Hill O' Many Stanes Alignment, Caithness

An enigmatic small field of many rows of small stones, The Hill O'Many Stanes is in a very windswept setting close to the sea.

The Historic Scotland board states (1996)

This is the largest and best preserved of the multiple rows of small stones which were erected by the inhabitants of Caithness and easetrn Sutherland about 4000 years ago. The stones run down the southern slope of a low hill. About 200 stones are are arranged in at least 22 rows running north and south, fanning out slightly towards the south end. Over the last hundred years, fifty stones have been lost and if the pattern was once complete, there were probably about 600 stones covering the hillside. It has been suggested that stone rows, like stone circles, were used for gatherings and religious ceremonies. It is also possible that these monuments were used to folow the solar and luanr cycles. Considerable time, effort and organisation must have been expended by the community to create this device, which was probably used to organise the farming cycle.