Ballochroy

Ballochroy standing stones

Ballochroy is a megalithic site in Kintyre on the Argyll peninsula in Scotland. It consists of three vertical stones, side by side, aligned with various land features 7–19 miles away.

Alexander Thom, known for his work on Stonehenge, maintained that the great length between the stones and the features of distant landscape lent precision to pinpointing the midsummer and winter solstices for ancient observers.

These three stones are considered the most spectacular set of megalithic monuments that cluster around south Argyll. The three mica schist stones were measured at 3.5m, 3.0m and 2.0m in height. It is possible that this last, smallest, stone may have been broken off at the top. This is unsure however. The line of stones is orientated north-east to south-west.

The flat face of the central stone (at right angles to the alignment) indicates the mountain of Cora Bheinn, on the island of Jura, which is 30 km away. The shortest stone also faces across the alignment, and points to Ben a'Chaolais, the southernmost of the four Paps of Jura. The sun setting here would have given warning of the approach of the solstice.

Ballochroy, Menhir with Jura in the background

As with many megalithic sites, the current theories concerning the exact use of the stones at Ballochroy are somewhat controversial.

See also

• List of archaeoastronomical sites sorted by country

External links

• Map sources for Ballochroy