Lochbuie, Mull
Standing Stone NM617255*
How to find : Follow the A849 south from Craignure for 9km, then
turn left onto the minor road which leads eventually to Lochbuie.
Look out for the stone in a field on the left (south) after about
10 km. Park at the small road bridge.
Best time of year to visit : Summer Quarter days sunrise, early May
and early August.
This is a single standing stone about 2 metres tall by 1.5 metres
wide and about 40cm thick. It stands in a very boggy field. It now
leans towards the south-east, but the ground is so wet it is miraculous
it is standing at all.
It has been suggested that this is not an astronomical slab, but an
ancient route marking stone which indicates the way north up Gleann
a' Chaiginn Mhoir which leads to Glen Mor and the main route to the
Ross of Mull1.
The stone was however surveyed and found to have a possible astronomical
function. To the south-west the bearing of 252.1° with the horizon
height of 6.0° on the shoulder of Beinn nan Gobhar gives a declination
of -4.9°. This seems to have no astronomical significance.
The reverse line to the north-east has an azimuth of 72.1°. The horizon
height on the nearby ridge is all of 8.8° which produces a declination
of +17.1°, so the line is close to the rising position of the sun
at the two summer Quarter days. The stone would then be a complement
to the nearby Lochbuie circle and one of its outliers which indicates
the sun at the two winter Quarter days.
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