The Standing Stones of Callanish form a prehistoric site in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, on the isle of Lewis. Thirteen pillars (made of local gneiss) ring a large stone in the center. There is also an avenue with stones leading to the ring. Callanish and Stonehenge may have served similar purposes, dependent on their different latitudes. Callanish may have helped delineate a calendar for area residents and predict eclipses. One theory about the circle, based on its proximity to the Arctic, is that it contained lunar alignments for a display on the horizon that occurred once every 18.6 years. There is also a legend that the "shining one" walks up the path to the stone circle on the dawn of Midsummer's day.
Gerald and Margaret Ponting and Patrick Ashmore investigated the Standing Stones of Callanish in the early 1980s to determine that the area had been used for farming before the circle of pillars was erected in the 3rd millennium B.C.
The approximately 12 m diameter stone circle is probably the most famous prehistoric site in Scotland and visible from a distance since it is on a rise.
For the distance between stones, see: "The Distances between Stones in Stone Rows, by A. Thom; Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General), Vol. 141, No. 2 (1978), pp. 253-257.
References:
- "Callanish, a Scottish Stonehenge," by Gerald S. Hawkins; Science (Jan. 8, 1965), pp. 127-130.
- "Archaeological Tests on Supposed Prehistoric Astronomical Sites in Scotland, by E. W. MacKie; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Vol. 276, No. 1257, The Place of Astronomy in the Ancient World (May 2, 1974), pp. 169-194.
- Callanish
- "Callanish (Calanais), Isle of Lewis, Scotland" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology.
