Could a neglected field outside Bridge of Allan be be the site of one of Scotland's lost wonders?
The answer is that we'll probably never know for certain, but bear with me.
First a confession. My only experience as an archaeologist is that I've never missed an episode of Time Team, even the really boring ones where they dig in city back gardens and find 18th century rubbish. Not only that but I write historical novels and thrillers, which means I make things up about old stuff for a living. Still, I hope you'll find my theory is worth considering.
|The ancient hill fort that lies close to the site|
That's backed up by the archaeological record. Directly across the valley on Bridge of Allan golf course is a neolithic burial mound called, romantically, the Faerie Knowe of Pendreich,and there have been many other neolithic finds on the shelf of land that is now Upper Bridge of Allan (see prime real estate). Standing stones of great antiquity can still be seen at Stirling University, across the Forth valley at Randolphfield in Stirling, and at Sheriffmuir. Perhaps more importantly for my theory, the top part of one which once stood in our field has been resited nearby at the entrance to a path along the river. A host of bronze axes and the three wonderful gold torcs, Scotland's richest hoard, found only a few miles away at Blairdrummond bear testament to the relative prosperity of the people who raised these stones.
|This standing stone, buried top down, once stood in the field|
|What I think is the remains of an ancient burial mound:|
you can see three of the 14 boulders that encircle it
|Two of the largest stones in the field. The one at the back|
is about the same size and shape as a big bath tub
Follow the path from the standing stone along the bottom edge of the field, where the ground drops away to the river. It'll eventually bring you round to the corner of the field diagonally opposite the fort and directly below the burial. Look to your left and you'll see a pile of stones, the kind a farmer makes when he clears a field. Look beyond into the bushes at the gate and there's a pile of much larger stones and they're blue-green in colour. Glance to your right and there's another pile. This time really massive ones, weighing half a a ton apiece, and they're blue-green, too. The stones in those piles must have been placed there by someone, but they're most likely to have been cleared from the field at some point in the past. I've counted over forty of the big stones in those piles, which with those still in the field makes eighty-plus stones altogether. All, seemingly originally dragged up from river below, at huge cost in time and labour to the community, but for what purpose?
|There are around twenty large boulders in this pile|
|A stone circle at Castlerigg, Cumbria - the Bridge of Allan field|
may have held three times as many stones