Ring of Brodgar

The Ring of Brodgar is a Neolithic henge and stone circle on Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.

The stone circle is  in diameter, and the third largest in the British Isles. The ring originally comprised 60 stones, of which only 27 remained standing at the end of the 20th century. The tallest stones stand at the south and west of the ring.

The stones are set in a circular ditch up to  deep,  wide and  in circumference that was carved out of the solid sandstone bedrock by the ancient residents.Hawkes, Jacquetta 1986. The Shell guide to British archaeology. London: Michael Joseph, 262.  Technically, this ditch does not constitute a true henge as there is no sign of an encircling bank of earth and rock. However, many archaeologists refer to this structure as a henge. Aubrey Burl classifies the ditch as a Class II henge; one that has two opposing entrances, in this case on the north-west and south-east.Burl, Aubrey 1976. The Stone circles of the British Isles. London: Yale University Press, p101. , 101

The Ring is in a significant ritual landscape. Within  there are the two circle-henges, four chambered tombs, groups of standing stones, single stones, barrows, cairns, and mounds.Laing, Lloyd 1974. Orkney and Shetland: an archaeological guide. Newton Abbott: David and Charles, 84. , 84 A number of flint arrowheads and broken stone mace-heads were found nearby. They seem to date from the Bronze Age.Childe, V. Gordon & W. Douglas Simpson 1952. Illustrated history of ancient monuments, volume VI, Scotland. Edinburgh: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 35. The nearby Standing Stones of Stenness and its Maeshowe tomb help to make the Ring of Brodgar a site of major importance.

 References 

Category:Archaeological sites in Scotland
Category:Henges
Category:Stone circles
Category:Neolithic
Category:Prehistoric buildings and structures on Orkney
Category:3rd millennium BC buildings and structures