Callanish VIII
Encyclopedia
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
is one of many megalithic structures around the better-known (and larger) Calanais I on the west coast of the isle of Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
, in the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
(Western Isles), Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is also known locally as Tursachan.
This is a very unusual (and possibly unique) setting, with a semicircle of four large stones on the edge of a cliff on the south of the island of Great Bernera
Great Bernera
Great Bernera , often known just as Bernera is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With an area of just over , it is the thirty-fourth largest Scottish island....
and looking across a narrow strait to Lewis. There is no evidence that the cliff has collapsed here and destroyed half of a complete circle - it would appear that a semicircle was the original intention. The tallest stone is nearly three metres high and the cliff-edge axis of the circle gives a diameter of about 20 metres.