The Recumbent Stone Circles of North-East . BurW . l A . byH

recumbentA consists circlea of stones of graded tallestheight,in two the often quadrantSW inthe flanking prostratea block. Within circlethe there commonlyis ring-a .

SUMMARY recumbene Th a t stone circles (RSCs ScotlanE N f )o d (fi probabl) g1 y derived fro Clave mth a of Inverness which have many features in common with them. The recumbent stone is an Aberdonian innovation. b Other features of RSCs appear to confirm this derivation. primare Th c y are f settlemeno a t lie e eass f Inscth jus o tsouthwardd o t t han s through Correen- th towardp eGa s Alford. d Analysi f apparentlo s y early e circleth n s independentlsi i s y confirmee th y db archaeological find datede sb than .ca t e Later forms of RSCs are found around the primary areas, particularly to the west and north. The latest stone circles in the region retain only a few of the 'classical' features associated wit theshs i RSCst i e d forman , s that further sout Perthshirhn i e appea 4-Posters a r smald san l six- r eight-stono e circles. f locaa RSC e lar s developmen shod signan w t w f fe influenc o s e from more southerly sources. g Present archaeological evidence does not reveal any RSC much earlier than 1800 BC or later than about 1400 BC.

INTRODUCTION Much of the data is derived from F R Coles (1900 to 1907 inclusive) whose detailed descrip- tion pland s an f circleScotlansE o N n si d remai startine nstudyth w ne gy . poinSoman r f fo teo his work was amplified by J Ritchie (1917-20 and 1923). Keiller (1934) published a short paper concerned mainly with RSCs in which he summarised his fieldwork but, regrettably, did not later enlarge this. Early excavations by Dalrymple and others were described by Stuart (1867). More recent investigations have bee Childy nb e (1934 Kilbride-Joned )an s (1935; 1936) onle Th .y other work deptn i RSCn Henshaly ho b s si l (1963, 32-39; 1972,273-76 discusses whicn )i ha e hsh d possible origins and dates. presene Th t pape examination bases i ra n do f seventy-founo r certain RSCs (Appendi) xA BURL RECUMBENE TH : T STONE CIRCLE NORTH-EASF SO T SCOTLAND 57 and eighteen other probable sites (Appendix B). The lists are not exhaustive. Coles and Ritchie proposed many other possible sites which have been lef 'nos a t t unlikelprovens i t i t ybu ' that their

THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND

Fiol inclusion would have advanced this particular stud l unexcavate al thes ya e yar eithed dan r very badly ruined or totally removed.

CLAVA CAIRNS AND RSCs Clave Th a cairn f Invernes o sRSCe th f Aberdeed o s an s n shar common ei isolaten na d position around the north-east fringes of the Grampians; megalithic circles with stones graded in height; an interest in the south-west quadrant; ring-cairns; cupmarks; quartz pebbles; and pitd san containing burnt material withi centrae nth l area. Bu differenceo t tw ther e ear s that mus e explaineb t positiva f di e relationshie b o t s pi proved. 58 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1969-70 . Positiona of sites Henshall (1963 ) point 20 t ,tha ou s t e low-lyingar s , eve slighn i n t hollows, often ignorin gsligha t knoll immediately adjacent t RSC Ye normalle . ar s stea r spun po yo r with wide views. Certain Clava cairns, however occupo d , y higher situation thesd san e appear centrae th t peripheran i bu lt no l areas where later versions migh expectede b t . Dalcross Mains (Henshall 1963, 374) on a hillock crest with wide views across the Firth; Culduthel (ibid, 372) and Gask (ibid, 378) on slight rises; and Carn Daley (ibid, 367-8) on a hillcrest, are all in prominent positions, the last three being to the south of the main and probably primary Clava area, supportin suggestioe gth n tha choica t f higeo h positions might be a later development. To the north-east of Inverness one could expect to find sites intermediate between the classical Clava forms and the RSCs. Here Clava cairns also sometimes have the higher positions associated with RSCs wels DalcrosA s . a l s Mains ther Eastee ear r Clune (ibid, 387) at 500 ft OD with wide views to north and west; Moyness (ibid, 388) in a flat field but with gooa dnorthe vie th Littld wo t an ; e Urchan gentla n i yyD slopin(ibidO t f 0 ,g 388 45 field t )a . onle Thith ys si cupmarke d Clav aeastware sitth en o outsid e dli maie y eth nma t groui d pan route from Inverness to and the heavily cupmarked RSC at Rothiemay, Banff. (References for RSCs are given in the appendices). Even furtheease th t o that r Naire nth n site Uppee sar r Lagmore (ibid, 389-90; Coles 1907, 141-9) and Marionburgh (Henshall 1963, 391) in the Spey valley. The first is in a level position terraca secone th n sharpla buo d n s ei dti an abov y; rivere slopine OD th t f Th . 0 g fiel60 t da positions of these sites are sufficiently similar to RSCs for one to hypothesise that the RSCs of Aberdee tracee b y d nma fro Clave mth a cairns. b. Recumbent stone (pi 7) Thi featura s si e that never appear Clavy an a n sthosi n cairni r e No .site thers si larg y ean e blocking stone of which the recumbent could be a copy. Its origin remains a problem and at presen possibls i t i t et forwar onlpu o yt d several different theories. Atkinson (1962,17-20) suggeste origin d a comparabl a n i e featur t Lyleea s Hill cairn. ,Co Antrim (Evans 1953 , pointin5) , t thagou t apparent Lyles Hill fluted war beed eha n fount a d both Loanhead of Daviot RSC and East Finnercy cairn, . The Lyles Hill cairn-kerb 'recumbent', however, has no close resemblance to the Aberdonian stone circle recumbents and mors ha e affinities wit 'false hth e portals cairnf o ' s like Argyl, KintraB d lan (SimpsowA n 1967); , Argyll (Craw 1930) Auchagallond an ; , Arran (Bryce 1910), cairns geographically close to Ireland and in which all the 'recumbents' are kerbstones unlike those in Aberdeen. These Scottish cairns, however, do appear to be culturally related to the Clava group (Ritchie and Maclaren 1973, 11; Burl 1973, 40) and the discovery of a kerb-cairn at Culcharron, Argyll (Peltenburg 1973) with false portals and a cupmarked prostrate stone at the SSW in a position similar to the supine stones at Kintraw A and at Croft Moraig, Perthshire, increases the possibility that the origin of recumbent stones may lie within the Clava tradition, one version developin Greae footh e f th to t t gGlea Argylln i othee th , Aberdeenshiren ri . Another possible origin may be found in the makers of AOC beakers who entered Aberdeen shortly after 2000 BC, using in particular the R. Don as a port of entry/From present data it appears that bot positioe date broadle hth th ear d nan y coincidental with thos r primarefo y RSCs s noteworthi t I . y thapositioe recumbene th t th f no t stona SSW-NN n eo E n axii s si keeping wit orientatioe hth n preferre thesy db e peopl r theiefo r burials (Clarke 1970 , 455)62 , . associatioe Th rituaa n i l circl recumbena f eo t S-SSe stonth t bees eWa ha n site o notetw s t da outside Scotland where AOC sherds were found, in both cases being added to an existing monu- BURL: THE NORTH-EASF SO T SCOTLAN9 5 | D ment. At , Wilts, a concentric stone circle succeeded a free-standing timber structure (Musson 1971, 371). Just outsid innee eth r circle lonthera s (Cunningge wa stoneholW SS e th -t ea 1931n to , pi t n)WoodhengeA . , Wilts sarsea , n 'recumbent' ston addeo s t eS wa df o jus W t timber ring 'B' subsequent to the erection of posts B8 and B9 (Cunnington 1929, 14). At both these sites there were AOC sherds (Clarke 1970, nos 1064F and 1107F). It is notable that at Loanhea f Daviodo potterther C C alss RS eotwa AO conjunction yi n with flat-rimmed ware. An analagous mixture of AOC and Knockadoon II ware was found at the ritual circle of Cashel- bane, Co. Tyrone (Davies and Mullen 1940) with a loose cupmarked stone at the S. juss i t tI possible thamakere th t f thiso s beaker sometimes place recumbenda t stone at the S-SSW within ritual enclosures, perhaps related to the axial orientations of their burials. Certainly the distribution of early RSCs and AOC beakers coincide along the middle reaches of the R. Don in the first quarter of the second millennium. A recumbent stone circle might thus be the result of a fusion of beliefs from different cultures, a hybrid monument, pre- dominantly Clava wit grades hit d stone circle, ring-cair buriald nan customs witt innovae ,bu h th - recumbentioa f no t stone. Failing this explanation, one must return to the hypothesis put forward by Keiller (1934) that the recumbent stone in its SW position was an exaggerated form of the lintel-stone above the entranc Clava f eo a passage-grave. Some Clava cairns have entrances that project beyone dth kerbse linrecumbenth e f eo .Th enlargemenn a te b ston y e ma this f to distortea , d memore th f yo importance th f o lintearee d th af an l e o immediatel . Somfronn yit i f o te recumbents have huge stone t right-anglesa s behind them like Easter Aquorthies. Other sites hav 'platformea ' behind recumbente th . These feature vere sar y suggestiv lase th t passag e f traceo th f eo e itself vestiga , e ofeatura f e otherwise forgotten. Econom f hypothesiyo s suggest mose th se t b thiprobabl o st e explanation of the origin of the recumbent stone but adequate evidence is lacking and the question is left open.

ROUTE From Inverness ther possibla s ei e north coastal route alon foothille gth s towards Strath Isla and the R. Deveron in the locality of Area 3 West. (In the region of RSCs the circles tend to grou smaln pi l area thesd numberee . san ear 2) g fi n do It is more likely, however, that a sea route was used with a major entry into Aberdeenshire hillw slo aroune th tributaryn s i it ds i . Urid Inverurit i R an s e a n ,th Alford Do e. an alon R de gth that earle manth yf y o RSC founde sar shore Th . t voyage alon Morae coase th g th f o ty Firth would not have been exacting and it would explain the otherwise eccentric Area 12 locations of Aikey Brae on the R. South Ugie and Berrybrae by the Loch of Strathbeg. As the concentration of early circles along the R. Don coincides with the distribution of beakerC AO s reference should als made ob threo et e other rivers almose Th . t total absencf eo circle s explainee . Ythaalonb R predominance y e th g nth ma y db f presumableo y undesirable low land around it and the possible occupation of the area by miners of flint (Atkinson 1962 . DeveroR , e 30)Th . n flowing intSolwae oth y strona Firt s hha g concentratio f Nl/no D beaker2 N d wels s an a man s la y middle-phase RSCs suggestin gsettlemena t here afte primare th r y developmen -Alfore th n i t d district. Finally littls noticeabls i wa et i ,e De . eR tha e th t used in the early second millennium, either by makers of beakers or by builders of stone circles. It is only N3 and N4 beakers that are distributed along the line of this waterway, paralleled by a spread of late RSCs in the same area. generae Th l distributio f RSCno alons si eastere gth n highlande fringth f eo e th sn i (fi) 1 g 60 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , 1969-70

TABLE 1 DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES IN RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES

3 EARLY FEATURES SITE LATE PEATUftES HO $ 1 2 7 4 5 6 7 8 9 It 10 11 12 1J 14 15 16 17 n t 1 HAT TON .JARDOYN6 2 1 1 X 1 1 X X 1 X 5 X X I X X I I I 4- «1

I OLD RAYNt Z 1 X 1 1 1 X X X X 4 X X X X X X X X 0 »+ 5 LOANHEAJ.JJAVIOT i 1 1 X 1 1 1 1 i 1 8 X X X X X X X X 0 *8 ? 4. B At OUHAI N 2 1 1 X X 7 1 1 X 1 5i X X X I X X X li .4. 5 PNSCHFIELD 2 ? 1 i 1 7 4 X X X X 7 i -3i (, CAUDLE HILL.InsJi 2 X i 1 1 ? I X X • 1 2 •

7 NEW CRAI4 2 1 I I • 1 4- X X X 0 •4- 8 ARNHILL 3w 1 X 1 7 1 3i X X X 0 •31 9 ROTHIEMAY 3W 1 1 1 X 1 X 1 f X X X I X I 2 -5 10 CAIRN RlV 5E X i X 1 I i • li -2

11 FRENDRAU&HT JE 1 X X 1 X X I I Z -1

1Z YONDER BO&NIF 3E 1 X X X 1 X X 2 X 1 I I X I I • 5 -5 15 CAIR NTON 5E 1 X X 1 X I I 2, -1 14- HARE STANE 3E X X 1 1 1 I 2 -1 1? CORRYDOWN 4 1 X X 1 X I I 2 -1 16 MAIMS »f HATTOM 4 1 X X X 1 X 1 I I ? -2 17 PITSLAiSIE 4- ? X X X • 1 1t 7 1 I I • 51 -Z 18 OLP KEI& 5 1 1 i 1 1 1 I 7 X X X X X X X X o • 7 19 COTHIEMUIR WOOD 5 1 1 I X 1 1 1 X 1 7 X X X I X X X X 1 tb 20 CASTIE FRAZER 6 1 1 X X 1 •> X 5i X X I I X X ? 2i *t 21 EASTER AQUORTHIB 6 1 1 X 1 X 1 1 1 X 6 X X X X I X X X 1 •5 21 NETHER COUILIE E, 1 1 1 X 5 X X X 0 r> 23 SUNHOMEY 7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 1 Si X X X X X X X X 0 •81 14 KIRK 7 X 1 1 1 ? 1 1 X X 5i I X X X 7 X X X li *4- 15 BALNACRAI& 8 X X ? 1 1t I I Z -t 16 TOMNA&ORN 8 1 X 1 1 X X 1 X 4 X I X X I I 5 «1 17 WHITEHILL 8 1 1 X 1 1 1 1 X X 6 X X I X X X X I 2 »4 18 TOMNAVERIE 9 X X 1 1 7 ? X 7 I X X X 7 11 «1i IS CAKROL WOOP 10 X X X X X X X X 0 I I I X I I I b -6 5° RAES of CLUME 10 X X X X X X X X 0 I 1 I I X I I I 7 -7

5' ESSLIE Uu Gr.»t.,- 10 1 X X X X 1 1 X X 7 X 1 I I I X X I 5 -2

51 AUCHOUHORTHIES 11 X X X X 1 X X X X 1 X 1 1 I X I I I b -J 73 AUCHMACHAR 12 X 1 X X ? X li I X 1 I 7 5* -Z 5* LOUIOU WOOD 12 X X X 1 / • X 2 I • X X 1 -1 5J AIKEY BRAE 12 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 X 7 X X X X X X X 0 '7 5& BERRYBRAE 1Z X 1 X 1 1 i 1 5 I X X X X X X X 1 •4- 57 NETHERTON 11 X X X X ? 1 X 14 I 1 1 I 7 X I 5t -4 ? 58 1} X X 1 1 I 2 -t 59 KIRKTOM *f BOURTIE 17 1 1 1 1 4 X X X X • 0 »4 40 DYCE.Tjr.bc.fl.r 18 ? 1 X 1 1 i 1 1 X fct ? X 1 X X X X 1* '5 41 BIN&HILL 15 X X X 7 i ? 2. I 1 I ? X 7 I ; -3 42 NORTH STRONE zo 1 X X X X 1 X i X 1 1 I I X I • 5 -5 45 C.OLMEALUE It, X X X X 1 X X X X. 1 I 1 1 I X I I 7 6i -a Key - featur I : e exist circlen i s - featur x ; eknownt doeexistt no - - sno • ;? impossible to decide because site ruined. Finds: site no. 1, urn sherds; no. 2, B/3 bracer, ? beaker; no. 3, W , AOC and Lyles Hill pottery; no. 10, bronze, jet, -hammer; no. 18, N/MR? and Flat-rimmed pottery; no. 20, massive urn sherds; no. 29, coarse urn sherds; no. 32, 'vase' fragments; no. 33, urn sherd; no. 42, urn. BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND | 61 foothills that abu coastae th t l strip uncommos i t I . fino nt circlda thin ei s 15-mile wide littoral, perhaps because of the absence of granitic stones in this metamorphic region, or perhaps because forest-covee oth f r havthay ma et extended alon richee gth r earthcoaste th f so .

DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES In an attempt to deduce whether certain architectural features of RSCs could be used as indice f earlyso , middl r lateeo r phasetraditioe th f so ntabl a constructes ewa whicn di h these features could be analysed (Table 1). Unlike many other megalithic monuments RSCs permit suc analysin ha s because thee numerousyar becausd an , e they occur withi nlimitea d area, 40 x 25 miles, and can be considered to some extent a self-contained group. Tabln firse I th t 1 emajo r section includes nine features which were though earle b yo t t from thei e architecturar th siz r o e l care with which thebeed yha n treated totae f sucTh .o l h feature circla centraaddes e n si th e wa n di l colum plua s nsa value. In the second section eight late features were analysed, again being chosen for size or apparent architectural deviation. These traits were totalled in an end column and given a minus value. The subtraction of one total from another in the final column gave plus or minus totals which were attributed as follows: Phase 1= +8 - +4; Phase IIA= +3i - -1; Phase HB= -2 and below. (Phases III and IV relate to stone circles not studied in this paper). Suc analysin ha subjectivs si carried an e s analyst'e witth t hprejudicesi n sow avoio T . d this no account was taken either of the areas in which circles were found or, more important, of the finds within them. Only those circles with at least three observable features were used, a total of forty-three in all, 47 % of the sites included in this paper. resulte Th s were checked against circles where finds were known .apparenn Thera s ewa t correlation Phasn I . eI earl y circles, Loanhea Neolithid Davioha f do ) 8 earld + can ( t y Beaker stona sherdsd e ha Raynd brace) 4 Ol .possibld + e( an r ebeaked beakerha ) Keid 7 r + Ol .g( sherds. In contrast, a Phase IIB circle like Cairn Riv (- 2) was associated with a perforated axe- hamme thred ran e fragment bronzef so Garrod ;an l Woo containe) 6 - d( d 'coars fragments'n eur . t woulI naive db claio et m suc hsimpla e statistical analysi beins sa g deeply significanr fo t it tends to reduce the circle-builders to people operating from a standard blueprint, but it may indicatiousefue n b a s a l threwhicf e no th ef h o postulate d phases applie particulaa o st r circle. It seems very significant that the circles appearing to be early generally lie within the central part of the region (Map 2) whereas those that are late lie round the edges even though their geographical positio ignores analysise nwa th n di . wher8 1 e RSCd eth an searliese 7 1 sprea Th , 7 t fro , tde 6 ou West m area3 , th 5 e , sar 2 , district around both eastwards and southwards. One observes this process surrounding Area 21 with its circle- much as seawater swirls round a boulder. The later RSC builders, smalo exceptw r l groupfo t s aroun Watee dth f Bervio r e (29Edzeld an ) l (26), travelling south from the central region turned westwards along the sides of the River Dee and ultimately followed -Blairgowrie th e pass. Henc mose eth t distorte f RSCsdo , Garrol Woodf o alss e i , oon the most southerly, lying just below the point at which the circle-builders moved along the Dee

Early features: , diamete1 f circlo r e betwee flankine th f no t leas a ge 60-8 , stone2 on t ; 9ft oves t shighi f 7 r, 3 ; recumbent stone at least 13 ft long; 4, recumbent stone lies between SW and SSW; 5, circle-stones are graded in height , recumben6 ; t ston withif circumferencs ei o t f n3 circlef eo , platfor8 ; m behind recumbent stone , cup;9 - marks on stones. Late features: diamete, 10 circlf ro e , flankinles11 s ; thaft g9 n 5 stone s less tha hight f , nrecumben6 12 ; t stone less longt thaf recumben, 0 n1 13 ; t stone lies betwee SSEd circle-stone, an 14 ;nS t gradeno e heightn dsar i ; IS, recum- ben mors ti e tha frot f n3 m circumferenc flankinf o e circlef eo on g, stone16 ; mors i e tha frot f n3 m circumference of circle; 17, cairn-kerb curves outwards markedly to incorporate recumbent stone 62 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1969-70

FIG 2 Hypothetical phases of recumbent stone circles in ME Scotland

valley othew foune Fe . rb RSCo t d e heresar , only circles which retain somcharacteristicC eRS s in a variant guise. Garrol Wood may represent the final stage in RSCs before the abandonment of the recumbent stone itself.

Features used for analysis earliese Th t RSC recognisabld sha e features varyin numben gi r from sit sitt o quitet ebu e consistent compared wit latere hth , outlying circles. In the early sites diameters ranged from 60 ft to 80 ft. The pillars flanking the recumbent were tall, dominant stones ove hight f recumben e r7 Th . largea s twa , impressive blockr , o 1t 3f more in length, but it was not always dressed or even flat on top. Its position, however, was BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND | 63 frequently around the SW or SSW of the circle circumference, SSW being rather more usual. circle-stoneThe s were often grade heighdin t wit stonehthe s opposit recumbenethe t beingthe smallest. Both pillars and recumbent lay either upon or very close to the circumference of the stone circle occasion o , n being connecte e centrath o dt l cair'platforma y nb ' whic havy hma e been a relic of the passage end in a chambered tomb. Some of these early circles had cupmarks mighe then on o ms ta expect from site sClava thad aha t cairn ancestry. RSCw Fe s posses l thessal e early features. vere Loanheath y t lonbu f l Daviogdo al s ha t recumbent. At Old Keig there is no cupmarking nor can it now be determined whether the stones were grade heightn di . Sunhone platformo n s yha . Aikey Brae lack platforsa cupmarkingd man . But these circles hav remainine eth g features. A final point in this analysis of early features is that it is the central areas that have circles with most of these traits, perhaps belonging to a period of 'classical' sites where a tradition had been establishe whicd dan h flourished briefly before time, geolog locad yan l circumstance caused Phas circleI eI slightlf so y aberrant formbuile b to s t elsewhere oncd procese e.An th variatiof so n had started it seems to have accelerated so that little remained of a norm and each outlying community built its own disparate version of an RSC, until the farthest sites were almost un- recognisable as the kin of the fine RSCs like Cothiemuir Wood, Easter Aquorthies, Midmar, Dyc thosd ean e others already mentioned. RSCs of Phase IIB are often less than 59 ft in diameter, with flankers unimposing and shrunke eithen no r recumbena sid f eo t stone less t long thaf circle-stone e 0 n1 Th . rarele sar y graded. Also in these late RSCs the recumbent and flankers were placed ever closer to the cir- cumference of the cairn until they lay well inside the circle of stones that surrounded it (fig 3). The further south the circle the truer this is. In circles like Auchquhorthies, Kincardineshire, the recumbent pillars stand abou t withif 9 tston e nth e circle attache grossla o dt y outcurving cairn whic anothes hi r featur thesf eo e late sites t GarroA . l Woo t withif d 0 circle e 1 the nth e d yar an , at the Raes of Clune, 8 ft. The process demonstrates how, on the next stage southwards into the distant part f Perthshireso recumbene th , t itself disappeared leaving onl ystona e circle, small in size, of few stones, perhaps roughly graded in height with a disposition to have the tallest stone at the SW. Indeed, sometimes the tallest stone actually was placed at the opposite point, the NE as at Lundin Farm 4-Poster (Stewart 1966), so that it is only by a deductive process of inversio detecn n ca faine ancestrthae C th t ton t RS trace s yit f (Burso l 1971). Another development was the continuing diminution in importance of the central ring- cairn derivative untilth n i , e RSCs t disappearei , d altogether Clavn I . a cairns Piggott estimated (1956) that the cairns could be up to 10 ft high. No RSC had a cairn as impressive as this. More- over, it is possible to observe the gradual lowering of the cairn until it became little more than flooa f stoneso r . At the ring-cairn was hardly 12 in high. At Loanhead of Daviot there were no kerbs lining the central space. At both the Clatt sites, Bankhead and Hillhead, and at North Strone the interior of the circle was 'paved' with stones instead of possessing a proper cairn. And other variations may be noted. At Ardlair the cairn did not lie concentrically within the outer circl nearet souths ebu it Esslit o rt .A Greatee eth othed ran r Kincardineshire site caire sth n curved outwards at the south to incorporate the recumbent stone into the line of the kerbs. Developments such as these within the main areas of RSCs show that it is not surprising that in the next stage of evolution the derivative sites lost their centre cairns altogether and retained merel traditioe yth burialf no withi circlee findne th .On s circles like Backhil Drachlaf lo w with stones grade heighn di without t bu towardW cairnS ta e sring-cairnr th o , s suc Cairnwels ha l 64 I PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1969-70

RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLE S_ PLAN S

PHASE

EASTER „ AQUORT HI ES (+ 5

0 """

0 10 20 40

EA .* '••&

CASTLE TOMNAGOR l+ )( N R ( + ZE A |FR )

HTT BI~> V

G ARROL WOOD (-6)

AUCHQUHORTHIES (~S) KAW.B.-.ftcr FRED COLES

FIG 3 BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND | 65 with its urns and , or Raedykes where two of the four ring-cairns had no stone circle at all.

OTHER FEATURES

a. Platforms Many early RSCs have a platform, a short, enclosed, rectangular area behind the recum- bent, linking it to the cairn. The few finds here, like the beaker rim at Loanhead of Daviot (Kilbride-Jones 1935, 179), may be explained as accidental breakages. Only at Castle Frazer were there quartz pebbles strewn ove platforme rth . Platforms are most easily interpreted as non-functional replicas of the passage-end in Clava passage-graves. The presence of large stones at right-angles to the recumbent and lying caire betweeth nd keran t t Eastenbi a r Aquorthies, Ardlair, Arnhil Tomnagord an l n coule db representations of the passage side-slabs on which lintels rested in the Clava cairns but which, here, are entirely figurative. Later, these sharply-demarcated areas become simply a crude extrusion fro cairmthe n like that mentione Auchquhorthiesdat , Kincardineshire. Platforms serv emphasiso et passage-grave eth e derivatio RSCsf no . b. Outliers RSCw fe se likTh e that possess outlying vallestonen Do neae yse li whicrth h may have acted as a point of entry from the south. It was round here that the circle- builders of Broomend of Crichie settled. It seems likely that atypical features like outlying stones may be the result of another tradition. At Balquhain, for instance, the outlier is of white quartz, a different mineral fro othemthe r circle-stones whic granithare whinstoneseor standit ft and ,s 20 ease th t f edge slighpillaa o th f E eo t S a rt ridge positioa th n ei o t n which adds nothine th o gt architecture of the circle but where it might have performed a directional function similar to tha f somo t e circle southern si n Britain likRollrighe eth t Stones, Oxfordshire.

. Banksc Some RSCs are known to have these and it is likely that field-surveys would reveal others. Childe's excavatio Keid Ol g f nshoweo t widbane f t withoudth 0 ek1 bu there b ditcha to et t I . encircle e centradth l cair s circumferencnit andd ha , e been complete t wouli , d have hele dth recumbent stone also analagoun A . s ridg loosf eo e stones betwee circle-stonee nth notices swa d at Sunhoney. In Area 12 all the RSCs have banks or 'walls'. At Aikey Brae the bank was about 6 ft wide. Similar embankments were recorded at Loudon Wood, Auchmachar, and Berrybrae, and perhaps also at Gaval. A continuation of the practice occurred at Croft Moraig, Perthshire (Piggot Simpsod tan n 1971), apparentl varianya RSCn a f to ; built ove earlien ra r timber structure, it has the RSC features of a cupmarked recumbent stone, graded circle-stones, a SSW orientation, quartz pebbles continuoua d an , s outer stony bank. Despite the absence of further evidence in NE Scotland, it may be noted that a bank would provid a edivisio n betwee e circle-are nth e 'profane th d an a ' world outside s constructioIt . n might have been the final phase in the ceremonies that took place within the circle.

d. Cupmarks The majority of RSCs with cupmarks lie in the west of the region in the earliest areas of RSCs where memories of a Clava ancestry and its customs still lingered. The most heavily cupmarked stone is at Rothiemay, Banff, the RSC closest to Inverness. Other RSCs with many 66 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1969-70 cupmarks include Sunhoney and Balqhuain, which are in areas which may belong to the primary period f developmentso . Examinatio thosf no e Clava cairns with cupmarks caused Henshall (1963, 31-3 suggeso )t t tha severan i t llikels casewa yt si thastone beed th t eha n cupmarked befor s incorporatioeit n into the tomb. This may be true at Braehead RSC where the recumbent stone rests on a cupmarked stone so that it is almost impossible to see the cupmarks today. Wherea Clavn si a cairns cupmarked t remarkablstoneno e ar s y concentratee on y an n di area (Henshall 1963; Burl 1973) RSCn i , s the occupo yd y significant positions. Invariably they foune ar association di n wit recumbene hth t stone, adjaceneithee th n ro upor t o pillar t ni d san stones. Eight sites have cupmarks on their recumbents, three on their west pillars, three on their stone th en o eastcirclstone e o cups th pillare tw On . e n ha th d s o immediatelf an o , W e th o yt E of the east pillar. But not a single cupmark is recorded on any other circle-stone or kerb of the cairn, confirming the importance attached to the recumbent stone area. It is perhaps significant that the three stones by far the most heavily cupmarked: Balqhuain (25 cups on the stone west wese oth f t pillar) ; recumbent)e Sunhoneth n o 1 Rothiemad y(3 an ; yrecumbent)e th (11 n 9o , have approximate azimuthmal bearings of 232°, 230°, and 226° respectively, very similar to the predominantly SW orientation of Clava ring-cairns, presumably related to the midwinter sunset, unlik majorite eth Aberdoniaf yo n RSCs (Orientations, below).

DATING It has been suggested that RSCs derive mainly from the Clava cairns and are themselves ancestore th Perthshire f somso th f eo e stone circles. Clave Somth f aeo cairns might have been late builth e n thiri t d millennium BC (Henshall 1972, 283) e sitemand th Perthshirn an ,si f yo e belong to the mid-second millennium (Burl 1971,45). It is therefore necessary to see what archaeo- logical evidence exist supporo st theore th t y tha firse floruie th e th t n th f RSChali o f ts o f swa second millenniu date4 C1 s . o Theravailabln m BC e ear t presentea . The pottery discovered in the circles falls into three main groups: beakers; flat-rimmed ware 'urns'd an ; . Generally speakin t valuablclasselaso e no gth tw t e r datinar s efo g purposes yetuntid an , l Clarke's recent wor beaken ko r pottery (Clarke 1970) even these vessels could rarely be given good dating. Thus RSCs were assigned to the Middle and Late and even Iron Age because of a resemblance between flat-rimmed ware and the Covesea ware of later . Difficultie reconcilinn i s g this late date wit presence hth f beakereo RSCn si s were explaine continuee th thesf s do a e ed us site s int Iroe oth n Age. Recent work makes it possible, however, to propose an origin for the RSCs in the first quarter of the second millennium, their ceramic associations displaying no anomaly within this period.

a. Beakers Beaker material was found at Loanhead of Daviot and Old Keig. A fragment of a stone bracer was discovered at with an 'urn of reddish colour' which itself may have been a beaker. t LoanheaA sherde dth scentra e wereth n t undei lpi 'Crescent e spacee th rth n ;i ' beneath the cairn; on the platform paving near the recumbent, and in its hollow; and by circle-stones 3, 4 and 7. Some of them were of AOC beakers (Clarke 1970, 511, nos 1467F et al) to which Clarke ascribes a period between 2000 and 1700 BC. One thick and heavily decorated sherd was buried beneat foundatioe hth platfore depositios th it f nd o man n must have antedate cone dth - BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND | 67 structio circle th f eno (Kilbride-Jones 1935, 179). Althoug identificatios hit t certais no ha s n i t n i affinities with Clarke's Nl/D group with a possible date towards the end of the eighteenth centur. yBC At Old Keig other sherds (Clarke 1970, 1479F) were found in primary positions under the recumbent and in the central area. They were of indeterminate form. The pottery was found wit hcrematioa lona t arrangen i gpi d east-west orientation a , n mor keepinn ei g with necked beakers (ibid, 456; 169; 203) than with the earlier forms, and these discrepancies indicate a date perhaps from the eighteenth century BC. Neithe t Loanheaa r Keid Ol thers g f Davioi t d o a er proono t f thacirclee th t s were con- structed much before 1800 BC. In the case of Old Keig, particularly, the site may be late in Phase I of RSCs, and consequencen i , a dat, e secone earlth n yi d millenniu feasible e b th y r mfo ema first RSCs in NE Scotland. The presence of a Type B3 stone bracer at Old Rayne accords with this. Clarke (1970, 261; 570, n. 39) shows the exclusive associations of these bracers with either W/M N/Mr Ro R beakers lattefloruie e th th , easter n f ri o t n Scotland occurring mainly between 1800-1650 BC. . Neolithicb pottery At Loanhead of Daviot one sherd of lugged Lyles Hill ware was found near the edge of the indentation made by the east pillar before it fell. Near this were two other sherds, one of fingernail- decorated beaker othee th , r Neolithic. Mclnnes (1969, 25-6) has pointed out that in Scotland forms closest to Lyles Hill ware are found mainlwese th t site a tn yi s suc s Cairnholha Monamord an yI e wherea ease th t n si shapes vary with localities, sometimes affected by the influence of Yorkshire form G bowls, t Eastertoa s a f Roseislno Tullocd ean Asserf ht o Eas A . ty B Finnerc y (Atkinson 1962, 18-19) beaker sherds under the cairn were found with a derived Lyles Hill form in which the typically Irish upturned lugbeed sha n bodplacee th yn do rathe r than immediatele th f o y m belori e wth pot t LoanheaA . Daviof do luggee th t d Lyles Hill war likelderivativs e i b presencs o yt it d ean e with beaker ware supports a proposed date early in the second millennium. At the same RSC several sherds of Western Neolithic ware were found in an apparent pesthole beneath the cairn. They may provide little more than a terminus post quem for the RSC's construction. c. Flat-rimmed ware This ware has been found at Loanhead of Daviot, Old Keig and at Fullerton circle-henge near Inverurie this swa pottert I . y that cause ascriptioe dth Late f RSCno th eo st Bronz e Age, Childe likening the Old Keig sherds to those from Covesea and to the bucket-shaped urn from same Th . e diagnosis caused Kilbride-Jones (1950, 311 believo )t e tha e hength t t Lugea g . DublinCo , must belonsame th eo g t perio d despit presence eth Neolithif eo c pottery. Morrison (1968), however, concluded possiblthas i t i t e tha flat-rimmee th t ds it war d eha origins in the Late Neolithic and be a form of pottery that existed throughout the Bronze Age. similaA r mixtur f Westero e n Neolithi flat-rimmed can d war t Crofea t Moraig (Piggotd an t Simpson 1971, 10) confirmed that this pottery is to be found in early contexts and it seems best consideindees o i t t i f i dgeneri a , rit c form typa s coarsef ea ,o , undecorated Late Neolithic/Bronze pottere Ag littlf yo e valu precisr efo e dating. . Urnsd If the early RSCs are difficult to date, the later are no easier. Many of the excavation reports by Dalrymple and his contemporaries in the nineteenth century describe the pottery | 6PROCEEDING8 THF SO E SOCIETY, 1969-70 found in the centre spaces of the ring-cairns as urns of'thick and massive paste' (Castle Frazer); 'small fragments of urn burnt very red' (Hatton of Ardoyne); and 'coarse, plain sherds' (Garrol verWood)e th y d omissio an ,referenc y an f no decoratioo et indicaty nma e once agai ubiquie nth - tous flat-rimmed ware discussed above. Certainly, fragments of a clay urn 'with incised decoration' were found at North Strone. An t Corrida e Cairn (Stuart 1867, lix-lx), possibl very a derivativr o y C lateRS e ring-cairn, there was an encrusted urn, probable food-vessel and possible beaker. By some of the stones of the circle inside Broomend of Crichie, a six-stone RSC derivative, were double-cordoned urns and a battle-axe of type IVE (N) (Roe 1966, no. 350) that may belong within the later period of the Early Wessex Bronze Age. Although non f thieo ver s si y satisfactor evidencs a yhely indicato pma t t ei e something oterminaa f lmid-secone datth n ei d millenniu buildinC ScotlanE RS N r mn gfo i d after which non-recumbent forms might have been built both in the peripheral areas of Aberdeenshire and south-wese th fao t r Perthshiren i t .

SITING AND CONSTRUCTION

. Positionsa f circleso Both Coles (1903) and Keiller (1934) commented on the conspicuous siting of many RSCs. Keiller remarke sligha summie n o th td t hil a places n moun i thaf o bu l o tt C t dno ofted RS n na r upoo nstea p which break gradiene sth hillsidea f o t . Coles wrote that frequently circles were t situate no flaa tn do summi grounn o t dbu t facing eastwards althoug citee hh d only Yonder Bogni examplen a s ea . There are indeed many sites where the circle is in an extremely noticeable position but t invariableno s i t i . Tomnagorn, although nea hilra l summit mucs ha , h greater height arounl sal d neven ca rd havan e been conspicuous. Nether Coullie, Sout Lodgy hRothiemaLe d ean y stand on quite level ground. Mancrestn o t r knolls yregioe snorto e no siteth th e f hn no s.i ar RSCs seem to have been positioned where they looked towards a far eastern horizon, sometimes on the very edge of terraces where the few trees that might have interrupted the view could easily t downbecu . Toda resule yth f thio t s situatio oftes ni n tha distana t t circl visibls ei e from lower ground. In antiquity forests would frequently have obscured the site whose present conspicuous position could be a phenomenon the builders never considered. That sites were deliberately selectedemonstratee b y dma t Whitehalda l wher reddise eth h porphyritic stones were purposely transferred from their sourc e shouldea th n hile eo o th t l f o r spur on which they now stand, a task which involved the builders in moving the stones a long way. Without a meticulous geological survey one cannot be definite but it appears probable that at several other sites the stones were brought from a distance: Ardlair where the stones perhaps came fro regioe Correee mth th f no n quarry some 4^ miles SSW; Auchmaliddie from outcrops Balnacraig'd ian ; mil egranitSW d sre e stone havy esma originate t Stoda t Hil lf mil e distant.

. Stoneb locality Althoug s beeha n t h i note d that stones were sometimes move complo t londa y gwa y with the needs of the builders, it is also true that most came from a nearby source. At Dyce they came probably from a nearby quarry, and at Hatton of Ardoyne there is an outcrop only fifty yards away. At Old Keig and Auchquhorthies the stones are presumably local. The recumbent, however, is frequently of a stone quite different from that of the rest of BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND | 69 sometimed circlee ha th d broughe b an , o st t from much farther afield t doeI .t follo sno w that rituaa r fo l s thireasonswa recumbene Th . t had possiblef i ,muca e b h o mort , e massive block thawhic e otherse non th hd availablmighe ,an b t tno e nearby. t Dyc A gre e eth y granite recumbent quits i e different fro othere mth , thinnish pillars t LoanheaA . recumbene dth havy ma te come either fro neighbourhooe mth Lesliw Ne ef do 1 £ miles awa r Johnstonyo e 2£ miles awaye Th . Keid Ol g recumbent cam Vallen e Do fro ye mth somewher e between Kemna Tillifouried yan , and there are at least a dozen examples in which the recumbent stone is different from the rest of the circle.

. Levellingc In three instances it is known that the site was levelled before the erection of the circle. Excavatio t Castlna e Frazer (Coles 1904, 299-303) reveale dsouth-wese th tha t a t t where eth ground falls beed awaha n t y i crudn buili p u et terraces t DruidsfielA . d (Wilson 1851, 159-60) fale lanf beed o th l dgreaha o n s t originally that levelling create artifician da l ban t higf kt 5 h a whicn o d h en som p to e e circle-stoneth s were placed t LoanheaA . f Daviodo t (Kilbride-Jones 1935, 172-3; 184) the hillslope had been levelled, rubble laid, and soil spread to make an even surface although not every part of the circle had been treated. Such instances confirm the importance placed on the position of sites. Otherwise, level sites could have been found that needed no excavation.

d. Dressing and shaping of stones e RSCTh s have been called 'rude stone monuments Fergussoy b ' n (1872 t therbu ) s i e evidence tha t stonee somth f eo s were dressed, particularl pillar-stonee yth s wher eass i t o eyi t seattempte eth shapo st configuratioe eth t thefi mrecumbeno e t th f no t stone. Some dressin e stone th s bee f ha so g n don t Cothiemuia e r Wood; Candle Hill, Insch; Castle Frazer; Hatto Ardoynef no ; Loudon Wood; Midmar where both pillar shapede sar d an ; Dyce. Keiller suggested tha intendee th t d east pilla t Dycr a accidentalld eha y been interchanged . Inspectiowit easit e stone f th h th o tstone e o et th f nso supports this idea which predicates that shapine th g took place of site otherwisr fth e fo e suc erron ha less ri s likel havo yt e occurredt No . many other stones of the circles appear to be carefully shaped. It is another instance of the importance attached to the area around the recumbent. e side th s welf stone o A s a lshoule on s d also not possibilitye eth , first forwarpu t y b d Kilbride-Jones (1934), that the bases of many of the circle-stones were 'keeled' or shaped into a rough beak which enabled them to be erected more easily. He noticed stones like this at Loanhead o fKeigd DavioOl .d Similaan t r shapin seee b t Cothiemui na n gca fallee th f no r e Wooon n do stones and at other ruined sites. e. Ring-cairns Many RSCs have some form of ring-cairn within them. The average diameter is 44 ft, much close cair e Clav a tha th o rf t nf o o ta passage-grave thaClava f no a ring-cairn (Burl 1973). Kerbs were placed roun circumferencee dth t LoanheaA . Daviof do t they were grade heightn di , much as those in the Clava cairns, with the largest lying towards the south. Generally, they were not especially big stones, those at Hatton of Ardoyne being up to 18 in high though set 2 ft into the ground. The cairns themselves could never have been conspicuous. At Cairn Riv it was estimated thacaire th t n might have beet high f Loanhead'd n3 an , moro s n cair s e nthawa t high f n2 . Sometimes the cairn was little more than a floor of stones as at Clatt of Hillhead or Bankhead. | PROCEEDING 0 7 THF SO E SOCIETY, 1969-70 One may suppose that it was the circle of stones that was now of prime importance with the cairn being retaine traditionaa s da l feature whose significanc fadings ewa . Often within the cairns was a central space, usually circular, and edged with kerbstones. It was in this space that pits containing charcoal and cremations were discovered.

BURIAL DEPOSITD SAN S . Centrala area, (i) Pits centre ring-cairne th th t f espace o A th diametern n ei i , t whicf vary 8 2 hyma o , t fro t f m9 there is almost invariable evidence of cremated burial, usually within a pit. Some of these pits were lined with stones. Others were simply cut into the soil. At Ardlair two flat stones were arranged 'lik erooa t deef f 2 abovp t containinpi ea unaccompanien ga d cremation. At Hatton of Ardoyne a large pit, 5 ft 6 in in diameter and 4 ft deep was paved with small boulder held an scrematioda fire-reddenea d an n d 'urn' Keig'd Ol . s pit ,rectangulaa r trench that cut through a burned area, was much more shallow, being only 8 in deep, and contained dark earth, charcoa cremated an l d bone fragments. Ther referenca s ei tima o et before 1692 when they 'did see ashes of some burnt matter digged out of the bottom of a little circle ... in thf thoso e e centre on monument f eo . nea churc. e . sth r f Keigho ' (Garden 1692, 342)e .Th burnt area is similar to a fire-marked patch at Loanhead of Daviot. deen i 6 p t witf Ol2 ht dsidepi Rayna sd 'buileha t lik well'ea , which held burnt bone, charcoal, a 'reddish urn', and part of a stone bracer of polished, pale green stone perforated with three holesurvivins it t sa g end, Atkinson's typ. WheeB3 n Coles excavated Garrol Wood RSC (Coles 1905A), he found a shallow pit, lined with six granite slabs, full of burnt bone and charcoal. To its north-west were more cremated bones on a granite slab. Loanhea pitn f Davio dr depressiono te so d ha t s withi centras nit l spac t noneebu thesf :o e had cremated bone. Instead, the whole of the central area, which was not lined with kerbstones, was covered wit hcompactea d layer beneath whicdeposia s thicn hi wa blacf 2 tk o k earth with much charcoal. No less than 5 Ib of burnt bones was discovered in patches here, very thoroughly cremated, mostly adult t witsbu h some very young children's skulls. centras it Anothen i t witl C areEsslipi s h a rRS Greater ae wa eth , Kincardine, where there was a of small boulders containing pieces of bone. recenA t excavatio Clava-typa n no e tom t Raigmorba e (IN outsid) V47 e Inverness (Hen- shall 1963, 384) also revealed a circular kerb within which were several pits, one containing a cupmarked stone (information from D D A Simpson).

Central area. (//). Without pits No pits were discovered at Castle Frazer, Sunhoney or Auchquhorthies. The central space pavina firse d th stonef ha t g o t a s under whic blacs hwa k mould, charcoa cremated an l d bones. At Sunhoney, eight deposits of burnt bone were found in the same area. Most of the stones

surroundin centrae gth ; l space were fire-marked caire th morno d n itsel an s ,e thaf wa hight f n1 . And in Auchquhorthies' central space was charcoal, half-burned ashes and urn fragments; mentioo n mads nwa bonef eo .

b. By circle stones Several excavated sites revealed small stone settings around the bases of the circle-stones. These were called 'minor cairns' by the excavator of Loanhead of Daviot but this is a misleading BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND | 71 title. Some of these settings held charcoal or sherds. None had bone. The paucity of reliable excavation accounts and the general reluctance to dig anywhere except in the very centre of these monuments makes the following digest little more than a hint of what may be a customary feature of RSCs. Castle Frazer had a low earth '' over a layer of small boulders by stone 4. Under- neath were eight deposit blacf so k moul charcoald dan , seve fragmentn whicf nur o d hha s showing trace f burningso . Other small mounds were . noticeThes7 d et stonean d a setting 6 , 1 s s were likened to 'pavements' by Dalrymple. They appear to be contemporary with the circle for a black mould was seen not only under the settings but extending beneath the circle-stones and unde platforme rth . Although they wer stoneex founsi e sfout th dexamine a f containeo re on t dno d any bone fragments. t HattoA f Ardoyneno Dalrympley founs b , als g stonwa y db ot du whichpi eD a , , like ston t Castla e4 e Frazer, stoon i d6 t oppositf 2 largx a t s wesf e ee4 th wa one x tt t pillarf pi ,6 e .Th deep, extending inwards fro stonee mth t containeI . d burnt material, charcoa fire-marked an l d bonestoneo n t .sbu Old Rayne had a roughly circular pit almost equidistant between the east pillar and the t intstoneasts basee it cu ot dee th f o , ed t t 5 narrowin,pa an mout s t f it 2 t a o ht n i g 6 fro t f m3 18 in of rocky subsoil. It also held black mould and fire-marked stones but no bones. Each of the pillars at this RSC stood in a small mound. At Sunhoney, Dalrymple recorded (Stuart 1867) that several circle-stones had small semi- circular pavement stonef so fronn si thef o t tha mdeposito bu n t underneathy sla soute th n h O . cistlika caire s sidth nf wa e o e stone setting which held some sherd 'ruda f so e stone vesselt bu ' there was no trace of a burial. The final site is the most detailed of all. Loanhead of Daviot (Kilbride-Jones 1935) had stone settings beside all the stones other than the pillars; between each circle-stone and cairn-kerb wa stonsa e about 1squaren 8i . Going clockwise fro wese mth t pillar settine th , stonf go hele2 d three small sherds. Stone 3 had eight sherds of an apparent flat-rimmed, bucket-shaped urn which may have been deliberately broken, and beside the circle-stone was a single beaker sherd. e settinTh vers f stongo ywa e4 disturbe d becaus robbine th f e o f cair go n stones; betweee nth singla kere s th stont beyon bewa f d sherd8 ean stone d dth an , e were sherd f anotheo s r flat- rimmed urn. This contained both charcoal and burnt bone and, as this is the only recorded instance osettina f g having cremated bone worts i t i , h emphasisin wele li gld thaoutsiddi t i t circle eth e tha d aredamagede s an th t awa , bein 'thn go e oute rnorth-wes e limitth n so tstone sideth f eo ' setting, and cannot be assumed to have held a sealed deposit. same th ed sorha f setting 6 o totherse Stone d th s an sa s5 . Stonseverad ha e7 l sherdf so flat-rimmed ware unde usuae rth l stone-covered earth mound witd an ,h the founs mwa singlda e beaker sherd potteryo n . beea d cisSton d t ha tn ha bu , e8 adde t outsidi o dt circlee eth , filled with burnt bone and black earth and with an incense cup in the NE corner. The addition of this likenee outside additione circlb e th cisth th n o f t o teca dt eo f cairnso barrowd san otheo st r southern stone circles like Boskednan, Cornwall (Borlase and Lukis 1885, 24) and , Derbyshir t Georg(S e e Gray 1903) incense Th .indicatep ecu data s e aroun mid-secone dth d millennium t alsI . o point data o st e earlier tha activitiee n th thi r sfo s connected wit buildine hth g RSCe th earlies d f .o an e us t By Loanhead's stone 9, the last before the E pillar, were many very small flat-rimmed urn sherds, and also a single layer of roughish stones on which there were two beaker sherds. Evidence from the four sites discussed, Castle Frazer, Hatton of Ardoyne, Old Rayne and Loanhead of Daviot, shows that although some stones had deposits by them these were not of | 7PROCEEDING2 S OF THE SOCIETY, 1969-70 burials, which were placed only within the central area, but of adjuncts to the cremation - char- coal, pottery, fire-marked stones possibls i t I . e that their depositio intendes nwa sanctifo dt r yo 'strengthen' the circle-stones as a barrier against the outside world like the bank discussed earlier.

. Otherc burials Like Loanhea f Daviodo t some circles appea contaio t r n secondary burials. Several reputedly were removed from Harestane, Feith Hill, Banff Nortd An . h Strone extraordinariln a , y diminutive RSC, had 'seven ancient graves' lying nearly E-W in the circle on its E side with some fragments of 'what must have been an urn because of the marks 'of ornamentation on them'. Sunhoney's sub-circula cairn'e r th cis n o st south edg alreads eha y been mentioned t AuchquA . - horthies there was a short cist between the cairn and the circle, with ashes and an urn in it.

d. Other structures Once again, Loanhea Daviof do t remind imperfecw ho s knowledgr su ou t thesf eo e monu- ments is. Beneath the cairn but sometimes projecting through it was an arrangement of stones, some as large as the kerbs. The excavator thought they lay in a crescent-shape which had been denuded at the north and west by the removal of cairn material. It is equally likely that originally the horseshoa y n weri t ese e pattern wit open htowarda d nen recumbente sth . Suc arrangen ha - ment is known within several other circles, the best known being III with its sarsen trilithons, and others being Arminghall, Norfolk (Clark 1936), Croft Moraig, Perth (Piggott and Simpson 1971), and Dun Ruadh, Co. Tyrone (Davies 1936). Such horseshoe settings fre- SW-Na quentl n o e yEli axis. Thos stonn ei e include Croft Moraig; Broubster, (Inv. Caith. no. 163); Hethpool, Northumberland (Honeyman 1935); and Dun Ruadh, all open to the SW; Stonehenge III, open to the NE. In timber, there are Arminghall and Lugg, Co. Dublin (Kilbride-Jones 1950). In earth there is Cowiemuir, Moray (Coles 1906, no. 20). These also have their open ends toward e SW-SSWsth . This orientatio differeno s s ni t from that customarily noticed in burial monuments that it may represent a tradition different from that, perhaps originally of open-air structures. Ther markedla s ei y eastern distributio nt f thesyo e horseshoes. But Achavanich, Caithness (Inv. Caith.) is open to the SSE and the inner setting at Bleasdale, Lancashire (Varley 1938) to the E. It must suffice here to point to the predominance of the NE-SW axi thesn si e horseshoe settings. Underneath the 'crescent' at Loanhead on the east, was a small pit containing one piece of burnt bone, one sherd and one piece of charcoal. Just to its N was a large area of bright red hard-baked soil concealed beneath the stones of the 'crescent'. Above it, and adhering to the stonesa black s wa , greasy laye f fino r e charcoal dust with many fragment f burno s t bone, remaine th funeraa f so l over whic caire beed hth nha n built.

e. Burning There were three other sites in which traces of burning were discovered. At Druidsfield, according to local people, a causeway had been found within fifty yards of the circle and its paving was covered with ashes. At Gingomyres a layer of ashes with animal bones was found Keig d circlee excepie onlOl C nth th t , yRS A . t Loanhea f Daviodo havo t t e been excavated properly, a was uncovered in the centre space, 18 in square and baked red. Beneath the clayey layer here was an irregular burned area 13 ft in diameter, and there were also some small patches beneat caire hth n with trace f superficiaso l burning. Altogether, of the fourteen sites of which there are excavation accounts, eleven had signs of Bourtreebusfired Ol . traceo n f d anythino s hha g becaus earlien ea r diggin d removegha d BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLE NORTH-EASF SO T SCOTLAN3 7 | D everything significant. At North Strone bones were found but it was not stated whether they were burned onls i t Aiket ya I . y Bracategoricalle b en thaca t i t y stated that there wer remaino en s of crematio r burninno centrae th n gi l space.

f. Quartz quartf o e zus pebblee Th r stoneso s occurs occasionall Clava-RSe th n yi C tradition (Burl 1973). Despite its abundance around the entrance to Corrimony passage-grave (Piggott 1956, 173) and in the chamber of Druidtemple (Henshall 1963, 375), no other Clava site (except the little Balnuaran circle) appears to have had much quartz. Similarly, withi RSCse nth , only Castle Frazescattea d f sucha ro r h stones platfore th ; m was covered with quartzite pebbles and this position, so reminiscent of Corrimony's entrance, strengthen suppositioe sth n that platform putativee th e sar , non-functional descendant Clavf so a passages. But other than Castle Frazer no certain RSC is known to contain quartz pebbles although Balquhain's outlie quartzs wa r t CorriA . e Cairn trace f considerablso e burning, white quartz and sherds including part of an encrusted urn were found in the centre space but it is not certain that this site was an RSC. Similarly, at Culsh, Aberdeen, a circle destroyed about 1830, there was a mass of burnt soil, four pits, two of which held bones, and a remarkable con- centratio f smalno l white quartzite pebbles. Again t cannoi , certaie b t nC thaRS t n Culsa s hwa though its position on a hillside and its associations points to the possibility.

ASTRONOMY Wit presenhthe t interes astronomin t megalithiyand c setting woulsit inappropriatdbe e to ignore the possible astronomical use of RSCs though it should be pointed out that few modern archaeo-astronomers, including Thorn, believe that stone circles were used for this purpose. RSCs have been astronomically studied in the past. After Lewis (1888, 52), Somerville (1923, 193) discussed their possible calendrical function. Lockyer (1906) found the orientations so close to a N-S line that he predicated alignments on either the star Capella or Arcturus. His calculated dates, however, seem improbable alignmenn A . Arcturun o t t Loanheasa Daviof do t implie f Capellai BC, 0 or ddata ;66 f e,o whic158, 0BC h would scalee havb o et d s dowit r nfo C14 equivalent of c 1300 BC, very late for a site with AOC beaker sherds. Thorn has found little of moment in RSCs although what alignments he did postulate were solar or lunar (Thorn 1967, Table 8. 1, B1/8-B7/10). Although, because the recumbent stone was placed at the SW, it was thought that RSCs were orientate midwintee th n do r sunset analysin circlea e ,plan e th th f f sso so throug mide hth - recumbene pointh f o t RSCssusceptibl4 e t7 ar onl e 5 th 3 ,y f rarel O havin f . eo ySW point ge th o st their orientation determined, bearings being taken from the accurate plans of Thorn (1967) where possible. The resultant azimuths lie between 230° (SW) and 156° (SSE) (fig 4). Alignments of the passages of Clava chambered tombs have almost identical distributions. Yet midwinter sunset around latitude 57° occurred about 221° and would not vary greatly except in those unusual situations where higa ther s h ewa hil C l immediatel RS sitee f th o . f Oveo % 5 W 7 r S y thosn i S line e farthee e Styx-liksar th o t r e region mood s wheran nn neitheesu r rosr seteno . Alignments on stars are not appropriate chronologically. The lines are astronomically meaningless theit ye rd limitean d distribution suggest astronomican sa l basis. The explanation given here is no more than tentative and needs checking by careful field- saie b dn thaca surve t majoritta i SSW-NNa t n ybu o RSCf t yo ou t sE appease axise e b th ,o rt south point varying between SW and SSE, and this is very reminiscent of the N-S positions of 74 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1969-70

early beaker burials (Clarke 1970, 455-6), where the axis was presumably determined by the body being laid to face east or west. It may be that RSCs also were designed to 'face' east, the recum- bent and its pillars being only a symbolic entrance on a line at right-angles to the orientation. architecture Th f RSCeo s suggests three criteribuilderse th r arecumbenfo e e th b : o t d ha t BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND | 75 in the southern arc of the circle; the site should be elevated; and there should be a good view, usually to the east. Thus the dominant orientation may have been towards the sunrise. If this is so and the recumbent line is at right-angles to it then many of the RSCs appear to have been late builth e n summei t earld ran y autumn. Referenc show4 g fi s o t esom e fairly homogeneous group r azimuthfo s f recumbeno s t SSE; 1 stones d SW centrae . an l GrouTh .al W s S i l wit) t groupB a (6 mainl s i h2 W pA ySS (fiE , 2b)g4 SS .= SucF d han loca; SSEl= SW indicatiouniformitn = D a ;; E e b SW y = n yma C of traditional times for the building of these sites. Only in Area 12 are azimuths completely opposed, Berrybra Nethertod an e beinW S SSEo no gt t . wide Th e scatte f azimuth o rClav n i E a SS spassage-grave betweed an W nS RSCd san s si not paralleled in Clava ring-cairns (fig 4) where lines from the centre to the tallest kerb or circle- stone all lie between SW (Bruaich, 223°) and SSW (Daviot, 195°). These alignments appear to directle b y relate midwinteo dt r sunse t 221°a t minoe ,th r deviations soute th ho t being causey db the effect of a close mountainous horizon altitude, often of 5° or more. In this respect, as in their circle-diameter centre-spacesd an s , RSCs appear more closely relate Clavo dt a passage-graves than to the ring-cairns. It must be pointed out that, if the 'right-angle' interpretation of the position of the recum- bent ston corrects ei t impliei , s thaorientatioe th t connectes nwa d with ceremonies relateo dt buildine th circle later th fo witr f ert o gburiale o viewinghno th t sbu . Thes havy eema been sun- circlee th deae t lineth s d r bu certainl sfo y wer t observatorieseno .

FUNCTION detaileA d examinatio recumbene th f no t stone circleScotlanE N f so d reveals much evidence of burial but does not inevitably demonstrate that their prime purpose was sepulchral. It is, however, possibl t forwarpu o et d tentative idea whicn i y s habou wa the e yth t were constructed and of the ceremonies that took place within them. The first task of the circle-builders was to find a suitable site, preferably upon a level spur hillsida n o e from which there were distant views achievo .T e thi t leassa t three sites were levelled, An occasional stone circle elsewhere in Britain, like Dun Ruadh, Co. Tyrone, or Croft Moraig, Perthshire knows i , havo nt e been erecte earlien a n do r site. Ther onls ei slightese yth t hint that this was the case in RSCs: one pesthole under the cairn at Loanhead of Daviot. Future excavation reveay sma l more elsewhere. The circle then had to be laid out. It is possible that it was the circle of standing stones firsthas twa t planned. Apart fro indicatione mth s tha caire buils th t nwa t latenoticeabls i t i r e that circle, cair centrd nan e spac t Loanheaea d have three different centres wit hvarianca a f eo foot between each other suggesting separate period f laying-outo s s onlA . y versitew e yfe ar s anything but circular, some being flattened (Thorn 1967, 56-83) and Tomnagorn and Netherton assumee ellipticalb y ma d t i ,tha initiae tth l plan involved nothing more tha ncentraa l stakd ean ropa describo et circlea e aroun radiuA . d it abou f so t 40ft would caus appreciablo en e eccentricity through the dragging and wavering of the radial over the ground. Then would com e quarryineth concludy dressind stonese gan ma th e f go eOn . thae th t placesits ewa neas da possibl s ra sourca eo t stonef eo . Onl recumbene yth t would create problems for in many cases its massive block could be found only some miles away. At Balnacraig the recumbent is thought to have come from Stot Hill f mile away, and as the stone is about 15 tons t surprisin weighn i no s i t i t g tha circle th t mucs ei h neare fooe rth t tha crese slopa nth f o t e that climbs 200 ft at a gradient of 1:5. The recumbents at Balquhain and Cothiemuir Wood both 76 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1969-70 weigh abou t Dyc a tons 5 tonsd 1 t4 e2 an , . Kirkto Bourtie'f no s enormous stone measurex t f 7 s1 Keid Ol weighd g t a thaan realisee s t i t f leason tsa t 5 i tons incredible 0 t x 3 ts th n i Bu . 6 t f e 5 e effortcircle-builders.th f o s thicn i e recumben6 k t Th f hign i 6 9 hx t t lonf f t6 6 herg1 x s ei d weighan s abou tons8 4 t . (Allowin r irregularitiegfo e recumbenth s t stone s approximateli y 610 cu ft. Sillimanite gneiss has an average specific gravity of 183J Ib per cu ft). It is believed to have come from six miles away in the Don valley. Though much of the journey could be along flat ground, trees permitting madfinae e b th , o let hauuphild ha l l over nearly hal mila f e gradiena t a f 1:14o t . Atkinson (1961) calculated tha leven o t l terrain, onc ston e wern movings eth eme ewa o tw , sufficien pulo t t slopy f weightl o eacan en t hwoulto bu , d demand more d KeipeopleOl g t A . lase th t climb must have involve strengte dth hundrea f ho fiftd r moro dan y e persons juso t t pulstonee otherd th l An . s woul needede db ; Atkinson's figures wer estone baseth en do bein g shifted over rollers, each of which would need four to six people to carry it at Old Keig. The long recumbent would have required a minimum of three rollers beneath it and three more either just released by the forward movement of the stone or just about to be covered by it. Altogethe t thira s mussite eon t assume tha smallese th t t work-forc abous hundree ewa on t d dan eighty labourers, and such an effort must have involved either the combination of several small communitie perhapr so professionasa l gang. Given so many persons the erection of the stones would not be particularly difficult for, although some of the stones were 11-12 ft long, they were not as heavy as the gigantic recumbent. Kilbride-Jones (1934) has demonstrated how these pillars were 'keeled' at their bases to provide easn a y fulcrum Keilled an ; r (1934) indicate waye dth whicn si h severa pillare th f o ls were dressed to fit better against the recumbent. oftes wa nnumbee C betweeTh RS f stone o rn a n n si eleve twelved twenty-sie nan th f O . x site t whicsa numbee hth f stoneo r safeln s ca calculated e yb , thif fifteeo se numberar n . Onle yon RSC, Candle Hill, Insch fewes ha , r than nine onld an ,y North Stron mors eha e than thirteen. This is quite compatible with a Clava ancestry. Three Clava cairns had eight stones in their circles, three had ten, and at least ten circles had twelve stones. The observation brings with it intimations of elementary numeracy in these societies. Befor erectine eth stonee th likels i f gt o si y tha t leasa t t cupmarkine somth f eo beed gha n done. Sometimes these marks are extremely close to the edge or base of a stone, making their subsequent formation very difficult. After the erection of the circle-stones came the ceremonies, perhaps related to sunrise at particulaa bees yearre ha timth n t I f .note eo d thacustomare th t y for f buriamo RSCn i l s si cremation havy thid san ema , occurred withi circlee nth , explainin large gth e burnt patch under the cairn at Loanhead of Daviot. At other sites it may have taken place in the large centre space. Keid Ol gtrenc a t A beed t throughha n cu hburna centrte areath t f Sunhoneeo A . y were fire- marked stones circle-stona y B . t Hattoea Ardoynf no wida s ee wa are a with burnt materiad an l fire-marked stones, another possible pyre like Loanhead. After the burning of the dead the interments could be made, often in a stonelined pit, and caire th nRaynd built Ol bonese t eth A . , ashe charcoad san l fro pyre mth e were spilled around the pit's mouth. Maybe now pots were deliberately smashed (this was deduced at Loanhead). At this point also the small 'cairns' could have been built against the circle-stones, covering material from the pyre from which the bones had already been removed. There is also the possi- bility tha firse th tt activitie site th e t includesa diggine dth pitf depositiod go san f cremateno d bone e resulTh . t woul vere db y similaDorchestere th o t r , Oxon sites (Atkinson, Piggotd an t Sandars 1951) unlikels i t I . y that such pits antedate constructioe dth aree kere th ath s ba f no BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND | 77 would soon become indistinguishable fro lane mth d aroun t unlesdi t weri s e demarcaten di some way. And then the cairn could be constructed, being sometimes only a token floor of stones. Thihavy sma e bee finae nth l erectioe stagth f eo n ceremonies thusd An . , incomplete thougf i t hi pattera buildine e th se RSCn n a ni y cremation e on f go e.ma Th then si similae mar thoso t r e Clava sites like Kinchyle of Dores (Henshall 1963, 380), Druidtemple (ibid, 375), Avielochan (ibid, 359) Balnuaran of Clava Centre (ibid, 361) and Culdoich (ibid, 371), a continuity of tradition not surprising in antiquity. It is difficult to see RSCs having a purpose other than ritualistic for astronomical observation woul requirt dno ewhola e circl stonef eo s instea simpla f do e line woulr ,no dseet i demanmo t n da elaborate for conceivabls i burialf mt o i t Ye . e that such activities could have enhance nature dth e of rites within the circle. Despite their burials it may be that the circles are not the sepulchres they appear to be but religious monuments in which the ceremonies were connected with death or ancestor worship r wit o sune hth t mus.I notee b t d tha centrae th t l cairn would preclud ritey ean s performey db a large group, and that an open central space would have been more suited to a meeting-place or a sanctuary than the cairn-encumbered interior of an RSC. Any form of dancing around the stones would have been hindere platfore th y db m between recumben cairnd an t . The presence of burnt human bones in these sites cannot today be considered to prove that the main function of RSCs was sepulchral. It remains true that the stone circles of northern Britain with their almost invariable burials are different from those of the south but this may be a difference of dedication or socio-magical ritual rather than of function. Earthen long barrows may no longer be the simple sepulchral mounds they were thought to be (Henshall 1970, 40). Irish court cairns similarl havy yema been less tombs than ritual centres (Case 1969, 13)d .An RSC clearle ar s y more than jus t e depositioplaceth r sfo f cremateno d bone. Their carefully designed architecture, their solar orientation, the broken pottery, and their chosen positions suggest that these were monument f greaso t importanc theio et r builders. Their density implies that quite small localities might have had their own stone circle. It is too soon to be dogmatic about their original significance. It can be said that burial was one of their dominant features and that recumbent stone circles belong to a late but still imposing megalithic tradition in Britain.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Ther mane ear y peopl emusI t than informatior kfo criticisr fo preparatio e d th nman n i f no this paper particularn I . , Mis HenshalS sA discussior lfo Clave th f nao cairns KenworthJ r M ; y SimpsonA notes loa RitchieD e hi foG MclnnesJ RSCs n f th rso I D n o N r r ;J D ; M ; r D ; Professo ThorA r commentr nfo astronomicae th n so l problemsOrdnance stafth e f th o f d ean ; Survey, Edinburgh, ever helpful and ever courteous.

APPENDIXA Recumbent Stone Circles Aberdeen 1. AIKEY BRAE J 959471N . . Ferguson 1881, 105; Cole. s 190413 . no , . ARDLAIR2 552279J N . . Stuart 1867, xxii; Coles. 190253 . ,no 3. ARNHILL. NJ 531456. Coles 1902, no. 64. | PROCEEDING 8 7 THF SO E SOCIETY, 1969-70 . AUCHMACHAR4 J 948503N . . Cole. s 190415 . no , 5. AUCHMAUDDIE. NJ 881448. Coles 1904, no. 9. 6. AULD KIRK o' TOUGH. NJ 625092. Coles 1900, no. 14. 7. BALNACRAIG. NJ 603035. Coles 1900, no. 13. 8. BALQUHAIN 735241J N . . Cole ; Ritchis 190117 . eno , 1918, 91-4. 9. BERRYBRAE. NK 028572. Coles 1904, no. 19. . BINGHILL10 J 855023N . . Coles. 190021 . no , 11. BLUE CAIRN. NJ 411063. Ogston 1931,108-9; Keiller 1934, 8,12; Craig 1950, 428-30. . BRAEHEAD12 J 592255N . . Coles. 190246 . no , . BROOMEND13 , AUCHLEVEN J 63.25N . . Keiller 1934. 20 , 14. CAIRNTON J 58.44N . . Cole s; Keille 190336 . rno , 1934. 12 , . CAIR15 N Riv J 674466N . . Cole. s 190332 . no , 16. CANDLE HILL, INSCH. NJ 599299. Coles 1902, no. 41. . CASTL17 E FRAZER J 715125N . . Coles ; Cole19014 . sno , 1904, 299; Keiller . 193416 , 8 , 18. CLATT, BANKHEAD. NJ 529270. N.S.A. XII, 851; Coles 1902, no. 51; Keiller 1934, 18. 19. CLATT, HILLHEAD. NJ 528265. N.S.A. XII, 851-2; Coles 1902, no. 50; Keiller 1934, 18. . CLOCHFORBIE20 80.58J N . . Coles. 190425 . no , . CORRSTON21 E WOOD J 510271N . . Coles. 190254 . no , 22. CORRYDOWN J 707445N . . Cole. s 190325 . no , 23. COTHIEMUIR WOOD 617198J N . . Cole ; sKeille 190110 N.S.A; . 13 rno , , 193411 . XII, 8 , , 946-7. . CROOKMORE24 J 588184N . . Keille. r 193419 , 18 , 25. DRUIDSFIELD. NJ 578177. N.S.A. XII, 449-50; Wilson 1851, 111; Coles 1901, no. 8; Keiller 1934, 12, 18. 26. DRUIDSTONE. NJ 616222. Coles 1901, no. 18. 27. DUNNIDEER. NJ 608284. Coles 1902, no. 39. 28. DYCE, TYREBAGGER. NJ 860133. Coles 1900, no. 22; Keiller 1934, 9, 13, 15. 29. EASTER AQUORTHIES. NJ 732208. Coles 1901, no. 15; Keiller 1934, 8, 9, 12, 16, 17. 30. FRENDRAUGHT. NJ 62.41. Ritchie 1917, 30-34. 31. GAVAL. NJ 981515. Coles 1904, no. 19. 32. GINGOMYRES. NJ 46.42. Stuart 1855, 141: Coles 1906, no. 12. . HATTO33 ARDOYNEF NO J 659268N . . Stuart 1867, xxii; Coles. 190121 . no , 34. HILL OF FIDDES. NJ 934243. Anderson 1777; Coles 1902, no. 23. 35. INSCHFIELD J 624294N . . Coles. 190245 . no , 36. KIRKTON OF BOURTIE. NJ 801250. Coles 1902, no. 25. 37. LOANEND. NJ 604242. Coles 1901, no. 19. . LOANHEA38 DAViOTF DO J 747288N . . Cole s; Kilbride-Jone 190229 . ,no s 1935, 168-222. . LOUDO39 N WOOD J 962497N . . Cole. s 190414 . no , . MAIN40 HATTONF SO J 699425N . . Coles. 190326 . no , 41. MIDMAR. NJ 699064. Smith 1880, 308; Coles 1900, no. 16; Keiller 1934, 13, 14. . MIL 42 GARDENF LO J 69.25N . . Cole. s 190234 . no , 43. MUNDURNO. NJ 940131. Coles 1904, 303-5. 44. NETHER BALFOUR. NJ 539172. Keiller 1934, 18. 45. NETHER CORSKIE. NJ 749096. Coles 1903, no. 1. . NETHE46 R COULLIE J 709156N . . Cole. s 19015A . no , 47. NETHERTON. NK 043573. Coles 1904, no. 22. 48. NEW CRAIG, NJ 745296. Coles 1902, no. 30; Ritchie 1918, 94-6. . NORT49 H STRONE J 584138N . . Scottish Notes Queries,& May, 1897, 178; Coles ; Keille19023 . no ,r 1934, 10-13, 20. KEIGD J 593195OL N . . 50 . Garden 1692; Coles ; Child19019 . no ,e 1933, 1934. RAYNED OL J 679280 . N . 51 . PSAS, 11(1854-7), 429; Stuart 1867, xxi; Cole. s 190233 . no , 52. PITGLASSIE. NJ 686434. Coles 1903, no. 24. 53. POTTERTON. NJ 952163. Ritchie 1917, 36-8; Ritchie 1918, 91. 54. SOUTH FORNET. NJ 782109. Coles 1902, no. 4. 55. SOUTH LEY LODGE. NJ 767132. Coles 1902, no. 11. 56. STONEHEAD J 601287N . . Coles. 190240 . no , . STRICKEN57 937545J N . . Cole. s 190418 . no , BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAN9 7 | D . SUNHONEY58 J 716058N . . Stuart 1867, xxi; Cole. s 190018 . ,no 59. TOMNAGORN. NJ 651077. Coles 1900, no. 15. 60. TOMNAVERIE. NJ 486034. Coles 1905B, no. 2. 61. WANTONWELLS. NJ 619273. Coles 1902, no. 37. . WESTE62 R ECHT J 739084N . . Coles. 190019 . no , . WHITEHILL63 , TILLIFOURIE J 643135N . . Stuart 1855, 141; Coles 1901; Keille6 . ,no r 1934, 8,16,17,19. Angus . COLMEALLIE1 565781O N . . Warden 1882, 226-7; Keiller 1934. 1 , Banff 1. HARESTANE, FEITH HILL. NJ 664438. Coles 1903, no. 27. 2. ROTHIEMAY. NJ 550487. Coles 1903, no. 38; Ritchie 1918, 104-8.

Kincardine 1. AUCHQUHORTHIES. NO 901963. Thomson 1865, 133-4; Stuart 1867, xix; Coles 1900, 145-9; Smith 1880, 305-6, 307; Keiller 1934 , 8-11. ,3 16 , . ESSLI2 E THE GREATER 717916O N . . Smith 1880, 301-3; Coles . 19008 . ,no 3. ESSLIE THE LESSER. NO 722921. Smith 1880, 303^; Coles 1900, no. 9. 4. GARROL WOOD. NO 725912. Coles 1900, no. 7; Coles 1905A, 190-205; Keiller 1934, 10, 16; Smith 1880, 300-301. 5. MILLPLOUGH 819754O N . . Coles 1903, 196-8. BOURTREEBUSHD OL . 6 902964O N . . Thomson 1865, 134-5; Coles . 19001 . ,no . RAE7 CLUNEF SO 795949O N . . Smith 1880, 299-300; Coles ; Ritchi19005 . ,no e 1919, 71-3. 8. TILQUHILLIE. NO 72.940. Ritchie 1919, 71.

APPENDIX B Possible Recumbent Stone Circles

. Bellman'a s Wood, Banff J 605505N . . Coles . 19069 . ,no b. Cairnfauld, Kincardine. NO 754941. Coles 1900, no. 6. Campe cTh . , Montgoldrum, Kincardine 816772O N . . Coles. 19031 . no , . Chaped ' Sinko l , Aberdeen 706189J N . . Coles. 190011 . ,no e. Corrie Cairn, Aberdee 552205J nN . Stuart 1867, lix-lx (1869)I VI ; PS, , AS 24-5. f. Cortes, Aberdeen. NJ 99.58. N.S.A. XII, 293. g. Cotbank of Barras, Kincardine. NO 827791. Coles 1903, 198-9. . Culsalmondh , Aberdeen 64.32J N . . N.S.A. XII, 732; Coles. 190268 . ,no i. Culsh, Aberdeen 87.48J N . . Beveridge 1914. j. , Aberdeen. NJ 529399. Coles 1902, no. 63A. . Innesmillk , Moray 289641J N . . T.Inv Cole; . S.S44 , s. .II 190622 . ,no 1. Leslie, Aberdeen J 59.24N . . N.S.A. XII, 1022. . Logim c Coldstone, Aberdeen 459055. J 4 N . EdinburghE S N O . 0 4 J N , . Nethen r Dumeath, Aberdeen 425378J N . . Coles. 190611 . ,no . Newbiggingo , Angus 541693O N . . Jervise 1853, 125. . Brandan'St . p s Stanes, Banff J 608611N . . Coles ; Ritchi19064 . ,no e 1918, 104. . Uppeq r Ord, Aberdeen 48426J N . 9 appr. Coles 1902. , Nos57 , 56 . r. Upper Third, Aberdeen. NJ 677394. Coles 1903, no. 14.

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