<< Our Photo Pages >> Tiree Ringing Rock - Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature in Scotland in Isle of Tiree
Submitted by Andy B on Saturday, 22 July 2017 Page Views: 18859
Natural PlacesSite Name: Tiree Ringing Rock Alternative Name: Balaphetrish Gong Stone, Tiree Ringing Stone, Gaelic: Clach a' Choire, Clach Na ChoireCountry: Scotland County: Isle of Tiree Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
Nearest Town: Scarinish Nearest Village: Balephetrish
Map Ref: NM02684869
Latitude: 56.535843N Longitude: 6.83802W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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markj99 visited on 28th Aug 2018 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 1 Tiree Ringing Rock, known locally as Clach a' Choire is an isolated erratic on the N coast of Tiree. The boulder is visually impressive with its numerous large cup marks; however, the ringing sound of the metallic stone adds an extra dimension.
The cupmarks must have some kind of religious significance dating back 4000 years but the precise purpose and meaning is unknown.
The following is taken from the transcript of Scotland's Music: A Radio History - Episode 1, very much worth listening to.
John Purser: This is the sound of the rock gong at Balaphetrish on the Hebridean island of Tiree. The rock’s about ten feet across and is being struck by small hand-held stones, and the sound you hear is the sound of the rock itself. It’s said that if it is ever moved, the island will sink back into the ocean. Not such a foolish thought. It’s a glacial erratic – a granite boulder shipped there by the ice. If the ice-cap melts or an ice age comes again – some say one, some the other – either way, Tiree might very well sink beneath the waves.
The Tiree rock gong is covered with prehistoric cup-marks; but when I first visited it, there were coins green with verdigris in a little hollow on the top, so it’s still being venerated after thousands of years. Most of us have put a coin in a fountain, even in a supermarket, and made a wish. Deep down we haven’t changed that much.
There are several of these rock gongs in Scotland, and this next one’s on the shore of Iona, not far from the Abbey.
For more information see Canmore id 21529. The Journal of Antiquities also includes a page for The Ringing Stone, Balephetrish, Tiree, Scotland, which includes a drawing of the stone, sources of information and local folklore.
Note: A lovely new 3D Model of the ringing stone - you can spin and zoom it, just a pity you can't 'ring' it! In the comments on our page.
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