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<< Our Photo Pages >> Ring of Bookan - Henge in Scotland in Orkney

Submitted by Martin_McCarthy on Tuesday, 02 March 2004  Page Views: 13794

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Ring of Bookan
Country: Scotland
NOTE: This site is 1.1 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Orkney Type: Henge

Map Ref: HY283145
Latitude: 59.011538N  Longitude: 3.250156W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 3

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Ring of Bookan
Ring of Bookan submitted by howar : Orkney HY283145 (Vote or comment on this photo)
Henge in Orkney.

A little mentioned and little visited site consisting of a huge earthworks (a ditch 2m deep, 13m wide and about 40m in diameter) at the top of the same isthmus as Brodgar and the stones of Stenness. A lovely spot, despite the intense cold.
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Ring of Bookan
Ring of Bookan submitted by howar : Orkney HY283145 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Ring of Bookan
Ring of Bookan submitted by howar : Ring of Bookan and, to left, Skae Frue from Clouston hill road (Vote or comment on this photo)

Ring of Bookan
Ring of Bookan submitted by howar : Note extra bump feature atop bank (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Ring of Bookan
Ring of Bookan submitted by howar : Central mound and western half of bank (Vote or comment on this photo)

Ring of Bookan
Ring of Bookan submitted by howar : Orkney HY283145 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Ring of Bookan
Ring of Bookan submitted by howar

Ring of Bookan
Ring of Bookan submitted by howar : looking across insides Orkney HY283145

Ring of Bookan
Ring of Bookan submitted by howar : overall view of henge from uphill right Orkney HY283145

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 116m SSW 210° Skae Frue* Round Barrow(s) (HY28241440)
 360m ESE 123° The Brecks* Cairn (HY286143)
 499m SE 142° Bookan* Chambered Tomb (HY286141)
 734m SE 135° Wasbister Cairn* Cairn (HY28811397)
 758m SE 124° Bookan Stones* Standing Stones (HY28921406)
 847m SE 134° Bookan Cairns* Cairn (HY289139)
 974m SE 136° Wasbister Burnt Mound* Artificial Mound (HY28961378)
 998m SE 142° Wasbister Disc Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (HY289137)
 998m SE 142° Dyke o'Sean* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY289137)
 1.3km WNW 296° Stackrue* Broch or Nuraghe (HY271151)
 1.3km WNW 297° Stackrue-Lyking Mound* Misc. Earthwork (HY27121514)
 1.4km WNW 294° Burroughston 2* Broch or Nuraghe (HY270151)
 1.6km SE 129° Plumcake Mound* Round Barrow(s) (HY295135)
 1.6km SE 139° Salt Knowe* Round Barrow(s) (HY293133)
 1.6km SE 134° Ring of Brodgar* Stone Circle (HY29451335)
 1.6km SE 137° South Knowe* Artificial Mound (HY29411328)
 1.7km SE 129° Fresh Knowe* Long Barrow (HY29601339)
 1.8km SE 131° Comet Stone (Orkney)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (HY2963413318)
 1.9km SE 146° Possible large stone circle in Loch of Stenness Stone Circle (HY2933112934)
 1.9km SE 142° Fairy Well (Stenness)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (HY2943212982)
 2.2km W 279° Voy Crannogs* Crannog (HY261149)
 2.5km SE 129° Brodgar Farm Chambered Tomb Chambered Tomb (HY302129)
 2.5km SE 128° Ness of Brodgar* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY3024312941)
 2.6km SE 129° Brodgar Farm Standing Stones* Standing Stones (HY303128)
 2.7km SE 128° Lochview Mound* Cairn (HY304128)
View more nearby sites and additional images

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"Ring of Bookan" | Login/Create an Account | 13 News and Comments
  
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Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Saturday, 06 August 2011
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Orkney College Archaeological Department have done a full topographical survey - rather small image including topographical survey of centre of ring will have to do me for now ;
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=231342420244014&set=a.138450376199886.27432.115037505207840&type=1
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Ring of Bookan by coldrum on Sunday, 04 April 2010
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Street View


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Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Friday, 01 January 2010
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Leaving the Ring of Brodgar the next feature is the Dyke of Sean, the old Stenness-Sandwick boundary down to the loch - on the other side of the accompanying burn the Wasbister disc barrow sits in the far corner of a usually rather damp field. Looking up to the north look for the big green mound on the skyline in the uphill field. This is the Bookan tomb. Take note of the field as this isn't seen when you approach the fieldgate. Follow the field edge up to the tomb and just beyond take the track right that goes by the west side of the quarry with the various [?lesser] Bookan cairns along its sides. Leaving these looking northward and slightly downhill you see the Skae Frue mound. Above this is the field containing the Ring of Bookan. You reach the gate before coming to Skae Frue. Follow the track that passes east through two erect stones and in a few minutes the ring appears to your left. The easiest way into the surrounding ditch is on the right where this meets the field edge and then on the east side is the lower side of the mound. From on top you have a complete view of all the hills comprising the 'rim' of the 'bowl' within which the "Great Sacred Monuments" sit. More properly from any high point on the 'rim' the Ring of Bookan is visible, even when the monuments aren't. Ante- or post-quem ?
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Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Wednesday, 30 December 2009
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The beggars have boxed it in, trying the old direct route but instead had to do a circular one through three fieldgates before entering by one almost opposite Skae Frue. Alas, though the Comet Stone points to it the Warbuster hill would hide the valley below even if you took away the Bookan cairns from around the old quarry. So it is Bookan tomb that dominates the view of the monuments below. On the other hand you can see why they built here - from on top you can see an unobscured 360deg panorama of the hills.
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Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Wednesday, 09 December 2009
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At an OAS set of talks tonight audience shown an aerial photograph showing a cropmark [nearer Bockan than Buckan it looked] in a field on the opposite side of the road to the Ring of Bookan and being a circular feature of much the same dimensions to it. Given as a possibilty that this relates to a recorded flint scatter hereabouts, presumably a reference to the small brown & yellow mottled ground flint hammer from Bockan (NMRS record HY21SE 52). More to the point is that Bockan house was part of traditions centred round the two great circles and used to have some idols [possibly Iron Age, like those at e.g. Brecks of Netherbrough and Dale souterrain, rather than Neolithic ?]
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Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Friday, 08 September 2006
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Rimmed platform cairn with central mound
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Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Wednesday, 23 August 2006
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Captain Thomas in 1849 saw a triangular stone that appeared to have been used as a seat, and in 1858 there is a reference to the late Mansie Hay using this site as a "law-ting" - was this a novelty of his or simply that he was the last of his line ?
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    Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Sunday, 31 January 2010
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    "after the party had partaken of a picnic... on the green sward of the Druidical circle of Wasbuster, whilom the seat of the lawting of the late redoubtable Mansie Hay, who settled all difficulties in the vicinity "
    1936 "It's been partly explored, but from what I can gather there is a superstition that something fearful will happen to the persons who venture to probe too deeply into its hidden mysteries"
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Monday, 12 April 2010
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      The alternative name of Black Hill of Warbister would relate this site to Viking vardr 'beacon' (as with The Wart in S.Ronaldsay, the Verron broch at Skaill Bay and the Point of Veron mound near Voy).
      [ Reply to This ]

Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Tuesday, 20 December 2005
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In 1883 the Ridge of Bookan (sic) was 136' across the interior with a sharply defined ditch 44' across and 6' deep. No mention of any chambers, just the stones present nowadays.
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    Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Monday, 19 April 2010
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    Captain F.W.L. Thomas in 1851 believed he detected 5/6 circles tangential to the central feature, these [indicated on his plan] about 6'D and containing prominent stumps of stone. He observed that the ditch remained dry in even the wettest weather. He saw evidence that someone had tried to cultivate the land here - the earliest form of Bookan (preceding Bûkan even) refers to bygga 'bere' [a barley landrace] as suggested for Buckquoy in Birsay.
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Re: Ring of Bookan by howar on Monday, 23 February 2004
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Condition:4
Ambience:3
Access:2
The direct route I took opposite the farm you have to climb over a metal gate as this is only held to the posts by fencing wire , meaning you can't open it in the regular manner . Walking towards it I was pleasantly surprised by the size and excellent condition of the surrounding ditch . The stones I had seen previously at distance were on a platform-like area across the mound ( the result of excavation perhaps ) . This is easiest accessed from the extreme left so I made my procession counter-clockwise . Coming to my extreme right and looking in there seems to be an area of grass on the central mound indicative of an henge-type entrance long gone . Down on the lower hillside quadrant there are exposed for several metres the friable stones of whatever structure underlies the mound's exterior . From here you can see the decent-sized mound of Skae Frue ( alias Wasbuster ) below . Coming back uphill you finally come to the rectangular appearance of the 'platform' , one large square stone and lesser ones mostly seeming i randomly placed . There is quite a lot going on there , possibly more than one structure even going by what is immediately obvious/visible , and you could use up a whole film trying to make sense of it . The archaeologists are unsure whether this is a henge or a tomb but I feel it could have been both ( if some tombs were based-on , or incorporated , standing stones then this brings them closer to multi-period henge development - there is a divergence from a common origin let's say ) .
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