Another day, another circle

Neolithic recumbent stone circles are a unique feature of the Aberdeenshire landscape. They are believed to have served as ritual centres that allowed stone-age farmers to make lunar observations to establish seasonal calendars. Recumbent stone circles, now some 5000 years old, are circles of upright stones in which the 2 tallest stones, always on the SW arc, flank a massive slab set on its side (the recumbent) and wedged so that the top edge is level. The recumbent and its flankers framed the moon as it set or rose in the southern sky.

This particularly fine example is to be found on the crest of a hill near to Inverurie. The name of the circle, Easter Aquhorthies, probably derives from Gaelic words meaning 'field of prayer' and suggests that people continued to appreciate the religious nature of the site long after knowledge of the rituals carried out there had been lost.