Scottish Stone Circles Built To Align With Solstice Sun, Scientists Reveal

Two of Scotland's 5,000-year-old stone circles have been proved to have been built intentionally to be in-line with a series of astronomical alignments. These stone circles were said to be created in such a way as build alignments between the sun and the stones, along with various other landscape features during the winter and summer solstices. They are also in line with the moon during a "major lunar standstill," which happens every 18.6 years.

New research reveals the ‘spectacular’ secrets of #Britain’s earliest stone circles. https://t.co/T4EOzD5XQs #UK pic.twitter.com/h8smt31HaJ

— Ancient History (@ahencyclopedia) August 22, 2016

The two stone circles mentioned are located at sites called Callanish, on the Isle of Lewis, and Stenness, on the Orkney Isles. Considered the "first great circles of Scotland," the callanish and Stennes stone circles consist of 16 and 12 stones, respectively. Gail Higginbottom and Roger Clay, who published their study in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, said that by 2,800 years ago, hundreds of these stone circles had been constructed in Britain, including the Stonehenge.

"The number of these monuments, and the fact that they were likely constructed over a far longer time frame than any other megalithic monument type highlights their continual relevance for Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures," the researchers noted.

Live Science reported that the researchers were able to identify eight possible alignments involving the solstices and the major lunar standstill at Callanish, and pointed out that there are also six more possible alignments at Stenness. For example, if you are standing in the middle of the circle, you will see the sun rising over one of the stones of Callanish during the summer solstice. During a major lunar standstill on a day when the moon appears at the highest point of the horizon, you can see its last glimmer behind one of the Stennes stones.

"Nobody before this has ever statistically determined that a single stone circle was constructed with astronomical phenomena in mind - it was all supposition," Higginbottom said. "This research is finally proof that the ancient Britons connected the Earth to the sky with their earliest standing stones, and that this practice continued in the same way for 2,000 years."