Clune Wood recumbent stone circle

Unique to Aberdeenshire, recumbent stone circles date from the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age – the last few centuries of the third millennium BC. They seem to have been constructed around existing low stone ring cairns, wrapping the central funerary pyre with a large recumbent stone and a circle of standing stones. 
 
The recumbent stone is laid flat between two large upright stones known as flankers, forming an altar or portal that is usually found on the south-west arc of a circle of stones that gradually decrease in height towards the smallest stone on the north-east. 
 
Most recumbent stone circles are roughly aligned in the general direction of sunset at the midwinter solstice and sunrise at the midsummer solstice. 
 
When visiting a recumbent stone circle today, consider the views both into and out from the circle. Consider the front and back of the monument, and the effect that the grading in height has on perspectives. Does the circle face inside or outside? Where will you stand? Do you stand outside, looking in, or inside, looking out?

The exact location of Clune Wood recumbent stone circle is grid reference NO 794 949.

Clune wood is off the B9077 near Woodlands of Durris. There’s a network of paths in the wood which lead to the stone circle.