Recumbent stone circle

A recumbent stone circle is a type of stone circle that incorporates a large monolith, known as a recumbent, lying on its side. They are found in only two regions: near Aberdeen in the north-east of Scotland, and in the far south-west of Ireland in the counties of Cork and Kerry. They are thought to be associated with rituals in which moonlight played a central role, as they are aligned with the arc of the southern moon. More than 200 such stone circles are known to exist.

Up to 99 recumbent stone circles are known to exist in an area of Aberdeenshire spanning about 80 km (50 mi) north to south by 50 km (31 mi) east to west. They are clustered in areas characterised by low hills, away from the mountains and alongside patches of fertile and well-drained soil, which would indicate that they were built by local farmers. They were normally constructed on sloping hillsides, aligned towards the southern moon. A few sites were deliberately levelled before construction of the circle; one, at Berrybrae, was built on an artificial clay platform.

The diameters of the Scottish circles range from 18.2 m (60 ft) to 24.4 m (80 ft). They are typified by the presence of a massive recumbent stone, averaging 24 tons in weight, lying between the circle's two tallest stones, known as flankers. The recumbents were carefully positioned by the circle builders and generally appear on the southwest side of the circle, with their bases supported (in some cases on mounds) so that their tops are level. The other stones in the circle taper off sequentially so that the smallest are to be found opposite the recumbent. The recumbent and its flankers were evidently seen as the most important elements of the circle; in a number of cases the remaining stones were added later, and in some cases were apparently never added at all.

Irish recumbent stone circles take a rather different form, with the recumbent being small and placed in an isolated position on the southwest side while the two tallest stones, known as portals, stand opposite on the northeast side. It is highly likely that the recumbent stone circles of northeast Scotland and south-west Ireland are related, given how similar they are, but the geographical distance between them – several hundred kilometers of mountain terrain, bogs and sea – has prompted debate about how exactly the relationship came about. It is possible that rather than there being direct communication between the two locations, the ideas underlying recumbent stone circles were transmitted by a single influential person or group of people who – for whatever reason – left one location and perhaps settled in the other.

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