Stone Circles of North-East Scotland
North-east Scotland, and in particular Aberdeenshire, can boast a higher concentration of Stone Circles and other megalithic remains than almost any other region of the British Isles.
In Aberdeenshire alone there are around 100 known sites, the majority still extant, where stone circles have been recorded. The Easter Aquorthies Stone Circle near Inverurie is a particularly fine example of a recumbent stone circle.
Easter Aquorthies Recumbent Stone Circle
Stone Circles on Google Maps and BING Maps
Click one of the links below to open a scaleable Google Map or BING Map showing the locations of many of the Stone Circles (and remnant circles) to be found in Aberdeenshire and northeast Scotland. Clicking on a marker icon opens an information window bearing the name of the Stone Circle, and also, if visited by me, a photograph. At the right of the map is a scrolling button panel: clicking any button will display a zoomed Aerial Map showing the site of the named Stone Circle and also, if unobscured, the Circle itself.
Some sites (particularly those in northern Aberdeenshire) are seen at highest resolution on a Google Map, others show at best resolution on a Bing Map.
Location Markers
The following coloured markers appear on these maps:
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| Recumbent Stone Circle | Four-poster or similar | Ring Cairn | No Photograph (unvisited) | Destroyed (no trace remains) |
Maps showing Locations of Stone Circles: Google - BING
The Recumbent Stone Circle
The recumbent stone circle is a type particularly associated with NE Scotland and rarely found elsewhere (other than south west Ireland). The rocks from which stone circles are constructed normally stand upright, but in a Recumbent Circle, one stone—usually the most massive—lies on its side (i.e. recumbent) flanked by two tall upright pillars. This shows clearly towards the right-hand side of the photograph above.
The recumbent stone always occupies a position on the circle's arc between the SSE and SW points. The upright stones are normally graded in height, with the smallest on the northern arc and the tallest flanking the recumbent stone.
Destruction through Agriculture
Many of the recumbent stone circles standing today are mere remnants of their former selves; often only the recumbant and flanking pillars remain, the other circle stones having long since disappeared. Excellent examples of largely complete recumbent circles which have withstood the test of time are Sunhoney and Tyrebagger and Easter Aquorthies.
As agriculture spread across northeast Scotland in the 17th and 18th centuries, farmers set about clearing their land of rocks and stones. Many of the smaller ones were used in the construction of dykes but the larger ones (i.e. those found in stone circles) were viewed as unwanted obstacles and useful construction material. Many circle stones were removed for use as stone gateposts, lintels and so forth; others were simply dynamited into fragments and used as road metal. Consequently, many stone circles documented centuries ago have been utterly destroyed with nothing remaining to signal that they ever existed.
Stone Circle Photography and Individual Location Maps
The pages linked below contain photographs of selected stone circles, accompanied by a location map. These maps are selected to show the location of each stone circle in its surroundings to best effect: the maps are sourced from Ordnance Survey, Google and Bing. Sites other than stone circles may be included (e.g. the Tullos Cairns in Aberdeen).
