A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe—especially in Britain, Ireland and Brittany—and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The best known examples include those at the henge monument at Avebury, the Rollright Stones, and elements within the ring of standing stones at Stonehenge. There are scattered examples from other parts of Europe. Later, during the Iron Age, stone circles were built in southern Scandinavia.
A recumbent stone circle is a type of stone circle that incorporates a large monolith, known as a recumbent, lying on its side. They are found in only two regions: in Aberdeenshire in the north-east of Scotland and in the far south-west of Ireland in the counties of Cork and Kerry. In Ireland, the circles are now more commonly called Cork–Kerry or axial stone circles. They are believed by some archaeologists such as Aubrey Burl to be associated with rituals in which moonlight played a central role, as they are aligned with the arc of the southern moon. Recent excavations at Tomnaverie stone circle have suggested that no alignment of the circle was intended.
Strichen stone circle is a Megalithic recumbent stone circle located near Strichen, Aberdeenshire in the north east of Scotland. It has been destroyed twice and in the early 1980s was excavated and reconstructed.
Sheldon stone circle is a prehistoric stone circle located to the south of Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Auld Bourtreebush is a large Neolithic stone circle near Portlethen in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is also known as Old Bourtree Bush or Old Bourtreebush. This megalithic construction is situated near the Aquhorthies recumbent stone circle and the Causey Mounth, an ancient trackway which connects the Scottish Lowlands to the highlands. It is a scheduled monument.
Lligwy Burial Chamber is a Neolithic burial chamber in Lligwy, near the east coast of Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom. It consists of a circle of upright stones, made into a low chamber by a very large roof slab estimated at 25 tonnes. Excavation in 1909 found the remains of some 15 to 30 people, and pottery suggesting a late Neolithic date. Close to the village of Moelfre, the site is within a few metres of the road, where there is room to leave a single car for short periods.
Easter Aquhorthies stone circle, located near Inverurie in north-east Scotland, is one of the best-preserved examples of a recumbent stone circle, and one of the few that still have their full complement of stones and the only one that has all its stones still standing without having been re-erected. It stands on a gentle hill slope about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Inverurie, and consists of a ring of nine stones, eight of which are grey granite and one red jasper. Two more grey granite stones flank a recumbent of red granite flecked with crystals and lines of quartz. The circle is particularly notable for its builders' use of polychromy in the stones, with the reddish ones situated on the SSW side and the grey ones opposite. The discovery of a possible cist covered by a capstone at the centre of the circle indicates that there may once have been a cairn there, but only a conspicuous bump now remains.
Sunhoney is a stone circle of the recumbent type, which is common in the Grampian region, in particular at the River Dee. Sunhoney is situated about 2 km west of Echt in Aberdeenshire, near to the Cullerlie and Midmar stone circles. It is designated a scheduled ancient monument
Balquhain, also known as Balquhain Stone Circle, is a recumbent stone circle 3 miles (4.8 km) from Inverurie in Scotland. It is a scheduled ancient monument.
A ring cairn is a circular or slightly oval, ring-shaped, low embankment, several metres wide and from 8 to 20 metres in diameter. It is made of stone and earth and was originally empty in the centre. In several cases the middle of the ring was later used. The low profile of these cairns is not always possible to make out without conducting excavations.
Cullerlie stone circle, also known as the Standing Stones of Echt, is a small stone circle situated near Echt, Aberdeenshire. It consists of eight irregular stones of red granite arranged at approximately equal intervals to form a circle of 10.2 m (33 ft) diameter, enclosing the same number of small cairns. The cairns are characterised by outer kerbs or rings of stones, with a double ring surrounding the central cairn and a single ring in the others. All but one of the cairns have eleven ringstones, with the last having nine. The whole circle sits on a patch of gravel which forms the end of a low gravel ridge linking the site with Leuchar Moss. It is regarded as "a later development from the recumbent stone circle", though its layout with kerbed cairns within the circle makes it unique.
The Knock of Alves is a small wooded hill that lies 3 miles (4.8 km) to the west of Elgin in Moray, Scotland, rising to 335 feet (102 m) above ordnance datum. Its summit is marked by York Tower, a 3-storey octagonal folly erected in 1827 to commemorate Prince Frederick, the Duke of York; and the Forteath Mausoleum, built in 1850 as the burial place of 7 members of the Forteath family of the nearby house of Newton.
Midmar is a historic settlement in Aberdeenshire, lying north of Banchory and southwest of Inverurie. It is noted for its three stone circles and various standing stones. Midmar and Sunhoney are both recumbent stone circles.
An axial stone circle is a megalithic ring of stones of a particular design found in County Cork and County Kerry in southwest Ireland. Archaeologists have found it convenient to consider the axial five-stone circle and axial multiple-stone circle separately. The circle has an approximate axis of symmetry aligned in a generally northeast–southwest direction. The stone at the southwest side of the circle, rather than being an upright orthostat like all the rest, is a slab lying horizontally with its long thin edge along the circumference of the ring. Because it marks the axis of the circle it is called the axial stone.
Kealkill stone circle is a bronze age axial five-stone circle located just outside the village of Kealkill, County Cork in southwest Ireland. When it was excavated in 1938 it was thought the crucial axial stone indicated an alignment to the north, contrary to the general alignment of such stone circles to the southwest. However, later archaeologists have thought it is the comparatively insignificant stone to the southwest that is the axial stone. There are two associated standing stones nearby, one of which had fallen and was re-erected in 1938.
Tomnaverie stone circle is a recumbent stone circle set on the top of a small hill in lowland northeast Scotland. Construction started from about 2500 BC, in the Bronze Age, to produce a monument of thirteen granite stones including a massive 6.5-ton recumbent stone lying on its side along the southwest of the circle's perimeter. Within the 17-metre (56 ft) circle are kerb stones encircling a low 15-metre (49 ft) ring cairn but the cairn itself no longer exists.
Loanhead of Daviot stone circle is a recumbent stone circle in Aberdeenshire in lowland northeast Scotland. The circle consists of the recumbent stone with its flankers and a complete set of eight orthostats about 21 metres (69 ft) in diameter surrounding a low kerbed ring cairn which has an open court. However, the present appearance has in part been produced by substantial restoration after archaeological excavation in 1934, and in 1989 by the removal of the stones covering the central court.
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.
Tyrebagger stone circle is located at Dyce, near to Aberdeen in Scotland. It is a complete recumbent stone circle. It was used as a cattle pound in the past and now stands close to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. It is a scheduled monument since 1925.
