One Step At A Time.., A walk through Scotland

[Aragorn]

Hello All!! I pondered and thought hard about how I planned on growing the Scotland forums into a botanical garden of knowledge. I think a lovely stroll through each area of great interest and intrigue with dabs of fantasy and folklore thrown in for seasoning to create a veritable feast fit for a King. So, please if you will indulge me on this wonderful journey through an enchanting land, home to many of our ancestors, pull up a chair and sit for a spell.

We shall begin our journey in the wonderful land of Orkney. I think the big stone rings a really enchanting. What was the reason they were built? What fuction did they serve? Will we ever really know or are theories all we have to go on?

A Webpage worthy of looking at. It is absolutely amazing how they were built. It is said to have taken around 80,000 man hours and about 300 hundred people to do the work. Wow, there must have been a real good reason for building them I hope. This site does an incredible job of maping the standing stones out and giving possible processes of building them. From all the reading I have done it does not look like anyone has a definitive answer as to why or what reason they were built. I guess it is for us to come to our own conclusions. I hope you enjoy this as much as I have. Let me know what you all think.



Aragorn

[celtic from cali]

Dear Aragorn, I'll check out the sight. I am very curious about the religious meaning and I'll step outside the box on it. Does anyone think they were not created for worship? And what I really wanted to tell you is that your quotes posted at the bottom of your page are awesome. I've printed them and have them taped to the top of my computer to see every day. Great qoutes of encouragement.

[Aragorn]

Thank you for your kind words. While I was reading on the website which is very indepth on some parts of the stone circles; like how is was built and characteristics of the stone circles, it does not however offer any concrete explaination as to its uses. One person they mention thinks the circles were used for an astronomical observatory. Hmm, I think he failed to support his argument. My ideas about the stone circles are:

1. Ancient Druid rituals
2. Defensive postions for local village
3. A designated place of assembly for villagers or high council.


I feel there must have been something very important associated with those stone circles for the people of the time to take so much effort to build them. Some driving force or desire to be remembered. A need for shelter perhaps? maybe they were the beginings of a castle or building which was never completed and they decided because of the effort already spent on the contruction that it would be too much of an undertaking? If I lived back in that age and someone asked me to help build some stone circles for no other reason but to build them I would say he or she was a fool.

Just a few of my thoughts.