Shianbank

Situated in a small strip of wood are two circles of upright stones, the larger being about 10 yards in diameter and contains nine stones while the other is 8 yards in diameter and seven stones. The stones in each circle are spaced unequally and are of various sizes, the largest being 5ft, and the smallest 2ft high.

Name Book 1864.

Both these stone circles are encircled by a ring of trees, practically all that remains of the strip of woodland in which they lay. As stated by Stewart, the erection of wartime constructions (pillbox, NO12NE 66) and tree felling has mutilated the northernmost circle so that only six stones remain in situ, one is recumbent within the circle on the W side, and an eighth stone lies on top of an adjacent pill-box. This circle appears to have had diameters of about 9.3m N-S by 8.7m transversely; the stones average 0.9m in height and width, and 0.5m in thickness. The other circle has a diameter of about 8.0m and has seven stones in situ; the largest is 0.9m high, 1.0m wide and 0.8m thick. There is a fallen stone on its NE side. Revised at 1/2500. Visited by OS (E G C) 8 October 1963.

This pair of circles of standing stones, comparable with that at Scone Wood (NO12NW 28, q.v.) has been almost totally destroyed. Concrete pill boxes (NO12NE 66) were built in their immediate vicinity during the Second World War, and lately the whole site has been smothered by the dumping of tree stumps. It is now difficult to say how many stones there have been in each circle, whether the stones are graduated in size, and what was the original diameter.

M E C Stewart 1965.

The remains of two stone circles are situated (some 13.5m apart) in a stand of trees about 330m E of Shianbank Cottage; each measures about 8m in diameter and probably originally composed ten stones. Both circles have been disturbed by the construction of a plantation bank and a pillbox (NO12NE 66).

(NO 1555 2730) Seven stones (five of them erect) can be identified of the NW circle. These are numbered and described in order clockwise from the erect boulder on the NNW.

Stone 1 (NNW) measures 0.9m by 0.6m and 0.95m in height.

Stone 2 (NNE) measures 0.95m by 0.5m and 0.8m in height.

Stone 3 (NE) measures 1m by 0.7m and 0.95m in height.

Stone 4 (E) measures 1m by 0.75m and 0.95m in height.

Stone 5 (ESE) measures 1.1m by 0.65m and 0.9m in height.

Stone 6 (SSE) has fallen outwards and measures 1.55m in length by 0.7m in breadth and 0.45m in thickness.

Stone 7 (SW) has fallen inwards and measures 1.5m in length by at least 1.4m in breadth and 0.4m in thickness.

Stones 8, 9 and 10 (forming the W arc) are not visible and may have been buried by the plantation bank.

(NO 1556 2729) Nine stones (six of them erect) can be identified of the SE circle. These are numbered and described in order clockwise from the fallen slab on the NW.

Stone 1 (NW) is largely hidden beneath the turf.

Stone 2 (N) leans inwards and measures 0.75m by 0.4m and 0.7m in height; it apparently measured 0.9m in height when upright.

Stone 3 (NNE) has fallen outwards and measures 0.7m by at least 0.3m, and 1.1m in length.

Stone 4 (ENE) is set on edge and measures 1m by 0.45m and 0.6m in height. Stone 5 (E) is also on edge and measures 0.9m by 0.45m and 0.5m in height.

Stone 6 (SE) is largely buried.

Stone 7 (SSE) leans inwards and measures 1.25m by 0.8m and 0.5m in height; it apparently measured about 0.7m in height when upright.

Stone 8 (SSW) is a rounded block which leans slightly inwards and measures 1.05m by 0.8m and 0.85m in height.

Stone 9 (WSW) is also a rounded stone. It measures 1.1m by 1m and 0.6m in height, and leans slightly outwards.

Stone 10 (W) is not visible and may have been buried by the plantation bank.

Visited by RCAHMS (JRS) 7 April 1989.

RCAHMS surveyed the stone circles at Shianbank (NO12NE 7) with plane-table and alidade on 19 April 1989 at a scale of 1:125. The resultant plan was redrawn in ink and published at a scale of 1:250 as part of a ‘Comparative plans of stone circles in South-east Perth’ illustration (RCAHMS 1994b, 32).