Kilmartin Glen

Overblown with pre-historic monuments — stone circles, cists, cairns, standing stones.

So many to chose from, Chille Mhartainn has them in abundance.

This is Nether Largie Standing Stones, five tall standing stones arranged in an X-shape, with an outlier 100 metres to the north and the stump of another one 300 metres to the west¹http://canmore.org.uk/site/39488. It is believed it was intended as an astronomical calendar marking the rising and setting of the moon at key times in its 18.6 year cycle. The stones align with the midwinter sunrise and the autumn and spring equinox sunsets.

It is thought the stones were erected about 3,200 years ago, and with three showing cup and ring marks suggesting they were cut from rock outcrops that had already been decorated 1,500 years earlier.

Now here’s what I call rock art. None of those iffy scratchings we get on the North York Moors. Ormaig, believed to have been done over 4,000 years ago — cups, rings and rosettes²http://canmore.org.uk/site/368606.

• 1
  http://canmore.org.uk/site/39488
• 2
  http://canmore.org.uk/site/368606