Auchagallon Stone Circle/Cairn Traditional Cache
Hidden : 10/23/2017
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Auchagallon Stone Circle/Cairn

Congratulations to Beanwally for being FTF !


This cache is a 15 ml screw top container with logbook and pencil.



Not as well known to most visitors to Arran as the more famous standing stones at Machrie Moor to the south, Auchagallon is every bit as fascinating and intriguing. The stones are located near the junction of the Shore Road and the Brodick road, just north of the golf course at Machrie. The location is wonderful, with views out over a sloping hill towards Machrie Bay. 

Auchagallon consists of 15 upright stones surrounding a mound. All but two of the stones are red sandstone, but the other pair are grey granite. It is a mystery why the two stones are of a different material; one obvious suggestion is that these stones were somehow special or signified something important.

Exactly what sort of monument Auchagallon is, is also a subject for debate. Though it is usually called a stone circle, it may equally be a kerbed cairn. The standing stones surround a central mound, or cairn. In the Victorian period the central cairn was excavated and a burial cist unearthed. Unfortunately the 19th century archaeologists did not record what, if anything, was found within the cist. 

The most likely date for the circle is the Bronze Age, between 2000 and 1200 BC. If this date is accurate it is likely that the cist contained a body in a crouched position, with pottery vessels and flint tools beside the body. If Auchagallon is a kerb cairn then it is possible that the burial mound was placed within an already existing stone circle, similar to the cairn at Moss Farm Road to the south. Think of it as Bronze Age recycling; why build a whole new kerb cairn when you can just put a new burial cist inside an existing stone circles and cover the cist with a mound?

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Cbfgrq

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)


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