Spittal of Glenshee

Four Poster Stone Circle - Perthshire

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The Spittal of Glenshee Four Poster stone circle has a spectacular situation, this must be one of the all-time best locations for a stone circle that we have seen. The circle sits on top of a dramatic mound on an otherwise flat plateau running along the base of Bad an Loin, from this point there are fine views southwards along Glenn Shee and eastwards into the heart of the Grampians. 

This is a small circle of small stones, the tallest is at the south and is 0.8m high, the western and northern stones are only slightly lower but the eastern stone is a diminutive 0.3m high. The stones lie almost on the cardinal points and are separated on diagonals of 3.3m. The circle stands at the top of a very artificial-looking mound that we felt was sure to be a cairn or some other manmade construction. This view was also shared by "anitquarians" of earlier times and in 1894 a shaft was sunk into the mound down to a depth of 6.7m in order to ascertain its nature. It turned out that the mound was actually the product of glaciation, a moraine feature deposited by the moving ice sheets and utilised ages later by people as a dramatic setting for their new monument.

Also know as Diarmid's Grave (or the Grave of Diarmid if you are consulting CANMORE), legend has it that the mound became the last resting place of the Gaelic hero after an unfortunate boar-hunting accident.