Ring of Brodgar relegated to fifth place in stone circle size table

The Ring of Brodgar – now the fifth largest stone circle in the British Isles. (Jim Richardson)

Archaeological work in south-west Wales has pushed the Ring of Brodgar back to fifth place in the list of largest stone circles in the British Isles.

Four stones remain at the Waun Mawn ring, in Pembrokeshire, only one of which is standing. But excavation in 2018 suggests it was once a stone circle with a diameter of around 110m.

The Ring of Brodgar, with its 103.6m diameter, now sits behind the Avebury outer ring (331m), Stanton Drew (113m) and Long Meg and her Daughters (107m).

As has been suggested for the Brodgar Ring, it may be that Waun Mawn was never a “complete” monument – a theory that will require further excavation to confirm. The Welsh monument, which was dismantled in prehistory, has also been suggested to be the source of some of the bluestones at Stonehenge.

The Ring of Brodgar sites approximately half a mile to the north-west of the Ness excavation site.