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Men-an-Tol

NEX-5N + Zeiss-Opton Sonnar 50/1.5

 

Men-an-Tol, Land's End peninsula, Cornwall

Late Neolithic to Bronze Age, c.2500-c.1000BC

Cornish: maen = stone; tol = hole

 

Crawling on all fours around the stone nine times from east to west, and, if thin enough, through the aperture was thought to be a sovereign remedy for rheumatism, sciatica etc.

 

The sexual symbolism of the holed stone can hardly be doubted, particularly when considered in the light of associated healing and fertility legends. In common with other megalithic monuments the Men-an-Tol stone can be interpreted as an entrance to the Earth Goddess.

 

The Men-an-Tol has magical rather than astronomical use.

 

From: Journey to the Stones by Ian McNeil Cooke

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Uploaded on October 12, 2013
Taken on September 20, 2013