Hidden Britain AtlasOpen the map
All places › Circles & monuments
Ancient monument

Ring of Brodgar

Mainland, Orkney

A vast ring of stones between two lochs, at the heart of Neolithic Orkney.

The Ring of Brodgar is over 100 metres across and once held about 60 stones; 27 still stand. Nearby, archaeologists at the Ness of Brodgar have uncovered a complex of great stone buildings that may have been a meeting place for people from across Britain.

Read the full story, see it on the map, get directions and find what else is nearby in the free Hidden Britain Atlas map.

Open Ring of Brodgar on the mapReport a sighting here
When
c. 2500 BC
Where
59.0015, -3.2296
Group
Circles & monuments

Visiting

Historic Environment Scotland. Free, open at all times.

Cover of The Ledger of Lost Britain by Cale Mills
Read the full story in the book

The Ledger of Lost Britain

The Romans arrived in AD 43. For most people that is where the history of Britain begins. But by the time the legions landed, people had already been living on these islands for thousands of years. They had hunted, farmed, mined flint, dragged stones across the country, raised a hill by hand, and buried their dead in great tombs. They left no written words. What they left was the ground itself. Every place in this book can be visited, or has been dug up, or is in a museum.

Buy on AmazonAll books by Cale Mills

Nearby mysteries