The Callanish Stones are perhaps the most famous visitor attraction on Lewis. It's a complicated site, consisting of three separate stone circles and some avenues of stones, believed to date back to between 2900 and 2600 BC, making them about the same age as Stonehenge. They are of a simpler construction, consisting of standing stones without any lintels.
It is believed to have been used as a Bronze Age ritual site and a little later a burial chamber was added, which was used for many centuries. The whole site fell out of use around 1000 BC and was then used for agriculture, being completely abandoned in around 800 BC and eventually buried under peat. It was cleared of peat in the late 1800s and taken into protective care.
The Gneiss markings make each stone very attractive and the whole site is quite awesome.
We were privileged to enjoy the sunset at the main stone circle, a powerful and beautiful experience, despite a little drizzle. Our final sunset of a memorable trip - most poignant...
I love seeing photos of standing stones...and these are great! That sunset among the stones evokes the mystery that has stood for ages.
ReplyDeleteWow! That sunset picture is spectacular!
ReplyDeleteSunset makes this even more mystical, Jenny!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos.
ReplyDeleteI only know these from the B/W photos of Fay Godwin and I'm surprised to see so much colour in the stones. That first photo is particularly beautiful in both its composition and lighting. A photo to be very proud of.
ReplyDeleteThe stones give me a feeeling of old sages standing around for a chat.
ReplyDeleteGneiss: "monolithic rock formed by high temperature and pressure". (Wikipeda)
ReplyDeleteFascinating. The last shot is a stunning one.
ReplyDelete