It's said that East Lothian is so rich in archaeological remains
that you couldn't put a spade in the ground anywhere without
turning up a relic of the past. The area has been occupied and
managed by man since the earliest period of human occupation. This
cache is one of a series that take you to Bronze Age and Iron Age
structures. Kissjen has also placed a cache at White Castle
hillfort ("Buzzard Country" GCVD24) which is well worth a
visit and is an honorary member of the Bronze and Iron series. It
is further north on the road between Garvald and Whiteadder and
makes a good companion to this cache.
You can pull off the road at N55.53.165 W002.35.361. Make
sure there is room for other vehicles to pass - the road is narrow!
From here an obvious track takes you out onto the flank of Nine
Stones Rigg. You can follow the track (which gets less distinct
further on) close to the circle which is about half a mile from
your start point. When the path forks, first take the right-hand
line and very shortly after that the left-hand. (The GPSr arrow
will keep you right!)
When you get there you will find a compact circle, most of the
stones having fallen. But even when they were upright, the circle
was not large. One of the stones seems to have a square shape cut
into in. There is a tradition that treasure is concealed in the
centre of the Nine Stones and the ground has been much disturbed by
people digging for it in the past.
Aerial archaeological evidence shows that a row of Bronze Age
homes once ran south down the flank of the hill towards Nine Stones
and that there were other circles nearby (a little further west you
can find one of these still extant - the "Crow Stones" - but if the
heather is in full growth this circle can be concealed).
It seems likely that the circles, including Nine Stones, were
associated with the settlement and served some communal purpose.
Small circles of 9 (sometimes 12) stones like these are common
features of the period in Britain. Some theories suggest that the
mixture of sizes of stone is important - a larger stone is
sometimes found oriented north in the circle. Some theories
associate sexual or gender symbolism with the mixture of larger and
smaller stones. Jack likes to think of this circle as a place for
partnership ceremonies, with the couple standing in the circle and
the rest of the community surrounding them. But he's just an old
romantic.
What do you think?