A Scottish farmer has admitted that the ‘ancient’ stone circle located on his farm was actually built in 1990s.
What was thought to be a newly-identified stone circle, thousands of years old, has turned out to be a replica just a couple of decades old.
Archaeologists were initially excited about the addition of another Recumbent Stone Circle, which were constructed around 3,500-4,500 years ago and are unique to the north east of Scotland, to the many already identified in Aberdeenshire.
But during further investigation into the site in the parish of Leochel-Cushnie, it transpired that it is a replica only around 20 years old.
The site was reported by the current owner of the farm on which it is located. Some unusual features were noted during its recording, including its small diameter and proportionately small stones.
There is however a huge amount of variation between Recumbent Stone Circles, so finding these kinds of differences was not initially a major cause for concern for archaeologists.
It was therefore celebrated as being an authentic Recumbent Stone Circle by Adam Welfare of Historic Environment Scotland and Aberdeenshire Council’s Archaeology Service.
However, the celebrations were cut short when a former owner of the farm contacted Mr Welfare to say they had built the stone circle in the mid-1990s.
Neil Ackerman, Historic Environment Record Assistant at Aberdeenshire Council, said: “It is obviously disappointing to learn of this development, but it also adds an interesting element to its story.
“That it so closely copies a regional monument type shows the local knowledge, appreciation and engagement with the archaeology of the region by the local community.
“I hope the stones continue to be used and enjoyed – while not ancient it is still in a fantastic location and makes for a great feature in the landscape.
“These types of monument are notoriously difficult to date. For this reason we include any modern replicas of ancient monuments in our records in case they are later misidentified.
Mr Ackerman added: “We always welcome reports of any new, modern reconstructions of ancient monuments, especially those built with the skill of this stone circle and that reference existing monument types.”
The news follows a farmer from Devon discovering that his door stop was actually an old undetonated World War I era-bomb.
A controlled explosion had to take place on the farm in Bovey Tracey, Devon, after the farming family used the 100-year-old bomb as a door stop for decades.
