History
Moss Farm Road Stone Circle is a Bronze Age ring cairn, disfigured by the road and fence which cut through it, and by centuries of stone robbing and dumping. It has not been fully excavated, but was used for burials.
This low cairn of heavy boulders was once surrounded by a 22m diameter ring of upright slabs, with a stony bank around the outside.
Seven upright stones remain in place today, all about 1.3m tall.
A rich archaeological landscape
The earliest known activity on Machrie Moor dates to around 6,000 years ago and consists of the digging of simple pits and gullies. The stone circles were preceded by elaborate timber rings around 4,500 years ago.
Archaeologists have found evidence of fields that were later laid out on the site of these rings and cultivated. Then, about 4,000 years ago, stone circles were erected, in the same locations as their timber predecessors. These were a focus for religious and ceremonial activities for over 1,500 years.
Further cultivation followed, possibly associated with the hut circles which survive on the moor.
