A Peedie Bit O' Orkney...
Two of our ancient monuments again tonight (Don't worry, it'll be a while before I run out of them to show you!) - a couple of circles of standing stones, or henges...
It's believed that they would have been used by ancient druids for rituals, probably linked with the summer and winter solstices, or would have certainly had some ceremonial uses - animal bones have been found around the rings, giving evidence of ancient sacrifices.
Standing Stones O' Stenness
The older of the 2 circles (although it's actually more sort of elliptical), now consisting of only 4 upright stones, but these are considerably taller than those of the nearby Ring O' Brodgar - up to 19 feet!
It's believed that they would have been used by ancient druids for rituals, probably linked with the summer and winter solstices, or would have certainly had some ceremonial uses - animal bones have been found around the rings, giving evidence of ancient sacrifices.
Standing Stones O' Stenness
The older of the 2 circles (although it's actually more sort of elliptical), now consisting of only 4 upright stones, but these are considerably taller than those of the nearby Ring O' Brodgar - up to 19 feet!
More information here, courtesy of Orkneyjar: Orkneyjar: Standing Stones O' Stenness
(Credit to www.allfivesenses.com/ for the image - come to Orkney and learn the ancient stone age survival skills of making fires, etc).
Ring O' Brodgar
More complete than the Standing Stones, this consists of a true circle, 104 metres wide, and originally contained 60 megaliths. Today, only around about 30 of these stones remain. The stones vary in height from about 7ft to just over 15ft - imagine trying to put those into place without the assistance of a JCB!
More information from my bible here: Orkneyjar: Ring O' Brodgar
2 comments:
We've been there!! I liked the Ring of Brogar the best...in fact, we went to THOSE Stones TWICE! :) - Though unlike Billy Connolly, we didn't dance naked around them :D)
Thank god, not many tourists do! Well, not many that I know of...
Maybe a visit to Brodgar with a pair of binoculars is required?
And Brodgar is certainly the more impressive of the two sites.
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