Fig. 58.—The Mên-an-tol. Front view and section, from Lukis.
Front view:
D. Looking S.W.,
SCALE 1 INCH TO 1 FOOT.
Section:
SECTION OF D.
Not only do we find in this neighbourhood the nest of holed stones to which I have referred, but the Mên-an-tol, the most famous of them all, in England at all events. This, then, is the place to say a few words about them. I have before stated my opinion that these stones, instead of being used as slaughter stones or posts at which to tie up the victim before sacrifice, or in any other similar employment, were really sighting stones to enable an alignment to be easily picked up. As such these were, of course, treated as sacred, and hence the folk-lore connected with them. This folk-lore seems to be most complete in the case of the famous stone of Odin at Stenness, so I condense Mr. Spence’s account of it.
Children brought to the stone at Beltaine and Midsummer, after being carried sunwise round the holy well were passed through the hole as a protection against the powers of the evil one. Marriage ceremony consisted of joining hands through the hole, a vow held as sacred as the legal marriage of to-day. Pains in the head cured by inserting the head in the cavity, cure of palsy in children. Children and adults travelled many miles to secure relief in this way.
At the Mên-an-tol the curative effects could only be obtained by crawling through the aperture, which is of considerable size.
As a rule, however, the aperture is much more restricted. The general size of the holed stone and the position of the aperture in it may be well gathered from the fact that almost all of them have been used for gateposts, and are now to be seen fulfilling that function. In some cases the old special use can be inferred, but in others this is more difficult, as the stones have been shifted or slewed round, or the ancient monument to which the sighting stone was directed has disappeared.
The astronomical origin of the Mên-an-tol, which obviously has never been disturbed, is quite obvious. [Fig. 56] (from Lukis) shews that it was arranged along the May year alignment, the advent of May and August, February and November being indicated by the shadows cast by the stones through the aperture on to the opposite ones.
To the south-west the alignment for the February and November sunsets passes exactly over Chûn Castle.