Callanish Stones

The monument is widely known as the Callanish Stones, the English form of the local place name Calanais, a settlement on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.^[1]

In Scottish Gaelic the monument is known as Clachan Chalanais or Tursachan Chalanais.^[2] The word clachan means "stones", while tursachan refers to a group or arrangement of standing stones. Both names therefore describe the stone setting at Calanais.^[3]

Archaeologists often refer to the monument as Calanais I or Callanish I. This numbering system distinguishes the main stone circle from other prehistoric monuments in the surrounding landscape, including Callanish II, Callanish III, Callanish IV, and several smaller stone settings nearby.^[3]

These different names reflect the long history of the site. The Gaelic names come from local place-name traditions connected to the landscape, while the numbered name belongs to modern archaeological study of the wider Callanish monument complex.

The Calanais Stones (grid reference NB213330) are situated on a low ridge above the waters of Loch Roag with the hills of Great Bernera as a backdrop.^[4]

Numerous other ritual sites lie within a few kilometres (miles).^[4] These include at least three other circles, several arcs, alignments and single stones; many visible from the main site.^[5] The most impressive – Callanish II and Callanish III – lie just over a kilometre (1000 yards) southeast of the main Calanais Stones, and originally consisted of circles of stones at least eight in number.^[4] The existence of other monuments in the area implies that Calanais was an active focus for prehistoric religious activity for at least 1,500 years.^[6] (see Callanish III, Callanish IV, Callanish VIII and Callanish X). Historic Environment Scotland states that the stones were erected around 2750 BC, pre-dating Stonehenge.^[6][7]

The Calanais Stones consist of a stone circle of thirteen stones with a monolith near the middle. Five rows of standing stones connect to this circle. Two long rows of stones running almost parallel to each other from the stone circle to the north-northeast form a kind of avenue. In addition, there are shorter rows of stones to the west-southwest, south and east-northeast. The stones are all of the same rock type, namely the local Lewisian gneiss. Within the stone circle is a chambered tomb to the east of the central stone.^[8]

Stone rows

As well as the two stone rows of the avenue, there are three stone rows connecting to the circle. One comes from the east-northeast, one from the south, and one from the west-southwest. The east-northeast row today consists of five stones and is 23.2 metres (76 feet) long.^[10] The southern row consists of five stones and is 27.2 metres (90 feet) long.^[10] The west-southwest row consists of four stones and is 13 metres (43 feet) long.^[10]

None of the stone rows is aimed at the centre of the stone circle. The east-northeast row is aligned to a point 2 metres (6 feet) south of the centre; the south row points to 1 metre (3 feet) west of the centre and the west-southwest row points to 1 metre (3 feet) south of the centre.^[10]

Chambered tomb

Between the central and the eastern monolith of the stone circle is a chambered tomb 6.4 metres (21 feet) long.^[11] This was built later than the stone circle and is squashed in between the eastern stones and the central monolith.^[11]

There is another stone cairn just on the northeast side of the stone circle.^[12] It has been reduced to ground-level and the outline can barely be traced.^[12] It is not necessarily an original part of the site.^[12]

There were limited excavations from 1980-1981 which provided some information on the development of the site. The first traces of human activity are indicated by a broad ditch (no longer visible above ground) which appears to have belonged to some structure or enclosure.^[5] This may have been ritual, but could instead have been domestic.^[5] In the centuries around 3000 BC, however, the site was turned over to agriculture, which obliterated most of the earlier traces.^[5] After this, the site was allowed to grass over for a time.^[5]

The stone circle was set up between 2900 and 2600 BC.^[6] It is not clear whether the stone alignments were constructed at the same time as the circle, or later.^[6] Some time after the erection of the stones, a small chambered tomb was inserted into the eastern part of the stone circle.^[13] The many pottery fragments found indicate that the tomb was used for several centuries.^[13] These pottery fragments included not only the local Hebridean pots, but numerous sherds of beaker vessels (dating to around 2000–1700 BC) and sherds of grooved ware.^[13]

Around 1500–1000 BC the complex fell out of use and was despoiled by the later Bronze Age farmers.^[13] Fragments of pots appear to have been cast out of the chamber.^[13] This may have been just ordinary agriculture, but it may conceivably have been ritual cleansing.^[4] There appears to have been a later rebuilding of the tomb, but this may have been for domestic use as there is no evidence for any later ritual use of the monument.^[13] Excavations in 1999–2000, to the south of the stones, found fragments of a prehistoric field system buried beneath blanket peat, as well as stone structures, including buildings, walls, clearance cairns and cobbled surfaces. The analyses found that these features were the result of prehistoric farming activity from the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age indicating the whole area was used for farming at that time.^[14] Between 1000 BC and 500 BC the stones were covered by a thick layer of turf. It is estimated that the place was abandoned around 800 BC.^[15] Only in 1857 was the overlying 1.5 metres (5 feet) of peat removed.^[16]

The first written reference to the stones was by Lewis native John Morisone, who around 1680 wrote that the stones were men "converted into stone by ane Inchanter" and set up in a ring "for devotione".^[17] Sometime around 1695 Martin Martin visited the site and was told by the local people that "it was a place appointed for worship in the time of heathenism, and that the chief druid or priest stood near the big stone in the centre, from whence he addressed himself to the people that surrounded him."^[5] In his 1726 work on the druids, John Toland specifically identified Diodorus Siculus' Hyperborea with Lewis, and the "spherical temple" mentioned by Diodorus with the Calanais Stones.^[18] In 1743, William Stukeley described the stone circle as a druid circle and the avenue like a serpent.^[19] In 1819, geologist John MacCulloch published the first accurate description.^[19] In 1846, the Danish historian J. J. A. Worsaae made a sketch and plan of the Calanais Stones.^[20]

In 1857 peat to a depth of five feet (1.5 metres) was cleared away, under the orders of the proprietor of Lewis, James Matheson, revealing the chambered tomb and the true height of the stones.^[21] In 1885 the Calanais Stones were taken into state care.^[4]

Alexander Thom and Gerald Hawkins suggested that the stones were a prehistoric lunar observatory. Others have proposed a relationship between the stones, the moon and the Clisham range in Harris. Critics of these theories argue that several alignments are likely to exist purely by chance in any such structure, and many factors such as the weathering and displacement of the stones over the millennia mean there can be no certainty of any alignments, original or otherwise.^[22]

The Callanish Stones are a protected archaeological site in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. The monument is legally protected as a scheduled monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, recognising its national importance as one of the most significant prehistoric stone settings in Britain.^[1]

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for managing and conserving the site. This includes maintaining the stones and the surrounding archaeological landscape, monitoring their condition, and managing public access so visitors can experience the monument without damaging it.^[1]

Visitors can learn more about the site at the nearby Calanais Stones Visitor Centre. The centre is operated by Urras Nan Tursachan (The Standing Stones Trust), a local charitable organisation that provides exhibitions, educational information, and facilities for people exploring the wider Callanish stone complex.^[23]

According to one tradition, the Calanais Stones were petrified giants who would not convert to Christianity.^[11] In the 17th century the people of Lewis were calling the stones fir bhrèige ("false men").^[4] Another legend is that early on midsummer morning an entity known as the "Shining One" walks the length of the avenue, his coming heralded by the call of the cuckoo.^[24]

Archaeologists usually refer to the main monument as "Calanais I", because many other prehistoric stone sites lie in the surrounding landscape. These monuments are spread across the moorland around Loch Roag and nearby islands.