Tag: Grampians

Dunruchan ‘C’ Standing Stone, Muthill, Perthshire

megalithix

Standing Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 79108 17137

Also Known as:

  1. Aodann Mhor
  2. Canmore ID 24790
  3. Cornoch
  4. Shillinghill
Dunruchan ‘C’, looking N

Getting Here

Follow the directions to get to the Dunruchan B standing stone, on the slopes south of Craigneich. Once there, on the hillside further above you, you’ll see a large upright stone on the moor about 300 yards to the south, standing just below the rise of a small hillock. That’s it!

Archaeology & History

Fred Coles’ 1911 drawing

The second biggest of the Dunruchan monoliths is what Fred Coles (1911) described as “the Middle Stone,” or Dunruchan C. Standing just below the rise of a large natural mound of earth, obstructing any immediate view of the western hills, it too has a long upright shape with a pointed end to the stone, leaning at a considerable angle. The massive stone of Dunruchan A is clearly visible on the grassy cairn-scattered plain 543 yards to the east and the smaller Dunruchan B to the north on the slopes below. Dunruchan C was deemed as one of the central stones in this unlikely megalithic stone row by both Aubrey Burl (1993) and Alexander Thom (1990). Mr Coles’ description of the site told:

“This huge block…rugged and irregular…makes, from the extraordinary angle at which it leans over southwards, a surprisingly picturesque object amid the heather and the various small boulders that lie scattered about in its vicinity. Of oblong basal section, the Stone tapers sharply up to a small narrow edge, which is at present 9 feet 4 inches in vertical height above the grassy ledge surrounding the base. In girth it measures over 17 feet, and the slope of its upper surface is over 12 feet in length. Intervening undulations in the moorland prevent one seeing the two Stones which stand farther down south-wards. The main axis of its base is N. 18° W. by S. 18° E. ”

Dunruchan C, looking east
The leaning pillar of Dunruchan C

Once you walk onto the mound above this stone, the landscape opens up all round you. The southernmost monoliths of the Dunruchan complex awake to the south; what seems to have been another significant boulder sits low down a few hundred yards to the west; the faint outline of a large man-made enclosure of some sort is another 100 yards west of that; and the rocky mountains west and north of here captures you with a relaxing exultation, typical of the Scottish hills.  This arena is an absolute must for all megalith fanatics!

Folklore

According to an account in the Ordnance Survey Name Book of 1860, “these stones are believed to mark the graves or commemorate the death of Roman soldiers who fell in a battle fought here between the Romans and the Caledonians.”

References:

  1. Burl, Aubrey, From Carnac to Callanish, Yale University Press 1993.
  2. Cole, Fred, “Report on Stone Circles in Perthshire, Principally Strathearn,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 45, 1911.
  3. Finlayson, Andrew, The Stones of Strathearn, One Tree Island: Comrie 2010.
  4. Hunter, John, Chronicles of Strathearn, David Phillips: Crieff 1896.
  5. Thom, A., Thom, A.S. & Burl, Aubrey, Stone Rows and Standing Stones – 2 volumes, BAR: Oxford 1990.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Dunruchan ‘B’ Standing Stone, Muthill, Perthshire

megalithix

Standing Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 79164 17375

Also Known as:

  1. Aodann Mhor
  2. Canmore ID 24790
  3. Cornoch
  4. Shillinghill

Getting Here

The smallest of Dunruchan’s majestic standing stones

Take the same directions to reach the Dunruchan A standing stone, taking the small track up across from the Craigneich standing stone. As you walk up the field from the roadside, don’t go thru the gate, but just walk straight uphill, following the fence through boggy & overgrown vegetation. When you get to where the hill starts to level out and the fence cuts across in front of you, notice the small standing stone on the other side of the fence, about 100 yards up. That’s it!

Archaeology & History

Fred Coles’ 1911 drawing

This, the smallest of the six Dunruchan standing stones, is what Fred Coles (1911) ascribed as “the North-West Stone,” or Dunruchan B. In size alone it has a very different character to the others on the hillside immediately above and almost seems out of character when compared to the rest. Standing amidst typical moorland vegetation, this pointed upright is more than five feet tall, and from here its huge companions can be seen rising from the Earth to both east and south. Coles’ description on this stone told:

“This block of conglomerate, not half the height of (Dunruchan A)…occupies a rather lower position 385 yards to the west. Its basal girth is 8 feet 10 inches and its height 5 feet 1 inch, the south being the smoothest of its four sides. It is not now quite vertical, having a lean to the south. Like the great North-east Stone, this one tapers to a rather fine point… From this Stone the other four in the group as well as that at Craigneich are visible. ”

Dunruchan B, looking NW
Dunruchan B, looking south

However, we couldn’t make out all the standing stones in this complex like Coles reported. The huge leaning monolith of Dunruchan C is the closest of the others from here and, perhaps, would be the reason the cluster have been added to the lists of megalithic stone rows by Burl (1993) and Thom (1990), as a spacious curved row geometrically links them together – but I’ve gotta say, I’m sceptical about this as a deliberate megalithic alignment. However, I’ve no doubt that Alfred Watkins and his fellow ley hunters would add this to their inventory of Perthshire ley lines.

Folklore

According to an account in the Ordnance Survey Name Book of 1860, “these stones are believed to mark the graves or commemorate the death of Roman soldiers who fell in a battle fought here between the Romans and the Caledonians.”

References:

  1. Burl, Aubrey, From Carnac to Callanish, Yale University Press 1993.
  2. Cole, Fred, “Report on Stone Circles in Perthshire, Principally Strathearn,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 45, 1911.
  3. Finlayson, Andrew, The Stones of Strathearn, One Tree Island: Comrie 2010.
  4. Hunter, John, Chronicles of Strathearn, David Phillips: Crieff 1896.
  5. Thom, A., Thom, A.S. & Burl, Aubrey, Stone Rows and Standing Stones – 2 volumes, BAR: Oxford 1990.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Dunruchan ‘A’ Standing Stone, Muthill, Perthshire

megalithix

Standing Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 79555 17388

Also Known as:

  1. Aodann Mhor
  2. Cornoch
  3. Shillinghill

Getting Here

The giant Dunruchan A stone

From Comrie town centre take the road south across Dalginross Bridge over the river, heading towards Braco, up the winding B827 road for 2-3 miles until you reach a small crossroads (you can easily miss it, so watch out!). Turn left and, about a mile on, 100 yards or so before Craigneich Farm (near its lovely standing stone), go up the track on your right up the hills. Follow the track up and through the gate, then walk straight uphill. A coupla hundred yards up you’ll see a large standing stone on the flat grassy plain to your left. That’s Dunruchan A.

Archaeology & History

Dunruchan A, looking east

This is a magnificent stone in a magnificent landscape, no doubt of considerable mythic importance to the people who lived and erected it several thousand years ago. It is the tallest of at least six standing stones to be seen on this section of moorland and  stands out on the hillside from various angles as you walk the hills and glens around here: an element that was, no doubt, intended by those who built it.  It’s probably a very old standing stone, more likely neolithic in origin than the generally ascribed Bronze Age.

The great stone in the sky
Dunruchan A, and its heathen onlooker

Standing on the flat grassy plain above Shillinghill and Craigneich, it is surrounded by many small cairns and, it would seem, was once accompanied by a cairn of its own if the scatter of small rocks around its base is anything to go by (though I’m not aware of any detailed excavations here by antiquarians, so this initial assumption may be wrong). Indeed, it seems the Dunruchan A stone stands in the middle of a scattered prehistoric cemetery if the many small overgrown piles of rocks are anything to go by: though I know of no detailed account of these many scatterings of stones (anyone know if they’re ancient, or field clearances?).  However, the great megalith hunter Fred Coles (1911) did comment on how this and the other giant standing stones nearby may “commemorate burials,” but didn’t explore the idea any further.

Approaching twelve feet tall, it was Cole (1911) who described this huge standing stone in one of his essays on the Perthshire megaliths, telling:

“Dunruchan Moor stretches, at a general height of about 700 feet above sea-level, for nearly two miles towards the south and south-west of Craigneich. At its northern extremity, and distant from the Craigneich Stone about 610 yards, stands the first and the tallest of the group (A on the plan), a huge pointed mass of conglomerate schist, its apex being 11 feet 4 inches above ground. Its base is a somewhat regular oblong, measuring along the north and south faces 4 feet 2 inches, and across the edges 3 feet 10 inches and 2 feet 2 inches, the wider of these being on the east. Small and insignificant boulders lie loosely around it. The smoothest and most vertical side faces the north. The illustration (fig. 16A) was drawn from the east, with the Aberuchil Hills as a background.”

Fred Coles’ 1911 drawing

From this great stone, looking west across the moors the giant standing stone of Dunruchan C and its companions can be noticed just a few hundred yards away.  A cup-marked stone can also be seen about 200 yards west of here. It has been suggested that this and the other standing stones were part of some curious megalithic stone row (Burl 1993; Thom 1990), but this seems most unlikely.  Thom made no notes of the archaeoastronomical potential at Dunruchan A, nor its associates.

As a megalithic complex, this area is outstanding.  The other large standing stones of Dunruchan D and Dunruchan E are on the moorland plain a few hundred yards to the southwest and must be visited if you explore the area.  This is serious megalith country!

Folklore

According to an account in the Ordnance Survey Name Book of 1860, “these stones are believed to mark the graves or commemorate the death of Roman soldiers who fell in a battle fought here between the Romans and the Caledonians.”

References:

  1. Burl, Aubrey, From Carnac to Callanish, Yale University Press 1993.
  2. Cole, Fred, “Report on Stone Circles in Perthshire, Principally Strathearn,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 45, 1911.
  3. Finlayson, Andrew, The Stones of Strathearn, One Tree Island: Comrie 2010.
  4. Hunter, John, Chronicles of Strathearn, David Phillips: Crieff 1896.
  5. Thom, A., Thom, A.S. & Burl, Aubrey, Stone Rows and Standing Stones – 2 volumes, BAR: Oxford 1990.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Many thanks to Paul Hornby for use of his photos!

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Shillinghill, Muthill, Perthshire

megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 7936 1739 *

Also Known as:

  1. Aodann Mhor
  2. Dunruchan

Getting Here

Cup-marked stone, with Dunruchan C standing stone on horizon

We parked-up by the small trackway into the fields on the opposite side of the road 100 yards short of Craigneich across from the standing stone, then walked up the track, thru the gate, then walked uphill.  Tis boggy & bumpy as you’d expect – and then, as you espy the giant standing stones of Dunruchan on the ridges above, watch out for the large rounded boulder (amongst many) as you near the level 100 yards or so before the magnificent Dunruchan A stone.  Look around!

Archaeology & History

Close-up of cup-marks

Not far from the cup-marked stones of Blar an Rodhar is what appears to be another such carving.  Here, two archetypal cup-marks are clearly visible on one of the large rocks on the slope up to the huge standing stone of Dunruchan A.  There may be other faint cup-marks on this boulder, but the light wasn’t too good when we first found this, so I’m not sure about any others. The main two however, as the photo shows, stand out! A grassy overgrown cairn is some 10 yards away to the east, almost in line with the largest Dunruchan Stone. The Dunruchan C standing stone is also clearly visible on the skyline to the west, leaning at an angle. Many other small cairns are scattered on the grassy plain where this cup-marked stone rests.  The carving is not included on Canmore’s website, so this could be another new find.  However, the rock up here aint what I’m used to – so if any local geologists or antiquarians can show me it’s Nature’s handiwork, please lemme know and I’ll delete it from the website.

* Grid-ref may need revising, as we went out without mapping instruments. If someone gets a better coordinate, please send it in.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Dunruchan Enclosure, Muthill, Perthshire

megalithix

Enclosure: OS Grid Reference – NN 7874 1676

Getting Here

Large arc of vegetation highlighting southern section of wall

From Comrie town centre take the road south across Dalginross Bridge over the river, heading towards Braco, up the winding B827 road for 3 miles, past the tiny crossroads that would take you to the Craigneich standing stone, and past the farmhouse of Middleton as you go uphill.  As you go round a bittova large bend in the road, take the next gate uphill, over the field and onto the moor.  Follow the walling up a few hundred yards until it bends round and you see the Dunruchan monoliths ahead of you on the moor. From here, walk east into the heather, up a slight grade for 100 yards or more, keeping your eyes peeled for a large oval change in vegetation, covering a mass of small stones with several large ones at its NW sides.  Your damn close!

Archaeology & History

I can find no previous reference to this large oval walled enclosure, either on the internet, PSAS or other local history texts, so assume for the time being that it is a new find (someone please lemme know if there’s owt written about it). But it’s existence here is not surprising, considering the presence of the giant standing stones of Dunruchan rise a few hundred yards to the east.

The sloping faint oval of vegetation across the centre of the photo outlines the main enclosure

The ‘enclosure’ is a large one and would seem to be prehistoric at first glance. I’d appreciate someone with greater local knowledge have a look at the place to see if they can contextualize it in relation to other local monuments of similar type. Paul Hornby and I approached it from the Duncruchan megaliths and, as the vegetation here was low, noted an overgrown rocky rise in the heather and moorland grasses. This turned out to be the northern line of walling and is nearly 3 feet high in places, though very overgrown. Typically comprising of many hundreds of small rounded stones and the occasional large ones, the walling took on an elliptical form – giving the impression of an early Iron Age to Bronze Age structure – roughly 79 yards in circumference, 29 yards across at its longer axis and 23 yards wide at the shortest. The average width of the walling itself was 2-3 yards all round the entire structure.

My initial impression was that this may have been a very large robbed-out cairn, and the presence of many small rocks scattering inside the enclosure didn’t help! But the more I walked round the site, the more it seemed obvious that this was a large enclosure, or possible settlement. Unfortunately the site has proved very difficult to photograph due to the excess of vegetation. Further visits are needed to this site by those more competent than I, to ascertain the real nature of these antiquarian remains…

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian