It was clearly a significant place within the prehistoric ceremonial landscape, even though its surviving remains are modest in comparison with better-known stone circles.
These are two very different features, one a prominent natural outcrop and the other a constructed ceremonial monument, yet both lie along the western axis from Nine Ladies.
The question is whether someone standing on the ridge might have experienced them as part of a shared prospect. We still need to establish exactly what could have been seen from the relevant position, taking account of the original terrain, distance, vegetation and the effects of later quarrying. It is also necessary to test the proposed relationship with the setting sun from the ridge itself rather than simply relying upon the alignment's compass bearing. I intend to investigate these questions when I return.
Nevertheless, the LiDAR investigation has opened up a different way of thinking about the landscape. Rather than searching for an uninterrupted view or a continuous ceremonial route, I am now interested in a possible sequence of movement and attention. Nine Ladies may have provided the point of departure, the ridge a natural place to stop and look, and the landscape containing Andle Stone and Doll Tor the focus of the western prospect.
The experience, rather than the straight line alone, has become the central question.
Could There Have Been a Wider Circuit?
There is another possibility I want to investigate, one that connects this work with my earlier explorations of Stanton Moor.
Previous fieldwork led me to consider an approach from the southwest through the remarkable gritstone landscape around Robin Hood's Stride and Rowtor Rocks, continuing towards the Cork Stone. From there, movement across the moor passes through a landscape containing numerous cairns and other prehistoric remains before reaching Nine Ladies.
Suppose Nine Ladies acted as a turning point within a broader circuit. Having approached from the direction of Cork Stone, a person might then turn southwest towards the ridge. At the elevated ground, the view would change, potentially bringing the western landscape and the positions of Andle Stone and Doll Tor into a new relationship. A return along the edge of the moor towards Cork Stone might then have completed a circuit rather than requiring a continuation towards the monuments below.
This possibility is particularly interesting because it separates the idea of a ceremonial viewpoint from that of my hypothetical continuous processional route. Reaching the ridge might have been sufficient in itself. The person moving through the landscape need not have descended towards Andle Stone or Doll Tor for those places to form part of the experience.
I am not suggesting that we have discovered a prehistoric processional circuit. The evidence does not establish that. What interests me is the possibility that the natural landforms, monument positions and changing views offered a coherent set of experiences within a relatively compact landscape.
It is an idea worth walking, mapping and testing.
What the LiDAR Lens Has Really Given Me
When I began building the STG LiDAR Lens, I expected it to help identify archaeological features and refine the position of a possible alignment. It has certainly provided new opportunities for examining the terrain, but its most valuable contribution has been something less obvious.
It has changed my interpretation.
I began with the possibility of a long view from Nine Ladies towards Doll Tor. I now suspect that the important experience may have occurred somewhere in between, where the ground rises towards the ridge and the landscape beyond begins to reveal itself.
This does not prove that prehistoric people followed the same line, stopped at the same place or interpreted the western landscape in the way I have suggested. Those remain questions for further research. What it does demonstrate is how new evidence can challenge an apparently reasonable explanation and suggest a more interesting alternative.
I started with an alignment between monuments. The LiDAR made me look more closely at the ground between them. Sometimes, however, the most productive discovery is not a previously unknown monument or an unexpected archaeological feature. Sometimes it is recognising that we have been looking at the landscape in the wrong way.
Explore Stanton Moor for Yourself
I have made the STG LiDAR Lens for Stanton Moor freely available so that others can explore the landscape and make their own observations. You do not need archaeological training or specialist computer knowledge. The tool allows you to examine the terrain, switch between different views, compare historic maps and investigate features that ordinary mapping might miss.
The project is based upon Tim Daw's original LiDAR Lens, whose work made this adaptation possible. I am grateful for his generosity in making the tool available and helping to open up detailed landscape investigation to a wider audience.
If you would like to follow the original argument that led to this investigation, you can read my earlier article:
There is still work to do. I want to examine the ridge on the ground, establish precisely what can be seen from it and investigate whether the proposed movement around the moor makes sense when walked. The relationship between the ridge, the western horizon and the seasonal setting sun remains an especially important question.
But I have already learned something significant. The alignment made me look at the ridge. The ridge made me rethink the alignment. And that, for me, is what Stone Temple Gardening is about.
Dr Alexander Peach
Stone Temple Gardening
Sources and Further Reading
Archaeological surveys and research
Ainsworth, S. (2000). Stanton Moor Quarry, Derbyshire. English Heritage Archaeological Investigation Report 132/2000. Read the report.
Ainsworth, S. and Pearson, T. (2002). Stanton Moor, Derbyshire: Survey Report. English Heritage Archaeological Investigation Report 127/2002. Includes detailed survey plans and assessments of features around the former quarry. Read the report.
Ainsworth, S. (1987). Stanton Moor, Derbyshire: A Catalogue of Archaeological Monuments, Part 1. Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. Derbyshire HER source record.
Peak District National Park Authority (2007). Stanton Moor Conservation Plan. An extensive assessment of the moor's archaeology, landscape history, quarrying and conservation. Read the conservation plan.
Guilbert, G. and Garton, D. (2010). 'Nine Ladies, Stanton Moor: Surface Survey and Exploratory Excavations in Response to Erosion, 1988–2000.' Derbyshire Archaeological Journal, 130, pp. 1–62. Read the paper.
Historic Environment Record
Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Historic Environment Record. Monument records and National Grid references used in examining the Stanton Moor alignment:
LiDAR and mapping resources
Daw, T. (2026). Make Your Own LiDAR Lens. Sarsen.org. An introduction to building a free, interactive LiDAR mapping application. Read Tim Daw's guide.
Daw, T. (2026). LiDAR Lens. Open-source mapping software and build instructions, hosted on GitHub. View the original project.
Environment Agency. LIDAR Composite Digital Terrain Model (DTM), 1 m resolution. Terrain data used in the STG LiDAR Lens.
Peach, A. (2026). STG LiDAR Lens: Stanton Moor. Stone Temple Gardening. Explore the interactive map.
Related Stone Temple Gardening research
Peach, A. (2026). Nine Ladies Stone Circle: A Hidden Imbolc–Samhain Alignment on Stanton Moor. Stone Temple Gardening. Read the original investigation.
Photographic reference
The Megalithic Portal. Photograph taken from Andle Stone, looking back towards Stanton Moor. View the original photograph.
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