Balquhain, also known as Balquhain Stone Circle, is a recumbent stone circle from Inverurie in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is a scheduled ancient monument.

Description and measurements

It is located in farmland at an altitude of c. on a terraced hillside leading up to a prominent summit called

Mither Tap Bennachie ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Beinn na Cìche'') is a range of hills in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.Whiteley, A.W.M. (Ed.) (1976). ''The Book of Bennachie''. The Bailies of Bennachie. . Mostly anecdotes and verse about the mountain and its surrou ...

. The circle originally consisted of 12 stones. Four remain standing, with another four fallen, the final four presumed to have been moved. The recumbent altar stone is wide, high and deep, it has been estimated to weigh over ten tonnes. It is made of a type of white grained

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

that has been suggested to have been brought some distance to the location. The eastern flanker stone is wide and made of dark grey

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

with a round top. The western flanker stone is wide and made of reddish

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

bearing inclusions of white quartz and having a pointed top. The stone east of the east flanker is made of red granite. There is also an outlying stone to the southeast of the circle that is high and made of white

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

with roseate seams. The circle has been estimated to have been between to in diameter.

Alexander Thom Alexander Thom (26 March 1894 – 7 November 1985) was a Scottish engineer most famous for his theory of the Megalithic yard, categorisation of stone circles and his studies of Stonehenge and other archaeological sites. Life and work Early l ...

suggested the circle had been and Fred Coles of only .Coles, F. R., ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'', 35, pp. 230–7, 1900–1. The circle also displays suggested

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

including cup marks and a noticeable rounded bump on the recumbent stone that resembles the outline of the prominent hill behind it.

Astronomical alignments

It was discovered in the 1980s that Balquhain had

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

associations. The eastern flanker is aligned to the most southerly moonrise at 172 degrees, whilst the western flanker is aligned to the minor moonset at 232 degrees. The major moonset is aligned over the central hump of the recumbent stone at 190 degrees.

References

External links

Illustrated entry in the Megalithic Portal
* {{Authority control Stone Age sites in Scotland Stone circles in Aberdeenshire Archaeological sites in Aberdeenshire Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Aberdeenshire Inverurie