Ring of Brodgar Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK
Dating from around 2500 BCE, the Ring of Brodgar is a stone circle occupying a scenic location between two lakes on Orkney, Scotland. At nearly 104 meters in diameter, it is the third-largest stone circle in Britain.
Scheduled Monument Description
© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.
The monument comprises all remains within the area in the care of the Secretary of State for Scotland at and around Ring of Brogar including a stone circle and a ditched enclosure (a henge) known together as the Ring of Brogar, four large burial mounds including Fresh Knowe, Salt Knowe and Plumcake Mound, up to a dozen small burial mounds and a stone setting including the Comet Stone on a platform, together with all artificial remains within the area around and between the visible monuments.
The area to be scheduled is the area owned by the Secretary of State for Scotland, measuring 345.5m or thereabouts on its SW side, 366.5m or thereabouts on its NW side and 425m or thereabouts on its SE side and bounded on the NE by the edge of the Loch of Harray and elsewhere by a fence as marked in red on the accompanying map extract.
Description
Measuring nearly 104 m in diameter, the Ring of Brodgar is an impressive Neolithic monument shaped in a true circle. It is thought to have originally consisted of 60 stones. Today 27 stones remain standing, ranging in height from 2.1 m to 4.7 m. The ring is positioned on a scenic strip of land between the freshwater Loch of Harray (to NE) and the saltwater Loch of Stenness (to SW), the duality of which may have inspired the monument's ancient builders.