El Brodgar's Ring It is a stone circle located in a picturesque area between two lakes on the mainland of the Orkney Islands. Measuring almost 104m in diameter, it is the third largest stone circle in Britain.
The Ring of Brodgar was built several hundred years after the Stones near Stenness and was one of the last monuments to be erected in the Neolithic in Orkney, which is an archipelago located north of Scotland.
The estimated dates of construction are from 2700 BC (according to Url, 146) to sometime before 2500 BC (Ritchie, 187) between 2500 and 2000 BC (Historic Scotland). This places the monument generally in the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age period.
The smooth stones are about 20 feet above the ground, six feet wide and a foot or two thick, and dug around, of which the largest [Brodgar] is 95 cm in diameter, and reputed to be from high places of worship and sacrifice in pagan times ... the ancient temples of the gods.
The Stone Circle was one of the first sites in the British Isles to be officially protected, it was designated a National Heritage Monument in 1882.
That you can see
The Ring of Brodgar is a magnificent sight. This is due in part to its large dimensions, but even more to its atmospheric situation. The stones are isolated on a slightly elevated strip of land covered with tall grass and deep purple green scrubland between two lakes - the freshwater lake Harray to the east and the saltwater part of Stenness Lake to the west.
The area inside the circle is 8.435 square meters, making it the third largest in Britain (after Avebury and Drew Stanton). The circle has two entrances: one on the northwest side and one on the SE.
About 27 stones remain standing today from the Ring of Brodgar, plus approximately 10 other stone stumps located in their original positions.
Some of the stones at Brodgar have runic inscriptions, which were carved by Viking invaders in the 12th century. To the right of the NW entrance to the circle, the third stone may bear the name "Bjorn", the fourth has a cross, the anvil an eighth and the ninth an ogham inscription.
How to get
The Ring of Brodgar is located off the B9055 road, about five kilometers northeast of Stromness and less than a mile north of the Stenness Stones on the mainland of the Orkney Islands. Free parking is available in a small lot across the road to the northeast of the circle.