Callanish's Other Circles
October 12, 2015
The main monument at Callanish does not stand alone, but is part of a complex ritual landscape that includes six (known) smaller stone circles and tombs. I keep asking myself: why so many circles? Were some used for different purposes, i.e. by different people, at different times of the year, to honor different gods, etc.? By rival sects or political entities? The possibilities are endless and intriguing.
We see ritual complexes like this cropping up all over the ancient landscape. Often a community will have its own stone circle at home, but there will often be a larger complex where people seem to gather, and there will be a number of monuments constructed in a single place. These seemed to have served as important gathering places for large populations, and while the necessity for and use of these monuments mostly remains a mystery, I keep coming back to the image of concert stages at a music festival. I have an image in my mind of Callanish I as a kind of main stage where common rituals or perhaps centralized authorities would hold sway, while these outlying circles would be used by individual tribes or clans to enact their own versions of those rites or perhaps appeal to other forces than those being honored on the “main stage.” With important monuments like Callanish located in a particular tribe’s territory, and the authority that must have come with it, I can certainly see the desire or necessity for outlying groups to stake out their own space and create their own circle, even placing a cairn within it, as a way of asserting their authority or establishing their own status in a highly charged and fraught environment. Anyway, food for thought…
Like Callanish I, the path leading to these circles was down a dilapidated lane. It passed through a gate beside which was piled old tires and discarded farm junk including old wire and broken machine parts. Essentially, it is used as a junkyard, a dump. The path to the monuments themselves was poorly maintained and deep with muck, badly signposted, and disappointing overall. It was a dismaying result after all of my long years of waiting to see this impressive site to find it in this sad, neglected state, particularly when I have been so impressed with the conscientiousness and care taken at every other monument I’ve visited in Scotland. I hope one day Callanish and its satellite circles will get the care and attention they deserve. Until then, I do recommend visiting them, as they are unique and spectacular in their own right, but I also advise that visitors temper their expectations about the surroundings, as many of the locals show little regard for the amazing historic monument in their midst.
Callanish II
Originally the site of a timber circle, this elliptical setting once contained ten stones and an additional outlier, with a burial cairn built in the center.
Callanish III
An unusual double ring of stones set in an oval.
Callanish IV
This small circle stood away from the others in a field on the summit of a low hill overlooking the lake. There were no fences bounding it, no houses within its sight lines, no junk piled up around its edges. It was pristine. After a day of frustration and dashed expectations, it was just what I needed. Although it may have been off the official tour, I entered the empty field to wander around in peace for a few minutes alone with the stones and clear my head. There is evidence of a cairn at the center and missing stones around its edges. I thought it might have been flanked by a fallen standing stone.
