![Bullaunchapeltoun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Bullaunchapeltoun.JPG)
A bullaun ( ga, bullán; from a word cognate with "bowl" and French ''bol'') is the term used for the depression in a stone which is often water filled. Natural rounded boulders or pebbles may sit in the bullaun.
The size of the bullaun is highly variable and these hemispherical cups hollowed out of a rock may come as singles or multiples with the same rock.
[Pennick, Nigel (1996). ''Celtic Sacred Landscapes''. London: Thames & Hudson. . p. 40.]
Local folklore often attaches religious or magical significance to bullaun stones, such as the belief that the rainwater collecting in a stone's hollow has healing properties.
[Anthony Weir, Early Ireland, A Field Guide, Blackstaff Press, 1980, ] Ritual use of some bullaun stones continued well into the Christian period and many are found in association with early churches, such as the 'Deer' Stone at
Glendalough,
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
. The example at St Brigit's Stone,
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...
, still has its 'cure' or 'curse' stones. These would be used by turning them whilst praying for or cursing somebody.
In May 2012 the second cursing stone to be found in Scotland was discovered on
Canna and drawn soon after by archaeological illustrator Thomas Small.
[ Small Finds & Design. Retrieved 21 September 2013.] It has been dated to c. 800.
The first was found on the
Shiant Islands. It has been dated to c. 800.
The stones were latterly known as 'Butterlumps'.
![Cursing Stone Millennium Bridge Subway - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Cursing_Stone_Millennium_Bridge_Subway_-_geograph.org.uk_-_659013.jpg)
St. Aid or
Áed mac Bricc
Áed mac Bricc (died 589) was an Irish bishop and saint.
Life
Áed's principal church was at Rahugh (Ráith Áeda Meic Bricc) in modern County Westmeath. He was regarded as a patron saint of the Uí Néill and was said to be a descendant of Fi ...
was Bishop of Killare in 6th-century. At Saint Aid's birth his head had hit a stone, leaving a
hole
A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...
in which collected rainwater that cured all ailments, thus identifying it with the Irish tradition of Bullaun stones.
[Isler H, Hasenfratz H, O'Neill T. A sixth-century Irish headache cure and its use in a south German monastery. Cephalalgia. 1996 Dec;16(8): pp. 536-40.]
Bullauns are not unique to Ireland and Scotland, being also found on the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
island of
Gotland
Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...
, Lithuania and France. 'King Arthur's footprint' at
Tintagel Castle
Tintagel Castle ( kw, Dintagel) is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island adjacent to the village of Tintagel (Trevena), North Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The site was possibly occupied in the Romano-British pe ...
, Cornwall, among other circular depressions at prehistoric ritual sites in Devon & Cornwall, was previously associated with kingship rituals.
Possibly enlarged from already-existing solution-pits caused by rain, bullauns are reminiscent of the
cup-marked stones which occur all over Atlantic Europe, and their significance (if not their precise use) must date from Neolithic times.
Rosewall Hill near St Ives in Cornwall UK has several bullaun which can be found on top, or near the tops of the granite outcrops or cairns on high points on the hill. It is open to question as to whether or not these are man-made or formed by the natural erosion of the granite. Many of the granite boulders on this hill have what appear to be erosion formed concavities, usually pear shaped, which indicate bullaun in formation. However, the location of the larger forms on the tops of the outcrops does suggest that these sites have been chosen. Trevalgan Hill, just to the north of Rosewall Hill, has a round bullaun some 50 cm across as can be seen in the photograph.
Gallery
File:Bullaun, Tramore.jpg, Bullaun in Tramore
Tramore (; ) is a seaside town in County Waterford, on the southeast coast of Ireland. With humble origins as a small fishing village, the area saw rapid development upon the arrival of the railway from Waterford City in 1853. Initially, the to ...
, Ireland
File:Bullaun on Rosewall Hill.jpg, One of several womb shaped bullaun on western end of Rosewall Hill, St Ives, Cornwall, UK
File:Rosewall Hill bullaun.jpg, Bullaun on eastern end of Rosewall Hill near St Ives, Cornwall, UK
File:Trevalgan Bullaun.jpg, Bullaun on Trevalgan Hill, St Ives, Cornwall, UK
File:Bullaun set Brignogan.jpg, A set of bullaun on Brignogan Plages, Brittanyl erosion or art?
See also
*
Rock-cut basin
*
Petrosomatoglyph
A petrosomatoglyph is a supposed image of parts of a human or animal body in rock. They occur all over the world, often functioning as an important form of symbolism, used in religious and secular ceremonies, such as the crowning of kings. Some a ...
References
External links
:*
Wikibooks:A Researcher's Guide to Local History Terminology A Researcher's Guide to Local History terminology.
Commentary and video of a Ballaun or rock-cut basins.
{{Commons category, Bullauns
Celtic mythology
Megalithic monuments in Europe
Sacred rocks
Megalithic monuments in Ireland