Machrie Moor Stone Circles
| Machrie Moor Stone Circles | |
|---|---|
 Machrie Moor Stone Circle 2 | |
  Shown on Arran | |
 Interactive map of Machrie Moor Stone Circles | |
| 55°32′27″N 5°18′49″W / 55.540829°N 5.313655°W | |
| Type | Stone Circles |
| Periods | Neolithic / Early Bronze age |
| Location | Isle of Arran |
| Site notes | |
| Owner | Historic Environment Scotland |
| Public access | Yes |
Official name | Moss Farm, Machrie Moor stone circles |
| Type | Prehistoric domestic and defensive: hut circle, roundhouse; palisaded enclosure, Prehistoric ritual and funerary: chambered cairn, Secular: field system |
| Designated | 1 November 1994 |
| Reference no. | SM90207 |
Machrie Moor Stone Circles is the collective name for six stone circles visible on Machrie Moor near the settlement of Machrie on the Isle of Arran, Scotland.
Description
[edit]Six stone circles are visible on the moor immediately east of the derelict Moss Farm.[1] Some circles are formed of granite boulders, while others are built of tall red sandstone pillars.[1] The moor is covered with other prehistoric remains, including standing stones, burial cairns and cists.[1] The stone circles are positioned over previous timber circles.[2] A radiocarbon date of 2030 ± 180 BCE has been found for the timber circle at Machrie Moor 1.[3] Several hut circles can also be seen as low rings of turf-covered stone.[1]
The six stone circles are situated below a prominent notch on the skyline to the northeast where Machrie Glen divides into two steep-sided valleys.[4] At the summer solstice the notch is intersected by the sun at sunrise, and this may explain why the circles were sited in this location.[4]
The stone circles were recorded in 1861 by James Bryce, and numbered 1 to 5.[5] Five other monuments in the area were numbered 6 to 10, and when subsequently a further stone circle was discovered almost completely submerged in peat in 1978, it was numbered Machrie Moor 11.[5] Around 1 kilometer to the west is the remains of the Moss Farm Road Stone Circle (Machrie Moor 10).[6][7]
In June 2025 it was announced by Historic Environment Scotland that geophysical survey had discovered another prehistoric circle at Machrie Moor.[8]
Machrie Moor 1
[edit]
Machrie Moor 1 (grid reference NR91203239) is an ellipse with axes 12.7 metres and 14.6 metres.[9] It is formed from six granite boulders and five sandstone slabs, arranged alternately.[9] Four of the granite blocks have fallen.[9]
Machrie Moor 2
[edit]
Machrie Moor 2 (grid reference NR91143241) is the most visually striking of the circles on Machrie Moor.[1] This circle has a diameter of 13.7 metres, and may originally have consisted of seven or eight tall sandstone slabs, three of which survive intact, while stumps of others may be seen.[10] The heights of the three intact stones range from 3.7 metres to 4.9 metres.[10] Within the circle are two large stones, apparently cut from a fallen pillar, one of which now has a central hole as if for conversion to a millstone.[10] Excavations in 1861 revealed a cist in the centre of the circle.[10] A food vessel was found in this central cist.[1] A second, empty, short cist was found between the centre and the northeast upright stone.[10]
Machrie Moor 3
[edit]
Machrie Moor 3 (grid reference NR91023244) originally consisted of nine stones.[11] Only one still stands, 4.3 metres high, but the stumps of others are still partially visible in the peat.[11] The stones form a geometrical egg-shape.[11] Excavations in 1861 uncovered a small cist in the centre containing an urn with some fragments of burnt bone and flint flakes.[11] A second cist was found 1 metre south of the centre; it contained a crouched burial, also with some flint flakes.[11]
Machrie Moor 4
[edit]
Machrie Moor 4 (grid reference NR91003235) consists of four granite blocks, about 0.9 metres high.[12] Excavations in 1861 uncovered a cist in the centre.[12] In it was an inhumation accompanied by a food vessel, a bronze awl, and three flint flakes.[12]
Machrie Moor 5
[edit]
Machrie Moor 5 (grid reference NR90873234) called "Suidh Coire Fhionn" or "Fingal's Cauldron Seat" consists of two concentric rings of granite boulders.[13] The inner circle is 12.0 metres in diameter and consists of eight granite boulders.[13] Excavations in 1861 uncovered an empty, ruined cist in the centre.[13] The outer circle is approximately 18.0 metres in diameter and is formed of fifteen granite boulders.[13] The outer circle is said to form a geometrical egg-shape.[13]
Machrie Moor 11
[edit]
Machrie Moor 11 (grid reference NR91213242) is a low stone circle with a diameter of around 13 metres.[14] The tallest of the stones is about 1.2 metres high on the western side.[14] Excavations in 1978-9 revealed 10 upright stones, with a pit between each stone possibly representing a post-hole.[14]
Machrie Moor 12
[edit]Machrie Moor 12 (grid reference NR91003240) is a buried feature discovered through geophysical survey by archaeologists from Historic Environment Scotland[8]. Consisting of 12 pit-like anomalies that form a circular feature, the archaeologists state that there is no stone present in the pits, so the circle could have consisted of either timber or stone uprights.[8]
Other prehistoric remains
[edit]James Bryce listed five other antiquities to the west of the stone circles in 1861. Machrie Moor 6 (grid reference NR90733237) is the remains of a possible chambered cairn consisting of two touching upright stone slabs at right angles.[15] Machrie Moor 7 (grid reference NR90633253) is a standing stone 1.6 metres tall.[16] Machrie Moor 8 (grid reference NR90573237) is the remains of a probable chambered cairn comprising an oval spread of stones approximately 20 metres by 16 metres.[17] The most obvious feature is a 1.8-metre-tall (5.9 ft) standing stone within the east edge of the cairn surrounded by several smaller stones which may have been part of a chamber or facade.[17] Machrie Moor 9 (grid reference NR905324) was a standing stone of which no obvious trace remains.[18] Machrie Moor 10 (grid reference NR90053265) is the Moss Farm Road Stone Circle.[19]
Machrie Moor 6
Machrie Moor 7
Machrie Moor 8
Machrie Moor 10
Around 1.2 kilometres to the east of the Machrie Moor Stone Circles, near the B880 road (grid reference NR92443225), is another stone-setting consisting of three granite boulders and which perhaps originally consisted of four stones.[20]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Machrie Moor Stone Circles, Historic Scotland, accessed 1 May 2014
- ↑ Richards, Colin (2013). Building the Great Stone Circles of the North. Windgather Press. pp. 50–. ISBN 978-1-909686-15-1.
- ↑ Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Yale University Press. p. 35. ISBN 0300114060.
- 1 2 Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Yale University Press. p. 118. ISBN 0300114060.
- 1 2 "Machrie Moor" in Current Archaeology (1988), page 35
- ↑ Moss Farm Road Stone Circle, Historic Scotland, accessed 1 May 2014
- ↑ Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Yale University Press. p. 114. ISBN 0300114060.
- 1 2 3 "New ancient circle discovered underground at Machrie Moor". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Machrie Moor 1 (Site no. NR93SW 1.4)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Machrie Moor 2 (Site no. NR93SW 1.3)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Machrie Moor 3 (Site no. NR93SW 1.1)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Machrie Moor 4 (Site no. NR93SW 1.2)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Machrie Moor (Site no. NR93SW 10)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Machrie Moor 11 (Site no. NR93SW 1.5)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Moss Farm (Site no. NR93SW 11)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Machrie Moor (Site no. NR93SW 2)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- 1 2 Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Moss Farm (Site no. NR93SW 12)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Machrie Moor (Site no. NR93SW 7)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Machrie Moor 10 (Site no. NR93SW 3)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Ballymichael (Site no. NR93SW 16)". Retrieved 25 June 2025.
External links
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