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The Multiple Stone Rows Of Caithness
& Sutherland Of the known settings of stone rows in the north of Scotland plans of accurate surveys have been published of only about a third of them. Most of these are the results of the work done by Professor Thom. It intended in this article, and the following one, to give a description of the sites with available plans including those of Thom together with the results of recent surveys carried out by the authors which have not been published recently. From an analysis of the diameters of circular stone settings, obtained by accurate survey. Thom (1967, 34) concludes that a standard unit of length equal to 0.829m was used in setting out the diameters. This unit he names the megalithic yard (my) and further claims that the same unit of measurement was in use throughout Scotland, England, Wales and Brittany. He demonstrates its use in the construction of stone rings which are not true circles and also the multiple stone rows. Furthermore it is claimed that a multiple of 2.5 times the megalithic yard was also used. This Thom names the megalithic rod (mr). An attempt is made in the following description of the settings of stone rows to bring together all the known sites with the results of accurate surveys where available and to see what similarities exist. Whereas a number of sites have been previously described in the RCAHM-S inventories some of the more recent discoveries have been given little or no account in print. 1. Mid Clyth ND 295384 Rising to the top of a small south-sloping hill each of the stones in the setting is clearly visible above the surface. There remain some 23 rows of stores set out in fan-shaped arrays with a central axis running along the slope and almost due north and south. The stones are mostly thin slabs of local stone set with their long axes along the rows. The largest is about 4m high, lm wide and 0.4.m thick whilst others are much smaller. Each is firmly wedged at its base with smaller stones.
Figure 1 shows the plan as drawn by Thom (1972,92) in which he demonstrates that the stones could have been set out on a grid of radial lines and uniformly spaced arcs forming three separate but inter-related fans. The main fan has a length of 43.5m, is 40m along the base and set out with a radius of 110m. Immediately adjacent to the main sector and to the west are two conjoined fans of smaller extent. To the east of the main sector are a few other rows of stones which Thom (1971,92) suggests may be taken to indicate that there were annexes symmetrical with those on the west. Atkinson (1981, 206) however states that the surviving evidence on the ground gives little support for this hypothesis, and it would be surprising if such an eastern annex had been almost totally destroyed, whilst much still remains of the adjacent eastern part of the main rows. Although not all the stones still in existence appear to be shown in Figure 1, it indicates the positions of nearly 180 stones. An earlier, but less accurate,, plan drawn by Sir Henry Dryden in 1871 indicates a total of 250 stones. This plan is now preserved in the library of the Society of Antiquaries, of Scotland. From the base of the fans to the most northerly radial centre is a distance of about 125m which would place the centre of the are beyond the top of the hill, and out of sight from most of the stones. This would have presented some slight, although not necessarily insurmountable, problems in setting out the rows, if they are geometrically as Thom suggests. In commenting upon Thom's plan of this site Burl (1976, 158) casts doubt upon whether the rows were originally set out as precisely as he suggests. Whilst accepting that some of the stones may have been displaced due to solifluction, Burl points out that only 290% of the stones actually lie on the supposed grid and that 41% are in positions which are up to 0.6m away from it. 2. Loch Watenan ND318441 3. Watenan ND315412 Not more than three stones now stand in any one row. The rows are fan-shaped, tapering towards the northern end with the main axis aligned a few degrees to the east of true north-east.
4. Broughwhin I ND313412 5. Broughwhin II ND312409 Some 55m to the west of this setting is a single row of 5 upright small stones aligned along the top of a ridge. 6. Broughwhin III ND311408 The rows are aligned approximately south-south east and north-north west with 10 stones in the row to the west extending over a distance of 34m, and 3 in the other row, extending over a distance of 24m. 7 Garrywhin ND314413 The stone rows radiate to the south of a cisted cairn which was excavated by Dr. Joseph Anderson in 1865. Within the cist were found "fragments of an urn of twisted string ornamentation" which would probably be dateable to the early bronze age period. Amongst the pottery were found two human molars and from the clay base of the cist two oval-shaped pieces of chipped flint. A survey of the rows was made by Sir Henry Dryden in 1871. This survey is preserved in the library of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland but has not been carried out with the standard of accuracy as the surveys of Professor Thom. It is reproduced in Anderson (1886, 126) and more recently in Hadingham (1975, 126). It shows a total of 46 stones arranged in 6 rows. The RCAHM-S inventory of Caithness indicates 8 rows with a total of 37 stones. A comparison of the above accounts of the setting is given In Table 1 counting the rows from the east. |
