TOUCHSTONES

October, 2005

Calanais Standing Stones is perhaps the most famous Neolithic site in Scotland. It sits astride a ridge above Loch Roag. These ghostly gray stones can be seen from quite a distance as you approach the site. The stones are Lewisian Gneiss. They have been bleached almost white because they were buried in peat for thousands of years. The main site is the largest and most famous of the four Calanais stone circles. If viewed from above it resembles a Celtic cross. In the center is the circle with short arms pointing due south, almost due east and west and a longer avenue of stone leading north/northeast (just slightly off of due north).

The site is so heavily visited that Historic Scotland has established a walk around the perimeter of the site that they ask visitors to follow. It is not required that you stay on the path but strongly suggested. Visitors are free to get in among the stones and experience their power up close.

Every day I have been on Lewis I have spent some time at this site. I have tried to figure it out. Recent studies have revealed a complex astronomical alignments relating to moonrises, the winter and summer solstice, the equinoxes and other celestial occurrences. It is far too complex for me to write about with any authority.

During one of my many visits I was walking the perimeter trail with my camera. I was searching for a place where I could place my camera and be slightly below the crest of the ridgeline. I wanted a perspective looking slightly up at the stones yet close enough for them to fill my frame. As I approached the northwest section of the site, the trail took a dip off of the crest of the ridge. I had found my vantage point. I could look up at the stones and silhouette them against the sky. The morning light would illuminate the stones facing east. Some stones would be in shadow, some brightly lit and others would have the light creating a sense of texture as the light moved across the surface.

As I was setting up my camera a woman in a red sweatshirt and blue jeans approached the center stone. Her attitude was absolute reverence. It was obvious that she had traveled a great distance to be in the presence of these stones. She slowly approached the center stones laying her hands on it surface as a supplicant touching a messiah. This was a moment I wanted to capture. It would give a human presence to these magnificent stones.

I quickly set up my camera, found the right lens finalized my composition and began taking meter readings. In the few minutes it took me to do this she was gone. She had disappeared. Her journey was completed in a few minutes. She had found whatever she was seeking and left. Plate 22 is the image that resulted from that perimeter walk. It is one of my favorite images in the book. But I wonder what the image would have looked like with the woman reverently leaning on the center stone.