Scheduled MonumentsScotlandRing of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains
Bronze Age · Stone circle, henge and nearby remains

Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains

Scotland
HES SM90042
Period
Bronze Age
Site type
Stone circle, henge and nearby remains
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Ring of Brogar is a Neolithic henge monument and stone circle situated on the Orkney Mainland, Scotland, dating to approximately 2500 to 2000 BC. The site comprises a substantial circular ditch with outer and inner banks enclosing a ring of standing stones, of which twenty-seven remain upright from an original estimated total of sixty. The monument occupies a prominent position on the isthmus between the Lochs of Stenness and Harray, and forms part of a significant ceremonial landscape that includes the nearby Standing Stones of Stenness and other ritual monuments. The Ring of Brogar represents one of the finest examples of a Neolithic henge in northern Britain and demonstrates the considerable organisational capacity and labour investment of Orkney's prehistoric communities.

Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90042. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains?

Ring of Brogar is a Neolithic henge monument and stone circle situated on the Orkney Mainland, Scotland, dating to approximately 2500 to 2000 BC. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90042.

What period does Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains date from?

Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a stone circle, henge and nearby remains. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains?

Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM90042.

What other scheduled monuments are near Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Little Barnhouse, mound, 160m NE of (1.9 km), Cummi Howe, broch (3.3 km), Hall of Ireland, cairns 320m NW of (3.6 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains

Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

The wider landscape

Around Ring of Brogar, stone circle, henge and nearby remains

Ring of BrodgarArchaeological site · ~0.1 milesSkara BraeArchaeological site · ~5.2 miles