Near it are the few houses of the village of the same name, and behind these the shining water of a sea arm. Besides this, there is nothing but treeless hills covered with peat. And there they are, sharp and dark against the light-grey sky, the wide circle of standing stones with rows stretching from that circle to the four points of the compass, the one to the north much longer than the other three and double, like an impressive avenue. In the surrounding silence these stones transmit something of that far, unknown past in which they were erected. They stand there testifying to human thought of many, many thousands of years ago, thought that must have proceeded along majestic lines.
History has no answer.
Legend has it that the stones were brought to Lewis in many ships. The priests wore cloaks of colored feathers and the chief priest always appeared with wrens flying by him. If, as this legend indicates, Callanish was built under the supervision of an initiate, then the greatness that underlies these megalithic structures can be explained, for clearly the Callanish complex was erected as a temple. Together with the other stone structures in the neighborhood, accurate observations can be made. Professor Alexander Thom has so far discovered eleven such possible observations, including the potential of observing all cycles of the moon accurately enough to predict eclipses of the sun and moon.