The granite holed stone of Mên-an-Tol

Standing near the Madron to Morvah road in Cornwall, United Kingdom, the Mên-an-Tol consists of three upright granite stones. The most distinctive feature is the holed stone, known to locals as the "Crick Stone". This stone, with its circular hole cut through the granite, is part of a monument that likely dates to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. The name Mên-an-Tol comes from the Cornish language and translates literally as "the stone of the hole" or "the holed stone".

It is unclear when the position of the stones was changed, but research suggests the holed stone might be part of a destroyed tomb or a nearby portal tomb. Local farmers were once told that crawling through the holed stone could relieve back or limb pain, and local myths tell of children being passed through the stone to be cured of rickets. In one story, a changeling baby was put through the stone so a mother could retrieve her real child from evil piskies. Many visitors still have their photograph taken whilst placing their heads through the central hole.

While the arrangement of the stones around the site suggests it may have been part of a larger stone circle, the specific use of a holed stone to frame points on the horizon is not known at other sites. Its mysterious history and the local legends of a fairy or piskie guardian who can make miraculous cures make Mên-an-Tol a unique historical site to visit, whether you believe in the legends or not.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons