Ring of Brodgar (Ring of Brogar)

All pictures copyright © 1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000 Martin McCarthy

Graffitti on one of the stones in the Ring of Brodgar, Mainland, Orkney Large Image (116k 874x583) Looking west from the centre of the Ring of Brodgar, Mainland, Orkney. The convenient yardstick (me) is 5'9"! Large Image (30k 854x475) Panorama of the Ring of Brodgar, Mainland, Orkney Large Image (51k 887x245) Panorama of the Ring of Brodgar, Mainland, Orkney Large Image (17k 872x205) Looking south at mid-winter around noon Large Image (24k 575x337) Looking south at mid-winter around noon Large Image (20k 627x326) Stones on the south-western arc Large Image (202kb 957x744) Detail of a stone on the south-western arc Large Image (169kb 700x935) Looking north from the ditch Large Image (165kb 948x716) Detail of one of the southern stones. A slab has sheared off the side and lies in front of the stone Large Image (202kb 908x707) In the background, one of several cairns around the stone circle Large Image (151kb 952x709) Detail of a pair of stones on the south-eastern arc Large Image (230kb 947x713)

The Ring of Brodgar, on Orkney, is about 340 feet in diameter. It was originally composed of some 60 evenly-spaced stones, but now 36 stones or stumps of stones remain. An impressive ditch, up to ten feet deep,was cut into the bedrock just outside the stones; the ditch is broken by two causeways, at the north-west and the south-east. One of the stones has been graffittied with Norse runes (much like the tomb of Maes Howe).