Torhouse stone circle, Dumfries & Galloway
N 54° 52.625 W 004° 31.320
30U E 402346 N 6082174
Torhouse stone circle. At the side of road, in a walled enclosure. Also known as Torhousekie. Managed by Historic Scotland. Open all year. Free. Parking at site.
Waymark Code: WM2QQM
Location: Southern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/09/2007
Views: 62
This is a beautiful flattened circle made of 19 granite boulders. In the middle is a row of three stones arranged with two larger and one smaller between.
The site is different from any of the other stone rings in the region, being more like the stone circles of Grampian and south-west Ireland.
In 1684 the central stones were known as 'King Gauldus's Tomb' (a mythical Scottish king). Not far to the south of the circle there is a single standing stone and to the east an alignment of three boulders. And more stones to the north across the road.
Links
Ancient Stones of Scotland (
visit link)
Wikipedia (
visit link)
Streetmap (
visit link)
Type: Stone Circle
Number: 19.00
Size:
Area 21x 20 metres
Height less than 1.5 metre each
Purpose:
From Wikipedia
Although the standing stones are assumed to be a Druid Circle (a temple or court of justice), local tradition maintains that it is the site of King Galdus's Tomb. Galdus is believed to have fought off the Romans in A.D 80 and is credited as being the source of the county name Galloway (although place-name scholars have widely discredited this). The central stones are supposed to mark his actual burial place. The three standing stones to the north of the road supposedly mark the burial sites of three of Galdus's generals who died with him in battle. Nearby are several cairns which it is believed mark the burial place of his common soldiers.
In the dyke near the stone circle is a stone with a deep cavity which, in ancient tradition, "the knowing never pass without depositing a stone or pebble therein, as a gift to pass in peace".
Parking: Not Listed
Source: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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