Rothiemay Geophysical Survey

Date 1998

Event ID 1168224

Category Project

Type Project

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1168224

NJ 5508 4872 The recumbent stone circle of Rothiemay is situated in a field to the S of the B9117 road some 0.5km E of the village of Milltown of Rothiemay. At present only four upright stones remain, two on either side of a large recumbent stone which has no flankers. The position of the recumbent stone, at the SW extreme of the arc formed by the monument stones, is typical of such monuments in the area. The heights of the upright stones all approximate to 2m, whilst the recumbent measures about 4 x 1.2m by 1.7m high.

A geophysical survey of the site was undertaken using earth resistance and magnetic methods. The stones were standing in pools of water up to 15cm deep, which effectively masked buried features in the resistance survey, particularly in the vicinity of the three southernmost stones. It was also evident, through their strong magnetisation, that the stones were igneous. Several of the scattered and piled stones in the field were also of igneous origin, confirming the igneous intrusive element on the site.

The coincidence of high resistance with high magnetism in some areas of the survey suggests the presence of ?fired? stone features. It is possible that stones were removed from the circle leaving an igneous residue of packing and fractured stone. Assuming this, the sites of lost stones can be inferred.

If these features are used in conjunction with the known standing stones, a reasonable model can be constructed of the monument. This places five anomalies together with two upright stones as ?outer circle? stones. The remaining uprights, the recumbent and three anomalies form an ?inner circle? within which three anomalies form part of a general igneous platform of horseshoe shape. On the basis of this model the maximum diameter of the circle is 33m. This is significantly larger than other circles in the district, but compares well with the maximum diameter of that at Auchquhorthies (Kincardine; NO 901 963) which also has a concentric form.

A simpler model would be to set the four upright stones and four of the anomalies on a deformed circle, still with a maximum diameter of 33m, with the recumbent asymmetrically placed and confronting, to the N, a platform bounded by three anomalies. This leads to other major anomalies as outliers.

A fuller report has been lodged with the NMRS.

A Aspinall 1998