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East Cult Standing Stones

Stone Row / Alignment

Fieldnotes

East Cult Standing Stones
27/7/02
A ridge rises out of the fertile plains of Eastern Perthshire to a height of 204 metres. The views stretch from the Sidlaws to the hills around Dunkeld and Birnam and up to Glenshee and the Grampians. Atop this ridge are the three stones of East Cult. They are aligned E/W and graded in height towards the west. This massive stone stands at 2.15 m with a circumference of over 4 m. Approximately 9 m to the east the next stone rises to a height of 1.8 m. A rounded side facing south, a flat northern side catches my gaze and points in the direction of a dip in the Dunkeld Hills over towards the Two-Poster at Newtyle and the cup and ring marked rocks of Birnam Hill. The third and final stone is the most interesting. This is a cup marked recumbent which is another beautiful viewfinder and interpreter. There are over 130 markings on this stone- it points my gaze to the north and aligns perfectly with Benachally Hill about 7 km away. This interpreter measures 1.25 m wide by 1.9 m long and slopes up from the ground to the south to a height of 0.9 m at it’s northern edge. The cups measure from approximately 3 cm to 12 cm in diameter. Along the western edge is a line of 11 cup marks all of which are about 3 cm in diameter. The black clouds to the west hang heavy in the sky, the sun almost breaks overhead. Whilst taking pictures I hear something coming towards me through the undergrowth- I look up to see a stoat looking up at me. It slowly checks me out, then heads back towards the middle stone. Wild roe deer are also sniffing amongst the thistles just to the south. The stones then draw my view to the dark clouds and black mass of Birnam Hill- the rain. Time to go. I stand and try to take it all in one more time- this is a hugely impressive site- in fact one of the most spectacular I have yet visited in this part of the land.
Posted by Martin
9th August 2002ce

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