The Hill O’ Many Stanes is thought to be around 3,000-4,000 years old and harkens back to the Bronze Age.
The site can be found on a south-facing hillside just off the A99, which contains a collection of about 200 standing stones, none more than a meter high. These stones are set out in 22 rows running roughly north and south, the rows are not parallel but create a fan-shaped pattern.
The stones were set in clay on turf-lined holes and packed in tightly with other stones. It’s believed that successive generations added to the stones, perhaps as a way to remember ancestors. Others believe the stones are a Pictish graveyard. Some theories have even suggested that they actually formed some type of ancient calendar. Perhaps their true purpose will never be known.
Know Before You Go
The Hill O' Many Stanes is up a single track road off the side of the A99 North of Lybster.