Stones of Scotland - Temple Wood stone circle

Temple Wood

Stone circle
Argyll, Strathclyde
Nearest town: Lochgilphead Nearest village: Kilmartin Map reference: NR 827978

At this circle 13 stones are placed over a cairn

(85Kb)

This almost perfect circle -12m (40ft) in diameter- was the focus for centuries of burials. The circle, restored, is shown in its final form with 13 stones, almost covered by a cairn of stones.
    Through the excavations (1929 and 1974-9) the sequence of structures has been established; the earliest construction was a circle of 22 stones. Two were decorated with concentric circles and a double spiral. Various burials were made in and around the circle. Two cairns were constructed outside it. Beneath them were cists containing burials. On the paving of the west cairn was a layer of earth and the tooth of a 4-6 year-old child.
    Around the end of the 18th century a hoard of coins, presumably medieval, was found near the centre of the circle. The trees around the circle were planted in the late 19th century and the site was given the name Temple Wood.
    E and NE from this circle are the three cairns of Nether Largie, and about 1.6 km (1 mile) SE from the site there are also the Ri Cruin and Dunchraigaig cairns.

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