Na Fir Bhreige
Na Fir Bhrèige
Photo of the standing stones
Na Fir Bhrèige is located in Outer Hebrides
Na Fir Bhrèige
Shown within Outer Hebrides
LocationNorth Uist
Coordinates57°37′39″N 7°13′01″W / 57.627366°N 7.217072°W / 57.627366; -7.217072
History
PeriodsNeolithic

Na Fir Bhrèige (pronounced [nə fiɾʲ ˈvɾʲeːkʲə]; can be translated from Gaelic into English as "The False Men") is a set of three standing stones on the Isle of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. They lie on the northwestern slope of Blashaval.

The stones are set in a line that runs WNW to ESE, nearly in alignment with the peaks of Blashaval and Maari. They protrude 0.7m, 0.5m, and 0.6m above the peat, although they are probably embedded very deeply and stood much higher when originally erected. They lie 21m and 35m apart.[1]

The name derives from two local legends. One is that they mark the graves of three traitors who were buried alive. Another is that they are three men from Skye who deserted their wives and were turned to stone by a witch.[2][3]

The stones are located at grid reference NF88757176. They can be reached from the A865 about 3 miles northwest of Lochmaddy. One must then walk about a mile up Blashaval.

The stones inspired Mhairead MacLeod's novel, The False Men, based on true events during the Highland Clearances.[4]

See also

Other Neolithic sites in the Uists:

57°37′39″N 7°13′01″W / 57.627366°N 7.217072°W / 57.627366; -7.217072

Sources

  • Beveridge, Erskine (1911). North Uist. Edinburgh: William Brown & Co. p. 262.
  • Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
  • Tomes, John (1980). Blue Guide Scotland (8th ed.). London: Ernest Benn Limited. p. 399. ISBN 0-510-01625-1.
  • "Na Fir Bhreige". Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  • "North Uist, Blashaval, Na Fir Bhreige". Retrieved 28 April 2008.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Na Fir Bhreige". Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  2. ↑ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
  3. ↑ Tomes, John (1980). Blue Guide Scotland (8th ed.). London: Ernest Benn Limited. p. 399. ISBN 0-510-01625-1.
  4. ↑ "Mhairead MacLeod | Author of "The False Men"". Mhairead MacLeod. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
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