6,000-year-old stone circle…isn’t

Ashley Cowie

At the end of last year archaeologists in Scotland celebrated the rare discovery of a complete stone circle. Now, however, a farmer has come forward declaring that he built it himself in the 1990s.

Last year the current owner of the Aberdeenshire farm in Leochel-Cushnie alerted the Aberdeenshire Council about the presence of what appeared to be an ancient stone circle, and it was treated as a significant archaeological discovery by Historic Environment Scotland.

A Press and Journal article on 17th December said that, “Neil Ackerman, a historic environment record assistant at Aberdeenshire Council, visited the site along with Adam Welfare, Alison McCaig and Katrina Gilmour from Historic Environment Scotland.” An excited Mr Ackerman told reporters that, “This amazing new site” added to archaeologists knowledge of these unique monuments and of the prehistoric archaeology of the region in general.

And while Mr Ackerman could be accused of not having done sufficient research before making such a claim, he was somewhat misled. A Live Science article in December quoting Ackerman said, “One member of a local farming family, now in her 80s, remembered seeing the stone circleat some time in the 1930s.” With no reason to dispute the old lady’s claim he believed in the authenticity of the stone circle and it was heralded as one of the rarest archaeological finds in the UK last year.

Now, a former owner of the Leochel-Cushnie farm has come forward explaining that he designed and built the stone circle in the 1990s.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/scottish-replica-stone-circle-0011363

Link at woodpilereport.com