Ritual landscape

Ritual landscapes are extensive archaeological tracts that were seemingly dedicated to ceremonial purposes in the Neolithic and early Bronze Ages (c. 3500-1800 BC). The term emerged in the early 1980s in British archaeology and was contrasted with more conventional studies of monument sites concerned with dating, classification and political divisions.

The evidence of contemporary settlement within these landscapes is often sparse or absent altogether; conversely, non-utilitarian structures and artifacts are typically abundant.