The excavation and reconstruction of the recumbent stone circle at Strichen, Aberdeenshire, 1979-82

Abstract

The paper describes an excavation at Strichen monument, often considered an anomaly with its recumbent stone and flankers apparently on the north side of a stone circle, rather than to the south or southwest as is usually the case with this class of monument. Although the site had been badly damaged by modern activities, the excavations were able to demonstrate that the recumbent and flankers originally lay on the southern side of a prehistoric stone circle. A sequence was revealed showing that a roundhouse-like structure and a timber circle had been constructed in the Early Iron Age inside an Early Bronze Age monument. Comparisons with other Early Bronze Age sites that were reused in the Later Bronze and Iron Ages suggest that this may be part of a wider pattern in prehistoric Scotland. After the fieldwork was completed, the stones of the monument were re-erected in the sockets revealed by the excavation.