Sutherland stone circles

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The stone circles of Sutherland in the county of the same name in the Scottish Highlands are a group of seven, more or less incomplete, sometimes not clearly identifiable stone circles .

Lairg has three :

  • Achinduich, Achany Glen
  • Druim Baile Fuir, Achany, Glen
  • Twinners, on the River Shin

Achinduich

The double stone circle is almost half preserved. Five stones from the outer and three from the inner circle remained. The largest stone is 1.3 m long. But even he can hardly be seen in the moor. 57 ° 58 '27.3 "  N , 4 ° 23' 39"  W.

Druim Baile Fuir

Of the ten stones in this circle, nine had fallen. Except for three that had disappeared, they were rearranged. 57 ° 59 '29.7 "  N , 4 ° 26" 9.6 "  W.

Twinners

On the banks of the River Shin, two sizeable stone circles stand close together. Both are a little overgrown. The southern circle is about 6.3 m in diameter. The northern one consists of four blocks on the circumference. Its small size and possible entrance suggest that these could be the remains of a circle of huts .

Clach to Righ

The small stone circle called "Stone of the King" lies between Strathnaver and Farr in Sutherland. King Haakon (Harald) Madadson, Earl of the Orkney and of Caithness is said to be defeated here in 1196 against an army of the Scottish King William I (the Lion). The victory over the Vikings is generally associated with the Battle of Dalharrold, the place is not far away on the other side of the River Naver. The alleged graves of his men are, however, piles of stones that date from the Bronze or Iron Ages .

The circle is seven meters in diameter. There are three stones, three more and one broken stone lie in the lawn. A lower cairn in the center can hold a burial. The largest stone measures a little under 2.5 m. The smallest reaches almost two meters. The fallen stones are similar in size and must have looked impressive in a complete circle.

Cnoc to Liath-Bhaid

Cnoc to Liath-Bhaid Mhòir

The double stone circle lies in the wasteland of the middle highlands, at Strath Brora, on a hill. A monolith over two meters high clearly marks the spot. In the inner circle there are still five stones, one is on the ground. The outer circle still consists of two standing and two lying stones. An arch with smaller stones lies on the perimeter to the east. In the outer circle, unlike the inner circle, the narrow sides of the stones are directed towards the center. It is comparable in size to the circle of Achinduich.

Learable Hill

The stone circle on Learable Hill is at Strath of Kildonan. A certain and a dubious example of a stone circle form a complex with a number of other monuments, such as rows of stones , the foundations of beehive huts , burnt mounds , cairns and menhirs . The circle with a diameter of about 18 m still consists of five standing menhirs and four fallen down. Their height is 0.6 m. Whether the cairn inside is a cairn has to be left open in view of many cairns that are much more recent.

The mound

The small stone circle remnant at Strath Fleet is located near Golspie . Three stones stand and three lie. They surround a central area that was excavated in 1867. An empty and now destroyed stone box and corpse burn were found . The underground of the stone circle was allegedly interspersed with numerous pieces of flint .

literature

  • Anna Ritchie, Graham Ritchie: Scotland. To Oxford Archaeological Guide . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-288002-0 , ( Oxford archaeological guides ), pp. 152-153.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Map with positions of the stone circles at Lairg
  2. Map with positions of the stone circles at Achinduich
  3. Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. scotlandsplaces.gov.uk @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk
  4. Map with positions of the stone circles at Druim Baile Fuir
  5. Map with positions of the stone circles at Clach an Righ
  6. Map with positions of the stone circles at the Cnoc at Liath-Bhaid