The Great Sacred Monuments of Stenness forum 8 room
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The Great Sacred Monuments of Stenness

dumb-bell circles ?

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wideford W
wideford Apr 10, 2005 12:34:24

Details of the putative avenues between the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar (from the resarch agenda) ; Watch Stone, Lochview, Stone of Odin, Comet Stone. Also suggested the pairs of stones (indicated at sockets alongside) at the Watch Stone and the Stone of Odin as symbolic doorways linking the circles.
Against the first of these the possibility that the Watch Stone and its companion socket are fragments of a circle now under the loch waters. Contra the second that they actually found three sockets from the Stone of Odin location, the third a few metres away.
The fact that the Stone of Odin once had a twin right next to it surely puts an end to thoughts of handfasting or whatever dating back into Neolithic times, too little room.

F FourWinds
FourWinds Apr 10, 2005 13:18:59
Replying to wideford

"The fact that the Stone of Odin once had a twin right next to it surely puts an end to thoughts of handfasting or whatever dating back into Neolithic times, too little room."

What's "right next to it"? Slap bang up against it or 1m away? Also what height was the other stone? If short then it wouldn't get in the way. Which way did the hole in the Stone of Odin face, towards the other? Also are the two sockets contemporary? Did the Stone of Odin fall and get re-erected in a different hole?

Not supporting either theory here, but a socket is not evidence to poo-poo the other theory completely.

S StoneLifter
StoneLifter Apr 10, 2005 13:39:27
Replying to wideford

Please measure the diameter of the hole in the Stone of Odin accurately and post it in this thread. All that handfasting stuff came later - perhaps.

F FourWinds
FourWinds Apr 11, 2005 08:05:26
Replying to wideford

The hole in the Stone of Odin was where the chief lizard placed his tail during ceremonies!

Or

It was a lizard tail guilloutine. Pop virgin's tail* through hole and chop it off. Lizards developed that amazing trick of shedding their tails when pulled to escape being used as a sacrificial victim. It all becomes clear now :-)


*there's a phrase you don't hear too often!