The Callanish IV

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The ...

( gd, Ceann Hulavig) is one of many

megalithic A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

structures around the better-known (and larger) Calanais I on the west coast of the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as ...

, in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

(Western Isles),

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 th ...

. 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 activity ...

, about 180 metres west of the unfenced B8011 road. The nearest settlement is

Garynahine Garynahine ( gd, Gearraidh na h-aibhne) is a settlement on Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Garynahine is situated at a T-junction where roads from Stornoway, Uig and the west side of Lewis all meet. The roads are the A858 and the B8011. ...

to its northeast. The

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 con ...

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