Auld Bourtreebush is a large

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

stone circle near

Portlethen Portlethen (; ) is a town located approximately 7 miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland, along the A92 road, A92. The population according to the 2022 census was 8,969 making it the seventh most populous settlement within Aberdeenshire. To the ea ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, Scotland. It is also known as Old Bourtree Bush or Old Bourtreebush. This

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 construction is situated very close to the

recumbent stone circle A recumbent stone circle is a type of stone circle that incorporates a large monolith, known as a ''recumbent'', lying on its side. They are found in only two regions: in Aberdeenshire in the north-east of Scotland and in the far south-west of Ir ...

at Aquhorthies and near the

Causey Mounth The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed around the 12th century Anno Domini, AD as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen, a ...

, an ancient trackway which connects the

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...

to the

highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

. It 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, visu ...

Stone circle

Auld Bourtreebush stone circle lies 200 metres to the west of Old Bourtreebush in

and within sight of the Aquhorthies

. It is a

. It is 25 metres in diameter and is thought to have been composed of up to 15

orthostats This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic (Stone Age) structures. Forecourt In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts ...

, of which only four remain standing, although several others are lying fallen. Inside the circle was a

ring cairn A ring cairn (also correctly termed a ring bank enclosure, but sometimes wrongly described as a ring barrow) is a circular or slightly oval, ring-shaped, low (maximum 0.5 metres high) embankment, several metres wide and from 8 to 20 metres i ...

which has been destroyed over time. Whilst it was thought in the past to have been a recumbent stone circle, current archaeological opinion refutes this.

Area history

Subsequent to the prehistory related to the construction of this stone circle, there is considerable

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

history associated with this monument's position along the ancient Causey Mounth trackway. Auld Bourtreebush is situated quite near to this old

drovers' road A drovers' road, drove road, droveway, or simply a drove, is a route for droving livestock on foot from one place to another, such as to marketplace, market or between summer and winter pasture (see transhumance). Many drovers' roads were anci ...

, which was constructed on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points south from

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( ) is a town on the northeast coast of Scotland, south of Aberdeen. It had a population of 11,177 at th2022 Census Stonehaven was formerly the county town of Kincardineshire, succeeding the now abandoned town of Kincardine, Aberd ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. This trackway specifically connected the River Dee crossing (where the present

Bridge of Dee The Bridge of Dee or Brig o Dee is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527,Richards, J.M., ''The National Trust Book of Bridges'', Jonathan Cape, 198 ...

is situated) via

Portlethen Moss The Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve located to the west of the town of Portlethen, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Like other Bog, mosses, this wetland area supports a variety of plant and animal species, even though it has been subjec ...

Muchalls Castle Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well-preserved Romanesque, double-groined 13th-century tower house structure, built by the Frasers o ...

and

to the south. The route was that taken by

William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal (16141670 or 1671) was a Scottish nobleman and Covenanter. He was the eldest son of William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal. Life During the English Civil War, the 7th Earl Marischal joined James Graham, 1st Marque ...

and the

Marquess of Montrose A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow ...

when they led a

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

army of 9000 men in the battle of the Civil War in 1639.Watt, Archibald, ''Highways and Byways around Kincardineshire'', Stonehaven Heritage Society (1985)

References

{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Aberdeenshire History of Aberdeenshire Stone circles in Aberdeenshire Scheduled monuments in Aberdeenshire

Stone circle

Area history

See also

References