I came away liking these stones, despite the frustration of another site thrown down by backward christians.
Built into the South Kirkyard wall are the last remains of the recumbent stone circle which once occupied this site. Thought to be the flankers (where's the usually bigger recumbent? Buried?), only one is now clearly visible, as the other was further obscured by a wall re-alignment in the past.
Entering through the gates, and walking to your right, look for the large Stephen family monument against the wall. Just poking out of the soil is a thin fillet of stone. Hop down over the wall, and the full length of the stone is revealed. Climb back up, and walk a few feet to where the wall doglegs, and you can make out the top of the second stone.
Driving up to the site from the Fintray road, we noticed two large stones in front of a house which look distinctly megalithic. They could be recent additions, but given that they cannot be seen from the house, or its garden, why? They are not mentioned by RCHAMS, but perhaps they drove in a different way ;-) I wonder if they were part of the circle, and were discarded, re-found and re-erected? If anyone knows, I would love to find out. They can be seen from the Kirkyard, looking over the E wall through the poly tunnel frames.
Visit! These stones deserve to be seen by those who still appreciate them.
Access: Easy, From the Fintray to Blackburn road, take the signposted turn uphill for Kirkton. At the fork, bear right and note the 2 stones in front of the house. Park outside the church, which is no longer in use, and enter the Kirkyard.
Fred R Coles reported that the Kirk yard was once the site of a stone circle and that the only remaining evidence of this was two stones embedded in the south wall of the kirk yard. The stones were nine feet long and two feet wide.
Source
Report on stone circles in Aberdeenshire (Inverurie, eastern parishes and Insch districts)
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquities of Scotland
1902
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