The Mên-an-Tol stands near the Madron to Morvah road in Cornwall. Other antiquities in the vicinity include the Mên Scryfa inscribed stone about 300 metres to the north and the Boskednan stone circle less than 1 kilometre to the northeast.
EtymologyEdit
The name Men an Toll in Cornish means "the stone of the hole".
DescriptionEdit
The Mên-an-Tol consists of three upright granite stones: a round stone with its middle holed out with two standing stones to each side, in front of and behind the hole. When seen at an angle from one side, the stones form a three-dimensional "101".
The two side stones are both about 1.2 metres high. The westernmost stone was moved and brought into a straight line with the other two stones sometime after 1815.[1] The holed stone is roughly octagonal in outline. It is 1.3 metres wide and 1.1 metres high; the circular hole is 0.5 m in diameter.[1] The only other holed stone in Cornwall of this type is the Tolvan holed stone which can be seen in a garden near Helston.
There is one other standing stone nearby, and six recumbent stones, some of which are buried.[1] A cairn exists as a low stony mound just to the southeast. There are two other early Bronze Age barrows or cairns between 120 and 150 metres to the north.[1]
InterpretationEdit
The Mên-an-Tol is thought to date to either the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. The holed stone could originally have been a natural occurrence rather than deliberately sculpted.[1]
The distribution of the stones around the site has led to the suggestion that the monument is actually part of a stone circle.[1] If so, then it is likely that the stones have been rearranged at some point, and the two standing stones either side of the holed stone may have been moved from their original positions.[1] It has also been suggested that the holed stone could have been a capstone for the nearby cairn before being moved to its present position.[1]
HistoryEdit
Drawing and plan by W. Borlase, 1769Drawing by J. T. Blight, 1864
In 1749 the site was first archaeologically investigated by William Borlase, who also drew a plan. This shows that the megaliths were not in a line like today, but formed an angle of about 135°. Borlase also reported that farmers had taken away some stones from the area. From him comes the first written record of the myths and rituals.[2]
In the 19th Century the local antiquary John Thomas Blight published several drawings of the site, and made the first suggestion that the stones could be the remains of a stone circle.[3] In 1872 William Copeland Borlase, a descendant of the earlier Borlase, gave a more detailed description of the area.[4]
In 1932 Hugh O'Neill Hencken wrote the first modern archaeological report. He believed that the position of the stones was not the prehistoric arrangement, but had been significantly changed. He also thought that the holed stone might be part of a destroyed tomb. He was even told that local farmers with back or limb complaints would crawl through the hole to relieve their pain.[5]
In 1993, the Cornwall Historic Environment Service published a detailed report with the latest research results. They suggested that the standing stones originated from a stone circle which consisted of 18 to 20 stones. The holed stone, however, could be part of a nearby portal tomb. It also possible that the holed stone stood at the center of the stone circle and served to frame specific points on the horizon. Such a use of a holed stone is not known in other sites,[6] although the nearby stone circle of Boscawen-Un does have a central standing stone.
In folkloreEdit
A view through the Mên-an-Tol holed stone
Mên-an-Tol is supposed to have a fairy or piskie guardian who can make miraculous cures. In one story, a changeling baby was put through the stone in order for the mother to get the real child back. Evil piskies had changed her child, and the ancient stones were able to reverse their evil spell.[7]
Local legend claims that if at full moon a woman passes through the holed stone seven times backwards, she will soon become pregnant. Another legend is that passage through the stone will cure a child of rickets (osteomalacia). For centuries, children with rickets were passed naked through the hole in the middle stone nine times.
Popular cultureEdit
Many of the visitors to Mên-an-Tol have their photograph taken placing their heads through the central hole.[8]
The Cornish poet D. M. Thomas referred to Mên-an-Tol as "the wind's vagina".[8]
mên, cornish, toll, small, formation, standing, stones, cornwall, grid, reference, sw426349, about, three, miles, northwest, madron, also, known, locally, crick, stone, 2006shown, within, southwest, cornwallalternative, namecrick, stonelocationcornwallcoordina. The Men an Tol Cornish Men an Toll is a small formation of standing stones in Cornwall UK grid reference SW426349 It is about three miles northwest of Madron It is also known locally as the Crick Stone Men an TolMen an Tol in 2006Shown within Southwest CornwallAlternative nameCrick StoneLocationCornwallCoordinates50 09 31 N 5 36 16 W 50 1585597 N 5 6044974 W 50 1585597 5 6044974TypeStanding stonesHistoryPeriodsNeolithic Bronze AgeSite notesConditionGoodOwnershipCASPNPublic accessYesScheduled monumentOfficial nameStone setting and holed stone known as the Men an Tol 315m south east of Coronation FarmDesignated14th December 1926Reference no 1004641 Contents 1 Location 2 Etymology 3 Description 4 Interpretation 5 History 6 In folklore 7 Popular culture 8 References 9 External linksLocation EditThe Men an Tol stands near the Madron to Morvah road in Cornwall Other antiquities in the vicinity include the Men Scryfa inscribed stone about 300 metres to the north and the Boskednan stone circle less than 1 kilometre to the northeast Etymology EditThe name Men an Toll in Cornish means the stone of the hole Description EditThe Men an Tol consists of three upright granite stones a round stone with its middle holed out with two standing stones to each side in front of and behind the hole When seen at an angle from one side the stones form a three dimensional 101 The two side stones are both about 1 2 metres high The westernmost stone was moved and brought into a straight line with the other two stones sometime after 1815 1 The holed stone is roughly octagonal in outline It is 1 3 metres wide and 1 1 metres high the circular hole is 0 5 m in diameter 1 The only other holed stone in Cornwall of this type is the Tolvan holed stone which can be seen in a garden near Helston There is one other standing stone nearby and six recumbent stones some of which are buried 1 A cairn exists as a low stony mound just to the southeast There are two other early Bronze Age barrows or cairns between 120 and 150 metres to the north 1 Interpretation EditThe Men an Tol is thought to date to either the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age The holed stone could originally have been a natural occurrence rather than deliberately sculpted 1 The distribution of the stones around the site has led to the suggestion that the monument is actually part of a stone circle 1 If so then it is likely that the stones have been rearranged at some point and the two standing stones either side of the holed stone may have been moved from their original positions 1 It has also been suggested that the holed stone could have been a capstone for the nearby cairn before being moved to its present position 1 History Edit Drawing and plan by W Borlase 1769 Drawing by J T Blight 1864In 1749 the site was first archaeologically investigated by William Borlase who also drew a plan This shows that the megaliths were not in a line like today but formed an angle of about 135 Borlase also reported that farmers had taken away some stones from the area From him comes the first written record of the myths and rituals 2 In the 19th Century the local antiquary John Thomas Blight published several drawings of the site and made the first suggestion that the stones could be the remains of a stone circle 3 In 1872 William Copeland Borlase a descendant of the earlier Borlase gave a more detailed description of the area 4 In 1932 Hugh O Neill Hencken wrote the first modern archaeological report He believed that the position of the stones was not the prehistoric arrangement but had been significantly changed He also thought that the holed stone might be part of a destroyed tomb He was even told that local farmers with back or limb complaints would crawl through the hole to relieve their pain 5 In 1993 the Cornwall Historic Environment Service published a detailed report with the latest research results They suggested that the standing stones originated from a stone circle which consisted of 18 to 20 stones The holed stone however could be part of a nearby portal tomb It also possible that the holed stone stood at the center of the stone circle and served to frame specific points on the horizon Such a use of a holed stone is not known in other sites 6 although the nearby stone circle of Boscawen Un does have a central standing stone In folklore Edit A view through the Men an Tol holed stoneMen an Tol is supposed to have a fairy or piskie guardian who can make miraculous cures In one story a changeling baby was put through the stone in order for the mother to get the real child back Evil piskies had changed her child and the ancient stones were able to reverse their evil spell 7 Local legend claims that if at full moon a woman passes through the holed stone seven times backwards she will soon become pregnant Another legend is that passage through the stone will cure a child of rickets osteomalacia For centuries children with rickets were passed naked through the hole in the middle stone nine times Popular culture EditMany of the visitors to Men an Tol have their photograph taken placing their heads through the central hole 8 The Cornish poet D M Thomas referred to Men an Tol as the wind s vagina 8 The song Men An Tol appears on the Zeitgeist album by the Levellers The Men An Tol also features prominently in the novel The Little Country by Charles de Lint Men An Tol is the name of a level in the 2017 game Monument Valley 2 Men An Tol is a song on the 2018 album The Four Worlds by Mark Pritchard Men an Toll is a piece on the 2022 Cornish language album Tresor by Gwenno References Edit a b c d e f g h MEN AN TOL Pastscape retrieved 9 November 2013 William Borlase 1769 Antiquities Historical and Monumental of the County of Cornwall Bowyer and Nichols London John Thomas Blight 1864 A week at the Land s End 1861 Churches of West Cornwall William Copeland Borlase 1872 Naenia Cornubiae Longmans Hugh O Neill Hencken 1932 The Archaeology of Cornwall and Scilly Metheun Ann Preston Jones 1993 The Men an Tol Management and Survey Historic Environment Service Cornwall County Council Evans Wentz W Y 1911 The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries London H Frowde Reprinted 1981 by Colin Smythe ISBN 0 901072 51 6 p 179 a b Hayman 1997 p 4 Hayman Richard 1997 Riddles in Stone Myths Archaeology and the Ancient Britons London and Rio Grande Hambledon Press ISBN 978 1 852 855666 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Men an Tol The Men an Tol at Megalithia com Men An Tol site page on The Megalithic Portal Men An Tol site page on The Modern Antiquarian Legends of Cornwall s Stones Gareth Evans 2005 Men an Tol at Historic CornwallPortal Cornwall Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Men an Tol amp oldid 1146385020, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
