Lochbuie, Mull - standing stone
Stones
of Wonder
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Standing Stone NM617255*
How to find: Follow the A849 south from Craignure for 9km, then turn left onto the minor road which leads eventually to Lochbuie. Look out for the stone in a field on the left (south) after about 10 km. Park at the small road bridge.
Best time of year to visit: Summer Quarter days sunrise, early May and early August.
This
is a single standing stone about 2 metres tall by 1.5 metres wide and
about 40cm thick. It stands in a very boggy field. It now leans towards
the south-east, but the ground is so wet it is miraculous it is standing
at all.
It has been suggested that this is not an astronomical slab, but an ancient route marking stone which indicates the way north up Gleann a' Chaiginn Mhoir which leads to Glen Mor and the main route to the Ross of Mull1.
The stone was however surveyed and found to have a possible astronomical function. To the south-west the bearing of 252.1° with the horizon height of 6.0° on the shoulder of Beinn nan Gobhar gives a declination of -4.9°. This seems to have no astronomical significance.
The reverse line to the north-east
has an azimuth of 72.1°. The horizon height on the nearby ridge is
all of 8.8° which produces a declination of +17.1°, so the line
is close to the rising position of the sun at the two summer Quarter days.
The stone would then be a complement to the nearby Lochbuie circle and
one of its outliers which indicates the sun at the two winter Quarter
days.
See also the page about the nearby
Lochbuie circle.