Hill O' Many Stanes

The Hill O’ Many Stanes is thought to be around 3,000-4,000 years old and harkens back to the Bronze Age.

The site can be found on a south-facing hillside just off the A99, which contains a collection of about 200 standing stones, none more than a meter high. These stones are set out in 22 rows running roughly north and south, the rows are not parallel but create a fan-shaped pattern. 

The stones were set in clay on turf-lined holes and packed in tightly with other stones. It’s believed that successive generations added to the stones, perhaps as a way to remember ancestors. Others believe the stones are a Pictish graveyard. Some theories have even suggested that they actually formed some type of ancient calendar. Perhaps their true purpose will never be known.