The Watchstone, Stenness

One of Orkney's most imposing monoliths, the Watchstone stands a short distance to the north-west of the Standing Stones o' Stenness.

Towering over the Brodgar causeway, the solitary stone giant stands at the southern end of what would once have been a thin strip of land separating the Stenness and Harray lochs.

Just over 5.6 metres high (around 19 feet), the Watchstone was originally one of a pair of standing stones, outliers to the main Stenness circle, that perhaps marked the approach to the entrance to the Ness o' Brodgar.

A second stone discovered

In 1930, the stump of the Watchstone's companion was unearthed in the bank by the side of the road. The stump, which was removed at the time, was close to the edge of the Stenness Loch, around 13 metres (42 feet) to the south-west of the Watchstone.

The stump was 1.45 metres (4 ft. 9 in) wide, 12.7cm (5 in) thick, and at least 90 cm (3 ft) high. It was aligned exactly north-east and south-west, at an obtuse angle to the Watchstone. This led to the theory that the two stones were the remnants of a south-eastern section of a large stone circle, the rest of which has disappeared.

It has long been suggested that the two massive megaliths were once part of a stone-flanked ceremonial route between the Ring o' Brodgar and the the Standing Stones o' Stenness complexes. Click here to view a map of the area.

Other megaliths said to have been part of this procession way included the Odin Stone, the Comet Stone, and two unnamed standing stones outside the house of Lochview.

But a series of geophysics surveys carried out across the Ness o' Brodgar have found no evidence of any stone avenue.

An interesting possibility, however, is that the twin stones may have represented a series of symbolic doorways between the two stone circles.

A midwinter connection?

The Watchstone at a misty, midwinter sunrise. The megaliths in the background are those making up the Standing Stones of Stenness.

Local man, Charles Tait, has highlighted an interesting connection to the Watchstone and the Midwinter solstice. At this time, the sun sets in its most southerly position.

From the Watchstone, viewing the winter solstice sunset, the sun disappears behind Ward Hill on Hoy for a few minutes, before being "reborn" briefly at the bottom of the hill's northern slope.

A few days after the solstice, the sun sets behind Ward Hill, but this time reappears in a horizon "notch" formed by the island's hills.

This phenomenon prompted the idea that the stone was perhaps a marker for watching the sun's progress as it sets further and further south..

The various marker points afforded by the Hoy hills would allow the watcher to gauge the approach of the solstice.

Click here for Charles Tait's pictures of the phenomenon.

The drinking giant

Like a number of other solitary standing stones in Orkney, location tradition has it that the Watchstone dips it's "head" to drink from the loch at midnight on New Year's Eve.

For more information on Orkney's many "walking stones", click here.