Croft Moraig Stone Circle facts for kids
Croft Moraig Stone Circle
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 Location in Perth and Kinross
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| Location | Dull, Perth and Kinross |
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| Coordinates | 56°36′06″N 3°57′37″W / 56.601805°N 3.960241°W |
| Type | Stone circle |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic / Bronze Age |
The Croft Moraig Stone Circle (sometimes called Croftmoraig) is an amazing ancient site in Scotland. It's a special circle made of large stones. You can find it about four miles southwest of a town called Aberfeldy. This site is so important that it's protected as a scheduled monument, which means it's a really old and valuable place.
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Where is Croft Moraig?
This ancient stone circle is easy to find! It sits right next to the A827 road. This road connects the towns of Aberfeldy and Kenmore. The circle is located northeast of a beautiful lake called Loch Tay. It's on flat land, with tall mountains rising up behind it.
What Does Croft Moraig Look Like?
The Croft Moraig Stone Circle is a very interesting place. It's not just one simple circle. It was built in different stages over a long time! Many features here are common for stone circles in this part of Scotland.
Special Stones and Features
- Recumbent Stone: One special stone lies flat on the ground. This is called a "recumbent stone."
- Graded Stones: The stones in the circle get taller as you move towards one side.
- South-Southwest Direction: The circle is lined up in a specific direction, towards the south-southwest. This might have been important for watching the sun or moon.
- Quartz Pebbles: You might find small, shiny white quartz pebbles here. These were often used in ancient sites.
- Outer Bank: There's also a low, stony bank around the outside of the circle.
- Stone Type: All the stones are made of a dark grey rock called schist.
Uncovering Croft Moraig's Secrets: The Excavations
Archaeologists dug up the Croft Moraig Stone Circle in 1965. They found out that the site was built in three main stages, or "phases," over many years!
Phase 1: The Wooden Horseshoe
The very first version of Croft Moraig was not made of stone. It was made of wood!
- Wooden Posts: People first set up 14 large wooden posts.
- Horseshoe Shape: These posts formed a horseshoe shape. It was about 8 meters (26 feet) long and 7 meters (23 feet) wide.
- Central Boulder: Inside the horseshoe, there was a large rock. Some burnt bones were found near it. This suggests it might have been a place for special ceremonies.
Phase 2: The First Stone Circle
Later, the wooden posts were replaced with stones.
- Stone Horseshoe: Eight standing stones replaced the wooden horseshoe. This stone horseshoe was a bit smaller, about 8 meters by 6 meters.
- Stone Bank: A stone bank was built around this horseshoe. It was about 17 meters (56 feet) across.
- Cupmarked Stone: On top of this bank, on the southwest side, was a large stone. This stone was about 2 meters (6.5 feet) tall. It had 23 small, round hollows carved into it. These are called "cupmarks." No one knows exactly what they mean, but they are found at many ancient sites.
Phase 3: The Big Stone Circle
The final stage added an even bigger circle of stones.
- Outer Stone Circle: Twelve standing stones were set up to form a large circle. This circle was about 12 meters (39 feet) across. It surrounded the earlier horseshoe shape.
- Entrance and Graves: There was a special entrance on the southeast side. Two extra stones marked this entrance. Next to these stones, archaeologists found two ancient graves.
How Old is Croft Moraig?
Archaeologists found pieces of pottery from the second phase of the site. These pieces helped them figure out how old Croft Moraig is. They believe the site was built around 2000 BC. This means it was used during the Neolithic (New Stone Age) and Bronze Age periods.
See also
- Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany
- List of stone circles
