154 Proceedings of the Society, March 8, 1920. The

154 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 8, 1920. II. THE STONE CIRCLE AT BROOMEND OF CRICHIE, ABERDEENSHIRE. BY JAMES RITCHIE, F.E.I.S., CORRESPONDING MEMBER. e mostth On f o einterestin g Stone Circle Aberdeenshirn si s thaei t situated in the parish of Kintore, just outside the village of Port Elphinstone, abou a quarte mila td an e r sout f Inverurio h e Railway Station. It stands in a field on the east side of the Aberdeen road, nearly 30 yards south of the large sand-pit known locally as " The Sandhole." Known as The Broomend of Crichie Stone Circle, though the name is often shortened into The Broomend or The Crichie Circle, it has been a subject of much interest to antiquaries, and a great deal has been written about it. Dr Stuart describes it in The Sculptured Stones of Scotland; Mr Charles Dalrymple gives an account of the excavatio n voli t .i e Proceedings th xviiif o nf e o Society. th f f o o Antiquaries of Scotland; Mr Alex. Watt, who assisted in the work of excavation, describes it in his Early History of Kintore ; and Mr Fred R. Coles surveyeo wh , e circldth e behalSocietyn eo th f o f , describe, sit with accompanying plans voln i , .e Proceedings,xxxvth f o . alsd n an oi the Transactions of the Buchan Field Club for 1903. There is, however, a considerable amount of additional information now available con- cerning this circle and its surroundings, and it seems desirable that a new accoun t shouli f o twritte e db embodo t n l thayal knows i t n about it, even though this should necessitate the repetition of facts already know t readilexperto nt no t ybu s accessibl otherso et . While the circle itself is of exceptional interest, it forms but one member of what must originally have been a very striking group of prehistoric monuments. These began at a point 450 yards south of the circle, wher ea sandban thers wa e n whici k h several cists have been found. From this sandbank an avenue of standing stones proceeded northward e circlee patth Th ho t . s betwee e line th f nstandino s g stones led into the circle by means of an embankment crossing the e ditcsoutherth f ho whic c nar h surrounde circlee dth t theI . n crossed the northern arc of the ditch by a similar embankment, and proceeded anotheo t t largebu r r circle abou yard0 5 t s e circlnortth f eho still standing. This second circle was destroyed towards the end of the eighteenth century, and its existence seems to have been unknown to the writers previously mentioned. (Refer to map, fig. 10, p. 170.) E STONTH E CIRCL BROOMENT A E D OF CRICHIE5 15 . CISTSE TH . The sandbank which formed the southern member of this group of prehistoric remains was close to the gateway at present leading to Mr Tait's residence at Broomend. Though utilised as a prehistoric burial place, it seems to have been of natural formation, part of the existing serie f sano gravesd dan l banks whicn i hn fringDo e vallee th eth f yo e neighbourhooth f Inverurieo d e latTh e . Thomas Tait, Esq.o wh , founde e Inverurith d e Paper Mill 1858n i s , foun t necessari d mako yt e roaw dne e Aberdeea fro e millth m th o t s n turnpik facilitato et e th e conveyance of his goods to and from Aberdeen, and in doing so cut throug e ban th hf sano d kunearthe e an firsd on t e e ciststh dTh . discovered appeared to be empty, but on 27th August 1866 a second formes founds wa wa f fivt I o d e. large t eaca slabs e ht a on ,side e on , each end, and a cover on the top. The inside measurements were 5 fee inche3 t s long fee2 , inche6 t s broad d froan , mfee2 inche6 t o t s 3 feet deep t containeI . e skeleton dth tallo tw , f strong-boneo s d men, who had been buried in a bent position, lying on their sides with their heads near each end of the cist. The skeletons were covered with some felt-like substance which was probably the remains of a hide in which the bodies had been wrapped. Two urns were found, one near each head, and there were also some twigs, two or three flinpiecew fe tf charcoalo a sflakes d e bottoe cisan th Th , t .f mo was covered to a depth of about 10 inches with water-worn pebbles, averaging about an inch in diameter at the top of the layer, but rather larger near the bottom. They were of similar character to those found plentifully in the bed of the Don and in the gravel beds on its banks. Several large pieces of charcoal were found among pebblese th . Exactl montho ytw s e 27tlater th f October ho n o , , another s ciswa t abouy foundla t feetI 2 . t nort f thaho t last described slightls wa d y an , les sizen si , measurin gfee4 inche2 t lengthn i s foo 1 inche,0 1 feet2 o tst 3 inche breadthn si foo1 inched 7 t ,an depthn si t paves alsI a . owa o dt depth of 12 inches with round waterworn pebbles underneath which lay a slab of stone. Soft well-worked clay had been forced between the e slabedgeth o rendef t so s e cisth rt watertight. This cist also contained two skeletons, a full-grown male and an infant female. The male skeleton lay on its left side, with its head towards the east, the legs bent and drawn up nearly to the chin, and the arms so bent up thae handth t s wer ee head closth o .et e boneSomth f seo wera n ei fairly good state of preservation, and among these were the thigh-bones, which measured 19f inches in length. One of these was presented 156 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 8, 1920. to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and is now preserved in the National Museum. The infant femal ee north-wes th skeleto n i y nla t cornee cistth ,f o r behingooo s n maldstate a i dt th f preservationeo no skeletons wa d an , . The body appeared to have been buried in a sitting posture with its face turned towards the east. Both skeletons had been covered originally wit oxhiden ha e felt-likth , e remain f whico s h were found lying above the mannea mn i r simila thao t r t discovere othee th n rdi cist. male bace th th ef kt o skeleto A ne drinking-cu stooth f o d claa n yur p r beakeo typa r f classo e t peculia, bu north-ease th o rt Scotlanf o t d (fig. 1) . Fig. 1. Urn and Horn Spoon found in cist at Broomend. Its height was 6| inches, the diameter at the top 5f inches, and at the botto inchesmf 3 , whil t measureei d nearl inche0 y2 circumferencn si t a e e widesth t part, slightly belo s richl e centrewwa th yt I ornamente. d wit a hserie f horizontao s l lines roun e circumferenceth d ; between each pair of horizontal lines short lines formed a sort of herring-bone pattern, while at the base a series of upright isosceles triangles had e spaceth s between them fille witn i d h short lines. Standing within this urn, "and resting on its edge, there was what at first sight appeared to be a lamp made of bark or some leather-like substance, but this proved to be a spoon, formed of horn much altered in appearance througexposurd an e damphag o et underside . hore th Par th n nf o to e of the spoon had become split up, and the weight of the spoon had caused handle th curvo et e urnovee edge th ,rth f thueo s addin s lamp-likit o gt e appearance. In the illustration the spoon is shown lifted out of the urn and supported by a sheet of glass so as to show its form exactly as it THE STONE CIRCLE AT BROOMEND OF CRICHIE. 157 appeared when discovere e urnth .n di Nothing like this spoo s evenha r awarem a n additioI I .s a r o t nbeefa o ns othe y founn an ur rn i d the spoon, the urn contained some fragments of decayed bone and a small quantit f blacyo k earth—all that remaine e footh d f o whicd h had been placed beside the dead body to help it on its long journey to the spirit land. Behind the remains of the infant there was also a small urn containing a little black earth but no bones, food containing bones not being suitable for an infant. Two flint flakes were found within the cist, and several pieces of charcoal rested on its cover, whil econsiderabla e number were mixed wit gravee hth l which covered e bottomth . Abou fee2 t t eas f thio t s cis fourta t h one f smalo , l sizes afterwa , - wards found. It was only 16 inches long, from 12 to 14 inches broad, inche1 1 d s an deep t I containe.

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