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If Google Street View is available, the image is from the best available vantage point looking, if possible, towards the location of the monument. Where it is not available, the satellite view is shown instead.
Latitude: 57.5928 / 57°35'33"N
Longitude: -3.5602 / 3°33'36"W
OS Eastings: 306832
OS Northings: 856931
OS Grid: NJ068569
Mapcode National: GBR K8KN.KVH
Mapcode Global: WH5HC.8FX5
Entry Name: Templestone, stone circle, Rafford
Scheduled Date: 26 August 1927
Last Amended: 23 February 1998
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Source ID: SM1219
Schedule Class: Cultural
Category: Prehistoric ritual and funerary: stone setting
Location: Rafford
County: Moray
Electoral Ward: Forres
Traditional County: Morayshire
The monument is a well preserved example of a type of prehistoric stone setting known as a 'four poster', probably about 3500 years old. The monument was scheduled in 1927 but there was no map to indicate the scheduled area.
The monument comprises four stones forming a rectangle measuring 2.3m NW-SE by 2.5 transversely. The area between them is filled with stones, which may represent the remains of a small cairn. There are other stones in the immediate area which may form part of the monument.
The area now to be scheduled is a square 30m on each side, aligned NNE-SSW by WNW-ESE, and centred on the stone setting, to include the visible remains and an area around in which features associated with the construction and use of the monument are likely to survive, as marked in red on the attached map. The area is defined on the NW by a stone field wall, which is specifically excluded from the scheduling.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
The monument is a well preserved example of a type of monument more usually found in central Scotland. It has the potential to enhance considerably our understanding of prehistoric burial and religious practices in NE Scotland and beyond.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Bibliography
The monument is recorded in the RCAHMS as NJ 05 NE 4.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Other nearby scheduled monuments