The Callanish IV
stone circle ( gd, Ceann Hulavig
) is one of many
megalithic structures around the better-known (and larger)
Calanais I on the west coast of the
Isle of Lewis, in the
Outer Hebrides (Western Isles),
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It is a scheduled monument and its official name is Sron a'Chail.
The site was first surveyed and recorded by
RCAHMS
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" inanced and with oversightthrough Historic Scotland, an executive ...
in 1914 and again in 2009, with another survey in the 1970s by other archaeologists, but no known archaeological excavations have taken place at the stones.
Description
Callanish IV is around two miles southeast of the
Callanish Stones
The Callanish Stones (or "Callanish I": gd, Clachan Chalanais or ) are an arrangement of standing stones placed in a cruciform pattern with a central stone circle. They were erected in the late Neolithic era, and were a focus for ritual activi ...
, about 180 metres west of the unfenced B8011 road. The nearest settlement is
Garynahine to its northeast.
The
stone circle forms a pronounced oval measuring 13.3 by 9.5 metres.
Only five stones currently stand, but there could have been as many as thirteen.
The stones range in size from 2 to 2.7 metres.
In the centre is a dilapidated
cairn.
A small slab, 60 centimetres high, is set on edge within the cairn.
To the south-east of the circle is a prehistoric quartz quarry. To the south-west is a
shieling
A shieling is a hut or collection of huts on a seasonal pasture high in the hills, once common in wild or sparsely populated places in Scotland. Usually rectangular with a doorway on the south side and few or no windows, they were often cons ...
.
Scheduled Monument
The circle and cairn is a
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
. It was scheduled in 1992 and the scheduled area is irregular, the longest aspect is 410m long, north–south. It covers the cairn and an area around those in which buried evidence may survive below the peat.
Though it may also be to preserve the sighting lines from the circle.
The statement of national importance says of the site:
"The monument is of national importance as a very fine field monument, a small circle with central burial cairn. The undisturbed deep peat around it gives it the potential for recovery of information regarding contemporary landuse and economy, and possibly other structural evidence. It is also of national importance as a member of the Callanish group of circles, settings and cairns ('Callanish IV'). Together, this complex is one of the most remarkable Neolithic/Bronze Age site assemblages in N W Europe, and holds great potential for further studies into the date, nature and purpose of megalithic stone circles and settings."
Images
File:Cal4m.jpg
File:Stone Circle - geograph.org.uk - 1259449.jpg
File:Stone circle with lodge behind - geograph.org.uk - 740711.jpg
File:Stone Circle at Ceann Hulavig (Callanish IV) - geograph.org.uk - 1258326.jpg
File:Sron a' Chail Stone Circle II (3956066734).jpg
References
Archaeological sites in the Outer Hebrides
Isle of Lewis
Scheduled monuments in Scotland
Stone circles in Na h-Eileanan Siar
{{Scotland-struct-stub