TOUCHSTONES

April, 2006

TOUCHSTONES

The small village of Dunino sits about five miles south of St. Andrews in the Kingdom of Fife. Just south of the cluster of houses on the main road is the secondary road leading to Dunino Kirk. The kirk is worth a visit. It is small, dating most likely from pre-reformation times and has been converted to a Church of Scotland denomination.

In the graveyard sits a broken standing stone, now referred to by locals as the “Pence Stone”. The top of this meter high monolith is covered with coins of various denominations. Local legend says that if you place a pence on the stone, that night you will dream about your financial future. I left the pence but don’t remember dreaming of my financial future, successful or otherwise.

For me the kirk and legend were secondary to my being there. I had been told that there was a fairy glen in the woods behind the church. After a short hike I emerged out into the open on a rock bluff, which over looked a stream (or burn) running through a beautiful small glen. It was an enchanting place. In the center of the rock a large hole almost a meter across and half a meter deep has been carved out of the solid stone.

Fairy Glens are not uncommon in Scotland. Each is unique with its own “history” or tradition. I have already written about the Clootie well on the Black Isle. The glen at Dunino has offerings of cards, notes, and small mobiles hanging from the tree branches, as well as little altars built in the crooks of the trunk. It doesn’t have the clothing of the Clootie well so gives a different feeling about its “healing” nature.

From the rock outcropping there is a steep, narrow stairway carved into the rock, much like the stairs leading to a church pulpit. Standing in the glen below my eyes were immediately drawn back upwards to the rock outcropping. It is a natural speaker’s platform. I could envision a leader exhorting the followers to better behavior, to rally to protect the community, or to announcements to the population in general.

But what was the purpose of the hole in the center of the rock? I have heard this hole called the “druids well”. I have read many different explanations, ranging from a place of human sacrifice to a posthole for a cross. The mystery of the place allows every visitor to imagine his or her own meaning to the pulpit and well overlooking the quiet of the glen below.

During my half dozen visits to Dunino I’ve made many photographs. The one I selected for the book spoke to me on several levels. I like the feeling of ambiguity of the image, of not knowing exactly what it “is”. When paired with Plate 24, the two images reminded me of eyes. Frequently during my time photographing in Dunino I felt “eyes” on my back, watching what I was doing. I also like the juxtaposition of these two images in the book. Plate 23 is looking down at the “druid’s well” and Plate 24 is looking up at the ceiling in the dungeon at Spynie Palace.

The mystery of the place adds to its beauty. Each time I visit the well has always been about half full of water. Is it trying to tell me something?