Simply what the term suggests: upright singular or multiple sets of stones plonked there thousands of years back (traditionally betwixt neolithic to Iron Age) for various uses. Some relate to burial; others to land-markers (tribal boundaries, etc); some may be alignment-markers (solar and lunar); others simple meeting spots (moots). They are closely related to stone circles, tombs, and many of them are outliers to such sites.
In a region that is full of prehistoric remains, we find here another example of another megalithic site that was sadly destroyed, not too long ago by the scale of things. Found in association with a large prehistoric urn, we are thankful to have a couple of early local history accounts that describe the place. The stone was obviously of some considerable height and bulk, though I can find no specific references to the dimensions of the monolith. It was described effectively in the middle-half of the 19th century by Andrew Jervise (1853), who told us:
“‘The Stannin Stane of Benshie’, which stood for unknown ages…was demolished by gunpowder about half a century ago, and the spot is now covered by luxuriant crops of corn. This rude monument of antiquity is supposed to have been about twenty tons in weight; and at a considerable depth below it, a large clay urn, measuring about three feet in height and of corresponding circumference, was found containing a quantity of human bones and ashes. Like its rude protector, however, the urn was broken to pieces; and, beyond the mere fact of its discovery, nothing authentic, as to either the style of its manufacture, or the precise nature or state of its contents, is preserved.”
More than 30 years later, A.J. Warden (1884) and then J.G. MacPherson (1885) all but copied Mr Jervise’s words, adding no further information.
From some reason, a small chapel dedicated to St. Ninian (NO 41567 51932) was built about 100 yards or so to the southwest of the old standing stone. Its ruins are still to be seen. Whether this was an attempt to divert local people away from their animistic ecocentricism at the stone, into the more ecocidal egocentricism of the incoming christian cult (as was/is their common practice), we may never know for sure.
Folklore
The local name of this stone, ‘The Stannin Stane of Benshie’, indicates simply that this was “the standing stone at the hill of the faerie folk” (or variations thereof) and suggest it stood upon or next to a mound. I can find no immediate reference to stories of the little people here, and their whisper may have faded into unconscious memory. Does anyone know more about this place?
References:
Jervise, Andrew, The History and Traditions of the Land of the Lindsays in Angus and Mearns, Sutherland and Knox: Edinburgh 1853.
MacPherson, J.G., Strathmore: Past and Present, S. Cowan: Perth 1885.
Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, The Archaeological Sites and Monuments of Central Angus, Angus District, Tayside Region, Edinburgh 1983.
Warden, Alex J., Angus or Forfarshire: The Land and People – Descriptive and Historical – volume 4, Charles Alexander: Dundee 1884.
Along the A822 road past Crieff and then Gilmerton, shortly past here is a small road to Monzie and the Glenturret Distillery or Famous Grouse Experience. Go on this road and after a just a coupla hundred yards you’ll see the large old gatehouse for Monzie Castle on the left. Ask at the gatehouse and they’ll point you to the stone—in the field about 300 yards past the Monzie stone circle, 200 yards past the gatehouse itself. You can’t really miss it!
Archaeology & History
The southern flat face of the Witches Stone
This is a fascinating stone for a variety of reasons—not least of which it enabled us to identify an otherwise curious geological anomaly as an unerected standing stone some 16 miles SSW…but that’s a story for later! The stone here leans at an angle in the field, as shown in the photo, but it still rises 5 feet tall and is a thick chunky fella, with one face very flat and smoothed indeed from top to bottom. This side of the stone was obviously cut and dressed this way when first erected. As Paul Hornby then noted, its western face is also quite flat and smoothed aswell, with the edge between the two sides almost squared at right-angles. The eastern and southern sides of the stone are undressed, as the phrase goes. These physical characteristics have just been found at a newly found pair of un-erected standing stones on the western edges of the Ochils, just below a newly found cairn circle.
Fred Coles 1911 drawingWitches Stone, looking NE past Milquhanzie Hill fort
There were several early descriptions of this stone, two of which talked about an avenue or road along which the stone seemed to stand within. This ‘avenue’ was in fact the very edge of what is probably an earlier prehistoric enclosure—but you can’t really see this anymore unless you’re in the air (check Google Earth, which shows it reasonably well).
In J. Romilly Allen’s (1882) account, he mentions the stone only in passing, telling it to be “a single standing stone measuring 4 feet by 3 feet and 5 feet high (with) no markings on it.” It was later described in Fred Coles’ (1911) survey of the region where he told:
“This monolith is the westerly of the two prehistoric sites grouped on the O.M. as Standing Stones. It stands a few yards to the south of the avenue, almost half a mile from the East Lodge. The Stone has a slight lean towards the north. Its southern side is remarkably broad and smooth, measuring 4 feet across the base on that side, in girth 13 feet 1 inch and in vertical height 4 feet 9 inches.”
Alignment to Monzie stone circle, just visible in field
In Alexander Thom’s edited magnum opus (1980) he found that this standing stone—800 feet northwest of the superb Monzie cup-and-ring stone and associated megalithic ring—marks the midsummer sunset from the stone circle. We noted on our visit here, that this alignment runs to the distant cairn on the far northwest horizon, many miles away.
Folklore
In Joyce Miller’s (2010) excellent work on Scottish heathenism, she told the folowing tale of this stone:
“The standing stone is said to mark the site of Kate McNiven or MacNieven’s, sometimes known as the witch of Monzie, execution. The story goes that she was put in a barrel and rolled down what is now known as Kate MacNieven’s Craig on the north side of the Knock of Crieff before being burnt. Kate had been the nurse to the Grahams of Inchbrackie, and was accused of witchcraft, including turning herself into a bee. Graham of Inchbrackie tried to save her but to no avail, but as she was about to die it is said that she spat a bead from her necklace into his hand. The bead – a blue sapphire – was turned into a ring and it was believed that the ring would keep the family and lands secure. She did, however, curse the laird of Monzie, although whether this worked or not is not known. MacNiven or Nic Niven was also believed to be the name of the Queen of Fairies. Indeed it is not clear whether Kate MacNiven was a real person or is a conflation of stories. There do not appear to be any contemporary records of her execution at or near Crieff, and dates for her unpleasant death are variously given as 1563, 1615 and 1715.”
Take the A822 straight road south out of Crieff and as you pass the garden centre on your right and the fields and trees begin either side of the road, you need to watch out in the field on your left-hand side. Just a couple of hundred yards after passing beyond the garden centre, stop. Look in the field there and you’ll see the object in question. You can’t really miss him!
Archaeology & History
As you approach or leave Crieff along the A822 you can easily pass this stone by. Which would be a pity, as it’s quite a giant standing alone just above the slight ridge in the field. And in times gone by, not only were there other standing stones here as companions, but a cluster of other prehistoric pits, enclosures and linear markings were all around this very spot. Some of them are visible as faint crop-marks even today, but they remain unexcavated and we are left (presently) in the dark as to their nature.
Dargill stone, looking NWOld drawing by Fred Coles
The standing stone itself is a real beauty! A huge fat fella, standing nearly eight feet tall, looking proudly across the field in all directions and gazing into the northern hills, where the wanderer’s eye naturally falls… In earlier years, the great megalithic explorer Fred Coles told of two other stones standing hereby—although they are not noted on the earliest OS-map of the area. Nevertheless he wrote the following:
“This place-name deserves brief notice. It is pronounced by persons in the locality as if it were spelt like the Irish name Dargle, having the stress on the first syllable. The site is in a field between the main road from Crieff to Auchterarder and Dargill Island on the river Earn, at the height of 121 feet above sea-level… There is here an indistinct mound, not now easily traceable, nor of any considerable height; but it is significant to have to report that up to 1909, when a new tenant entered the farm, two other great Stones were standing. These were removed by the newcomer, much to the surprise and indignation (I was told) of the neighbours. The remaining monolith is an unusually square and massive oblong block of schist, girthing over 16 feet, and standing clear of the ground 7 feet 8 inches in height. Its eastern edge is rough and riven into long vertical hollows; but the other sides are, on the whole, smooth. I append a view from the south-east.”
More recently the Dargill stone was described in Andy Finlayson’s (2010) excellent photo-history guide to the megaliths of the region.
Folklore
In recent years this great stone has received the attention of local ley hunter David Cowan, who dowsed here and found ‘earth energies.’ These are in fact water-lines: the primary dowsing response and not related to leys.
Take the minor road that runs from the small town of Newtyle (in Angus) westwards to Kettins (in Perthshire). Less than a mile on, go up the first turn-off on your left to Kinpurnie Castle and continue (past the castle) for less than a mile. Keep your eyes peeled on the right-hand side of the road, opposite the drive to High Keillor – and you can’t really miss it!
Archaeology & History
Another feel of Keillor’s Stone
A fascinating site in an excellent setting. Here we have a 6-7 foot tall standing stone living upon a what is most probably a Bronze Age tumulus (possibly neolithic, but we aint sure), on whose south-face were carved a series of Pictish symbols many many centuries ago. In the surrounding district there is a vast wealth of similar sites (and many destroyed, like the lost Hill of Ballunie stone circle only a few hundred yards along the road), highlighting that this region was very important indeed to the prehistoric peoples of Strathmore and the Sidlaw Hills.
W.J. Skene’s 1832 drawing
The Keillor stone was described and illustrated by several of the giant Scottish antiquarians. When James Skene visited the site in the 1830s, the tumulus upon which the stone stands was still pretty complete, as his old drawing from 1832 clearly shows. Since then the track beside the monument has widened and the road took away half of the burial mound. But the place has lost little of its majesty.
Another 19th century historian, William Oliphant (1875), when describing the beauty and history of the Sidlaw Hills, below whose edges the old hamlet of Keillor stands, told of this,
“old and striking monument, making the spot on which it stands historical, though no syllable of the history has come down to us. It is, one writer says, “one of those remarkable sculptured monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Scotland, embellished, in this instance, with the rude outline of the boar.” Another writer says, “at Baldowrie there is an erect Danish monument six feet high. It contains some figures, but they are almost entirely defaced.”
In John Stuart’s (1856) superb magnum opus he told that this carved pillar with “a boar” on it, standing on an ancient “tumulus of earth and stones” was found to have evidence of several burials inside when a dig at the site occurred which, he told, “I was present (at) in the autumn of 1854.” He described the site as follows:
Stone with carved symbols (after RCAHMS 1994)Stuart’s 1854 drawing of the carved stone
“The Stone at Keillor is placed on a tumulus on the north slope of the Hill of Keillor, in the Parish of Newtyle, and Shire of Forfar. It is a rough stone, formed of gneiss, convex in front, and rugged behind. The tumulus on which it is placed is formed of earth and stones, and several cists containing bones have been found in it. Ancient sepulchral remains have also been dug up in various parts of the adjoining field.
“The stone was broken across some years ago about a foot above the ground, but the parts have recently been clasped together, and the stone replaced in its original site by orders of Lord Wharncliffe. The present drawing was made with much care by Dr. Wise, and is more perfect than the copy in Mr. Chalmers’ volume. The surface of the stone is so rough, that it is sometimes with difficulty that the incised lines can be satisfactorily distinguished from natural fissures, but having examined the stone in a variety of lights, and compared Dr. Wise’s sketch with the original, I am inclined to think that the drawing is as satisfactory as can now be obtained. There is a rough sketch of the stone among Dr. Hibbcrt’s papers, with a supposed Gaelic inscription at the top, meaning “the burying place of the slain,” furnished to Dr. Hibbert by the late Mr. Donald Gregory. Of such inscription 1 could see no trace.”
The old stone himselfFaint carvings just visible
And as far as I am aware, this Gaelic inscription has not subsequently been recorded. But considering the position of the stone in the landscape, it’s understandable if some of the carvings have eroded away by simple weathering. Indeed, when Paul Hornby and I visited here only a couple of weeks ago, despite the weather conditions being excellent, the carvings were difficult to make out. Modern interpretations differ between the topmost animal carving being either a wolf or a boar. Below this we see the more common Pictish symbol described as a double disc and Z-rod symbol, for which academia still struggles to afford cogent explanations.
Keillor stone on 1865 map
Whilst the prehistoric age of the tumulus on which this stone stands is not in doubt, we don’t know exactly when this stone was first erected here. Whilst some of the early accounts—including the Ordnance Survey team who first visited here in 1860—describe it in an upright position, when A.J. Warden (1880) wrote about it in his massive survey of the region, he noted that wasn’t always the case:
“On the north slope of the Hill of Keillor, in the parish of Newtyle, there is a rough stone composed of gneiss, somewhat convex in front but rugged behind. It is placed on a tumulus formed of earth and stones, and several cists containing bones were found in it; while, in the adjoining field, ancient sepulchral remains have also been found. The stone was broken across about a foot from the ground, but the parts have been again united and the stone replaced on its original site. On the stone there is the figure of an animal, below which are the spectacle and other symbols, all incised.”
The stone presently stands on a modern plinth to protect it from the elements and such things. It was erroneously described in the Royal Commission’s 1999 survey of Pictish monuments as being just “1.4m in height”, whereas it is in fact some 6½ feet tall, or around 1.98m.
The Great Pyramid to the northwest
The view from here, east, north and west is superb. The high rolling hills of Angus stretch into the north and eastern skies; whilst more westerly are the grand olde mountain ridges into deepest Perthshire. And looking northwestwards from our old standing stone, one shapely mountain in particular is notable, standing out upon the ridge of distant hills: a great pyramid which I initially thought may have been Ben Vorlich. But thanks to the help of several local people, have found that it is in fact Schiehallion – the great Mountains of the Fairy Folk, about 50 miles away! Some folk think that it may have had relevance in the animistic formula with this monument—and I’ll hazard that it did too…
…to be continued…
References:
Allen, J. Romilly, Early Christian Monuments of Scotland, 1903.
Coutts, Herbert, Ancient Monuments of Tayside, Dundee Museum 1970.
Guthrie, James C., The Vale of Strathmore – Its Scenes and Legends, William Peterson: Edinburgh 1875.
Jervise, Andrew, Epitaphs and Inscriptions from Burial Grounds and Old Buildings in the North-East of Scotland – volume 1, Edmonston & Douglas: Edinburgh 1875.
Mack, Alastair L., Field guide to the Pictish symbol stones, Pinkfoot Press 1997.
MacPherson, J.G., Strathmore: Past and Present, S. Cowan: Perth 1885.
Marshall, William, Historic Scenes of Forfarshire, William Oliphant: Edinburgh 1875.
Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, South-East Perth: An Archaeological Landscape, HMSO: Edinburgh 1994.
Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, Pictish Symbol Stones: A Gazetteer, Edinburgh 1999.
Various ways to get here, but make your way to the large cemetery up on the top of the hill. Once here, there is a playground and some trees. Go through the playground along the footpath for about 100 yards and you’ll eventually come to this great stone standing in front of you.
Archaeology & History
The Kirriemuir Stone, with a curious elemental at its base!
This place felt to have some real intrigue and hidden history laying close by when I came here for the first time the other week with Paul and Lindsey. Notably standing on the top of the hill northwest above Kirriemuir town, with an excellent view all round (just about!), speaking with hills and rolling countryside and the feel of other monuments of the same age…but seemingly all alone at the moment…
The Kirriemuir Hill standing stone is reputedly the last survivor of a megalithic ring, or stone circle, according to old tongues and local folklore—though Aubrey Burl didn’t include it in his magnum opus. And apart from the smaller piece of stone near its base and the curious long stone in an adjacent field wall not far away, this large 9-foot tall standing stone seems the last of its clan up here.
The stone was mentioned briefly in A.J. Warden’s (1884) massive history work on the region, where—near some legendary rocking stones that have long since been destroyed—he simply told that,
“The remains of a standing stone about 9 feet in height, by about 4 J feet in breadth, still rears its head above the Market Muir, and forms a very conspicuous object there.”
It hasn’t fared too well in archaeological surveys either, but thankfully local historians have written about it. Herbert Coutts (1970) told it to be,
“An impressive standing stone about 9ft (2.7m) in height and 6½ft (1.9m) broad at the base. A recumbent stone is reported to have once lain nearby but has long since been removed.”
This recumbent stone may be the one sitting in one of the adjacent walls.
Folklore
Notice board telling tales
A notice board set back from this great stone gives a good outline of its known history, archaeological speculations and the folklore of the place. As well as it being said that Kirriemuir’s hill stone was once part of a stone circle, local markets were once held close by. Ascribed as being the burial site of three robbers, local historian David Allan (1864) was the first to write the legend which told that,
“three robbers, who had robbed a man in the Hill market, sat down to divide their ill-gotten gain beside the ‘staning stane’ and as they were so employed, the stone, in some miraculous manner, split in two, burying the robbers beneath it.”
The local history board tells “that no one has ever dared since to uplift the robbers’ loot, as the same fate might befall anyone who tries”!
…to be continued…
References:
Allan, David, Historical Sketches, Original and Select of Kirriemuir and District, Robert Park: Dundee 1864.
Coutts, Herbert, Ancient Monuments of Tayside, Dundee Museum 1970.
Warden, Alex J., Angus or Forfarshire: The Land and People – Descriptive and Historical – volume 4, Charles Alexander: Dundee 1884.
Take the A923 road through Dunkeld and across the river, making sure that where the road veers sharply to the right as you go out of town, you go the left as the road bends round. 100 yards along, past the trees on your left, fields open up. A few hundred yards along on the left, you’ll note the small standing stone about 50 yards in the field below the wall, getting close to some trees again. That’s the spot!
Archaeology & History
Standing stone, looking NE
The stone is given only a passing mention in the Royal Commission’s (1994) poor work on the region, describing neither its height nor form and erroneously relating it to what is probably a much earlier series of pit alignments in the same field. Thankfully we had a better description from the early 20th century antiquarian Fred Cole (1908) who visited and drew the site and who told us:
“This Stone is marked on the Ordnance Map in a field behind the Lodge, at a height above sea-level of 300 feet, and styled “sepulchral.” In size and character it much resembles the Kilmoraich monolith, and seems to have stood solitary for ages. It is a roughly oblong slab of schist, set with its longer axis nearly east and west, the north face measuring 4 feet and the south 4 feet 9 inches, and the basal girth about 10 feet 7 inches. It is 4 feet 9 inches in height. The grandly-timbered policies of the ducal estate enclose this site on all sides. In the illustration…the Stone is drawn as seen from the east.”
Fred Cole’s 1908 drawingDunkeld Stone looking north
Close to the walling on the WNW just a few yards away, we see a cluster of small rounded stones and a couple of larger stones, much overgrown, giving the impression that they were field clearance. There is a possibility that they may have had something to do with the standing stone in earlier times; the small stones being very worn and perhaps being part of a cairn—although there seems little evidence of this in the on-line aerial surveys. The stone was also mentioned in Elizabeth Stewart’s Dunkeld (1926), where she wrote:
“In the park near Polney Loch, one mile from Dunkeld, is a Standing Stone, quite noticeable from the Highland road. This monolith is one of those styled sepulchral, and is a rough oblong slab of schist, its basal girth being 10 feet 7 inches, and its height 4 feet 9 inches. Mr. Coles, who describes this stone in the “Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries”, supposes it to have been part of a circle. It is not far from the ancient stronghold on King’s Seat.”
From Balquhidder village, take the road east towards Auchtubh as if you’re gonna visit the Priest’s Stone, just past the house of Tom na Cruich on the right-hand side of the road. When you get to the house, if you ask the owners there how best to get to the stone, they are very friendly and very helpful in pointing you in the right direction.
Archaeology & History
This solitary standing stone first seems to be mentioned in J.W. Gow’s (1887) essay on the prehistoric antiquities of this part of Rob Roy’s country. Found below the house and hillock where the old gallows used to be, he told:
“On the level ground below (Tom na Croich) …there is a prominent monolith, standing about 4½ feet above ground, quite flat, on the top. It is shaped like a wedge, with the edge to the east, and is famous in Balquhidder as the place where trials of strength took place.”
Note the stones in the next fieldPuidrac Stone, looking north
Below the standing stone is a small rock, whose predecessor played an important part in some local traditions relating to this site. (see ‘Folklore’ below) Also, due west of here in the next field, you will be able to see a couple of seemingly upright stones in the tall reeds 200 yards away, which early records say were part of a stone circle—now much in ruin—known as Clachan Aoraidh or the Worshipping Stones. There is the possibility that this single stone was an outlier to the circle. It’s astronomy might be worth checking….
Folklore
‘Lifting stone’ in front of Puidrac
When we visited the stone last week, the owners of the house above asked if we’d managed “to lift the stone”—and I wondered what they meant at first, until they told us the folklore about the site. They narrated the tale almost exactly as it had been described first of all in J.W. Gow’s (1887) essay, which said the following:
“It is shaped like a wedge, with the edge to the east, and is famous in Balquhidder as the place where trials of strength took place. A large round water-worn boulder, named after the district, ‘Puderag’, and weighing between two and three hundredweight, was the testing stone, which had to be lifted and placed on the top of the standing stone. There used to be a step about 18 inches from the top, on the east side of the stone, on which the lifting stone rested in its progress to the top. This step or ledge was broken off about thirty years ago, as told to me by the person who actually did it, and the breadth of the stone was thereby reduced about 8 inches. This particular mode of developing and testing the strength of the young men of the district has now fallen into disuse, and the lifting-stone game is a thing of the past. A former minister of the parish pronounced it a dangerous pastime. Many persons were permanently injured by their efforts to raise the stone, and it is said that he caused it to be thrown into the river, but others said it was built into the manse dyke, where it still remains. There were similar stones at Monachyle, at Strathyre, and at Callander, and no doubt in every district round about, but the man who could lift ‘Puderag’ was a strong man and a champion.”
The present stone that is positioned on the ground below the standing stone was put here in much more recent times.
References:
Gow, James M., “Notes in Balquhidder: Saint Angus, Curing Wells, Cup-Marked Stones, etc”, in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland, volume 21, 1887.
Acknowledgements: To Kenny and Laura for their help and guidance here. Huge thanks!
Take the same directions as if you’re visiting the multiple-ringed Agra Woods petroglyph (West Agra 8). From just below here, keep to the woodland side, and follow the line of tall drystone walling along to the east for a hundred yards or more, keeping your eyes peeled for the stone in question, just in front of a nice oak tree. You can’t really miss it!
Archaeology & History
Not too far away from the scattered cluster of West Agra’s cup-and-ring stones, can be found this very bulky six foot tall standing stone, near the edge of the old walling on the inner-side of the Agra Woods. It was rediscovered by Paul Hornby on a Northern Antiquarian outing in May 2011, who told it to be “quite a massive thing!” (I’ve yet to visit the site so can’t give my personal impressions of the site)
Along the A9 dual carriageway between Blackford and Auchterarder, take the A823 road south, up Glen Eagles towards Pool of Muckhart and Dunfermline. Less than 100 yards up the road, turn immediately right and park-up. On the overgrown grassy land on the right-hand side of the road, you’ll see this solid monolith calling for your attention. You can’t really miss it!
Archaeology & History
Looking south, to the fairy-haunted Ben Shee
Described by archaeologists as a Class 1 Pictish Symbol Stone (and shown on OS maps as such), this is a fine solid standing stone more than 5 feet tall, with a lovely view up Gleneagles to the fairy mountain of Ben Shee beckoning in the distance. Immediately north on the other side of the dual carriageway, the tree-lined mound 100 yards away is an ancient fort (which we’ll deal with in another entry); and of course we have the nearby companion of the Gleneagles A standing stone a coupla hundred yards west. Whether or not this stone and its western companion ever had anything to do with the lost stone circle of Gleneagles, we might never know.
Close-up of the carved designsCharles Calders drawing of the carvings
Although it seems consensus opinion that the standing stone here is prehistoric, the monolith was of some venerable importance to the Pictish people of the Ochils, who, according to the Royal Commission lads (1999) carved on this stone “the faint symbols of a goose and rectangle.” The rectangle, however, is in fact a parallelogram—as the images here clearly show. Archaeologist Richard Feachem (1977) thought the design was in fact “a double-sided comb.” I have my doubts (a much smaller and probably more recent parallelogram design was recently identified on the upright face of the large Dunruchan D standing stone, about 10 miles WNW of here). The ‘goose’ is carved above this geometric form and is much fainter, which may imply it was carved much earlier. In Elizabeth Sutherland’s (1997) survey, she suggests the bird may be an eagle. It is equally possible that it is a swan.
The earliest detaied account of this stone and its companion is in Mr Hutchison’s (1893) fine essay, where he wrote:
“On the south side of the road from Blackford to Auchterarder, about 150 yards west from Loaninghead where the line of the road is crossed by that from Gleneagles to Crieff, stands a fine stone of Highland grit. It measures 4ft. 10in. in height above ground, 10ft. in girth at the base, and 6ft. 9in. in circumference at top. It shows four sides of nearly equal measurement:— that facing north being 2ft 4in., south 2ft. 8in., west 2ft 5in., and east 3ft. On the north is an incised figure in the form of an parallelogram, 10in. broad by 9in. high, divided into three equal portions by two horizontal lines.”
Along the A915 coastal road from Leven to Largo, as you reach Lundin, look out for signs for the Lundin Ladies Golf Course on the left. Go there and then ask someone at the golf course if you need help; but from here you just walk west over the greens till you are ambling along the back of some houses. You can’t really miss the giant stones a couple of hundred yards ahead of you. If you somehow get lost in Lundin itself, ask a local the directions to the Lundin Ladies golf course. You can’t really go wrong.
Archaeology & History
Lundin stones on 1855 OS-map
If you like your megaliths and you venture anywhere near here, make sure you come and visit these stones. They’ll blow you away! The only downfall we have is their location—stuck on the golf course; which, of course, means that meditating here is only possible between sunfall and sunrise (though I’ve usually found that’s the best time to be at stone circles anyway!), or perhaps in the pouring rain. Whichever is your preference, these stones need looking at!
The size of them is the first thing that hits you. They belong more to the Avebury complex than sitting out on their geographical limb near the southern Fife coast. But then, that presupposes other stones of this size didn’t used to be here—and as far as I’m concerned, other giant megaliths and associated monuments must once have stood nearby. But much of the landscape hereby has been taken over by traditional agriculture and any earlier megalithic remains have seemingly been lost.
We know there were at least four stones here in the 18th century and that also, “ancient sepulchres are found near them” according to the New Statistical Account of 1837—but all remains of these burials seem to have been lost or destroyed. These facts are echoed in Leighton, Swan & Stewart’s (1840) gigantic survey. Thought by a variety of archaeological and historical sources to be the remains of a great stone circle “with a diameter of 54 feet”—it’s an assertion that I’m not too sure about myself. They are just as likely to be the remains of a great stone avenue, perhaps leading to a stone circle, long since gone, as much as any small circle of giant uprights.
In 1933, the Royal Commission survey described the size of these great red sandstone monoliths,
“Each of them has been packed at the base with a setting of small stones. Although it is not the highest, the one on the south-east, which stands with a slight inclination towards the north and the east, presents the most massive appearance. The girth at the base is 12 feet 8 inches, but measurements taken at 5 feet from the ground give the following dimensions: north face, 5 feet 2 inches; south face, 5 feet; east face, 1 foot 11 inches; west face, 2 feet 2 inches; girth, 14 feet 3 inches; and the stone becomes even wider as its height increases, until near the top where it again shrinks to a very slightly rounded extremity. The height is approximately 13 feet 6 inches. The surface is pitted by the action of the weather and shows greatest traces of decay on the east, where a crack has developed. The south stone is set with a decided inclination towards the south. It is of very irregular form with a girth at the base of 9 feet 4 inches, expanding to 10 feet at 5 feet higher up, and suddenly becoming gently attenuated at the top. The stone, which does not exhibit the same noticeable traces of weathering as the one first described, is approximately 17 feet high. The north stone, which is set with a slight inclination towards the west, appears to be still taller. It rises to a height estimated at 18 feet and has a sharply pointed top. It shows evidence of weathering at the northwest corner. Like the others, it increases in bulk from the base upwards to the middle of its height, the girth being 9 feet 6 inches at the base, and 10 feet 2 inches at 5 feet up.”
The trio, looking northThe 3 stones, looking south
Big buggers by anyone’s estimation! Not mentioned here is the very distinct anthropomorphism, in one stone particularly—that at the southwest: a slim curvaceous body with neck and head at the top, frozen in stone no less. Surely this was intentional by the people who erected these giants? The southern pairing stand like man and wife, awaiting ceremony and customary servitude from us mere mortals. The single northern stone—whose partner was removed in the 19th century—has a similar slim stature and size, like its southwestern companion. Was its now dead partner a similar shape and stature like the southeastern stone? – another petrified pairing of man and woman? …Tis a curious feeling I have of this place…
Early 19th century drawingPhoto of stones, c.1900
Our megalithic magus Aubrey Burl (1988) did note the “writhing pillars” of stone here, but ventured no further with it. He did tentatively suggest (and include in his work on the subject) that the Lundin stones were one of his “four poster” circles, but thought it “impossible to prove.” He did however revise the Royal Commission measurements on the respective standing stones, informing us that,
“The NNE is the tallest, 16ft 8ins (5.1m) high, the leaning SSW stone is 15ft (4.6m) high, but the lowest, at the SSE, is also the biggest, 13ft 8ins (4.2m) tall and 6ft 5ins (2m) thick.”
He also told that there were little cairns “about 18ins (46cm) high” around the base of each standing stone when he was here in the 1980s. These were not visible when we visited in May 2013.
When the late great engineer and archaeoastronomer Alexander Thom (1971) came here, he found the layout of the stones to have astronomical meanings, telling:
“It was obviously an important site, so placed on flat ground that there was plenty of room for geometrical extrapolation. The alignment is seen to indicate the setting point of the Moon at the minor standstill. Trees and houses now block the view, but as the new large-scale OS maps are now available…it was possible to construct a reasonably accurate profile of Cormie Hill. In good seeing conditions, a large tumulus could have been seen on the Moon’s disc, and the tumulus shown on the Ordnance Survey happens to indicate the upper limb when the declination was -(ε-ι-Δ). When the Moon set on Cormie Hill it would rise on the Bass Rock, and we see how the stones were so placed that the lower limb just grazed the Rock when the declination was -(ε-ι).”
Thom’s lunar alignments
Thom reiterated his thoughts again in 1990, though pointed out that “the measurements should be checked” to see whether they were right. A few years earlier, Dr Douglas Heggie (1981) had done just such a thing and found the alignment seemed to be a poor one. And so it has turned out to be… Other megalithic sites however, have quite definite solar and lunar correlates in their architecture…but it seems our Lundin stones aren’t quite what Prof. Thom had hoped for.
Cup-mark & outer ring/s?
Along the eastern face of the “fattest” stone we see a number of large cup-markings, but these are all Nature’s handiwork. They were mentioned in Sir James Simpson’s (1867) early survey on the subject. However, we did see, near the base of the stone, just above ground level on its southern-face, a very distinct cup-marking with what may be the remains of a broken-ring around it. You can make it out on the photo here, but I wouldn’t stake my reputation on its legitimacy!
Folklore
Described in the Royal Commission (1933) report “as the burial stone of Danish chiefs,” this is a common tale found at other remaining megaliths along the Forth. The earliest account of this fable I’ve found is in the Edinburgh Magazine of November, 1785, where it was written:
“Various have been the conjectures as to the origin of the erection of the (stones); they are commonly known by the name of the Standing Stanes of Lundy, a seat belonging to a very old family of the name of Lundin, now to Sir William Erskine, near Largo in Fife.
“Tradition tells us, they were placed there in memory of that victory gained by Constantine II over Hubba, one of the generals of the Danish invaders, about the year 874. It is certain that battle was fought near this spot; but whether these were in memory of the action or not, I cannot determine: it is more than probable they were of a much older date.”
Legend also told that there was treasure at the stones, which was one of the reasons Daniel Wilson (1863) told the northwestern stone was broken and left only as a stump in 1792.
…to be continued…
References:
Burl, Aubrey, Four Posters: Bronze Age Stone Circles of Western Europe, BAR 195: Oxford 1988.
Burl, Aubrey, The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, Yale University Press 2000.
Burl, Aubrey, A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, Yale University Press 2005.
Heggie, Douglas C., Megalithic Science: Ancient Mathematics and Astronomy in Northwest Europe, Thames & Hudson: London 1981.
Leighton, J.M., Swan, J. & Stewart, J., History of the County of Fife – volume 3, John Swan: Glasgow 1840.
Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments, Scotland, Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the Counties of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, HMSO: Edinburgh 1933.
Ruggles, Clive, Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland, Yale University Press 1999.
Simpkins, John Ewart, Examples of Printed Folk-lore Concerning Fife, with some Notes on Clackmannan and Kinross-shires, Sidgwick & Jackson: London 1914.
Simpson, James, Archaic Sculpturings of Cups, Circles, etc., Upon Stones and Rocks in Scotland, England and other Countries, Edmonston & Douglas: Edinburgh 1867.
Thom, Alexander, Megalithic Lunar Observatories, Oxford University Press 1971.
Thom, A. & A.S., & Burl, Aubrey, Stone Rows and Standing Stones – volume 2, BAR 560(ii): Oxford 1990.
Wilson, Daniel, The Archaeology and Prehistoric Annals of Scotland, Sutherland & Knox: Edinburgh 1863
Acknowledgements: With huge thanks to Paul Hornby, for the photos and the journey! Also a big thanks to Gill Rutter for help in clarifying “Getting there.”
