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Standing Stones of Wales - The How and Why

© Sandra Jones

When you talk to some of the people in South Wales, they will tell you standing stones have been around seemingly forever. They dot the countryside, often standing alone or in small groupings, and then in other places have been grouped together to form stone circles.

It is suspected they have been used for many purposes over the years. They were used as monuments and places to pray and meditates many centuries ago. In the last few hundred years, they have been used as boundary markers and building materials.

Erecting these stones have presented a conundrum to scientists and the general population alike. The general consensus is that the stones were retrieved and erected by groups of people working over considerable periods. These stones were moved considerable distances to their standing places.

Author Terry John, in his book Scared Stones, offers up the theory that the stones already had been detached from larger rocks from natural actions of nature and that these detached stones were then moved from the area they were found to the area chosen to erect them. Mr. John also seems to support the idea that archaeologists feel that the stones were moving to their new homes by means of a wooden sledge or wooden rollers. This would seem the most feasible method of transport.

Sites for the stones were prepared for their arrival, the land cleared and a pit dug. Dirt ramparts may have been added also. When the stone was lowered in its pit, and raised to the upright position, it would stand as a testament to the sheer power of the strength of men who raised it. It is difficult to imagine how many people it took to so this, and how many may have been injured or even killed in the process.

Sites for the stones were chosen in all types of areas. Whether for burial, ceremonial or navigational purposed, it is unclear. Studies of some sites have suggested the stones marked burial places, others seem to have ceremonial significance, while others were erected almost willy-nilly.

Groups of stones are the most puzzling, No one can pin down their exact significance. Ideas have ranged from the celebration of man and woman, fertility sites, sites to contemplate death and the afterlife, and even pointing out the concourses of nearby water features.

These stones have long become the stuff of local legend and folklore. A visit to a single or to multiple sites evokes almost surreal feelings. One tries to understand how the stones got to where they are and what they were truly meant to be. It is a trip into the past and indeed a way to let the imagination run free with possibilities.

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