Ring of Brodgar neolithic stone circle Orkney Scotland at sunset.
The Ring of Brodgar is the finest known truly circular late Neolithic or early Bronze Age stone ring and a later expression of the spirit which gave rise to Maeshowe, Stenness and Skara of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, the Ring o' Brodgar is found in the West Mainland parish of Stenness. It stands on an eastward-sloping plateau on the Ness o' Brodgar - a thin strip of land separating the Harray and Stenness lochs. Because the interior of the Ring o' Brodgar has never been fully excavated, or scientifically dated, the monument's actual age remains uncertain. However, it is generally assumed to have been erected between 2500 BC and 2000 BC, and was, therefore, the last of the great Neolithic monuments built on the Ness. The stone ring was built in a true circle, almost 104 metres wide. Although it is thought to have originally contained 60 megaliths, this figure is not based on archaeological evidence. Today, only 27 stones remain. (see Figure 1). In contrast to the giant megaliths that make up the Standing Stones o' Stenness, the Brodgar stones are much smaller, varying in height from metres (7 feet) to a maximum of metres (15ft 3in). With a diameter of metres (340 ft), the Brodgar ring is the third largest stone circle in the British Isles. Covering an area of 8,435 square metres (90,790 square feet), it is beaten only by the outer ring of stones at Avebury and the Greater Ring at Stanton Drew in England. Incidentally, the Brodgar ring is exactly the same size as Avebury's two inner rings. Like the nearby Standing Stones o' Stenness, the Ring o' Brodgar has been classed as a henge. Enclosed by a massive rock-cut ditch, it has two entrance causeways, one to the north-west and the other to the south-east. These two causeways differ in size - the south-eastern one just over one metre in width, compared to the wide north-western causeway. strictly speaking, Brodgar can't be called a henge, because it lacks the exte
Size: 4928px × 3264px
Location: Stenness Orkney Scotland
Photo credit: © Les Parsons / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: amber, brodgar, circle, druid, glow, henge, neolithic, orcadian, orkney, ring, scotland, solstice, stone, sunset
