Archaeology Notes

Event ID 859187

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/859187

NB35SE 67 37582 53820

NB 37582 53820 Apart from examining the process of construction, another aim of the Great Stone Circles Project was to investigate the landscape position of Lewissian stone circles. Thanks to information kindly given by Ron Curtis, we examined the site of a possible stone circle adjacent (N) to the enormous standing stone at Clach an Trushal (see NB35SE 1). Resitivity survey conducted by Adrian Challands, in conjunction with field observations and information kindly provided by the landowner, Mr Mackay, all indicated that at least one circle had stood in this area. Moreover, a large monolith-like stone lies in the ditch just N of the Clach an Trushal standing stone.

Six small trenches were excavated revealing the sockets of four stones, three of which still held the broken remains of the monolith (Fig 1). Clearly, the three sockets located in Trenches A, D and E formed part of a circle. However, the stone socket discovered in Trench B was either that of an outlier, possibly part of an avenue, or a component of a second circle. Of particular interest was the presence of the base of a posthole within the bottom of the stone socket in Trench D (Fig 2). This indicates a well attested sequence of timber to stone in stone circles and single monoliths, seen as far apart as Arran and Orkney.

The location of the circle (or circles) is on a flat, almost platform-like, area next to the massive Clach an Trushal standing stone. While the position of the standing stone may have influenced the location of a circle, it is clear that both overlook the valley running E-W to the N. The stone circle thus conforms to a pattern of earlier chambered cairn situation, noted recently by Henley and Sharples, of overlooking routes of movement, as opposed to areas of habitation.

Sponsor: British Academy and University of Manchester.

Colin Richards and Joanna Wright, 2006.