The Ring of Brodgar stands on the Ness of Brodgar, the isthmus that separates Loch of Stenness from the Loch of Harry. The Ring of Brodgar is the third biggest stone circle and encloses an area eleven times greater than the Stones of Stenness. There are twenty seven stones remaining of an original sixty. The stones typically stand about two metres high, with two larger stones being positioned to mark west and south.
The ring of Brodgar is a circle-henge. The henge ditch was cut from solid rock and was originally about three metres deep and up to nine metres wide. The bank encircling the ditch was about three metres high. The ditch is still visible but the bank has now gone having been used as a very convenient quarry by successive generations who needed good stone for building! There are two entrances into the henge at the northwest and the southeast.
The Ring of Brodgar is surrounded by cairns and has a companion to the southeast, the Comet Stone. The comet stone stands on a raised platform and the stumps of two other stones sit adjacent to it. What the significance of this little setting was isn't clear - there have been suggestion that it might have formed a cove like the one at the centre of the Stenness circle.
There is an excellent view of the main circle from the comet stone. This is a fine vantage point from which to take in the great stones and the surrounding landscape and to wonder how this all fitted together in the minds of the people who built and used the Ring of Brodgar.
