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Publication Account
Date 1995
Event ID 1016774
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016774
The best preserved example of these settings of small stones, which are unique to Caithness and Sutherland, is appropriately known as the 'Hill o' Many Stanes'. The stone rows run down the southern slope of a low hill. Around 200 stones are arranged in at least 22 rows running north and south, and fanning out slightly towards the south end. The small flat slabs are less than 1m high, and wedged carefully upright with their broad faces in line with the rows. In 1871 around 250 stones were visible, and if the pattern was once complete there may have been over 600 stones originally. There seems to be a main fan pattern in the centre, with a separate fan on the west that is bent towards the north end, and a few stray slabs on the east. The rows are generally regarded as of bronze-age date, but this is more or less guesswork, as no stone rows have yet been excavated in Scotland.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Highlands’, (1995).
