Isle of Islay: Cultoon Stone Circle

Cultoon Stone Circle on Islay is obviously no match to Stonehenge or Avebury, but nevertheless an interesting place to visit. You can find it on the moorland next to the single track road from Portnahaven to Kilchiaran, approx 4 miles from Portnahaven (past the lane to Lossit farm/bay, just before Coultoon Farm). Unfortunately the circle, excavated in 1974 and 1975, is either in quite a bad state or was never finished:	Only 3 of the 15 stones are standing upright, the other 12 have either fallen down or were never fully erected. Several stones are missing completely, only the sockets were found. Cultoon Stone Ellipse would probably a more correct title, as the stones and sockets form an ellipse approx 40m x 30m in size. Unlike Avebury and Stonehenge you have the place for yourself, only a cow or some sheep might disturb you.


When I visited it we had a quite misty day, contributing to the atmosphere of the place. The hills around were mostly covered in mist and fog… Some of the stones are badly damaged, although I'm unsure if the small stones on the right once formed one larger stone. I'm not entirely sure about the historic background, Chris, one of the volunteers involved in the excavation got in touch with this information:	‘From my recollection, the conclusion was that the circle had never been fully erected. The stones had been brought to the site, but for most of them there was no sign of holes having been dug to mount them in. The dating evidence put it right at the very end of the stone-circle building period, leading to the fascinating speculation that that era ended so suddenly, at least here, that one circle at least was abandoned mid-construction.’

Cultoon Stone Circle, Islay