"Even in daylight the place has something uncanny about it. The Standing Stones o' Stenness, mouldering, scarred and grey with age, rising as they do from an unbroken bed of heather always have a weird mysterious appearance."
Around the Orkney Peat Fires

Standing at a maximum height of six metres (around 19 feet), the sheer scale of the megaliths that make up the Stones o' Stenness, make the monument visible for miles around.

Standing on the south-eastern shore of the Stenness Loch, only four of the ring's original 12 stones remain.

These are considerably larger than those found in the nearby Ring o' Brodgar , approximately one mile to the north-west.

Radio-carbon dates have shown that the site dates from at least 3100BC, making the Standing Stones complex one of the earliest stone circles in Britain .

Like the Ring o' Brodgar, the Stenness ring is classed as a henge monument . The stone circle was originally surrounded by a deep rock-cut ditch (six metres across and 2.4 metres deep), outside of which was a sub stan tial earth bank.

With an approximate diameter of 44 metres (144 feet), the earth bank had a single entrance causeway on the north side, facing the Neolithic Barnhouse settlement on the shore of the Harray Loch. Cultivation over the years has left little of the bank or ditch, but traces remain visible around the stone circle today.

The megaliths that make up the Standing Stones o' Stenness were originally laid out in an ellipse.

Today, at the centre of the ring, the visitor will see a large stone hearth (see right), similar to those found in Skara Brae and other Neolithic settlements.

The hearth was constructed from four large stone slabs, and, according to Dr Colin Richards, was transplanted from the nearby Barnhouse settlement to the centre of the stone ring.

Close to the hearth stand two angular slabs, standing side by side, with a large prone stone beside them. This is the remains of the "dolmen" rebuilt in 1907 - although doubt remains that it was ever part of the original complex.

Click here for more details.

Destruction at the stones

In 1814, shortly after the Standing Stones were visited by Sir Walter Scott, disaster struck. A farmer, tired of ploughing around the stones, began to demolish them.

This tenant farmer, himself not a native Orcadian, was also responsible for the destruction of the nearby Odin Stone .

The miscreant's actions raised such a public outcry that not only was legal action taken to stop him damaging any more, but attempts were made to burn down his house.

The farmer later apologised for his actions, but not before successfully toppling a stone and destroying another.

In 1906, the Stones o' Stenness were taken into state care and the toppled stone re-erected. While this was being carried out, another, smaller, stone was found under the turf and raised using an existing socket-hole.

At the time, doubts were raised as to whether this small stone belonged in a circle that contained such huge megaliths. However, it could be that the stone's smaller size had some significance to the ring's builders.

The Odin Stone and Watch Stone

Other megaliths in the vicinity, now thought to have been part of the original complex, are the Watchstone , a massive slab of stone that towers over the Brig o' Brodgar, and the Barnhouse Stone , a solitary stone to the south-east, between Maeshowe and the Standing Stones.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, the complex contained at least one other significant monolith - the Odin Stone of Orkney legend.

Temple of the Moon?

An 18th century visitor to Orkney wrote that the Stones o' Stenness were known locally as "The Temple of the Moon" - a term he claimed remained in use until at least 1841.

However, the origin and validity of this term is questionable.

Click here for more details .

But temple or not, the ring was certainly involved in the later ceremonies and traditions surrounding the Odin Stone.

One historical account tells that during the five days of New Year feasting, lovers would visit the Standing Stones where the woman knelt and prayed "to the god Wodden" that they might keep the oaths they were about to swear. They would then make their way to the Ring o' Brodgar, where the kneeling "ritual" was repeated before finalising their pact before the Odin Stone .

A Sacrificial Altar?