Standing at a maximum height of six metres (around 19 feet), the sheer scale of the megaliths that make up the Stones o' Stenness, make the monument visible for miles around. Picture: Sigurd TowrieLocated by the south-eastern shore of the Loch of Stenness, only four of the ring's stones remain. These are considerably larger than those found in the nearby Ring of Brodgar, approximately one mile to the north-west. The Standing Stones of Stenness were originally laid out in an ellipse. Although it is commonly written that the monument was once made up of 12 megaliths, excavations in the 1970s suggest that the ring was never "completed", with at least one - possibly two - of the 12 stones were never erected. Radiocarbon dates from the excavation show that the site dates from at least 3100BC, making the Standing Stones complex one of the earliest stone circles in Britain .
