Roll away the stones

A friend's recent post on Facebook set off a train of thought about stones. It is thought that the stones that form stone circles can be dowsed to reveal detail of a person's life. They represent the person who has stored that information through them. It's a fairly common explanation for ghost stories too - a building or a place can hold memories and impressions which are sometimes accessed and replayed.For the 2007 Sotheby's sculpture exhibition at Chatsworth Michal Rovner created a piece called "Makom" made up of stones from archaeological sites in Israel. The stones were numbered and reassembled overlooking the house. Within it were projected ghostly images, open to the viewer's interpretation, which could only be observed through narrow apertures in the walls. It was a very powerful piece on many levels, and 'Makom' means sanctuary. Living in Derbyshire I am surrounded by stone circles and ancient burial sites. All these places still inspire and confound in the 21st century. Looking back over the history of art, classical sculptors sought to recreate the human or animal form and even the gods in stone - granite, marble, limestone. By the 20th century artists were recreating the power of landscape - I'm thinking of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, and more recently Richard Long and Andy Goldsworthy. Recent research tells us that birds can see magnetic fields, and geologists and geophysicists can explore what lies beneath the surface with their technologies. So who can say that a stone can't hold a memory.My children and I have all loved collecting stones from beaches and on walks. They spent pocket money on fossils and crystals. Friends have studied and practised crystal healing. Gemstones are revered by all cultures. I have collected pebbles off beaches around the world, wherever I have visited, and many lie around the house and garden. I still feel the loss of a beautiful piece of pink and white marble found on a beach in the Isle of Man as a child. I have a pebble given to me recently by my son in my coat pocket. I have another from Anglesey in my handbag. It's a reminder of the place and time, the mood and the inspiration. In the last few years, when I have visited a beach, I have chosen the stones I am drawn to by their shape, colours and beauty, made a cairn of them, and taken a photo, rather than bringing them back from their true resting place. On a very recent visit to Priest's Cove at Cape Cornwall, Penwith, there were signs reminding visitors not to remove stones as it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for geology.It makes sense. I have been watching the BBC4 series Pagans and Pilgrims and reading the book it is based on, Britain's Holiest Places.I was reminded that at St Hwywyn's Church in Aberdaron, visitors are invited to take a stone and write a name on it, as a form of prayer. These are placed on a cairn in the church, and on the last Sunday in October they are given back to the sea. How lovely. I have only scratched the surface of stone. But if you think some of this is far fetched, consider the roles quartz and silica have had in modern communication.If you can gather information about an individual from their mobile phone or personal computer device, who is to say that a stone can't carry something from the past.