The Callanish Standing Stones
Stonehenge is such a famous historical monument that most people are familiar with the stones and the connection with the summer solstice. The stone circle has been featured in countless TV shows, Hollywood movies and literature. Often they centre on attempts to solve the mysteries of why it was built at all. As humans, we are always compelled to uncover the mysteries of our past.
But did you know Scotland has its own tantalising version of Stonehenge? The Standing Stones of Callanish (or Calanais to give it it’s Gaelic spelling)? It has been nicknamed the ‘Stonehenge of the North’ but, built around 3000 BC, the stones actually predate Stonehenge by approximately 2,000 years. So maybe Stonehenge should be the Callanish of the South?
You’ll find the Callanish Standing Stones near Loch Roag on the Isle of Lewis laid out in a cross formation. They are part of a number of ancient sites in the Callanish and are classed as Lewisian Gneiss – these are the oldest rocks in Britain, in fact, some of the oldest rocks in the world. They were buried under the surface of the earth for hundreds of millions of years.