Standing stones, orthostats, liths or more commonly, megaliths because of their large and cumbersome size, are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties. Where they appear in groups together, often in a circular formation, they are sometimes called megalithic monuments. Standing stones are found throughout the world with no known or documented history.
Standing stones are usually difficult to date but pottery found underneath some in Atlantic Europe connects them with the Beaker people; others in the region appear to be earlier or later however.