Friday 15 May 2009

On Safari in Cornwall (2)

On Safari with Harry Safari.
Men An Tol (holed stone)
Megalithic Mystery.
As you can see, it was a very misty day out.The suspicion is that these three stones are the remains of a Neolithic tomb, primarily because holed stones have been found in conjunction with the entrances to burial chambers. The doughnut-shaped stone is best known for the traditional belief that it had the power to heal illnesses. To cure rickets and tuberculosis, naked children were passed through the hole three times and then dragged through the grass three times toward the east. Adults seeking cure from rheumatism or spinal troubles crawled through the hole nine times against the sun.
To be continued.

16 comments:

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Mac: I guess when you are hurting anything sounds like something to try. I don't know if I would fit through the hole. Did you?

Rune Eide said...

That was interesting indeed. Those megalithic sites are unique and tells us a lot about the one that made the way for us.

Willard said...

As usual I enjoyed catching up on your blog today after getting back from my trip and posting again.

The way my back feels I think I need to take the treatment for back trouble, but I don't know if I could make it nine times.

I especially enjoyed your creative series on the rusty objects.

It was great to see that you got the 70-300VR lens. I think you will really enjoy it and get a lot of super photos with it. I use Image Stabilization when shooting handheld with my canon lenses except for the 17-40 which does not have it and it really makes a difference in many instances, especially when light levels are marginal.

Anonymous said...

Is this from Bodmin Moor?

Laura ~Peach~ said...

you have the most fun adventures...wish i was close enough to travle in person with you and yours! TILL THEN THIS IS THE NEXT BEST THING!

Cezar and Léia said...

Wow Imac!
This looks so funny!
Very interesting place!
Thanks for sharing
Léia

Lew said...

Interesting bit of ancient lore! There was probably a bit of truth in some of those old ways. But it is had to see it from this side of of our medical progress.

ancient one said...

This was an interesting post. I learn something new every day. Love the photos of those interesting stones.

George said...

Okay, you have me hooked. I can hardly wait for the next stop on our safari.

DeniseinVA said...

That is a fascinating post.

Coy Hill said...

Amazing!

I guess it really didn't work or we wouldn't need all the Doctors :)

Marian Dean said...

On first glance I thought you had found an ancient game of noughts and crosses. Interesting lore though. I wonder if it worked?

Love Granny

Anonymous said...

Looks like an advert for prehistoric Polo Mints.

Anonymous said...

Oop - I didn't spot this post earlier! Did you crawl through? I remember going through when we visited a long time ago!

And yes - the Lanyon Quoit really suits being b&w, all ancient monuments do, for some reason.

DeniseinVA said...

Another wonderful photo. I used to spend a lot of time on Dartmoor. I wonder what interesting things I missed there?

Craver Vii said...

I thought I left a message about this, but it looks like "lol" (laugh out loud).