Latest news with #BruceMann
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Scotsman
30-05-2025
- General
- Scotsman
Three ancient stone circles go on market — including one of Scotland's finest
The ancient Bronze Age sites in Aberdeenshire are looking for a new owner. Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Ancient, mysterious and revered, the stone circles of Scotland's deep past are not something you expect to come across in an estate agent's brochure. But now, not one, but three Bronze Age stone circles have gone up for sale in Aberdeenshire - including one of the country's finest. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Easter Aquhorthies stone circle near Inverurie is one of the finest examples of its kind. It is now on the market as part of a sale of farmland. Picture: Aberdeenshire Council. | Aberdeenshire Council The scheduled monuments are included in sales of farmland across the area, with the archaeologist for the region describing the three listings as 'remarkable' and a 'rare chance' to acquire a piece of Scotland's pre-history. Among the sales are Easter Aquhorthies near Inverurie, a recumbent stone circle that dates to around 4,000BC. Probably used as a cremation and memorial site, the location has been described as one of the best preserved of its kind. The scheduled monument sits between two fields, which are part of six being sold for a combined price of £530,000 or as two separate lots. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad READ MORE: Campaign to save Sunset Song church in heart of rural community that inspired Lewis Grassic Gibbon Archaeologist Bruce Mann, senior historic environment officer at Aberdeenshire Council, said the name of Aquhorthies hinted at the site's past use and derived from the Gaelic word meaning 'field of prayer'. He said: 'Easter Aquhorthies is one of the best-preserved recumbent stone-circles in the region and, as such, is incredibly important.' Mr Mann added: 'The fact that we have three stone circles for sale at the same time is remarkable as they rarely change hands, being often part of a wider farm or estate. The sales, especially that of Easter Aquhorthies, offers a rare chance for someone to purchase an important example of North East Scotland's prehistory. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Owing such a site, with its national designation as a scheduled monument, means careful management on behalf of the nation. The new owners will need to expect that people will continue to visit the stone circles, and that as owners they are custodians of part of our regional identity. 'They will also need to carefully consider what they will be able to do with the surrounding land, as the setting of these stone circles, within the land that is being sold, will need to be maintained.' Also for sale is the stone circle and ring cairn of Little Eslie near Banchory, which is being sold as part of 10.5 acres of land suitable for grazing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The circle is part of an important landscape during the Bronze Age period, with the Nine Stanes and Greater Eslie stone circles found nearby. South Ythsie, near Tarves, completes the stone circle sales. Made up of six upright stones, with the tallest measuring 2.4m high, the monument sits in 151 acres or arable and pastureland, which is being sold for a combined total of £740,000. Mr Mann advised that anyone buying the sites should seek advice both from local authority planners and from Historic Environment Scotland. James Presley, of Aberdeen and Northern Estates, who is handling the sales, said: 'We do have lots of stone circles in Aberdeenshire, but to be selling three properties at once, all which have stone circles, is rare.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He said there had been 'strong interest' in the three separate land sales, but mainly from those interested in the farmland. 'There probably have been a few inquiries regarding the stone circles,' he said.
CTV News
11-05-2025
- CTV News
Two Cochrane men fined $1,100 for starting rural grass fire
The union representing the fire rangers with the Ministry of Natural Resources says money won't fix the systemic problems in the workplace. Two northern Ontario men were fined $1,100 each after pleading guilty to burning grass without a permit last spring. Thomas and Bruce Mann of Cochrane were charged under the Forest Fires Prevention Act and found guilty in a remote hearing Sept. 12, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said in a news release Friday. Justice of the Peace Estelle Bérubé heard on the evening of April 25, ministry fire staff were called to a grass fire at a rural residence in Brower Township east of Cochrane. 'Fire ranger crews were able to contain and suppress the fire,' the ministry said. 'Conservation officers investigated the cause of the fire and determined that both Thomas and Bruce Mann were responsible for starting it.' This year, Ontario had 483 forest fires that burned 89,842 hectares of land. There were a total of 45 forest fires in the Cochrane District that burned more than 18,500 ha this year. The first fire in the Cochrane District, COC001, started April 25 about 7:30 p.m. and burned 9.8 ha, according to the ministry forest fire info map. There are three active wildfires in the Thunder Bay District that are either under control or being observed. By ensuring landowners adhere to the Forest Fires Prevention Act, the province said it is safeguarding the public. 'To report a natural resource problem or provide information about an unsolved case, members of the public can call the ministry TIPS line toll free at 1-877-847-7667,' the ministry said. 'You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS. For more information about unsolved cases, please visit
