Standing Stones of Stenness - 1 by brewgirlca
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Description
The Standing Stones of Stenness (stane-is from Old Norse) is a Neolithic monument on the Orkney Islands of Scotland. They are thought to date from at least 3000 BC making them the oldest monumental stone circles in Great Britain. They predate the Egyptian Pyramids.
Because it must have taken a huge community effort to construct this circle we can conjecture that they probably were of great religious or spiritual significance although some scholars contend that the mere act of erecting the stones was the most important aspect of the circles. However, a sacrificial alter in the center of the circle shows it was actively used after construction.
The stones are about 5 m (16 ft) high, you can see some people by the small stone for scale. There are only four of the original 12 stones left. Three were toppled and two of these destroyed by a recently arrived landowner farmer in 1814; he was annoyed that so many people were visiting the site. Local outrage and a court action stopped his further destruction of the circle.
Taken on 10 May 2014 on my 2.5 week trip to Scotland.
Comments (22)
rhol_figament
Cool, thanks for sharing...:)
giulband
fantastic work !!!!
adorety
Great shot! I love the post work you did on this. The "boiling" sky really adds a dramatic look to this already mystical place. I can sympathize with the farmer, but I'm glad he was stopped.
drifterlee
Very nice shot. I was lucky enough to see Stonehenge a few years ago. The stones are amazing!
shingleboot
Beautiful colors and I love the storm clouds
photosynthesis
Very impressive stones, and the brooding sky provides a very effective dramatic background. Stonehenge (which I visited over 40 years ago) comes to mind, but so does the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey...
MineFujiko
Wow! Cool, Roxy-sensei!
Tracesl
cool
Faemike55
this image is almost surrealistic Great capture and interesting information
chaylastorm
Fantastic Roxy.. would love to go to Scotland myself one day. A very dramatic pic. with the stone standing and the storm clouds rolling in.
RodS
That sky gives these stones an even more mystical feel than they already have. Such wonderful old monuments - too bad one of the stones didn't fall ON that idiot... I'm fascinated by these mysterious stones and henges that seem to be all over the English / Scottish lands. This is a wonderful photo, Roxy, and I really love your postwork here. It's almost as if you could reach out and touch the ancient times..
eekdog
i have always enjoyed what you do behind the lens, Roxy. your work deserves to be in fine galleries.
3dpoetry
Amazing photo
netot
Great image, I really like the contrast of color between sky and grass. Thanks God they stopped their destruction.
crender
Amazing!
mtdana
Interesting history – clouds are very dramatic but I really like the greens groundcover - it is stunning!!!
sossy
wow! what a dramatic mood like out of the times of the Picts! the standing stones are fascinating and were always a secret! but the found out it has something to do with egypt, one can find a very straight line leading from theese stones to egypt on the world map! ;o)
KatesFriend
A magnificent shot and I really enjoyed the background info. It's hard to imagine a circle like this being erected even today with modern technology. Just the thought of raw manpower assembling this place - probably over many generations - is jaw dropping.
4udreamcatcher
Wonderful mood and atmosphere :O-)
tommorules
If you can get access to it, "The Secrets of Stonehenge: A Time Team Special" is well worth watching. It casts new light on the purpose of some of our henges. I wont spoil it by elucidating ;) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1455601/
shamanpilot
Great photograph and the contrast between the sky, earth and stones make it completely surreal. You have an interesting, deep and extensive array of work!
KarmaSong
Great narrative and superb capture for this enthralling monument and reminder of our ancient European civilization. I've been several times to Mull but never found any standing stones in this part of the Hebrides.