The Twelve Apostles | |
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![]() The largest of the stones | |
Coordinates | 55°05′52″N3°39′06″W / 55.097804°N 3.651705°W Coordinates: 55°05′52″N3°39′06″W / 55.097804°N 3.651705°W |
Designated | 1 April 1924 |
Reference no. | SM641 |
The Twelve Apostles (grid reference NX9470079400 ) is a large stone circle located between the villages of Holywood and Newbridge, near Dumfries, Scotland. It is the seventh largest stone circle in Britain and the largest on the mainland of Scotland. [1] [2] It is similar in design to the stone circles of Cumbria, and is considered to be an outlier of this group. [3] Its south-westerly arrangement aligns it with the midwinder sunset. [1]
It is a scheduled ancient monument. [4]
The circle is composed of eleven stones, of which five are earthfast; however, there were originally twelve. A plan taken by Francis Grose in 1789 shows twelve stones and the First Statistical Account, published two years later, records the same number. [5] [6] [7] One of the stones was removed before 1837, when the New Statistical Account entry for Holywood was compiled. [8] [1] The 25 inch Ordnance Survey map of 1850 shows twelve stones in the circle, but this is due to an accidental spot of blue ink on the original plan which was carried on to published work. [9]
Local traditions recorded in the nineteenth century associate the stones with the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, and link the removed twelfth stone with Judas Iscariot. [9] [10] W. C. Lukis notes that in one tradition the stones were said to be set up by the apostles. [10]
The tallest upright stone is around 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) tall. The longest, lying in the south-western sector, is 3.2 m (10 ft) long. [2] The circle measures 89 m (292 ft) at its maximum diameter. It is not a true circle in formation; rather, it is an example of Alexander Thom's Type B 'flattened circle'. [11]
All but one of the stones are Silurian rock; the other being Porphyry. Four, including the Porphyry rock, are natural boulders; the rest have been quarried. The nearest occurrence of Silurian rock is two miles away, near Irongray Church. [12] [1]
The Easthill stone circle is 3¾ miles SSW west of the Twelve Apostles. [13] There was another stone circle a mile east near the River Nith but this was destroyed and used for building material before the New Statistical Account was compiled. [8] [3] Nearby are two cursuses, one of which, if extended, would run towards the circle. [1]
In 1882 it was reported that a four inch bronze figure was uncovered at the circle some years before. This has since been identified as Saint Norbert, founder of the Premonstratensian order and dated to the twelfth century. It is now housed in the Dumfries Museum. [11]
Swinside, which is also known as Sunkenkirk and Swineshead, is a stone circle lying beside Swinside Fell, part of Black Combe in southern Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 recorded stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during what archaeologists categorise as the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.
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
Stannon stone circle is a stone circle located near St. Breward on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England.
Duloe stone circle or Duloe circle is a stone circle near the village of Duloe, located 5 miles (8.0 km) from Looe in southeast Cornwall, England, UK.
Fernacre, also known as Fernacre stone circle or Fernacre circle, is a stone circle located on the slopes of the De Lank River, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) northeast of St Breward on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
The Trippet stones or Trippet stones circle is a stone circle located on Manor Common in Blisland, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north northeast of Bodmin on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, UK. The Stripple stones are nearby.
The Stripple stones is a henge and stone circle located on the south slope of Hawk's Tor, Blisland, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north northeast of Bodmin on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England, UK.
The Nine Stones is a stone circle 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south southeast of Altarnun, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) west of Launceston on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, UK.
Easthill stone circle, also known as the Seven Grey Stanes, is a small oval stone circle 3¾ miles south-west of Dumfries. Eight stones of a probable nine remain. Despite being considerably smaller, the shape and orientation of the circle link it to the nearby Twelve Apostles and the other large ovals of Dumfriesshire. It is a scheduled monument.
The Loupin Stanes is a stone circle near Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway. Oval in shape, it consists of twelve stones set on an artificial platform. At the WSW of the circle are two large pillars, which are typical of the 'entrance circles' of south-west Scotland. The circle takes its name from the tradition of leaping between the tops of these two stones.
Glenquicken stone circle or Billy Diamond's Bridge stone circle is an oval stone circle with a central pillar, two miles east of Creetown, Dumfries and Galloway. The outer ring is formed of 29 stones. Aubrey Burl has called it "the finest of all centre-stone circles." It is a scheduled monument.
The Girdle Stanes is a stone circle near Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway. The western portion of the circle has been washed away by the White Esk, leaving 26 of an original 40 to 45 stones in a crescent. Unlike the majority of such sites in Dumfriesshire, the Girdle Stanes forms a true circle rather than an oval. When complete, its diameter would have been 39m.
Holywood is a village and civil parish in the historical county of Dumfriesshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The village of Holywood was developed in the mid twentieth century. In 1949 eighteen houses were built by the county council and followed shortly after by another 38.
Winterbourne Bassett Stone Circle is the remains of a stone circle near the village of Winterbourne Bassett in Wiltshire, South West England. Investigations in the 18th and 19th centuries found evidence of an outer and inner ring, and a single central stone; today six stones are visible although none remain upright.
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.
Aquhorthies is a Neolithic stone circle near Portlethen in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The site is composed of a ring cairn and a recumbent stone circle which unusually has two rings. It stands one field away from Auld Bourtreebush stone circle, near to the Causey Mounth. It is a scheduled monument.
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