GC6M2Y1 Welcome to The Ring of Brodgar (Earthcache) in Northern Scotland, United Kingdom created by The Creepy Crawlies

This cache has been archived.

The Creepy Crawlies: We are archiving as the Works seem to be going on and on and the cache isn’t doable but we get emails from cachers wanting to claim it. So, sadly it closes.

GC6M2Y1 ▼

A cache by The Creepy Crawlies Message this owner

Hidden : 6/20/2016

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: other (other)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Related Web Page

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

As there is no plastic pot to look for, you need to visit the site and answer the questions posed on this page. To be able to log a find, please send your answers to us. Thank you.

Please go to the published coordinates and look at the large rock there.

Please describe the appearance of the rocks: texture, colour and structure
What is the type of rock and from which period is it known to have been formed?
There is a sign nearby which has some text on it relating to an incident which occurred. please email us that information. (It is nothing to do with AA 2015 scratched into a stone nor the sign relating to climate change and erosion of the path)

Failure to submit answers (it is an earthcache logging requirement) will result in logs being deleted without notice .

Not a logging requirement but photos of you, or your caching group, would be appreciated......

The Ring of Brodgar rocks were quarried from natural cliffs in the local landscape. The rock is predominantly that of the Old Red Sandstone which was laid down during the Middle Devonian period. The sandstone was deposited in a large lake, Lake Orcadie, within the larger Orcadian Basin that today covers most of Caithness and stretches far into the North Sea.

Diagram showing the outline (in green) of the Orcadian basin

Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust.

The nature of the sandstone (with its fine laminations) gives the rock a natural flagstone character that allows it to be broken up into the characteristic slabs. Geological evidence of the shallow lake shore environment during deposition can be seen on many of the slabs in the form of ripples with crests 10-20cm apart.

Another indication of the depositional environment for the Old Red Sandstone can be seen on some of the stones in the form of mud cracks and worm burrows. The mud cracks formed as the finer, muddy sediment dried out in the shallow water at the edge of the lake or near to where rivers fed into the lake. Often these layers of mud are sandwiched between the sandier layers which themselves show small ripple marks with a distinct asymmetry. This shows us that there was moving water, most likely in the form of a river, depositing these sediments.

Geological examination of the Brodgar megaliths confirmed that the stones had been brought from different sources, and quarries, across Orkney. The Ring of Brodgar is different in this respect to the nearby Standing Stones of Stenness in that those stones were all locally quarried.

We spoke with one of the Historic Scotland Rangers who told us that some of the rocks have been repaired with resin although it has the appearance of cement. It can be dissolved by acetate and so is easily removed, if need be, without damage to the stones themselves.

Dating back from 2,500 to 2,000 BC, the stone ring was built in a true circle, 104 metres wide and originally contained sixty megaliths; today only twenty-seven of these stones remain. This famous Neolithic stone circle (or henge) lies on a strip of farmland between two large freshwater lochs on the Mainland of Orkney

The reason for the creation of this stone ring (a considerable amount of work by present day standards let alone at that time) is not known for sure. Maybe as an astronomical observatory of the equinoxes and solstices , a religious shrine or rituals.

The stones are set within a circular ditch up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) deep, 9 metres (30 ft) wide and 380 metres (1,250 ft) in circumference that was carved out of the solid sandstone bedrock by the ancient residents.

We feel that this earthcache is wheelchair accessible; the paths have a plastic grid laid down with grass growing through and are being improved all the time. If the weather is very wet and muddy then access could be impaired but we felt that if weather conditions permitted able bodied cachers to visit the Stone circle, then a wheelchair user should also be able to make it too. There is a gentle slope up the circle of stones and the ground is a little uneven but we don't feel this would bar wheelchair users from attempting this cache.

The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland and they have kindly granted permission for the placing of this earthcache.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)