Editing Stone circle (section)

===Recumbent and axial stone circle===
[[File:Aquhorties Recumbent.jpg|thumb|[[Easter Aquhorthies]] recumbent stone circle near [[Inverurie]], [[Aberdeenshire]], Scotland]]
[[File:Dunnideer Remnants of Recumbent Stone Circle.JPG|thumb|Dunnideer recumbent stone circle near [[Insch]], Aberdeenshire, Scotland]]

{{Main|Recumbent stone circle|Axial stone circle}}
Recumbent stone circles are a variation containing a single large stone placed on its side. The stones are often ordered by height, with the tallest being the portals, with gradually reducing heights around each side of the circle, down to the recumbent stone, which is the lowest.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany |last=Burl |first=Aubrey |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1995 }}</ref> This type is found throughout the British Isles and Brittany, with 71 examples in Scotland<ref>{{Cite book |title=Great Crowns of Stone: The Recumbent Stone Circles of Scotland |last=Welfare |first=Adam |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland |year=2011 |location=Edinburgh |page=271 |url=http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/rcahms_media/files/publications/great_crowns_of_stone.pdf#page=7}}</ref> and at least 20 in south-west Ireland. In the latter nation they are generally called [[axial stone circle]]s, including [[Drombeg stone circle]] near [[Rosscarbery]], County Cork.

Scottish recumbent circles are usually flanked by the two largest of the standing stones immediately on either side. These are known as 'flankers'. The stones are commonly graded in height with the lowest stones being diametrically opposite to the tall flankers. The circle commonly contains a [[ring cairn]] and cremation remains.

Irish axial stone circles are found in Cork and Kerry counties. These do not have tall flanking stones on either side of the recumbent stone. Instead, there are two tall stones at the side of the circle opposite the recumbent stone. These are known as 'portals', as they form an entrance into the circle. Often the portals are turned so that their flat sides face each other, rather than facing the centre of the circle.