Temple Wood
Encyclopedia
Kilmartin Glen
Kilmartin Glen is an area in Argyll not far from Kintyre, which has one of the most important concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in Scotland. The glen is located between Oban and Lochgilphead, surrounding the village of Kilmartin....
, 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...
. The site includes two circles (north and south). The southern circle contains a ring of 13 standing stones about 12 metres (40 feet) in diameter. In the past it may have had 22 stones. In the centre is a burial cist
Cist
A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East....
surrounded by a circle of stones about 3 metres (10 feet) in diameter. Other later burials are associated with the circle. According to the Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
information marker at the site, the southern circle's first incarnation may have been constructed around 3000 BC.
The northern circle is smaller and consists of rounded river stones (which also fill the southern circle). In its centre is a single stone; another stone is found on the edge of the circle. This circle may have originated as a timber circle.
The name of the site originates in the 19th century (coinciding with the planting of trees around the circles) and has no relevance to the purpose of the site. It is located just south of the southern Nether Largie cairn.