Candle Stane

Candle Stane

Candle Stane is a solitary standing stone, the only survivor of a recumbent stone circle about 13 metres in diameter, situated beside an old quarry. There were originally eight stones arranged around a central cairn about seven metres wide. One stone has disappeared, and the others have fallen, leaving only the Candle Stane upright.

The stone reaches 3.1 metres (just over 10 feet) and stands stone stands on a slope just under the summit of a low hill. Excavations have revealed that there was once an Iron Age timber hut within the stone circle, though nothing now remains of that.

The recumbent stone is almost 14 feet long, 6.5 feet wide and almost 2 feet thick. The west flanking stone measures 9 feet long while the east stone is much smaller, measuring 6.5 feet long..

Archaeologists also found remains of a large pit filled with small stones, and up to 11 postholes. The postholes may have formed part of a funerary pyre.

Other attractions in the area include Pitmedden Garden, the Prop of Ythsie monument, and a pair of historic houses, Haddo House and Tolquhon Castle.