White Cow forum 1 room
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As Rhiannon quotes here under Folklore http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/5199/white_cow_wood.html
"In the Buchan, this curious appellation is frequently given to great stones, presumably, as this one, of white quartz"

but I'm wondering, in this case in particular, if it wasn't originally "white cowl"
??

Yup Rhiannon would be the person to ask on this particular subject. The white stones at Auchmaliddie and Logie Newton would also have their own stories and myths.

Thanks Nigel and Drewbhoy.

It does look cowl-like, actually and names do get altered/corrupted over time. You could probably fill a page with the various theories on the symbolism of quartz in prehistoric monuments. I've always liked the moon-rock one, personally, although in Ireland they're more likely to be referred to as sun-stones.

The fact that these particular ones have names is interesting though.