Easter Aquhorthies

About

Easter Aquhorthies stone circle, located near Inverurie in north-east Scotland, is one of the best-preserved examples of a recumbent stone circle and one of the few that still have their full complement of stones and the only one that has all its stones still standing without having been re-erected. It stands on a gentle hill slope about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Inverurie and consists of a ring of nine stones, eight of which are grey granite and one red jasper. Two more grey granite stones flank a recumbent of red granite flecked with crystals and lines of quartz.

The circle is particularly notable for its builders' use of polychromy in the stones, with the reddish ones situated on the SSW side and the grey ones opposite. The discovery of a possible cist covered by a capstone at the centre of the circle indicates that there may once have been a cairn there, but only a conspicuous bump now remains. The ring of stones is not quite circular and has a somewhat "squashed" aspect, measuring 18.4 metres (60 ft) along a WNW–ESE axis by 18.1 metres (59 ft).

As is the case with other recumbent stone circles in the region, opposing pairs of stones have been erected on each side, increasing in height...