ABSTRACT
One of the many problems experienced by archaeologists investigating 'variant circles' such as those discussed in Chapter 9 is in distinguishing between the remains of ring cairns and the foundations of prehistoric houses. This is considered as an inconvenience, a matter to be resolved by excavation, and a more important issue is overlooked. How were the forms of domestic buildings related to the those of funerary monuments? Having considered this question in relation to the first long mounds, we must explore the same issue as it applies to the last round barrows.
