Stones of Stenness

The Stones of Stenness are located between Loch of Stenness and Loch of Harray, about 1.5 kilometres south-east of the Ring of Brodgar.

The erection of the stones was dated by radiocarbon dating to 3100 BC, making Stenness one of the earliest stone circles in Britain. Four of the 12 stones of the inner circle are still standing today. The henge lacks the surrounding ditch and rampart. Excavations have shown that the ditch was 4 metres wide and 2.3 metres deep. The four remaining stones form an oval with a diameter of 30 metres.

In the centre is a large fireplace that is still visible today. There is still a paved path, several upright stones, apparently another hearth. Pottery and animal bones found during excavations show that the Neolithic builders regularly cooked and ate at the site. The stones are around five metres high, the highest over 5.7 metres, and a maximum of 30 cm thick. They stand on a level that was surrounded by an almost closed ditch, 6 metres wide and 2.3 metres deep, cut into the sandstone of the subsoil. Around the ditch, the ends of which are round in the passage area, there is the remains of an earth wall with a diameter of 44 metres and an entrance on the north side.

In 1814, a farmer tried to destroy the stones because visitors to the stone circle kept trampling on his field. He destroyed the ‘Odin Stone’ further away, overturned one of the stones inside the arrangement and damaged others. In 1906, the fallen stone was erected again. A smaller stone was found, which was also erected. However, there is speculation as to whether the smaller stone was part of the arrangement at all.