Ring of Brodgar facts for kids
The ring with Loch of Harray beyond
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 Location in Orkney Islands
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| Location | Mainland, Orkney, Scotland |
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| Coordinates | 59°00′07″N 3°13′43″W / 59.0020°N 3.2287°W |
| Type | Standing stones, Henge |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Ownership | Historic Scotland |
| Public access | Yes |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iii, iv |
| Designated | 1999 (23rd session) |
| Part of | Heart of Neolithic Orkney |
| Reference no. | 514 |
| State Party | Scotland |
| Region | Western Europe |
The Ring of Brodgar is a Neolithic henge and stone circle on Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.
The stone circle is 104 metres (341 ft) in diameter, and the third largest in the British Isles. The ring originally comprised 60 stones, of which only 27 remained standing at the end of the 20th century. The tallest stones stand at the south and west of the ring.
The stones are set in a circular ditch up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) deep, 9 metres (30 ft) wide and 380 metres (1,250 ft) in circumference that was carved out of the solid sandstone bedrock by the ancient residents. Technically, this ditch does not constitute a true henge as there is no sign of an encircling bank of earth and rock. However, many archaeologists refer to this structure as a henge. Aubrey Burl classifies the ditch as a Class II henge; one that has two opposing entrances, in this case on the north-west and south-east.
The Ring is in a significant ritual landscape. Within 2 square miles (5.2 km2) there are the two circle-henges, four chambered tombs, groups of standing stones, single stones, barrows, cairns, and mounds. A number of flint arrowheads and broken stone mace-heads were found nearby. They seem to date from the Bronze Age. The nearby Standing Stones of Stenness and its Maeshowe tomb help to make the Ring of Brodgar a site of major importance.
Images for kids
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Bren gun carriers of the 9th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders pass between the prehistoric standing stones 18 June 1941
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Neolithic settlement at Brodgar, (August 2014)
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1823 woodcut, the Ring of Brodgar & surroundings
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The Ring of Brodgar
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See also
In Spanish: Anillo de Brodgar para niños
