For the bed, see Four-poster bed

Archaeologists refer to two different structures as a four-poster . The first is a type of stone setting found uniquely within the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

. They date from the Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 and, as the name suggests, usually consist of four stones. Late Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

, Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

 and Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 four-posters are square arrangements of posthole

Posthole

In archaeology a posthole is a cut feature used to hold a surface timber or stone. They are usually much deeper than they are wide although truncation may not make this apparent....

s, around 2-4m square. Some are thought to have supported a raised granary whilst others have been shown to have supported haystacks. Other theories include that they were chicken sheds, workshops, beehives, watchtowers, or platforms for exposing the dead. Four posters are commonly found at hillfort and farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

 sites.

Bronze Age four posters

It is widely accepted that the four-poster tradition grew out of the recumbent-stone circle tradition of Aberdeenshire at the very start of the Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

. The earliest ancestors of the four-poster are found in the hills north of Inverurie

Inverurie

Inverurie is a Royal Burgh and town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north west of Aberdeen on the A96 road and is served by Inverurie railway station on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line...

, where gross extremities in the scale of recumbent-stone circles have been found ranging from very large (50 metres diameter) to very small (5 metres diameter). In some of the smallest, the setting consists of six or eight stones, one within 45 degrees of south being only slightly bulkier or special compared with the others. In most of these, a clear rectangle appears stones if only the four largest stones are considered.

The builders of the four-posters -- with their traditions in tow -- travelled south-west, heading for the metal-rich southern regions of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Around Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

, about 200 kilometres away from Aberdeen, an extremely dense cluster of four-posters occurs. Many believe that it was here, in the fertile valleys of Strathtay

Strathtay

Strathtay is a small rural village on the River Tay in Perthshire, Scotland. It is part of the Grandtully and Strathtay Conservation Area. Neighbouring Grandtully is situated on the other side of the Tay, across Grandtully Bridge....

 and Strathmore

Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross

Strathmore is a strath in east central Scotland running from northeast to southwest between the Grampian mountains and the Sidlaws....

, that the four-posters became refined into neat squares, averaging 12 square metres

1 E1 m²

File:Scale one to hundred no labels.svg|110px|right|Click on the small dark green top-left square for areas smaller than 10 square metres , the mid green square for 10 to 100 m², the light green square for 100 to 1000 m², and the pale green surround for over 1000 m²poly 0 0 20 0 20 20 0 20 Areas...

 in internal area, placed on neat levelled mounds with cist

Cist

A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East....

s or cremations near the north east stone. Situations were chosen both for their proximity to communities (although this is less the case than with earlier monuments) and for the views they commanded. The south west remains the focal point, with alignments on nearby notches in hills close to the major southern moonset frequently occurring. Four-posters are hardly exact astronomical observatories, they should be thought of more as a memento of home for Bronze Age travellers who were ill-equipped to undertake workings on the size of the grand recumbent-stone circles of the soon distant north east.

Quite why there are so many four-posters in Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

 isn't quite clear. It is possible the tradition was carried on by the local community after the travellers had left, or that long term trade led to the blurring of cultures. Either way, there isn't a single four-poster in the next 300 kilometres to Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, suggesting the journeymen picked up pace and hurried down to the cultural crossroads of Machrie Moor on the Isle of Arran

Isle of Arran

Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...

, in the vicinity of which several four-posters have been found and excavated. Once on Ireland but outside the south west there are two confirmed four-posters, both on the east coast, suggesting a route down that side of the island, to the region around County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, where another proliferation occurs. The radiocarbon dates for remains from this group are later than those for the others in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 which confirms the progression in construction.

It seems a reversion to some old habits takes place here, the southern or south west stone becoming higher and thicker, like a miniature recumbent from the recumbent-stone circles. Another stone was added, whilst the two stones furthest away from the 'recumbent' became higher and thinner like the 'portal' stones of the Aberdeenshire circles yet on the wrong side! Eventually, the design was consolidated into what is known as the Munster

Munster

Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...

 stone circle

Stone circle

A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....

tradition.