The ‘Comet Stone’ is a menhir or standing stone, dating from the New Stone Age, close to the Loch of Stenness. The stone lies 137 metres south east of the Ring of Brodgar on Mainland, one of the Orkney Islands. This menhir belongs to the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. The name may indicate that the Ring of Brodgar was considered as a sun and this stone as a comet.
The stone is 175 cm high, 76 cm wide and 29 cm thick. Close by at the same elevation are signs of two other stones, of which only stumps remain. These stones, together with the Comet Stone, may have once formed a stone circle. However, it is also possible that these menhirs, with others including the Watch Stone, formed an avenue leading from the Stones of Stenness to the Ring of Brodgar. According to legend, the Comet Stone was a fiddler or flute player and the Ring of Brodgar represented a group of dancing giants.
Location
Ring of Brodgar
B9055, Stromness KW16 3JZ, Verenigd Koninkrijk
Bronnen
Wikipedia
Translation Alun Harvey
Mensen die de Comet Stone passeerden brachten een eerbetoon door een buiging, en zijn oudere benaming, ‘Ulie Stane’duidt op het gebruik van olie of honing over de steen. (The Blue Stones, An Investigation of Judicial Stones in the European Middle Ages. 2019. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag).