Ballochroy is a

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

ic site in

Kintyre Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East Loch Tarbert, Argyll, East and West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, West Loch Tarbert in t ...

on the

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

peninsula in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It consists of three vertical

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

s, side by side, aligned with various land features away. Alexander Thom, known for his work on

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...

, maintained that the great length between the stones and the features of distant landscape lent precision to pinpointing the

midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest Daytime, day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of Eu ...

and

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

solstice A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...

s for ancient observers. These three stones are considered the most spectacular set of megalithic monuments that cluster around south Argyll. The three mica schist stones were measured at in height. It is possible that this last, smallest, stone may have been broken off at the top. The line of stones is orientated north-east to south-west. The flat face of the central stone (at right angles to the alignment) indicates the mountain of Cora Bheinn, on the island of Jura, which is away. The shortest stone also faces across the alignment, and points to Beinn a' Chaolais, the southernmost of the three

Paps of Jura The Paps of Jura () are three mountains on the western side of the island of Jura, Scotland, Jura, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Their highest point is . They are steep-sided quartzite hills with distinctive conical shapes Breast-shaped h ...

. The sun setting here would have given warning of the approach of the solstice. As with many megalithic sites, the current theories concerning the exact use of the stones at Ballochroy are somewhat controversial.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Archaeoastronomy Archaeological sites in Argyll and Bute Standing stones in Scotland Kintyre Scheduled monuments in Argyll and Bute

See also

References

External links