Scotland-Easter Aquhorities, A Stone Circle in Inverurie,
Easter Aquhorthies was the second recumbent stone circle we saw in Scotland. We visited it on our drive from Inverurie to Stirling. Like every other historical monument it was in a field outside of somewhere.
Here are the directions I found on line as I wrote this article - I laughed out loud when I read them... And was really glad that we had our GPS to navigate while we were there, as we still needed additional guidance once we got to the “good farm track” :-)
“How to Find Easter Aquhorthies Stone Circle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.... Easter Aquhorthies stands about 18 miles west of Aberdeen and about two miles west of the town of Inverurie. Coming from Aberdeen, it can be reached by a road which goes off to the left from the main A96 opposite the second entrance to Inverurie and Morrison's supermarket.
This narrow unclassified road goes up a gentle hill and ends in a Historic Scotland car park. From here it's an easy 5-10 minute walk through fenced fields to the stone circle, firstly along a narrow tarmac road and then along a good farm track.”
Gary and I walked up and down the road still not sure exactly where to go when a farmer and his dog came to see what we were doing. We chatted for a while and then he and his dog pointed us toward a gate.
The dog said, yes we were to go through the gate... yikes, behind the gate was a large herd of cows and one very content looking bull. We had grown use to crossing fields with sheep... but one with cows and a bull?
The dog said most pointedly YES.
Gary as usual in his enthusiasm was ahead and when I saw him I thought of him as the 12th stone... he blended in with the stones so well I began another series of photos called “The Hidden Man in Stone” .
Four of the photos have a picture of him with the stones... can you find him? Think of Gary as the moving Waldo ...
The name Easter Aquhorithies is derived from Gaelic - meaning “field of prayer” and is also a recumbent stone circle,
comprised of eleven erect stones; the recumbent; and three stones set at
right-angles to the recumbent. Again the stones are all of different
material - the erect stones are of a pinkish / red jasper; the three
pillars are of grey granite and the recumbent is of a reddish granite.
So why the fascinating? “Cause none of the stones are found locally. All
had to be dragged from different locations miles and miles away. It is so mind boggling that this could be accomplished. I just think how many of
us could figure out how to to drag a 11 ton stone over hill and dale
without the use of today’s technology and with only what was available 5000
years ago.
It is believed that this stone circle and the 99 others located in the Grampian region are likely to have reflected intense farming settlements in this area. As with the other recumbent stone circles "Easter" is believed to have been a means of lunar observation enabling their builders to establish seasonal farming.
What we also found very amazing was that we could sight down the circle and see in the vista another stone circle on another hill. Another mysterious fact particular to Easter Aquhorthies is that it is suppose to have some special acoustic properties... I can only ask "What'? and "Why"?
