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The
Mên-an-Tol
monument consists of four stones: one fallen,
two upright menhirs (or herms) about 4½ feet high (1.2m), and between these a circular
stone set on edge and pierced by a hole, 4' 6"
(1.3m) in diameter,
that occupies about half its size. Its age is uncertain but it is usually
assigned to the Bronze Age between three and
four thousand years old.
Mên-an-Tol is a corruption of the
Cornish
'maen' meaning
stone and 'tol'
meaning
hole (stone hole). Stones, and in particular
holed stones, have many traditions of fertility
and healing associated with them, their use
being magical rather than astronomical.
Traditional rituals at the
Mên-an-Tol involved passing naked babies and
children through the holed stone three times and
then "drawn on the grass three times
against the sun". Adults were expected to
pass through the stone nine times to achieve the
desired benefits of healing or fertility. The
Mên-an-Tol was also visited for
ceremonies concerned with divination by
observing the movement of brass pins placed
across the top of the stone.
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