Potterton
Recumbent Stone Circle (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age)
Site Name Potterton
Classification Recumbent Stone Circle (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age)
Alternative Name(s) The Temple Stones
Canmore ID 20294
Site Number NJ91NE 7
NGR NJ 9529 1636
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/20294
- Council Aberdeenshire
- Parish Belhelvie
- Former Region Grampian
- Former District Gordon
- Former County Aberdeenshire
NJ91NE 7 9529 1636.
Of the stone circle ('The Temple Stones') that stood on the top of the ridge on the home farm of Potterton House, only the recumbent stone, its accompanying pillars (both fallen), and a fourth stone remain.
The recumbent stone is 9ft long, 6ft high, and from 1ft 6ins to 4ft 6ins thick.
The east pillar is 8ft 6ins long and 5ft 6ins broad, varying from 1ft to 2ft 6ins thick.
The west pillar is 9ft long, 4ft 6ins broad, and 1ft 6ins thick. Near the centre of its outer face there are two small cup-marks, set close together.
The fourth stone lies at the base of the recumbent stone, at right-angles to it and within the circle, and measures 4ft 6ins long by 3ft broad by 1ft thick.
J Ritchie 1917.
NJ 9529 1636. The remains of this feature are generally as described above, and are still known locally as 'The Temple Stones' (information from farmer, Potterton Mains).
The 'fourth stone' (see above) has been removed and the cup-marks on the west pillar were not seen.
Three smaller stones at the site may have formed part of the circle: there is a field-clearance heap in the centre of the site.
Visited by OS (EGC) 16 October 1961.
All that remains of this recumbent stone circle is the massive recumbent boulder and its flanking stones, both of which have fallen. The recumbent, which lay on the SW of the circle, is irregularly-shaped and measures 2.9m in length from ESE to WNW by about 1.1m in thickness and 1.7m in height. The E flanker has fallen to the NE and measures 2.6m in length by 1.7m in breadth and at least 0.7m in thickness. The W flanker has fallen to the WNW and measures 2.9m in length by 1.4m in breadth and at least 0.7m in thickness. A heap of field-cleared stones has been placed behind the recumbent and the remainder of the area of the circle has been cultivated.
Visited by RCAHMS (JRS, IF), 19 February 1996.
(GRC/AAS ground photography cited).
NMRS, MS/712/85.
Field Visit (14 May 1999)
Standing in an arable field on the summit of the rising ground to the NE of Potterton House, the remains of this recumbent stone circle comprise the three stones of its setting. The recumbent (2), which faces SSW, is a roughly rectangular block with an uneven summit and measures 3m in length by 1.7m in height; the W half of its outer face is smooth, but the E half bears a deep scar where a large fragment has been struck off. Both flankers are fallen and lie displaced to either side. They measure 3m and 2.6m in length respectively, the longer W flanker (1) also being the more slender of the pair. Ploughing in the vicinity has left the setting and the field-clearance piled behind it on a low tump raised slightly above the surface of the surrounding field.
Visited by RCAHMS (ATW and IGP) 14 May 1999
Measured Survey (14 May 1999)
RCAHMS surveyed the remains of Potterton recumbent stone circle on 14 May 1999 with plane table and alidade producing a plan and section of the site and an elevation of the recumbent stone at a scale of 1:100. The survey drawing was checked on-site on 2 March 2000. The plan, section and elevation were used as the basis for an illustration, produced in ink and finished in vector graphics software, that was published at a scale of 1:250 (Welfare 2011, 439).
