<< Our Photo Pages >> Tomnaverie - Stone Circle in Scotland in Aberdeenshire

Submitted by TheCaptain on Tuesday, 30 January 2024  Page Views: 22727

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Tomnaverie
Country: Scotland County: Aberdeenshire Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Aboyne  Nearest Village: Tarland
Map Ref: NJ48650348  Landranger Map Number: 37
Latitude: 57.119375N  Longitude: 2.849636W
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
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 5 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.
 3 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
 5

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I have visited· I would like to visit

Martin_L SumDoood Monoman would like to visit

drolaf visited on 10th Aug 2024 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4 amazing location

DanWarrender visited on 16th Oct 2021 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5

stolinskie visited on 1st Jan 2019 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3 Love this stone circle, so glad the quarry was filled in

bishop_pam visited on 11th Apr 2018 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

SandyG visited on 10th Nov 2013 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Chrus visited on 1st Jan 2008 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4

megalithicmatt visited on 26th Aug 2007 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Precariously perched but what a stunning scene! Beautiful recumbent setting.

BolshieBoris visited on 1st Aug 1997 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4

coin visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

TheCaptain rldixon hamish Andy B MegalithJunkie HaggisAction have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.44 Ambience: 4.67 Access: 4

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by SandyG : Taken on a beautiful clear day with the first dusting of snow on Lochnagar in the background. (Vote or comment on this photo)
One of the best-known Aberdeenshire recumbent stone circles, in a splendid situation. There is a small parking area with signed footpath up the rest of the hill to the circle. I think that although the circle has been much damaged in the past, due to local quarrying activity, it has been restored as best as possible.

Richard Bradley’s excavations at Tomnaverie resulted in six radiocarbon determinations on charcoal. In Bradley’s model, the latest determination was rejected as an ‘outlier’, with the remaining five combined to offer a date for its construction in the 25th century cal BC. More details in the comments below.

Note: New Book: The Moon and the Bonfire: An Investigation of Three Stone Circles (Tomnaverie, Keig, Old Deer) by Richard Bradley and team. Free/open access download, details on our page
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Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by rldixon : Tomnaverie stone circle taken 21/6/2007 (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by rldixon : Tomnaverie stone circle taken 21/6/2007 Panoramic photo 3 pics merged in photoshop anyone spot the join ?? ;) (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by rldixon : Tomnaverie stone circle taken 21/6/2007 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by rldixon (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by rldixon (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by postman : Early evening late May 2009

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by megalithicmatt : Recumbent setting - looking west.

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by NickiMacRae : 'Tomnaverie Stone Circle II' 16 x 20" acrylic on canvas. (4 comments)

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by rldixon : Tomnaverie stone circle taken 21/6/2007

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by TheCaptain : Tomnaverie stone circle. Glorious in the low sunlight of an October afternoon.

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by TheCaptain

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by postman : Early evening late May 2009 (2 comments)

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by rldixon : Tomnaverie stone circle taken in Infra red 21/6/2007

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by rldixon

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by hamish : The recumbent and its supporting stones were very close to the now unused quarry,which is just beyond the fence on the left.

Tomnaverie 39
Tomnaverie 39 submitted by Andy B : Part of the Burnham family holiday to Tomintoul, Moray in August 2003

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by drolaf : I found this site gobsmackingly scenic. On a clear day you can see as far as Lochnagar 30km away. looking sw over recumbent

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by SandyG : View from above and south east.

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by TheCaptain : Tomnaverie stone circle. Glorious in the low sunlight of an October afternoon.

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by TheCaptain

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by TheCaptain

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by Flickr : DJI00014 Tomnaverie, Aberdeenshire DCIM100MEDIA Image copyright: boathv8s (Paul Boath), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by Aluta : When we were at Tomnaverie stone circle in Scotland, we could see snow on the mountain of Lochnagar. And it was May 26th!

Tomnaverie
Tomnaverie submitted by postman : Early evening late May 2009

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Great Crowns of Stone: The Recumbent Stone Circles of Scotland

Great Crowns of Stone: The Recumbent Stone Circles of Scotland

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"Tomnaverie" | Login/Create an Account | 17 News and Comments
  
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Re: Tomnaverie by Anonymous on Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Hi Andy
I'm trying to register so that this year I might contribute some photos.
How does this work?
Sorry to be low-tech.

BtW, that top pic of Tomnaverie is captioned wrongly: the hill in the background is Morven.

Lochnagar's peak (Cac Carn Baeg) is off to the left of that picture. Normally it looks better but on that day the low cloud smothers its head.

I'll try to snap a better pic for you later in the season, when the shadows work better.
[ Reply to This ]

New Book: The Moon and the Bonfire: An Investigation of Three Stone Circles by Andy B on Sunday, 28 January 2024
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The Moon and the Bonfire: An Investigation of Three Stone Circles in North-East Scotland - Richard Bradley, published by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Were recumbent stone circles (like at Tomnaverie) built for astronomical observation? Or perhaps to frame sacred landscape features? Dig in to the results of excavations which shed light on these unique prehistoric monuments in the new open access e-book from The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland:

This volume presents the result of three excavations (Tomnaverie, Keig, Old Deer) and two field walking surveys in Aberdeenshire. They were intended to shed new light on the character, chronology and structural development of the distinctive recumbent stone circles which are such a feature of north-east Scotland. Although the monuments share certain elements with other traditions of prehistoric architecture, and, in particular, with the Clava Cairns of the inner Moray Firth, no excavations at these sites had been published since the 1930s and their wider contexts had not been investigated by field survey.

The new project took advantage of techniques which had not been used before, including pollen analysis and soil micromorphology, in an attempt to interpret these monuments in their wider chronological and geographical contexts. In that respect this work was the sequel to an earlier investigation of the Clava Cairns.

Richard Bradley with Tim Phillips, Alison Sheridan, Angela Boyle, Stephen Lancaster, Donald Davidson, Ian Simpson, Brian Matthews, Peter Brewer, Sharon Arrowsmith, Chris Ball, Catherine Chisham, Petra Dark, Donald Davidson, Stephen Lancaster (Contributor); Ian Simpson; David Trevarthen (Contributor)

More at doi.org/https://doi.org/10.9750/9781908332325
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Re: Tomnaverie by Andy B on Wednesday, 18 July 2018
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Paul Anderson, a musician from Aboyne writes: The Howe o’Cromar has been home for my whole life and my family have deep roots in the area. My favourite spot is Tomnaverie Stone Circle which affords some of the best views of the Howe and the Eastern Cairngorms. I frequently head up to the Circle to take in the view, think and write music. I find it endlessly inspiring. There’s no single reason why I love the place but rather a combination of peace and tranquillity, beauty, mystery and a tangible link between the present and our ancient past.

Tomnaverie Stone Circle stands on a hilltop, just less than a mile south-east of the picturesque village of Tarland. If you were to leave from the village itself, the whole walk would only take around an hour and half – there and back!

This style of stone circle is known as recumbent, meaning it incorporates a large monolith lying on its side. In the case of Tomanverie, the recumbent monolith is flanked by two upright stones. This particular arrangement has been echoed about 100 times in various sites in the North East of Scotland, but has yet to be observed elsewhere.

It is thought that the impressive stone structure was created as far back as 2,500 BC and to have been originally used as a sort of funeral pyre. However, there is evidence to suggest that it has been utilised for a variety of different purposes; from astronomical observation, to simply framing a spectacular landscape feature. The latter seems an obvious choice today, as today the spot offers a lovely view of Lochnagar.

While the hill itself isn’t particularly high, it’s undisturbed surroundings mean that those who venture to the top are treated to a breathtaking panoramic view of the area – the perfect Aboyne adventure for a crisp and clear December morning.

Source:
https://www.aspc.co.uk/blog/posts/2017/december/tomnaverie-stone-circle-why-it-s-paul-anderson-s-favourite-view/
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The dark side of the sky: the orientations of earlier prehistoric monuments - Bradley by Andy B on Sunday, 01 April 2018
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The dark side of the sky: the orientations of earlier prehistoric monuments in Ireland and Britain - Richard Bradley - Ch 5 in The Archaeology of Darkness eds. Marion Dowd, Robert Hensey, Oxbow Books, 2016

Link to preview, ebook currently £12.48 on Google Play
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The Archaeoastronomy of Tomnaverie Recumbent Stone Circle: Comparison of Methodology by Andy B on Monday, 07 August 2017
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The Archaeoastronomy of Tomnaverie Recumbent Stone Circle: A Comparison of Methodologies by Liz Henty, 2014

The way we view the past is constantly modified by new evidence and methodological advances. Archaeological data is gleaned from the ground and archaeoastronomical evidence considers the use of the sky in relation to the archaeological record. Since the beginning of the 20th century the two disciplines of archaeology and archaeoastronomy have flirted with one another but there has never been a satisfactory marriage. This paper looks at the Recumbent Stone Circles (RSCs) of north-east Scotland to examine the methodologies, and compare the results, of both disciplines. The RSCs are a distinctive type of stone circle characterised by a large recumbent stone which is flanked on either side by a tall pillar. This recumbent arrangement is almost invariably located in the south-west of the circle. RSCs are generally located near the summits of low hills and enjoy clear horizon views. Over the years they have been the subject of extensive research. This research will be reviewed and Tomnaverie RSC will be singled out as a special case study to examine whether there still needs to be a divide between the disciplines.

https://www.pia-journal.co.uk/articles/10.5334/pia.464/

Papers from the Institute of Archaeology. 24(1), p.Art. 15. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/pia.464
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    Re: The Archaeoastronomy of Tomnaverie Recumbent Stone Circle: Comparison of Methodol by Andy B on Friday, 23 February 2018
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    This is a very interesting paper and worth a read.
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    Skyscape Archaeology: emerging discipline for archaeoastronomers and archaeologists by Andy B on Friday, 23 February 2018
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    Skyscape Archaeology: an emerging interdiscipline for archaeoastronomers and archaeologists,
    Liz Henty, University of Wales Trinity Saint David , 2016

    For historical reasons archaeoastronomy and archaeology differ in their approach to prehistoric monuments and this has created a divide between the disciplines which adopt seemingly incompatible methodologies. The reasons behind the impasse will be explored to show how these different approaches gave rise to their respective methods. Archaeology investigations tend to concentrate on single site analysis whereas archaeoastronomical surveys tend to be data driven from the examination of a large number of similar sets.

    A comparison will be made between traditional archaeoastronomical data gathering and an emerging methodology which looks at sites on a small scale and combines archaeology and astronomy. Silva's recent research in Portugal and this author's survey in Scotland have explored this methodology and termed it skyscape archaeology. This paper argues that this type of phenomenological skyscape archaeology offers an alternative to large scale statistical studies which analyse astronomical data obtained from a large number of superficially similar archaeological sites.

    https://www.academia.edu/22933931/
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    Video: Dr Fabio Silva introduces the topic of Skyscape archaeology by Andy B on Friday, 23 February 2018
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    Dr Fabio Silva introduces the topic of Skyscape archaeology and its links with archaeoastronomy.
    Fabio Silva - Archaeoastronomy: Skyscape Archaeology at TSD., June 2016

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU2zEWe0_6Y
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Tomnaverie by TheCaptain on Friday, 28 July 2017
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Notes from my visit October 2016

My first Scottish Recumbent Stone Circle, and what a splendid situation this is in. There is a small parking area with signed footpath up the rest of the hill to the circle, which is kept nice and tidy. I think that although the circle has been much destroyed in the past, due to local quarrying activity, it has been restored as best as possible. The very clear light up here on this autumn afternoon makes the views all around to be splendid, with the trees just starting to turn from green to gold.
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Tomnaverie dates by Andy B on Friday, 12 May 2017
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Richard Bradley’s excavations at Tomnaverie resulted in six radiocarbon determinations on charcoal. In Bradley’s model, the latest determination was rejected as an ‘outlier’, with the remaining five combined to offer a date for its construction in te 25th century cal BC. The alternative statistical analysis proposed here suggests that the most recent two of the original six determinations can be combined separately from the earlier four to offer a terminus post quem for construction in the 23rd/22nd centuries cal BC.

Recumbent stone circles and henge monuments p.242 in ‘The Regionality of Beakers and Bodies in the Chalcolithic of North-East Scotland’, in Allen, M.J., Gardiner, J, & Sheridan, A. (eds) Is there a British Chalcolithic? People, place and polity in the later 3rd millennium, Prehistoric Society Research Paper 4 (2012), pp. 237-256

https://www.academia.edu/10621155/



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Street View by coldrum on Friday, 19 March 2010
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View Larger Map
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Re: Tomnaverie by coldrum on Wednesday, 01 April 2009
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Link:

http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/archaeology/sites/stonecircles/tomnaverie.asp
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Re: Tomnaverie by Anonymous on Friday, 02 June 2006
A beautiful site and well restored. I think it is well worth a visit - wonderful atmosphere and great, unspoiled (for the most part!) views from within the circle.
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Re: Tomnaverie by Anonymous on Tuesday, 12 August 2003
This site has been the subject of recent restoration/exploration. It is on the very edge of a quarry which is now being filled in. Historic Scotland have put in a new car park and footpath for the approach to it.
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Re: Tomnaverie by Enki on Sunday, 31 March 2002
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Long a ruined and neglected site in danger of disappearing into a quarry, the circle was excavated and sympathetically restored in Feb/March 2000 by the archaeology department of the University of Reading, with subsequent unofficial psychic work by the MODs.
The quarry, now disused, is being backfilled over the next few years using local soil, not waste, and should much improve the ambience.
My only complaint is that the boundary fence is very close to the stones. Still, it keeps the cows out I suppose. :)
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    Re: Tomnaverie by Enki on Sunday, 14 April 2002
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    Managed to visit Tomnaverie again this week during a trip to Aberdeen. A new car park is being constructed a couple hundred yards away, with an access path up the hill by the side of the hypothesised 'processional route' excavated during the restoration (now covered over again). More worryingly, there are two new coach-parking bays by the side of the road.
    If this is an example of Historic Scotland's policy on renovated circles, I think I'd prefer them unrestored!
    ~Enki
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