nickbrand
Visited here today. The stones still exist, and are in the garden of a small cottage, protected at the rear by a large hedge. Canmore states: “Two standing stones 10’ apart W of the main road at Dowally. They are respectively 8’7” and 7’8” high and 8’ and 10’11” basal girth.” In 1975 it was noted that one stone had fallen, otherwise the description is correct. This has since been re-erected, and I was unable to find out which one – presumably the one hit by the bus, however!
The western stone has a huge line of quartz running vertically down the west side of it. They’re quite a decent size and impressive standing out pale against the dark hedge.
Had another look at this site today, a fine clear afternoon and (unusually) no cattle-beasts in the field for a change. This was one of the first sites I visited when I started recording the stones in my area, and I only took a couple of general photos. I have removed these and replaced them with the current set, which quite clearly show the large cup marks on the NE stone.
Canmore states: “A ‘circle of stones’ forming a triangle whose sides are 25’10” x 28’10” x 29’4”. There is also a small outlying stone on the north side. The first measures 5’ x 4’ x 10” high; the second, 2’ x 3’ x 3’6” high; the third, 2’ x 2’ x 3’8” high.
On the E side of the latter are 21 cups, varying from 1”-3” in diameter. 6 are surrounded by single rings and connecting grooves. On the west side are 16 cups, varying from 1”-2 1/2” in diameter. There is also a connecting groove at one side.
J R Allen 1881.”
These are all easily visible in the photos. The view from this elevated field is quite spectacular, with the Sidlaws behind and the long slow slope south towards the mouth of the Tay.
I received an e-mail last night from George Currie, one of the Scottish Megaraks with a habit of turning up relatively unknown sites. In part it read “the possibility of a stone circle in the seedlees might be of interest . i noticed it last summer and thought it landscaped a la “cuddy stanes” but had another look today and i’m not so sure . anyway it’s near the short cist in auchterhouse approx 3560 3888 . there are 5 stones in heather 40 metres in diameter , a path goes round them hence the landscaping effect. anyone wanting to have a look (it’s nearly yer backies nick) park in the layby just after the double gates just west of the 234m height mark on the map, walk back to the stile on the bend cross field to the N.W. over the rise and the stones are due south of the pylon which is about 150 yds away”
Couldn’t resist that as I hadn’t been out for ages, so off I set this morning into what was an extremely dreich day. His instructions are spot on except it’s NE not NW, and I walked past the site initially trying to find the pylon in the mist...
It’s definitely the remains of a circle, I estimate probably 12 stones originally, of which one solitary one to the west survives, along with 4 on the eastern arc. None of them terribly tall, but it sits in a lovely little natural amphitheatre. The photographs are terrible, the mist was very thick, and I’ll try to get back on a sunny day to see it in a better light. A great atmosphere though even in the mist and drizzle, and only a short distance away from the Balkello stone.
Archaeologists were left red-faced when an excavation site they believed was a Norse settlement of “national significance” was actually a sunken patio. Experts rushed to the site when amateur archaeologists unearthed a meshwork of massive stones while exploring the ground in their garden.
Officials from Fife Council suspected the slabs had been ferried from a nearby beach about 1000 years ago to the homes of Viking settlers. The archaeologists hoped the tiny back garden in Buckhaven would provide the first evidence of Viking homes built on mainland Scotland. The team sealed off the area but after several days of painstaking excavation, they found the massive rocks were simply part of a sunken patio built in the 1940s.
Chief archaeologist Douglas Speirs, 34, admitted his team had been made to look “very stupid”. He said: “We looked at the slabs and guessed they could’ve been part of a Viking settlement considering the area has strong links to Norse culture. It had all the hallmarks of ancient building techniques with the types of stones used and the layout. After all our efforts, you can imagine how silly we felt in the end.”
As Mr Sweet has said, this is in the grounds of a school, so ensure that you ask before visiting. This is a large, almost triangular stone, around 8 feet tall, with no visible markings.
This stone is now recumbent, lying a few metres from where it once stood on a patch of rough ground and gorse. I spoke to the farmer, who said it had been moved there after it fell some number of years ago, and he is currently musing about re-erecting it. It would stand around 8 feet tall if he does so, it’s a fairly solid piece of whinstone!
Three projections visible on the cairn, couldn’t get close enough to decide if these are standing stones or not.
According to CANMORE, this is a cairn, approximately 19m in diameter, with a single standing stone on the SSW quadrant. The field was full of bullocks today, so discretion kicked in and I couldn’t confirm the stone itself, having to be content with a couple of rather atmospheric photographs of the cairn looming out of the mist. There are a couple of projecting stones which show up fairly clearly, which the CANMORE researcher thought might be part of a kerb.
Literally feet away from the circle here is a large cup marked rock, with around fourteen cup marks and the vague outlines of a couple of rings. It used to be in the centre of the circle before the circle was moved to its present position.
An enhanced (thanks Morfe) version of the original dark and dingy copy of the basin and footprint.
Image credit: Photoshop7'd by Morfe!
This is the solitary stone mentioned in the field notes, 35m from the row which is just visible in the background above the ‘outlier’.
The centre stone of the row, in amongst some field clearance boulders