Editing Ring of Brodgar (section)

==Nordic rites==
[[File:Brodgar woodcut.jpg|thumb|1823 woodcut, the Ring of Brodgar & surroundings]]
Invaders from Scandinavia reached Orkney by the 9th century, bringing a complex theology that they imposed on the preexisting Orcadian monuments; at least according to local legend. For example, the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness were allegedly known as the Temple of the Sun and Moon respectively.<ref name="Hedges">Hedges 1984, p. 13</ref> Young people supposedly made their vows and prayed to [[Wōden]] at these "temples" and at the so-called "Odin Stone" that lay between the stone circles until it was destroyed by a farmer in 1814.<ref name="Hedges" /> Others view these fanciful names with skepticism; Sigurd Towrie suggests that "they were simply erroneous terms applied by the antiquarians of the 18th or 19th centuries – romantic additions, in the same vein as the infamous "Druid's Circle" and "Sacrificial Altar"."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/brodgar/temples.htm/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120131427/http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/brodgar/temples.htm/|archive-date=2017-01-20|title=The Temples of the Sun and Moon: True tradition or romantic addition?|access-date=23 May 2018|website=Orkneyjar|author=Sigurd Towrie}}</ref> At the very least, several of the stones at Brodgar contain runic carvings that were left by [[Norsemen|Nordic peoples]].<ref>Laing 1974, p. 233</ref> These include the name "Bjorn" and a small cross as well as an anvil.<ref name="Monuments">{{cite book|last=Wickham-Jones|first=Caroline|title=Monuments of Orkney|publisher=Historic Scotland|date=2012|isbn=978-1-84917-073-4}}</ref>{{rp|42}}

{{wide image|Ring of Brodgar, Orkney Standing Stones 02.tif|1000px|align-cap=center|Ring of Brodgar, Orkney Standing Stones 02}}