Sunhoney is a

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...

of the recumbent type, which is common in the Grampian region, in particular at the River Dee. Sunhoney is situated about 2 km west of

Echt Echt may refer to: * Echt, Aberdeenshire, a village in Scotland * Echt-Susteren, a municipality in the Netherlands ** Echt, Netherlands Echt (; ) is a city in the Dutch municipality of Echt-Susteren in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, near to the Cullerlie and Midmar stone circles. It is designated a scheduled ancient monument

Recumbent stone circles

A recumbent stone circle is a type of

constructed in the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. The identifying feature is that the largest stone (the recumbent) is always laid horizontally, with its long axis generally aligned with the perimeter of the ring between the south and southwest. A flanker stone stands each side of the recumbent and these are typically the tallest stones in the circle, with the smallest being situated on the northeastern aspect. The rest of the circle is usually composed of between six and ten

orthostats This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic (Stone Age) structures. Forecourt In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts ...

graded by size. The builders tended to select a site which was on a level spur of a hill with excellent views to other landmarks. Over seventy of these circles are found in lowland

in northeast Scotland – the most similar monuments are the

axial stone circle An axial stone circle is a megalithic ring of stones of a particular design found in County Cork and County Kerry in southwest Ireland. Archaeologists have found it convenient to consider the axial five-stone circle and axial multiple-stone circl ...

s of southwest Ireland. Recumbent stone circles generally enclosed a low

ring cairn A ring cairn (also correctly termed a ring bank enclosure, but sometimes wrongly described as a ring barrow) is a circular or slightly oval, ring-shaped, low (maximum 0.5 metres high) embankment, several metres wide and from 8 to 20 metres in ...

, though over the millennia these have often disappeared. They may have been a development from the Clava cairns found nearby in

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populatio ...

and axial stone circles may have followed the design. Whilst cremated remains have been found at some sites, the precise function of these circles is not known.

Description

Sunhoney,Recumbent Stone Circle - geograph

The circle is 25.40 metres in diameter and is formed by 12 stones, namely the recumbent, two flankers and nine others. The recumbent has broken into two parts and bears a number of

cup marks Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found in the Atlantic seaboard of Europe (Ireland, Wales, Northern England, Scotland, France (Brittany), Portugal, and Spain (Galicia (Spain), Galicia) – and in Mediterranean Europe ...

. These have been counted variously as 28, 30 or 31 in total. Inside the circle is a

. At the excavation in 1865 by

Charles Dalrymple Sir Charles Dalrymple, 1st Baronet, (15 October 1839 – 20 June 1916) was a Scottish Conservative politician. Life Born Charles Fergusson, he was the second surviving son of Sir Charles Dalrymple Fergusson, 5th Baronet, and grandson of Sir ...

, remains of cremations were discovered. Since it is in relatively good condition, researchers have assessed Sunhoney for its

archaeoastronomy Archaeoastronomy (also spelled archeoastronomy) is the interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cultur ...

Norman Lockyer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (17 May 1836 – 16 August 1920) was an English scientist and astronomer. Along with the French scientist Pierre Janssen, he is credited with discovering the gas helium. Lockyer also is remembered for being the f ...

was first to do so, then George Browne on two occasions, in 1906 and 1920.

Alexander Thom Alexander Thom (26 March 1894 – 7 November 1985) was a Scottish engineer most famous for his theory of the Megalithic yard, categorisation of stone circles and his studies of Stonehenge and other archaeological sites. Life and work Early l ...

Aubrey Burl Harry Aubrey Woodruff Burl HonFSA Scot (24 September 1926 – 8 April 2020) was a British archaeologist best known for his studies into megalithic monuments and the nature of prehistoric rituals associated with them. Before retirement he was Pr ...

and

Clive Ruggles Clive L. N. Ruggles (born 1952) is a British astronomer, archaeologist and academic. He is the author of academic and popular works on the subject. In 1999, he was appointed professor of archaeoastronomy at the School of Archaeology and Ancient His ...

have also more recently worked on the site. The recumbent was observed to face the Blackyduds hill. The most recent geological survey was carried out in 2006 by Simon Howard, Diane Mitchell and Nigel Ruckley. The site has been designated a scheduled ancient monument. Another recumbent stone circle is about 2 km to the west, at the church of

Midmar Midmar is a historic settlement in Aberdeenshire, lying north of Banchory and southwest of Inverurie. It is noted for its three stone circles and various standing stones. Midmar and Sunhoney are both recumbent stone circles. History The na ...

and Cullerlie stone circle is also nearby.

Literature

* Anna and Graham Ritchie: ''Scotland – An Oxford Archaeological Guide.'' S. 149 Oxford University Press1998

References

External links

www.stonepages.com/scotland/sunhoney.html (with image)
{{European Standing Stones, state=collapsed Archaeological sites in Aberdeenshire Prehistoric sites in Scotland Stone circles in Aberdeenshire Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Aberdeenshire

Recumbent stone circles

Description

See also

Literature

References

External links