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Ring of Brodgar
 The Ring of Brodgar (ON Bruar-gardr, Bridge Farm) is situated
on a peninsula between the Lochs of Harray and Stenness,
in the heart of the West Mainland. This very fine stone circle
originally comprised 60 megaliths, of which 27 remain upright.
It is a perfect circle, 103.7m in diameter and is surrounded
by a rock-cut ditch 10m across and over 3m deep.
Dating from the same Neolithic period as Maeshowe and Skara
Brae, the construction of the henge and ditch would have
taken a lot of labour, implying an organised society with
spare resources and some kind of strong beliefs. As with
Maeshowe, the monument has been carefully situated, with
clear views in all directions.
The monoliths resemble the uprights within Maeshowe in size
and shape, ranging from about 2m to 4.5m in height, and often
with angular faces or notches on one side. They are all aligned
with their flat sides facing into the centre of the circle.
There is an outlying standing stone, the Comet Stone, to
the south east as well as several mounds nearby which could
date from the Bronze Age. They may be points for viewing
the variety of solar alignments relating to the solstices,
equinoxes, Beltane and other dates which have been observed
or suggested.
 This may have been the intention of the designer or not,
but will always remain enigmatic. Alignments with lunar phenomena
have also been observed and suggested, particularly at the
times of major lunar standstills, every 18.6 years.
Nowhere does the feeling of space, where water, land and
sky all seem to merge feel stronger than at Brodgar. The
constantly changing Orkney light and weather mean that the
site can be visited at any season or time of day and always
look different. Although we know nothing about the beliefs
of the Neolithic people who built the Ring of Brodgar it
is clear that they were a highly motivated and imaginative
society. |
