Notes on Callanish from 'Going Round in Circles'

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CALLANISH :
Other stone circles have central stones or burial chambers within them, outlying stones just outside the circle or rows or avenues of stones leading away from them. The Standing Stones of Callanish, Tursachan Calanais in Gaelic, are unique in possessing all of these features; the stone rows are the most prominent part of the site.

The stones stand on a ridge above the waters of East Loch Roag, clearly visible from both east and west. The overall layout is shaped like a distorted Celtic cross, with five rows of stones radiating from the central circle. From north to south, the overall length is a little over 400 feet, from east to west it is about 150 feet.

    At the centre is a small circle of thirteen stones, from eight to twelve feet high. The axes of the flattened circle are only 44 feet by 39 feet.
       The tallest stone of all, at 15 9, stands near the centre of the circle.
     The base of this central stone, and the bases of the two east-most circle stones, form part of the kerb of a tiny chambered cairn, 21 feet across.
     Just outside the circle stand two stones, a tall one to the south-west and a short one, with evidence that it was once broken in half, to the south-east.
    Two rows of stones form an avenue, which runs along the ridge, angled a few degrees east of north. It is 273 feet long and contains altogether 19 stones,
     Five stones run due south from the circle towards a rocky outcrop, making a row 90 feet long. This is the row which initially inspired Professor Thom to commence his studies.
   The 76-foot long eastern row contains five stones, the western arm is shorter at about 42 feet, with four stones; neither row is accurately aligned on the compass bearing.

ANTIQUARIANS, EXCAVATIONS, RESTORATIONS :
    Callanish has a considerable literature including a number of early plans and illustrations. Many of these have been reproduced in the present author’s Callanish and other Megalithic Sites of the Outer Hebrides.
    John MacCulloch (1819) showed some stones, which are standing today, as fallen. A number of writers mis-recorded the number of stones in the circle as 12. As a result, a several authors have stated that Callanish is a restored site, assuming that some stones were re-erected in the latter part of last century.
     Examination of Jacob Worsaae’s sketch (1846), of Henry James’ engraving (1867) and of General Pitt- Rivers’ field notebooks (1885), shows that this was not the case. Until 1857, about five feet of peat had engulfed the bases of the stones. This not only reduced the possibility of any stone falling, it also meant that short stones had only their tips showing – interpreted by MacCulloch as fallen stones.
     Two major seasons of excavation in 1980 and 1981 clarified a number of points. The east-most stone of the east row, which had been discovered below ground level (by the present author and his ex-wife), was excavated and ultimately re-erected. Our theory that one stone had been re-erected was confirmed – the small, formerly broken stone, SE of the circle, had been lying flat in 1860.
     Excavation also showed that the burial chamber was definitely a late addition to the site and that it had been modified a number of times. However, no evidence was found to show if the circle preceded the rows or vice-versa. The land had been cultivated before the circle was erected; a wooden structure may have preceded it. Pottery finds suggested a date of 2200 BC for the erection of the circle.

LEGENDS

Legends about the site abound, though how many pre-date their first publication in the 1960s is unclear....

·	The stones were said to be a council of pagan giants, turned to stone by a Christian saint....

·	Alternatively, they were brought to the island in ships and erected by ‘black men’ under the direction of priests who wore cloaks of coloured feathers....

·	During a famine, a Gaelic-speaking cow appeared at the stones and invited the villagers to take a pail of milk each; but a witch used a bottomless bucket and milked the cow dry; it was never seen again....

·	Local couples took engagement vows at the stones; it is also said that marriages were first consummated there....

As recently as the latter part of the nineteenth century, some local people were said to be ‘of the Stones’; on the days of the ancient pagan festivals, despite the exhortations of their Ministers, they made reverent visits to the site. ‘It would not do to neglect the Stones’, they said. One old lady ‘of the Stones’ warned a group of Victorian gentry, setting out from Stornoway to see the midsummer sunrise, that there would be a dense mist as ‘only those to whom it is given may see’. Though it was clear as they left and as they returned, the stones were enveloped in mist, from which eerie noises emerged.