Machrie Moor Stone Circles
55°32′27″N 5°18′49″W / 55.540829°N 5.313655°W
 Machrie Moor Stone Circle 2 | |
  Shown within the Isle of Arran, Scotland | |
| Location | Isle of Arran |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 55°32′27″N 5°18′49″W / 55.540829°N 5.313655°W |
| Type | Stone Circles |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic / Early Bronze age |
| Site notes | |
| Ownership | Historic Scotland |
| Public access | Yes |
Machrie Moor Stone Circles is the collective name for six stone circles visible on Machrie Moor near the settlement of Machrie on the Isle of Arran, Scotland.
Description
[edit]Six stone circles are visible on the moor immediately east of the derelict Moss Farm.[1] Some circles are formed of granite boulders, while others are built of tall red sandstone pillars.[1] The moor is covered with other prehistoric remains, including standing stones, burial cairns and cists.[1] The stone circles are positioned over previous timber circles.[2] A radiocarbon date of 2030 ± 180 BCE has been found for the timber circle at Machrie Moor 1.[3] Several hut circles can also be seen as low rings of turf-covered stone.[1]
The six stone circles are situated below a prominent notch on the skyline to the northeast where Machrie Glen divides into two steep-sided valleys.[4] At the summer solstice the notch is intersected by the sun at sunrise, and this may explain why the circles were sited in this location.[4]
The stone circles were recorded in 1861 by James Bryce, and numbered 1 to 5.[5] Five other monuments in the area were numbered 6 to 10, and when subsequently a further stone circle was discovered almost completely submerged in peat in 1978, it was numbered Machrie Moor 11.[5] Around 1 kilometer to the west is the remains of the Moss Farm Road Stone Circle (Machrie Moor 10).[6][7]
Machrie Moor 1
[edit]
Machrie Moor 1 (grid reference NR91203239) is an ellipse with axes 12.7 metres and 14.6 metres.[8] It is formed from six granite boulders and five sandstone slabs, arranged alternately.[8] Four of the granite blocks have fallen.[8]
Machrie Moor 2
[edit]
Machrie Moor 2 (grid reference NR91143241) is the most visually striking of the circles on Machrie Moor.[1] This circle has a diameter of 13.7 metres, and may originally have consisted of seven or eight tall sandstone slabs, three of which survive intact, while stumps of others may be seen.[9] The heights of the three intact stones range from 3.7 metres to 4.9 metres.[9] Within the circle are two large stones, apparently cut from a fallen pillar, one of which now has a central hole as if for conversion to a millstone.[9] Excavations in 1861 revealed a cist in the centre of the circle.[9] A food vessel was found in this central cist.[1] A second, empty, short cist was found between the centre and the northeast upright stone.[9]
Machrie Moor 3
[edit]
Machrie Moor 3 (grid reference NR91023244) originally consisted of nine stones.[10] Only one still stands, 4.3 metres high, but the stumps of others are still partially visible in the peat.[10] The stones form a geometrical egg-shape.[10] Excavations in 1861 uncovered a small cist in the centre containing an urn with some fragments of burnt bone and flint flakes.[10] A second cist was found 1 metre south of the centre; it contained a crouched burial, also with some flint flakes.[10]
Machrie Moor 4
[edit]
Machrie Moor 4 (grid reference NR91003235) consists of four granite blocks, about 0.9 metres high.[11] Excavations in 1861 uncovered a cist in the centre.[11] In it was an inhumation accompanied by a food vessel, a bronze awl, and three flint flakes.[11]
Machrie Moor 5
[edit]
Machrie Moor 5 (grid reference NR90873234) called "Suidh Coire Fhionn" or "Fingal's Cauldron Seat" consists of two concentric rings of granite boulders.[12] The inner circle is 12.0 metres in diameter and consists of eight granite boulders.[12] Excavations in 1861 uncovered an empty, ruined cist in the centre.[12] The outer circle is approximately 18.0 metres in diameter and is formed of fifteen granite boulders.[12] The outer circle is said to form a geometrical egg-shape.[12]
Machrie Moor 11
[edit]
Machrie Moor 11 (grid reference NR91213242) is a low stone circle with a diameter of around 13 metres.[13] The tallest of the stones is about 1.2 metres high on the western side.[13] Excavations in 1978-9 revealed 10 upright stones, with a pit between each stone possibly representing a post-hole.[13]
Other prehistoric remains
[edit]James Bryce listed five other antiquities to the west of the stone circles in 1861. Machrie Moor 6 (grid reference NR90733237) is the remains of a possible chambered cairn consisting of two touching upright stone slabs at right angles.[14] Machrie Moor 7 (grid reference NR90633253) is a standing stone 1.6 metres tall.[15] Machrie Moor 8 (grid reference NR90573237) is the remains of a probable chambered cairn comprising an oval spread of stones approximately 20 metres by 16 metres.[16] The most obvious feature is a 1.8 metre tall standing stone within the east edge of the cairn surrounded by several smaller stones which may have been part of a chamber or facade.[16] Machrie Moor 9 (grid reference NR905324) was a standing stone of which no obvious trace remains.[17] Machrie Moor 10 (grid reference NR90053265) is the Moss Farm Road Stone Circle.[18]
-
Machrie Moor 6 -
Machrie Moor 7 -
Machrie Moor 8 -
Machrie Moor 10
Around 1.2 kilometres to the east of the Machrie Moor Stone Circles, near the B880 road (grid reference NR92443225), is another stone-setting consisting of three granite boulders and which perhaps originally consisted of four stones.[19]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Machrie Moor Stone Circles, Historic Scotland, accessed 1 May 2014
- ^ Richards, Colin (2013). Building the Great Stone Circles of the North. Windgather Press. pp. 50–. ISBN 978-1-909686-15-1.
- ^ Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Yale University Press. p. 35. ISBN 0300114060.
- ^ a b Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Yale University Press. p. 118. ISBN 0300114060.
- ^ a b "Machrie Moor" in Current Archaeology (1988), page 35
- ^ Moss Farm Road Stone Circle, Historic Scotland, accessed 1 May 2014
- ^ Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Yale University Press. p. 114. ISBN 0300114060.
- ^ a b c Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 1 (39703)". Canmore. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 2 (39702)". Canmore. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 3 (39700)". Canmore. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ a b c Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 4 (39701)". Canmore. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 5 (39705)". Canmore. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ a b c Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 11 (39704)". Canmore. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 6 (39706)". Canmore. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 7 (39715)". Canmore. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 8 (39707)". Canmore. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 9 (39770)". Canmore. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Machrie Moor 10 (39726)". Canmore. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Ballymichael, Arran Bridge Farm, Stone Setting (39711)". Canmore. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
External links
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