Monument record MAB9333 - TOMNAVERIE STONE CIRCLE

Recumbent stone circle, reconstructed, circa 17m in diameter.

Recumbent stone circle, reconstructed, circa 17m in diameter. As described by Coles in 1905 it consisted of an incomplete outer ring comprising a massive whinstone recumbent (which has two cupmarks) and its two flankers (fallen), five erect stones and one fallen stone, a middle setting of stones, and an innermost setting of smallish stones 8.5m in diameter. OS site visit in 1968 noted that the west flanker appeared to have been moved outside the circle. The circle is surrounded a ring cairn 14m across, but all that is visible of the inner setting is a rickle of stones with slight traces of what may be the inner kerb of the ring cairn. The site was excavated in 1999 and 2000 by Richard Bradley as part of a programme to investigate RSCs in Aberdeenshire. This indicated that the site was first used as a cremation pyre, evidenced by a spread of small fragments of cremated bone. This was encapsulated within a polygonal cairn, open at the centre and defined by a massive kerb of slabs and glacial boulders. The kerb had been revetted on the outside by a bank of rubble which sealed a few sherds of Beaker pottery. At a number of points the interior of the cairn was linked to the outer kerb by a series of radial divisions. In a subsequent phase the cairn was enclosed by a recumbent stone circle, the monoliths set in sockets cut through elements of the earlier monument. The recumbent had originally rested on the bank of rubble supporting the exterior of the cairn. In a later period, probably during the 1st millennium BC, a pit was dug in the exact centre of the monument to receive a cremation burial. Following the excavation fallen stones were re-erected in their original sockets. Survey of the uncleared areas of the hill identified the positions of 29 cup-marked stones. Research in 2025 concluded from several lines of evidence that the western flanker was probably inadvertently re-erected upside down during the restoration in 1999-2000. This includes the presence of faint graffiti (initials JC), now inverted, recorded by recent high-resolution 3D photogrammetric modelling on the lower part of the north flanker.

Period Notes
2500-1500BC, excavations in 2000. Radiocarbon dates from below the recumbent stone: AA-49279 , 3975+/-40, calibrated to 2580-2390 BC at 2 sigma; AA-49280, 3985+/-45, calibrated to 2630-2340 BC; AA-49281, 3985+/-55, calibrated to 2700-2300 BC; AA-49282, 3850+/-40, calibrated to 2470-2190 BC or 2180-2140 BC; AA-49283, 3740+/-60, calibrated to 2340+/-1950 BC; AA-49284, 3985+/-85, calibrated to 2630-2340 BC. Radiocarbon dates from the centre of the platform; AA-49291, 2795+/-45, calibrated to 1050-820 BC; AA-49292, 4870+/-45, calibrated to 1220-900 BC; AA-49293, 2795+/-45, calibrated to 1050-820 BC; AA-49294, 305+/-40, calibrated to 1480-1660 AD; AA-49295, 385+/-40, calibrated to 1430-1530 AD or 1540-1640 AD; AA-49626, 410+/-30, calibrated to 1430-1530 AD or 1590 - 1630 AD. Radiocarbon dates from the central pit: AA-49285, 510+/-35, calibrated to AD1320-1350 AD or 1390-1450 AD; AA-49286, 380+/-40, calibrated to 1440-1530 AD or 1540-1640 AD; AA-49287, 410+/-40, calibrated to 1440-1530 AD or 1560-1640 AD; AA-49298, 305+/-40, calibrated to AD1480-1660; AA-49289, 355+/-40, calibrated to AD 1460-1650; AA-49290, 485+/-40, calibrated to 1330-1350 AD or 1390-1480 AD

AB 2452 (1904), AB 2452 (1904) (Ground Photograph). SAB12663.

GR/99/CT189-191, GR/99/CT189-191 (Ground Photograph). SAB37046.

COLES, JR, 1905, PSAS 39(1904-5) 206-218, 208-12 (Bibliographic reference). SAB297.

RITCHIE, J, 1917, PSAS 51(1916-17) 30-47, 34 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1524.

KEILLER, A, 1927, INTERIM REPORT UPON SUCH OF THE STONE CIRCLES OF ABERDEENSHIRE AND KINCARDINESHIRE AS HAVE BEEN SCHEDULED AS ANCIENT MONUMENTS, 16 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1033.

FEACHEM, RW, 1963, PREHISTORIC SCOTLAND, 39 (Bibliographic reference). SAB503.

KENWORTHY, JB, 1972, RING-CAIRNS IN NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND. IN SCOT ARCH FORUM 4, 24 (Bibliographic reference). SAB998.

THOM, A, 1980, BAR 81, 210-11 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1922.

SHEPHERD, I, 1996, ABERDEEN AND NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND (2ND ED), p. 159 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4829.

SHEPHERD, I, 1996, ABERDEEN AND NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND (2ND ED), p. 159 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4829.

ALEXANDER, D, 1999, DES : TOMNAVERIE STONE CIRCLE, 7 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2174.

SURVEY

BRADLEY, R, 1999, DES : TOMNAVERIE STONE CIRCLE, 7-8 (Bibliographic reference). SAB194.

EXCAVATION

BRADLEY, R, 1999, EXCAVATION AT TOMNAVERIE : INTERIM REPORT, REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB2239.

EXCAVATION

DONALDSON, P, 1999, NOTES ON A DOWSING SURVEY AT TOMNAVERIE, TARLAND (Bibliographic reference). SAB4043.

ALEXANDER, D, 1999, TOMNAVERIE STONE CIRCLE, REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB71.

SURVEY

CROMAR HISTORY GROUP, 2000, NEWSLETTER NO 7, 2-3 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5384.

BRADLEY, R., 2000, TOMNAVERIE STONE CIRCLE, p9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2277.

EXCAVATION

BRADLEY, R, 2000, TOMNAVERIE STONE CIRCLE: EXCAVATION & SURVEY 2000, INTERIM REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB3711.

EXCAVATION

MURRAY, J. C., 2001, TOMNAVERIE S C: WATCHING BRIEF FOR NEW CAR PARK (Bibliographic reference). SAB2942.

WATCHING BRIEF

BRADLEY, R, 2002, EXCAVATIONS AT RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES AND RELATED SITES IN ABERDEENSHIRE 2001: INTERIM REPORT, Interim exc rep (Bibliographic reference). SAB3763.

BRADLEY, R, 2005, THE MOON AND THE BONFIRE: AN INVESTIGATION OF THREE STONE CIRCLES IN NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND (Bibliographic reference). SAB3813.

HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND, 2023, TATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: TOMNAVERIE STONE CIRCLE (Bibliographic reference). SAB5967.

JAMES, M, 2023, THE SURVIVAL AND DETECTION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS IN THE HOWE OF CROMAR (Bibliographic reference). SAB948.

LEDINGHAM, D, 2025, TOMNAVERIE STONE CIRCLE: EVIDENCE FOR INVERSION AND MISALIGNMENT OF THE WESTERN FLANKER (Bibliographic reference). SAB2819.

Jul 1 1904 , AB 2664, AB 2664 (Ground Photograph). SAB13045.

Jul 4 1996 , AAS/96/07/CT6-7,51, AAS/96/07/CT6-7,51 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB16435.

Jul 4 1996 , AAS/96/07/G20/9-11, AAS/96/07/G20/9-11 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB16434.

Jun 4 2012 , AAS-GR-12-06-001 - 030, AAS-GR-12-06-001 - 030 (Ground Photograph). SAB18368.

Jun 6 1983 , SC 989078-80, SC 989078-80 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB13046.

Mar 1 1999 , AAS/GR/99/CT39-45,102-110, AAS/GR/99/CT39-45,102-110 (Ground Photograph). SAB33133.

May 10 2004 , DP 007332-6, DP 007332-6 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB13044.

May 30 1985 , EL 27-37, EL 27-37 (Ground Photograph). SAB12662.

Oct 2 1984 , DN 5-11, DN 5-11 (Ground Photograph). SAB12661.

Oct 16 2002 , GR/02/CT416-7, GR/02/CT416-7 (Ground Photograph). SAB17912.

Oct 30 1998 , SC 1097755-6, SC 1097755-6 (Ground Photograph). SAB13047.

Record last edited

Mar 16 2026 12:23PM