Hill O Many Stanes. Hill O Many Stanes From the northern end of the rows, on a clear day, hills along the coast of Banffshire can be seen across the Moray Firth, some 80 kilometres (50 mi) away. If the night sky is clear the moon in its most southerly rising position will be seen over those same hills. In Megalithic Lunar Observatories (Oxford University Press, 1971) Alexander Thom presented evidence that the stone rows were in effect a Bronze Age lunar observatory, tracking lunar movements over a cycle of 18.6 years.
However, more than twenty similar stone rows are now known in Caithness and Sutherland and none of the others has been linked with astronomical observations. In Britain stone rows of this kind are unknown outside Caithness and Sutherland, but similar rows of much taller stones are found in Brittany. Celtic calendar Coordinates: Hill o' Many Stanes Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland. The Hill o' Many Stanes is signposted inland along a minor road from the A99 in the scattered hamlet of Clyth. You follow the minor road for a third of a mile before coming to an obvious signpost near a layby which provides parking, and then follow a path beyond a gate for the 100m or so to the ancient monument itself. The Hill o' Many Stanes is well named.
It comprises a roughly square area on the southern slope of a low hill otherwise covered in heather and gorse. On this hillside is an arrangement of some 200 stones, arranged in 22 not quite straight rows aligned very roughly north-south, which fan out a little at their southern end. Visitors are encouraged to stick to a path which goes around the perimeter of the site, and this allows you to appreciate the pattern of stones from the full range of available angles. The individual stones used are not large by the standards, say, of a stone circle, but they are pretty impressive in terms of the effort involved in moving them.
Site Record for Hill O' Many Stanes, Clyth Mid Clyth; Hill Of Many StanesDetails Details. Hill o’Many Stanes | North Highlands Scotland. Hill O' Many Stanes (HS) | Historic Attractions | Caithness, Sutherland & Ross-shire. Ancient Scotland - Hill O' Many Stanes. Highland Council HER - by exeGesIS SDM. Summary 22 rows of standing stones, on the south slope of the Hill o' Many Stanes. Images Reports Monument Types STONE ALIGNMENT (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC) Other References/Statuses Guardianship MonumentHistoric Environment Record: MHG2400NMRS NUMLINK Reference: 8604NMRS Record Details: ND23NE6 HILL O' MANY STANES, CLYTHOld SMR Reference Number: ND23NE0006 Full description 22 rows of standing stones, on S slope of the Hill o' Many Stanes. As described above. ND23NE 6 295 384.
East Caithness Local Plan, May 1987: P31/2.52.J Aitken : 22/05/01. Signed from the road, stones stand in rough heather and areas of erosion betw them. Display material indicates that these are in a fan shape, widening towards the upwards (W) side. Sources and further reading Related Monument/Building records - none Related Investigations - none Related documents/files/web pages.
HILL O' MANY STANES Property Detail. A strange sight to behold The Hill o’ Many Stanes is a strange sight to behold. It is the largest and best preserved of several multiple rows of small stones which were erected by the inhabitants of Caithness and eastern Sutherland, around 4,000 years ago. The 200-plus stones, none of which are more than waist height, are arranged in at least 22 rows. These rows fan out slightly as they descend the south-facing slope. In the last 100 years, 50 stones may have been lost. Stone rows, like stone circles, may have been used for gatherings and religious ceremonies. Highlight The stones’ appearance – a strangely moving sight in their barren moorland setting. Facilities Location Region – North and Grampian At Mid Clyth, 4m North East of Lybster on A9. Stones of Scotland - Hill o'Many Stanes stone rows. Over 200 stones are arranged in a fan-shaped pattern on a slope (110Kb) This unusual site is well described as the Hill o'Many Stanes: around 200 small stones are arranged in 22 apparently parallel rows.
Actually, these rows aren't parallel, but fan-shaped, running north to south. There is evidence that suggests that there may originally have been over 600 stones. Unlike those in Carnac (France), these stones are small, less than 1 m high (3 ft 3 inch) and mostly only a few inches wide. School of Humanities :: Research :: Archaeology Research :: Projects :: Multiple Stone Rows. Dr K Brophy, Alexander Carnes (PhD student) Stone rows are amongst the least understood monuments of British prehistory, although hundreds of stone rows have been recorded in Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Until recently, the primary means by which archaeologists have engaged with stone rows is through survey work. Therefore, the date and function of these enigmatic monuments remains unclear.
Within this huge number of stone rows, one type of monument has suffered very badly from neglect by archaeologists: the multiple stone rows. Multiple stone rows in northern Scotland The multiple stone rows of northern Scotland are restricted to Caithness and northern Sutherland. The Multiple Stone Rows of Northern Scotland Project (MSRNSP) ran between 2003 and 2007 with objective of offering an archaeological explanation for the role, date and development of these monuments. As well as this work, site visits and new surveys were carried out, and a comprehensive site list was compiled. Hill o'Many Stanes [Mid Clyth Stone Rows] Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue. Site Name: Hill o'Many Stanes Alternative Name: Mid Clyth Stone RowsCountry: Scotland County: Caithness Type: Multiple Stone Rows / AvenueNearest Town: Wick Nearest Village: Mid ClythMap Ref: ND295384 Landranger Map Number: 11Latitude: 58.328450N Longitude: 3.205452WCondition: 3 Ambience: 3 Access: 4 Accuracy: 5 Internal Links: External Links: Hill o'Many Stanes submitted by DrewParsons Hill o'Many Stanes, also known rather matter-of-factly as Mid Clyth Stone Rows.
This unique arrangement of tiny stones (all less than 1m) is fascinating to see, if not as impressive as some of the megaliths in Orkney just across the sea to the north. Originally there were 250 uprights arranged in 22 rows aligned approximately north-south. Access: In state care. If you visit don't miss the sweet factory just down the road where you can watch seaside rock being extruded from a huge rock sausage if you're lucky.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page Nearby sites Nearby sites listing. CWS - Caithness A - Z - Hill O Many Stanes - Index. History - Scottish History. Hill O' Many Stanes, Caithness, Scotland, Alignment, ND295384: M E g A L i T h i A - Megaliths, Stone Circles, Standing Stones. The Hill O' Many Stanes. Inflatable Boat Journeys From Scotland: Camster Cairns and the Hill O Many Stanes. The most famous Caithness Archaeological site must be Camster Cairns which date from around 3500 BC. They are thought to have been burial chambers and ritual sites. There are three cairns, one round cairn, one long cairn and one in ruins. The cairns were excavated in 1865 and pieces of pottery, human skeletons, burnt bone and flint tools were found in the round cairn.
Modern excavations were complete in the long cairn in 1980 and its roof and walls were repaired with the original stone which had been plundered to build a near by sheep pen. A view of the long cairn. Looking towards the long cairn from the door of the round cairn. Inside the long cairn burial chamber. I had to crawl in on all fours and I’m not so sure I would have been so keen if I had known about the skeletons that had once been buried in the chamber The Hill O Many Stanes is another well known archaeological site. Im not sure why but I always feel quite young after visiting these ancient monuments. Ewan Morrison: 'After a cuff round the lug at the Hill O' Many Stanes we travelled home in stony silence' - News.
That was my first thought when I was a guest at the premiere party for the Stone Of Destiny feature film at Edinburgh Castle. It turned out that the stone before Alex Salmond's lectern was a fibreglass replica and the 'real' stone was safe behind security glass, although even that stone, Salmond said, was probably a fake too: "I don't care if it's the real stone, mystery, intrigue and romance play an important part in Scottish history.
" So, to add to the romance of Scotland's fake history, I shall recount a local legend. As far as historic stones go the county of Caithness is left somewhat wanting. No Stones of Callanish or Ring of Brodgar stand proudly in its soil. True enough, although a few of the stones stand a foot high, the majority are no more than pebbles. Years later, so local legend goes, the driver of the tour bus was unable to fulfil his obligation so a couple of his pub-mates, who believed themselves sober enough to do the job, offered to do the tour for him. Hill o' many stanes, Caithness, Scotland. Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce. The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete.
Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia. Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia". Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Saints and Stones: Hill o' Many Stanes. Hill o' Many Stanes. Over 22 rows of small Bronze Age stones in a fan shape on a sloping hillside.
There is no clear indication of why the stones were arranged as they are, but one theory is that the stones were set up as a form of early astronomical observatory. The individual stones are not terribly impresive; the largest does not reach 1 metre in height. What is impressive, however, is the sheer number of stones in one location. There are over 200 stones still standing, and estimates suggest that there may originally have been over 600 stones on the site. Even if the purpose was to create an observatory, it is puzzling that so many stones were needed. We've 'tagged' this attraction information to help you find related historic attractions and learn more about major time periods mentioned.
Find other attractions tagged with: Bronze Age (Architecture) - Hill o Many Stanes : Roslin Roseline Da Vinci. Link to larger version of layout Above is a carefully detailed layout of the standing stones at Mid Clyth, as surveyed by Alexander Thom, the mull of kin-tyre's farmer's son who was "Widely considered to be the Father of archaeoastronomy". Mid Clyth sits on the Roseline. Mid is an abbreviation for Middle, and Clyth is an ancient Scots word for cloth or equally correct an article of dress-kilt. Which in turn overshadows the expressive German term "Clotho" the Anglo Saxons belief the spin axis of time combined with the thread of life is found at Clotho that leads to our fate. Exploration on the rounded hill-dod at the secluded Mid Clyth out post, when examined closely hides a ancient scot's church secret, it renders to light the abstract nonsensical adaptation term "Man of the Cloth" whom as we understand is a member of the clergy or a spiritual leader of the Christian Church!
So who were these pre-druidic cartographic, tartan map-makers?