Turning in circles: a new assessment of the Neolithic timber circles of Scotland

Abstract

The large and growing number of timber circles recorded in Scotland as cropmarks on aerial photographs testifies to the important part they must have played in the later Neolithic monumental repertoire. However, this record of plough-levelled sites remains poorly understood, partly due to the problems involved in the interpretation of timber circles from cropmarks and the limited research that has taken place. In addition, it is rarely integrated with evidence from excavations. This paper, based upon research undertaken in 2003 for a Masters dissertation (Millican 2003) and recently updated, is an attempt to remedy this imbalance and outlines the current evidence for timber circles in Scotland and the new insight this provides into these enigmatic sites.