The Druids' Temple of South Ythsie

This morning I visited the ancient South Ythsie stone circle. It is only 10 miles from our front door and given that I am very fond of a good stone circle I am amazed that I hadn't been there before!

The circle is situated in an arable field, on top a clearly defined stony mound about 20m in diameter and raised about 1m above the surrounding ground level. The stone circle comprises six upright stones set approximately 3m apart, which form a circle with a diameter of some 7m. The upright stones are graded in height towards the SW (the tallest) and vary between c.0.8m and 2.4m in height. Stone settings of this type are characteristic of the Neolithic period.

The site of the circle had been used for centuries by the local farmers as a dumping ground for stones during field clearances. The site was cleared in 1994 by members of the Local Tarves Heritage Project revealing the circle in all its glory.