Stone Circle 450m SW of Ardlair Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK

Scheduled Monument Description

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument comprises the remains of a recumbent stone circle of the later Neolithic period, about 4500 years old. The monument has been scheduled for many years, but this proposal provides an accurate map for the first time.

Only the recumbent stone and its flanking pillars survive, but these are massive. The circle seems to have surrounded a low bank of earth and stones, c.4.5m in diameter and 0.2m high, probably the remains of a ring cairn. The circle is in a striking position.

The area to be scheduled, including the visible remains of the circle, the area likely to have been occupied by the rest of the circle (where buried archaeological features may survive), and an area around where further features may survive, measures 40m in diameter, as marked in red on the attached map.

Scheduled Monument Statement of Significance

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument is of national importance as a relatively well preserved example of its kind, in a prominent hilltop position. It has the potential to enhance considerably our understanding of this regionally restricted monument type.