Madron, Men An Tol 1890

Photo ref: 22986

More about this scene

Men an Tol means 'stone of the hole'; this most famous of Cornish landmarks probably belongs to the Neolithic period. Inevitably, legend and myth concerning its use abound: it is said that children were passed through the hole to cure rickets and skin diseases. Adults who were sufficiently slim could ward off fevers by crawling through the hole nine times against the sun! Since this photograph was taken, the site has been tidied and the ground worn smooth by visitors. Some historians claim that the holed stone was the entrance to a Neolithic tomb. Perhaps: but the phallic nature of the stones seems to point strongly to other ritual customs.