Watchstone

The Watchstone stands in the north-west of the Stones of Stenness at the southern end of the Bridge of Brodgar. More than 5.6 metres high, the stone stands near the point where the lakes of Stenness and Harray meet.

The Watchstone was one of a pair of stones that were either outcrops of the Stones of Stenness stone circle or marked a gate-like entrance to the Ness of Brodgar. The stump of the second stone was excavated in 1930 in a rampart at the side of the road. Its discovery led to the theory that the two stones were the remains of the south-eastern section of a large stone circle, the rest of which disappeared when the lake level rose. However, it has long been hypothesised that the megaliths were once part of a stone-lined ceremonial path between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness. Megaliths that are said to have been part of this processional route include the Odin Stone, the Comet Stone and two unnamed stones in front of the House of Lochview.