Strichen

Recumbent Stone Circle - Aberdeenshire

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Strichen stone circle stands on a hill near to the ruined mansion of Strichen House. About the only thing certain about Strichen is that it is definitely not in its original configuration. The circle was completely destroyed around 1830, and again, after reconstruction, in 1960, on both occasions the stones were completely removed. The site was excavated in 1975, and again in 1980-2 when the circle was re-erected once more. This most recent reconstruction located stones in the original stoneholes and recreated their height grading, but it is by no means certain that the each stone was returned to its original position. The circle contains the remains of a ruined ring-cairn, and excavation produced several finds including a cremation and urn, a cup-marked stone, and a damaged cist. The stony bank around the circle was found to have been strewn with quartz chippings, and what appeared to be the post holes of an earlier timber ring were discovered within the ring of the present day circle. 
It seems the Strichen is still determined to be ruinous, when we visited the site in 1999 we noticed that one of the stones re-erected in 1982 had fallen over.