Having that number of people looking and thinking about the monument for the first time in potentially several thousand years created a real energy,” he said. On the west coast of the Isle of Arran lies a windswept and mystical peat bog called Machrie Moor. Bronze Age stone circles and standing stones are strewn across its barren, undulating terrain. One of the stone circles is known as Fingal’s Cauldron Seat, where sits a stone with a carved hole. The legendary warrior giant Fingal is said to have tethered his favourite dog Bran to this stone. This peated expression of the Arran Single Malt perfectly captures the rugged beauty and lore of the landscape. Unleash the legend that is Machrie Moor.

Our Service is an online platform which provides Members with information (e.g. bottle facts, market-indices, market values and prices) on (mostly) whisky and allows Members to add information to the platform. We do not sell, nor does the Service provide any option to buy, any alcoholic products. Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). The upstanding monuments include stone circles, standing stones, chambered cairns, hut-circles and field systems. Machrie Moor 2 ( grid reference NR91143241) is the most visually striking of the circles on Machrie Moor. [1] This circle has a diameter of 13.7 metres, and may originally have consisted of seven or eight tall sandstone slabs, three of which survive intact, while stumps of others may be seen. [9] The heights of the three intact stones range from 3.7 metres to 4.9 metres. [9] Within the circle are two large stones, apparently cut from a fallen pillar, one of which now has a central hole as if for conversion to a millstone. [9] Excavations in 1861 revealed a cist in the centre of the circle. [9] A food vessel was found in this central cist. [1] A second, empty, short cist was found between the centre and the northeast upright stone. [9] Machrie Moor 3 [ edit ] Machrie Stone Circle 3The preceding stone circles at Moss Farm have all been known since the mid-19th century, but this final circle was only identified recently when attention was drawn to a number of stones projecting through the peat. On excavation they proved to be part of a circle of ten stones, which have subsequently been left exposed. Between the stones there were the post-holes of an earlier ring of timber uprights, indicating a rather more complex history than the surface traces might have suggested. The remains of the cursus, unusually well-preserved thanks to its upland location away from intensive farming areas and the presence of peat bog, were first discovered by a Lidar survey – a laser-light method used to examine the surface of the Earth – conducted by Historic Environment Scotland five years ago.

Historic Environment Scotland. "Ballymichael, Arran Bridge Farm, Stone Setting (39711)". Canmore . Retrieved 20 May 2014. Six stone circles are visible on the moor immediately east of the derelict Moss Farm. [1] Some circles are formed of granite boulders, while others are built of tall red sandstone pillars. [1] The moor is covered with other prehistoric remains, including standing stones, burial cairns and cists. [1] The stone circles are positioned over previous timber circles. [2] A radiocarbon date of 2030 ± 180 BCE has been found for the timber circle at Machrie Moor 1. [3] Several hut circles can also be seen as low rings of turf-covered stone. [1] Map of the Machrie Moor Stone Circles The Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength is a heavily peated cask strength monster of a whisky, but being an Arran it manages to retain a sweet fruity core for that peat to balance against. It walks that delicate line between peat explosion and fruit bomb and is truly a tasty whisky. Only four of the oliginal total of nine stones of this circle can now be seen and of these three have been reduced to stumps which barely project above the level of the peat. Excavation in 1861 revealed a central cist with a second lying a little to the south. In the latter there was a crouched inhumation accompanied by two flint flakes. The six stone circles which are in our care are located immediately east of the now-derelict Moss Farm. The stone circles are the most prominent monuments on the moor today, erected in about 2000 BC. However, archaeological excavation has demonstrated that they were a later phase in a long history of human activity on Machrie Moor.Machrie Moor 3 ( grid reference NR91023244) originally consisted of nine stones. [10] Only one still stands, 4.3 metres high, but the stumps of others are still partially visible in the peat. [10] The stones form a geometrical egg-shape. [10] Excavations in 1861 uncovered a small cist in the centre containing an urn with some fragments of burnt bone and flint flakes. [10] A second cist was found 1 metre south of the centre; it contained a crouched burial, also with some flint flakes. [10] Machrie Moor 4 [ edit ] Machrie Stone Circle 4

Although several of the stones of this circle (strictly speaking an ellipse) appear to be missing or displaced, it probably originally consisted of a ring of twelve stones arranged in an unusual manner with tall sandstone slabs alternating with squat granite boulders. This is the only circle in the Moss Fann group to have this feature which, in fact, is rarely seen in Scotland as a whole. Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Yale University Press. p.114. ISBN 0300114060. The stone circles were recorded in 1861 by James Bryce, and numbered 1 to 5. Five other monuments in the area were numbered 6 to 10, and when subsequently a further stone circle was discovered almost completely submerged in peat in 1978, it was numbered Machrie Moor 11. Around 1 kilometer to the west is the remains of the Moss Farm Road Stone Circle, (Machrie Moor 10). Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates.The classic fresh Arran Single Malt character with a puff of peat smoke. This new 10 year old release of Machrie Moor - our iconic Peated Arran Single Malt produced at Lochranza Distillery- now joins our Machrie Moor range, and will be bottled in very small quantities every year. Now you have three wonderful lighty peated options to try from our Lochranza Distillery.