The Stones of Stenness

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STONES OF STENNESS
The Avebury of the North

Of all the images of this site, many depict sheep herded within the stone circle. There are no fences holding them there, and yet more often that not, the sheep remain within the circle. In fact, it is only after chasing them away that they leave, but soon return to within the circle once left alone. One is reminded of the various examples of the sensitivity of animals to places of power, such as the incidence of salmon swimming many many kilometres upstream to their original spawning grounds, or of birds that migrate across the entire globe, many thousands of kilometres, yet always come back to roost in the same place. Perhaps these sheep sense some sort of energy field within this stone circle that they find pleasant, similar to the household dog returning to the warmth of the fire, or a sunlit window ledge sought by the household cat.

Figure 1: The Stones of Stenness. Image Courtesy Paola Arosio/Diego Meozzi - Stone Pages (http://www.stonepages.com). Click for larger image.

Figure 2: The WatchStone, possibly linking the Ring of Brodgar with the henge at Stenness. Image Courtesy Paola Arosio/Diego Meozzi - Stone Pages (http://www.stonepages.com). Click for larger image.

This site is comprised of three impressive slabs ranging in height from 4.8 to 5.2 metres. With the stump of a fourth one, they are the remains of a circle of twelve stones. They stand within a henge 31.7 metres in diametre. This henge is a ditch dug into the solid bedrock, 2 metres deep, 7 metres wide. This compises some 1,300 tons of rock quarried from this ditch. Surrounding this ditch is an external bank that accentuates the depth of the ditch. The earth bank had an entrance causeway at the north side. The site dates to around 2,970 B.C., though the ditch is now nearly imperceptible. The site was known as the Temple of the Moon, and the nearby Ring of Brodgar termed the Temple of the Sun. This site was often referred to as having a female connotation, and the Ring of Brodgar with a male connotation. This is due to the fact that many women that visit this site feel a strong sense of connection with this place, it seems to touch them spiritually. The same applies to men visiting the Temple of the Sun, or the Ring of Brodgar.

Not far from this henge is the Watch Stone, standing 5.6 metres high, as seen in figure 2. This is thought to be the only remnant of a line of stones linking the Ring of Brodgar with the stones at Stenness. Further to the south lies the Barnhouse Stone, associated with Maes Howe.

Nearby, a fourth monolith, the holed Stone of Odin, 140 metres to the north of the Stones fo Stenness, was destroyed in 1814 by a tenant farmer, angered by having his farmand walked upon by people wishing to see the stones. The man tried to demolish the Stones of Stenness too, but was stopped by the fierce opposition of the local people, who subsequently, and understandingly, tried to burn down his farm.

This Stone of Odin was reputed to hold many magical healing powers. It was said that a baby passed through the hole in the stone would no longer shake from the palsy. It would have stood 2.5 metres high, one metre wide. Its potency was unparalleled to the local Orcadians. Young children would pass their heads through the hole to recieve immunity from various diseases. The Odin Stone apparently had the power to bestow some of its magic onto mortals. But this stone is no more. It suffered its final destruction after being an anchor to a horse-drawn mill. Once the miller decided to use machinery in place of horse power, the stone was removed and subsequently smashed to dust in the 1940's. This was done by the owners son, ignorant of its history. The owner himself was reputed to have said "You had no damned business to break that stone: that was the Stone of Odin that came from Barnhouse!", then weeping from the loss.

Figure 5: The Stones of Stenness depicted with the typical horde of sheep. Click for larger image.

Figure 3: The Stones of Stenness.

Figure 4: The Stones of Stenness with its typical accompaniment of sheep.

Was the purpose of this site, then associated with energy lines, or ley lines of some kind? Was this site a hub of spiritual energy, or more specifically, feminine spiritual energy?

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