The Calanais Stones’ History and Heritage
The standing stones are the frequent subject of accounts from noted visitors, going back as far as the seventeenth century. One such famous antiquary was William Stukeley, who in 1743 described the site as a Druidical Circle and serpent, adding to a growing list of Calanais Stones myths.
Archaeology Meets Astronomy
Many claims – some based on careful calculation of the position of the sun, moon and stars in prehistory, some on patient observation, and others on ill-informed fancy, have been made about the astronomical orientation of the Stones.
In fact, the monument’s orientation seems to have changed over the course of its long life. The stone circle forming the earliest part of the monument may have marked the position of the sun on and around midwinter, when it shone through a gap in the nearby hill Cnoc and Tursa, sending a ray due north, in line with the central standing stone.
Later on, when the avenue and rows were added, the monument was reorientated to focus on a remarkable lunar phenomenon. Every 18.6 years, when it reaches its ‘major standstill’ position in its long cycle, rising and setting to its furthest points, the setting full moon appears to skim along the horizon to the south – distinctively shaped, forming the silhouette of a lying-down woman, known locally as “Cailleach na Mointeach” or “The Old Woman of the Moors” – before disappearing and reappearing, lighting up the centre of the circle. People would have processed southwards along the avenue to celebrate this awe-inspiring occurrence.
So, one of the mysteries of the monument is solved: around 2450 BC it was turned into a place where major ceremonies were held every 18.6 years to mark the most auspicious, cosmologically significant point in the moon’s long cycle.
The Calanais Landscape
To the builders of prehistoric monuments, the landscape and skyscape were key factors in their location. It wasn’t just the shape of the terrain that mattered, but also beliefs about the spirits that inhabited various places: the land was a living, powerful entity in its own right, which needed to be respected and which could confer some of its power on the people who built on it. And the movements of the planets and stars would also be a major consideration dictating where a monument was built.
At Calanais, we see all three come together to produce a monument that had maximum spiritual significance to the people who built and used it.
By positioning the monument on a prominent local ridge, on a peninsula jutting into Loch Ròg, this ensured that people could see the stones silhouetted against the sky from far and wide. And the dazzling 360-degree views from the high ground upon which the monument sits would have allowed extensive views over the landscape.
Whythisridge onthispromontory? Cnoc Coig, the natural hill immediately to its south, could have been regarded as a sacred natural place since at midday, the midwinter sun’s rays travel down into a cave-like formation and emerge, shooting a ray due northwards. The tall central stone in the centre of the circle aligns with this. A person standing in the ‘cave’ at that time would receive whatever ‘solar power’ people believed that the sun’s rays could confer.
The landscape’s natural north-south orientation also lent itself to the observation of the spectacular passage of the setting full moon across the suggestively-shaped horizon every 18.6 years, during the moon’s ‘major standstill’. This enabled people to carry out night-time ceremonies of high drama as the moon disappeared then shone bright above Cnoc Coig, lighting up the centre of the circle, and silhouetting anyone standing on the top of Cnoc Coig as ‘the Man [or Woman] in the moon’ . The avenue would have funnelled a procession towards the circle at this time.
Calanais is not the only stone circle in the area. Within just a few kilometres there are at least 11 other stone circles and nine single standing stones. Some are intervisible with the main Calanais monument. We don’t know whether they were built at the same time, but they indicate that many people were keen to have sacred monuments of their own.
Climate Change at Calanais
We do know that there was very little activity at Calanais after around 1500 BC. Climate change brought colder, wetter conditions and by 900 BC blanket peart started to encroach on the Stones, eventually reaching a depth of nearly 2 metres. It wasn’t until 1857 that Sir James Matheson (then owner of the Isle of Lewis) gave instruction to remove the peat, revealing the lower parts of the stones and the chambered cairn that you canvisit today.
The Protection of a Powerful Legacy
Interest in the Calanais Stones’ history continued to grow, and a significant Government-funded programme of excavation and survey by Patrick Ashmore between 1979 and 1988 revealed invaluable information about the sequence of activities and about the changing environment of the Stones. Artefacts including sherds of pottery and a set of fine arrowheads made from quartz and Skye mylonite were also found. The Stones are one ofHistoric Environment Scotland’s Properties In Care, preserved and looked after as a precious part of Scotland’s rich archaeological heritage for generations to come.
By the 1990s, the local community wanted to create a Visitor Centre to share the fascinating history, archaeology and folklore of the Stones with the world and to create a welcoming place for visitors to enjoy local food and local crafts. Urras nan Tursachan (theCalanais Standing Stones Trust)was established, and in 1995 the Calanais Visitor Centre was opened.
