Kirkton of Bourtie stone circle

Kirkton of Bourtie stone circle stands on a low hill in Aberdeenshire, four and a half kilometres northeast of Inverurie. It sits at the end of a south-facing slope just beyond the small hamlet of Kirkton of Bourtie, beside a minor road on arable land 157 metres above sea level. The Hill of Barra rises to the north, forming a clear landmark above the fields. Only four stones remain of what was once a larger ring, arranged on a slightly raised mound. The recumbent stone, the longest of its kind, lies flat and broken at the circle’s south side. A tall eastern flanker and two western uprights complete the surviving set. The circle’s original size is estimated at twenty-two metres across, with space for six or seven stones that have since vanished. Some fragments may have been taken for gateposts and field walls nearby. Inside the ring, low mounds of stones suggest small cairns once stood there. A rough stone pavement recorded in the 19th century has disappeared, possibly the base of one of these cairns. The Reverend Thomas Shepherd noted three circles in the late 1700s, but by the mid-19th century only two remained intact. Today the site is a quiet patch of ploughed earth ringed by the four standing stones. The recumbent stone weighs more than thirty tons and measures over five metres long. The tallest upright reaches nearly three metres, while the others stand just below two metres. The Office of Works scheduled the circle as an ancient monument in 1925, yet the land inside stayed under cultivation until 1999. The Hill of Barra still dominates the view, linking the stones to the wider landscape.