South Fornet Recumbent Stone Circle

South Fornet

Continuing the exploration of Aberdeenshire’s many stone circles and recumbent circles in particular took us to South Fornet, close to Castle Fraser.

It’s not particularly easy to find some of the remaining recumbent stone circles which once abounded in the northeast of Scotland. Several have been raided over time for their stone, perhaps for building or land rollers. Some have been cleared during the great land reclamations of the agricultural revolution.

This remaining stones from this circle were not obvious from the road and required walking along the edge of a field. It’s not an easy way in as the ground is very uneven and the way is difficult. Then there are fences to be crossed.

It is interesting how some farmers, clearly proud to be working land which includes these wonderful monuments, encourage visitors to access their stone circles while others make life difficult for anyone wishing to access them.

The stones stand well above 6 feet high. There is a lot of similarity in the shape of these grey whinstone flankers: pointing in towards the missing recumbent. Veins of white quartz can be seen running through the flankers.

South Fornet is set in beautiful open countryside and only the two flankers remain upright. The gap where the recumbent would have been has been in-filled with field rubble.

Two stones, apparently from the circle lie where they fell or were abandoned on removal.

Cup marks are visible cut into the stones, not necessarily from the time the circle was erected.

At some point in its history, the name A Bruce has been carved into one of the stones.

Sunhoney Recumbent Stone Circle

A beautifully sunny 13^th January 2012 found us walking up by Sunhoney Farm near Echt in Aberdeenshire and on along a field to a wooded area where the 4-5000 year old stone circle sits.The situation is not as high up as some but still on a raised area where the rising moon could be watched very easily.

Immediately apparent is the sheer size of the circle, around 25m diameter.

Largely complete, Sunhoney recumbent stone circle is made up of 9 uprights, several very tall of pink granite and gneiss, as well as the grey granite recumbent stone which is very long and lying on its back rather than raised. It is flanked by two tall majestic stones. In front of the recumbent and right flanker lies a large stone which might have once been part of the recumbent which has broken off over time.

The recumbent is decorated by many cup marks – possibly around 30-along its upper surface. There has been a suggestion that they chart the stars. Whatever they meant to the people who carved them from the hard stone we will never know.

If the recumbent was used to catch the ascending moon then the dip in the hills to the south is just that point where a rising moon would first emerge into view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cremated bones have been recovered from the cairn within the circle.

 

 

Music on video is from Dieter Weberpals called Just Another Mood

Tamnagorn Recumbent Stone Circle

Tamnagorn Stone Circle

This circle, some 5,000 years old, is situated on an elevated site at the edge of a coniferous wood with fine views over the glen near Millbank near Alford in Aberdeenshire.

A sunny 1st of January 2012 encouraged the short trek over uneven grass covered stones along a field up to a copse of trees which is home to a particularly large though incomplete recumbent circle measuring around 21m diameter.

Originally 11 stones, 6 remain standing. The centre has a ring cairn and there are 3 small well shaped stones which might have be kerb stones.

The smallish recumbent has one good sized flanker and another much smaller stone suggesting some stones might have been moved in previous times. The recumbent’s broad side is lined up with this small flanker and the nose end towards the tall flanker. The recumbent is fairly even and level along the top.

One of the stones has recently lost a piece due to frost most likely.

Glassel Stone Circle

The 1st January 2012 marked a brilliantly sunny start to the new year and so out to track down the 4,000 year old stone circle at Glassel, near Banchory.

Parking just opposite the entrance to Glassel House beside a path through the coniferous wood makes the start of the search easy enough. The wood is particularly pleasant, very verdant and densely carpeted with all sorts of flora but the way becomes difficult because of the number of large fallen trees.

There is no sign to the stones and we went on too far so began to retrace our steps methodically searching evidence of the Neolithic site.

Assuming the wonderfully mossy broken old gates must mean something we ventured through and eventually spotted smallish uprights near where the land drops down to the burn in an open area at the edge of the wood.

The circle is more a rectangle or just possibly an oval, around 5.5m X 2.8m. The stones are far smaller than the older circles but are no less amazing for all that. They are granite, taller towards the south.

Evidence of fires was found here and there is a suggestion that one of the horizontal stones was the cover of a cist.

Small circles such as this one are described as transitional, coming between the large recumbent ones of the previous millennium and forms later 2,000 years BC.

The Nine Stanes Recumbent Stone Circle

First rain in around a week fell today (29 December 2011) but it waited until I had paid a visit to the Nine Stanes – the recumbent stone circle at Mulloch Wood near Banchory in Aberdeenshire.

The circle is on high ground, as usual, but the tree line doesn’t allow views now although just along the road there is the most spectacular panorama overlooking the surrounding mountains.

This was a cremation circle, burnt bones having been found within the ring cairn which is evident under your feet although well covered with rough grass now.

This 4-5000 year old circle is incomplete with only 6 standing stones plus a small recumbent, one standing flanker and one fallen. The recumbent top is not even and doesn’t appear to have been worked as some others have.

The circle appears large possibly because the stones are smaller than other circles. In fact the circle is 18m X 14.6m.

Its protected setting has encouraged much growth of lichen and moss on the stones which adds to the character of several of them.

Some stones contained areas of quartz which it is speculated was sought out for its light reflective qualities, mimicking moonlight.

Aikey Brae Recumbent Stone Circle

Aikey Brae Recumbent Stone Circle, Old Deer, Aberdeenshire took a bit of finding – the trail is through a pine forest, dodging awkward branches but then the stones rear up in front – if you’re lucky.

The circle is c.14.4m diameter

The circle is very incomplete but worth a visit for the wonderfully shaped recumbent  stone which weighs in at some 25.5 tons.

The recumbent and one flanker compared to the shape of a whale has a ‘nose’ end which is thought to have been used to raise the end to level the beast of a stone.

Compare the ‘nose’ with the blunt end below.

Only 3 standing stones remain from the original 11.

East Aquhorthies and Whitehills Recumbent Stone Circles on Xmas Day

An unusually beautiful, sunny and warm Christmas day found me at East Aquhorthies Recumbent Stone Circle near Inverurie and Whitehills stone circle remains, both  in Aberdeenshire.

East Aquhorthies – the name possibly derives from the Gaelic for Field of Prayer.

This well-preserved stone circle is a neat example of the many in the area. The 9 uprights, recumbent and two flankers are red grained or grey granite from around Bennachie and pink porphyry or jasper.

The circle is around 19.5m diameter. The recumbent is 3.8m long and weighs in around 9 tons – 6 times lighter than the recumbent at Old Keig but impressive just the same.

As with all the recumbent circles it is thought the recumbent and flankers create a frame to view the standstill moon which occurs ever 18.6 years and generally were used as lunar calendars.

Whitehills

Whitehills near Pitfichie has the remains of a stone circle but it is incomplete.   

Remaining is the recumbent and one flanker c. 8ft high, an upright and other(s) fallen.

Cullerlie Stone Circle

Despite a little bit of snow I managed out to Cullerlie stone circle today.
Unlike the three I featured last week, this circle does not include a recumbent and it is around 500 years later than those last week, dating from around 3,500 years ago, and the stones are much smaller.

Also different is that bone fragments and evidence of fires show that Cullerlie was a cremation site.

The circle of 8 granite standing stones is around 10 m diameter and the small stones you see within the larger circle form 8 cairns or cremation rings.

The great recumbent stones in Scotland’s stone circles

Early stone circles and standing stones are common in north-east Scotland but this area is the only one in Britain where you’ll find the massive recumbent stones.

It has been suggested that the numerous stone circles found in northeast Scotland may be derived from Clava cairns of Inverness. However, the recumbent stone circle is distinctively from the Aberdeen area.

The busiest area for recumbent stone circles is east of Insch and around the Bennachie/Correen/Alford area.

It is thought that the recumbent stone circles were constructed no earlier than 1800 BC and no later than 1400BC.

There are similarities between the Inverness Clava rings and recumbent  stone circles around Aberdeen – both:

• megalithic circles
• graded height stones
• ring cairns
• cup marks
• use of quartz
• cremation remains

Not all circles or Clava rings feature all of the above.

A main difference between the two rings:

• Clava tend to be in low lying sites while recumbent circles are generally on  prominent site with panoramic views.

Some think they were alters but as with everything connected with stone circles this is simply conjecture.

They are, however, magnificent.

Today I visited 3 stone circles.

Tomnaverie Stone Circle,Tarland, Aberdeenshire

Tomnaverie circle is in a spectacular setting but unusual for stone circles in the area it is not so very elevated because the land was lowered due to quarrying. This makes it an easy circle to visit and one of the most beautiful for it great views west towards Morven, Lochnagar and the Cairngorms.

Midmar Kirk

The Midmar Kirk circle is also very accessible. The recumbent and its flankers are very impressive in that it’s clear the stones were selected and worked to make them almost matching. The recumbent is big at 4.5m long with an estimated weight of 20 tons.

Old Keig, Aberdeenshire

Old Keig’s sillimanite gneiss recumbent is muckle. It is a magnificent example of the effort put into moving these stones far up hills to the designated spot. 16 feet X 6 feet 9 inches X 6 feet 6 inches thick, around 53 tons in weight and calculated to be around 610 cubic feet, it is thought to be the largest of recumbents. The recumbent has a very noticeable nose at one end, for maneuvering the stone to get it level.

The bases of some stones in circles were cut into keel shapes to allow them to bed into the ground more easily, as at Old Keig.

The fabulous site with its broad panorama across the Don valley probably meant the stone would have been manhandled on rollers for the final half mile up the steep incline 1:14 of its 6 mile journey. Burl*  suggests 180 people would have been involved – 150 required to drag it on its rollers and the rest to keep moving the rollers (tree trunks presumably) uphill. And speculates that more than one community may have been involved in the transfer of stone form quarry to erection site.

The circle is not complete and access is very poor, unfortunately.

*HAW Burl: The Recumbent Stone Circles of Northeast Scotland