Machrie Moor
Machrie Moor is a multiple site of megalithic monuments. It is located in the middle of the west coast of the island of Arran , which lies in the Sound of Bute, on the west coast of Scotland . The area along a marked path south of the Machrie Water in the heath is a long-used complex.
There are or were six stone circles , several stone boxes , menhirs ( English Standing Stones ), timber circles and chamber tombs from the Neolithic and cairns from the Bronze Age and foundations of beehive huts from the Iron Age or a later period.
The monument near the road is a cairn with large granite curbs reminiscent of the nearby cairn of the Auchagallon stone circle . Hut foundations lie on either side of the path that leads to Moss Farm, where the stone circles are. To the north of the path is a menhir and the remains of a second megalithic complex. Part of the former chamber can be seen between the path and the fence to the south. Two more chamber tombs, one of which is a well-preserved Clyde Tomb , are to the south of it, a little further away in the heather.
The stone circles
Next to the abandoned farm lies the first (officially listed as no. 5) of six stone circles, which were probably made between 1800 and 1600 BC. Were erected. It is called "Fingal's Cauldron Seat" and consists of two rings of low granite blocks. The inner ring is 11.5 m in diameter and the oval, not perfectly concentric, outer ring appears to be a circle of former curbs. A multi-phase stone box was found in the center in the 19th century.
From the second circle (officially No. 4) only four low boulders have been preserved. However, it is possible that it is not a circle, but a stone setting. Again a central stone box was excavated. It contained a bronze pen, a clay pot and some flint tools .
- Machrie Moor circles
Machrie Moor 1
Machrie Moor 2
Machrie Moor 2
Machrie Moor 3
Machrie Moor 4
Machrie Moor 5
Location map
Machrie Moor 11
The third circle (officially listed as No. 3) originally consisted of nine stones, but five have gone out and three only exist as stumps. Only one remained. The stones were probably destroyed for the construction of the farm. There should have been two stone boxes in the circle.
The fourth monument (officially No. 2) dominates the landscape. There are only three stones, but the elegant pillars made of red sandstone reach a height of 5.5 m. Other stones in the circle, which originally consisted of seven or eight stones, are on the ground. Two stone boxes were found inside the circle. One contained a cremation and a clay pot, the other a burial.
The fifth circle (officially No. 1) is a combination of sandstone slabs and low granite blocks. It probably consisted of twelve stones.
A sixth circle (officially No. 11 or 1a) with ten low stones previously covered by peat in the bog was discovered nearby. Excavations revealed that these two stone circles were preceded by wooden versions, that is, they are the successors to Henges , which stood in the same location.
literature
- Anna Ritchie, Graham Ritchie: Scotland. To Oxford Archaeological Guide (= Oxford Archaeological Guides. ). Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 1998, ISBN 0-19-288002-0 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ The archaeologist speaks of "proceeded". The word “gone out” is a cautious formulation that leaves the cause open. Such a formulation is based on the Latin word "exire", which is often found in Latin treatises with this meaning.
Web links
- Machrie Moor on mysteriousbritain.co.uk with picture of the official # 2
- Machrie Moor on "Dark Isle" with pictures of the official No. 1 and 11 (here incorrectly referred to as 1 and 6)
- Location map
Coordinates: 55 ° 32 ′ 27.3 " N , 5 ° 18 ′ 42" W.