Dunnideer stone circle

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Dunnideer
OS grid reference
NJ609285
TypeRecumbent stone circle
History
PeriodsNeolithic
Site notes
Public accessYes
Designated1925
Identifiers
Historic Environment ScotlandSM21

Dunnideer stone circle is a mostly destroyed recumbent stone circle located near Insch in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The three remaining stones lie close to the ruins of Dunnideer Castle. It is a scheduled monument.

Recumbent stone circles

A

orthostats graded by size.[1] The builders tended to select a site which was on a level spur of a hill with excellent views to other landmarks.[3] Over seventy of these circles are found in lowland Aberdeenshire in northeast Scotland – the most similar monuments are the axial stone circles of southwest Ireland. Recumbent stone circles generally enclosed a low ring cairn, though over the millennia these have often disappeared.[2] They may have been a development from the Clava cairns found nearby in Inverness-shire and axial stone circles may have followed the design.[2][4] Whilst cremated remains have been found at some sites, the precise function of these circles is not known.[5]

History

The Dunnideer stone circle is thought to have been created in the

orthostats.[10][9]: 353–354  By 1867, the Ordnance Survey reported that there were only three stones.[9]: 353–354  In a paper published in 1902, Frederick Coles confirmed there were three stones and remarked that they were "much disfigured by an accumulation of weeds and rubbish".[11] He also noted that there were several other stone circles and standing stones close by.[11] In a paper published in 1985, Aubrey Burl and Clive Ruggles posited an alternative theory that there were only ever three stones.[12]

The stones are of gabbro and those still standing are the recumbent and its two flankers. The recumbent stands erected and is 2.80 metres (9.19 ft) long, 1.95 metres (6.40 ft) tall and 0.50 metres (1.640 ft) wide.[7][9]: 170  The two flanker stones have been re-erected: the eastern one stands 2.25 metres (7.38 ft) tall, 1.00 metre (3.28 ft) broad and 0.85 metres (2.789 ft) wide; the western one is 2.00 metres (6.56 ft) long, 1.00 metre (3.28 ft) tall and 0.52 metres (1.706 ft) wide.[7] The latter has split along its length.[9]: 353–354 

The circle became a scheduled monument in 1925.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ As translated from Latin to Scots by Dalrymple in 1888. The idea for the quote and the full title of the book is as given by Welfare.[9]: 1, 283  In English "Is there likewise a wonderful great crown of stones, once more a circular fort, not otherwise than with an echo in brass or copper".

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781786781543.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  2. ^
    ISBN 9781902419558
    .
  3. ISSN 2056-743X
    .
  4. ISBN 0-300-08347-5
    .
  5. ISBN 0903903334
    .
  6. ^ "NJ62NW0003 - Dunnideer". Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Dunnideer". Canmore. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  8. ^ Leslie, John (1888). Cody, E. G. (ed.). The Historie of Scotland: wrytten first in Latin by the most reverend worthy Jhone Leslie Bishop of Rosse and translated in Scottish by Father James Dalrymple, volume I. Translated by Dalrymple, James. Edinburgh & London: Scottish Text Society. p. 48.
  9. ^
    ISBN 9781902419558
    .
  10. ^ Bennett (1856). Sculptured Stones of Scotland Volume 1.
  11. ^
    S2CID 254526192
    .
  12. ^ Ruggles, C.L.N.; Burl, H.A.W. (1985). "A New Study of the Aberdeenshire Recumbent Stone Circles, 2: Interpretation". Archaeoastronomy: Supplement to the Journal for the History of Astronomy. 16 (8): 30.
  13. ^ "Dunnideer stone circle, 450m NW of Dunnideer Tower (SM21)". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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