Andrew Stuart / Old Keig Stone Circle
More on Old Keig, its stones and alignments - https://stonesofwonder.com/oldkeig.htm
"That sites were deliberately selected may be demonstrated at Whitehall where the reddish porphyritic stones were purposely transferred from their source on a shoulder of the hill to the spur on which they now stand, a task which involved the builders in moving the stones a long way. Without a meticulous geological survey one cannot be definite but it appears probable that at several other sites the stones were brought from a distance: Ardlair where the stones perhaps came from the region of the Correen quarry some 4 1/2 miles SSW; Auchmaliddie from outcrops 1/2 mile SW; and Balnacraig's red granite stones may have originated at Stot Hill 3/4 mile distant."
"Although it has been noted that stones were sometimes moved a long way to comply with the needs of the builders, it is also true that most came from a nearby source. At Dyce they came probably from a nearby quarry, and at Hatton of Ardoyne there is an outcrop only fifty yards away. At Old Keig and Auchquhorthies the stones are presumably local.The recumbent, however, is frequently of a stone quite different from that of the rest of the circle, and had sometimes to be brought from much farther afield. It does not follow that this was for a ritual reason. The recumbent had, if possible, to be a much more massive block than the others, and one which might not be available nearby. At Dyce the grey granite recumbent is quite different from the other, thinnish pillars. At Loanhead the recumbent may have come either from the neighbourhood of New Leslie 1 1/2 miles away or Johnstone 2 1/2 miles away. The Old Keig recumbent came from the Don Valley somewhere between Kemnay and Tillifourie, and there are at least a dozen examples in which the recumbent stone is different from the rest of the circle."
BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND
"The circle is located on a very slight crest on rising ground with distant, sometimes magical, views over the Howe of Alford. The site was probably levelled and the enormous recumbent, which weighs 53 tons and is the largest known (4.9m by 2.1m by 2.0m) dragged from somewhere in the Don valley about 10km away. The last 1km would have been uphill at a gradient of 1:14, requiring well over 100 people."
https://canmore.org.uk/site/17530/old-keig
More on Old Keig, its stones and alignments - https://stonesofwonder.com/oldkeig.htm
"That sites were deliberately selected may be demonstrated at Whitehall where the reddish porphyritic stones were purposely transferred from their source on a shoulder of the hill to the spur on which they now stand, a task which involved the builders in moving the stones a long way. Without a meticulous geological survey one cannot be definite but it appears probable that at several other sites the stones were brought from a distance: Ardlair where the stones perhaps came from the region of the Correen quarry some 4 1/2 miles SSW; Auchmaliddie from outcrops 1/2 mile SW; and Balnacraig's red granite stones may have originated at Stot Hill 3/4 mile distant."
"Although it has been noted that stones were sometimes moved a long way to comply with the needs of the builders, it is also true that most came from a nearby source. At Dyce they came probably from a nearby quarry, and at Hatton of Ardoyne there is an outcrop only fifty yards away. At Old Keig and Auchquhorthies the stones are presumably local.The recumbent, however, is frequently of a stone quite different from that of the rest of the circle, and had sometimes to be brought from much farther afield. It does not follow that this was for a ritual reason. The recumbent had, if possible, to be a much more massive block than the others, and one which might not be available nearby. At Dyce the grey granite recumbent is quite different from the other, thinnish pillars. At Loanhead the recumbent may have come either from the neighbourhood of New Leslie 1 1/2 miles away or Johnstone 2 1/2 miles away. The Old Keig recumbent came from the Don Valley somewhere between Kemnay and Tillifourie, and there are at least a dozen examples in which the recumbent stone is different from the rest of the circle."
BURL: THE RECUMBENT STONE CIRCLES OF NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND
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