In the West of Mainland in Orkney, on a spit of land between two lakes, is a remarkable array of megalithic monuments and settlements. We will briefly look at the Stones of Stenness, Maes Howe, the Ness of Brodgar and the Ring of Brodgar.
I appear to have discovered the original reason for building the Stones of Stenness, that no other sources have remarked on. They are clearly intended so that sheep can rub their backs against them.
The Stones of Stenness form one of the earliest stone circles in Britain, at 5,000 years old. Originally there were eleven with an unused place for a twelfth and they are up to six metres high. There were five different kinds of stones used and it appears that the stones came from all around the island. There are only four stones now, plus a few smaller ones. In 1907 the horizontal slab beside the small stones was mistakenly reconstructed on top of those stones as a dolmen (a small megalithic tomb). It was placed on the ground again in the 1970s. A wide water-filled ditch surrounded the circle with one causeway entrance. There was also a hearth at the centre of the circle.
0 yorum:
Post a Comment