 Mên-an-Tol in 2006 | |
  Mên-an-Tol Shown within Southwest Cornwall | |
 Interactive map of Mên-an-Tol | |
| Alternative name | Crick Stone |
|---|---|
| Location | Cornwall |
| Coordinates | 50°09′31″N5°36′16″W / 50.1585597°N 5.6044974°W /50.1585597; -5.6044974 |
| Type | Standing stones |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic /Bronze Age |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Good |
| Ownership | CASPN |
| Public access | Yes |
| Official name | Stone setting and holed stone known as the Men-an-Tol, 315m south east of Coronation Farm |
| Designated | 14 December 1926 |
| Reference no. | 1004641 |
TheMên-an-Tol (Cornish:Men an Toll) is a small formation ofstanding stones inCornwall, England (grid referenceSW426349). It is about three miles northwest ofMadron. It is also known locally as the "Crick Stone".
The Mên-an-Tol stands near the Madron toMorvah road inCornwall. Other antiquities in the vicinity include theMên Scryfa inscribed stone about 300 metres to the north and theBoskednan stone circle less than 1 kilometre to the northeast.
TheCornish nameMen a Toll translates into English as "the stone with a hole".
The Mên-an-Tol consists of three uprightgranite stones: a round stone with its middle holed out with two standing stones to each side, in front of and behind the hole.
The two side stones are both about 1.2 metres high. The westernmost stone was moved and brought into a straight line with the other two stones sometime after 1815.[1] The holed stone is roughly octagonal in outline. It is 1.3 metres wide and 1.1 metres high; the circular hole is 0.5 m in diameter.[1] The only other holed stone in Cornwall of this type is theTolvan holed stone which can be seen in a garden nearHelston.
There is one other standing stone nearby, and six recumbent stones, some of which are buried.[1] Acairn exists as a low stony mound just to the southeast. There are two other early Bronze Age barrows or cairns between 120 and 150 metres to the north.[1]
The Mên-an-Tol is thought to date to either the lateNeolithic or earlyBronze Age. The holed stone could originally have been a natural occurrence rather than deliberately sculpted.[1]
The distribution of the stones around the site has led to the suggestion that the monument is actually part of astone circle.[1] If so, then it is likely that the stones have been rearranged at some point, and the two standing stones either side of the holed stone may have been moved from their original positions.[1] It has also been suggested that the holed stone could have been a capstone for the nearby cairn before being moved to its present position.[1]
In 1749 the site was first archaeologically investigated byWilliam Borlase, who also drew a plan. This shows that the megaliths were not in a line like today, but formed an angle of about 135°. Borlase also reported that farmers had taken away some stones from the area. From him comes the first written record of the myths and rituals.[2]
In the 19th Century the local antiquaryJohn Thomas Blight published several drawings of the site, and made the first suggestion that the stones could be the remains of a stone circle.[3] In 1872William Copeland Borlase, a descendant of the earlier Borlase, gave a more detailed description of the area.[4]
In 1932Hugh O'Neill Hencken wrote the first modern archaeological report. He believed that the position of the stones was not the prehistoric arrangement, but had been significantly changed. He also thought that the holed stone might be part of a destroyed tomb. He was even told that local farmers with back or limb complaints would crawl through the hole to relieve their pain.[5]
In 1993, the CornwallHistoric Environment Service published a detailed report with the latest research results. They suggested that the standing stones originated from a stone circle which consisted of 18 to 20 stones. The holed stone, however, could be part of a nearby portal tomb. It also possible that the holed stone stood at the center of the stone circle and served to frame specific points on the horizon. Such a use of a holed stone is not known in other sites,[6] although the nearby stone circle ofBoscawen-Un does have a central standing stone.
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Mên-an-Tol is supposed to have afairy orpiskie guardian who can make miraculous cures. In one story, achangeling baby was put through the stone in order for the mother to get the real child back. Evil piskies had changed her child, and the ancient stones were able to reverse their evil spell.[7] Another legend is that passage through the stone will cure a child of rickets (osteomalacia). For centuries, children with rickets were passed naked through the hole in the middle stone nine times.
Many of the visitors to Mên-an-Tol have their photograph taken placing their heads through the central hole.[8]
The Cornish poetD. M. Thomas referred to Mên-an-Tol as "the wind's vagina".[8]
The song "Men-An-Tol" appears on theZeitgeist album by theLevellers.
The Men-An-Tol also features prominently in the novelThe Little Country byCharles de Lint.
"Mén-An-Tol" is the name of a level in the 2017 gameMonument Valley 2.
"Mén-An-Tol" is a song on the 2018 albumThe Four Worlds byMark Pritchard.
"Men an Toll" is a piece on the 2022 Cornish language albumTresor byGwenno.
Men An Tol is a black metal band from New Zealand,[9] while Mên An Tol (with diacritic) is a folk/Britpop band from London.[10]
