Callanish - Megaliths in Scotland

If you like imposing old stones, full of mystery, then Callanish is a site to discover. It is a major megalithic site in Scotland, which attracts thousands of visitors every year! Rich in legends, it is located on the Isle of Lewis, in the Hebrides. It is composed of imposing megaliths forming a circle, as well as additional alignments. There are a total of 50 stones, forming 21 monuments, all dating from 3000 BC. A fascinating place to discover absolutely!

Visit Callanish

An exceptional archaeological site on the island of Lewis

Callanish is certainly an archaeological site known in all Scotland for its great historical wealth. Considered as a high prehistoric place, the place attracts every year more than 40 000 visitors who come to admire these megaliths, some of which reach up to 5 meters high!

And attention: the site is particularly dense. It counts not less than 21 distinct monuments! Funerary cairns, alignments, circles of stones… The present megaliths are imposing and trace in a precise way ancestral monuments, with their batches of mysteries… and truths, brilliantly revealed by the researchers and local archaeologists!

Because many excavations were practiced on the spot, which raised the veil on certain interrogations.

The history behind the stones…

Thus, it is estimated that the site dates from 3000 BC. But not only… The site would have evolved over time, comprising at first a simple alignment of stones to which a central circle would have been added many years later, as well as other rows of stones.

The place would thus have evolved gradually, being equipped with other constructions.

Although all is not yet clear, it is estimated that the site was used for many pagan ceremonies. Signs of devotion, ancestral rituals… Callanish was a sacred place, where the notables of the prehistoric society were buried and where many other ceremonies were celebrated.

The visit of Callanish

But enough of explanations… and let’s visit! You should know that a Visitor Centre has been set up for Callanish. It will allow you to better understand the history of these megaliths, as well as the state of progress of scientific research on the subject.

Special mention for their permanent exhibition on the site. On the program, photos, videos, fascinating explanations… You will know everything about the place!

Once you have completed your tour of the Visitor Centre, you will learn that the site can be discovered in the manner of a treasure hunt. Each monument is numbered, and you will quickly go from Callanish I to Calanish II, and so on…

Note however that the most important monument is Calanish I. It is a stone circle with 13 main stones, forming a circle of 13 meters in diameter (with double rows of stones in some places).

In its center, there is an imposing megalith of 4,8 meters high, which would mark the entrance of an ancient funeral cairn (human remains would have been discovered there during an excavation).

As for the other monuments, they are just as fascinating. You will find there a succession of aligned stones, pointing in the south direction. Some of them are more than 80 meters long!

Finally, don’t hesitate to end your visit with a visit to the Visitor Centre’s store. Many souvenirs of all kinds to bring back home!

You can also stop by their tea room for a hot drink and some delicious pastries!