Rocks and boulders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I want those fields cleared of stones,” he said, quite casually. “All of them. I should start with that one up there. The others will help you with the big ones, when they’ve finished what they’re doing, in a week or two. There’s a cart over there,” he indicated a vehicle with solid wooden wheels and sides made from plaited stems of osiers. It looked like a primitive chariot.

“What shall I do with them,” I said, “when I’ve put them in the cart, the stones?”

“You can do what you like with them,” he said, “as long as they don’t stop on my land.”

Then he looked at me, and seeing that I was genuinely puzzled, he gave me the same kind of foxy grin that Sergeant-Major Clegg used to when he announced to us that there would be no weekend leave.

“You can throw them over the cliff,” he said. “You can start now.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The commonest types are stalagmites (Greek for ‘dropping’ or ‘trickling’), which rise from the floor of the cave, when water drips from the ceiling, causing the minerals to be deposited. The corresponding type that hangs down from the ceiling is called stalactites. Often, the two types connect to form columns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of these boulders inspired Danish poet Steen Steensen Blicher (1782-1848) to write the following in his short-story Brudstykker af en Landsbydegns Dagbog (’Fragments of the Diary of a Parish Clerk’), from 1824: ”Thus I recognize many a tree, many a heather-covered hill, and even the dead boulders, which stand here unchanged for millennia, watching one generation after another grow up and vanish.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As legend has it, a giant named Wälter lived on Öland with his wife. One day, they were arguing as to where the centre of Öland might be, and, as they were very skilled at throwing stones, they decided to use this method. They knew that the giant was able to throw his large round stone exactly as far, as the wife was able to throw the lesser stones she was carrying in her apron. The wife now went to the northern tip of the island, from where she threw her stones southward, as far as she could, whereas Wälter, from the southern point of the island, with all his might threw his one large stone northward. Later, they met at Folkeslunda, and, as it turned out, the stones had all landed on the exact same spot, with the large stone resting on the smaller stones. They now knew that they had found the centre of the island.

The name Kroppkaka Stone is due to the almost globular form of this rock, which resembles a kroppkaka, a traditional Swedish dish, consisting of balls made of potato and wheat flour, with a filling of salt and onions, and beef, pork, or bacon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When they reached Eiðiskollur, the giant stayed in the sea, while the hag climbed up the mountain with a rope to tie the islands together, so that she could push them onto the giant’s back. However, when she attached the rope and pulled, the northern part of Eiðiskollur split. They struggled through the night, but the base of the islands was firm and could not be moved.

Now, if the sun shines on a giant, he or she turns to stone. During their struggle, they didn’t notice time passing, and as dawn broke they were turned to stone on the spot. There they have stood ever since, staring longingly across the ocean towards Iceland. Risin, 71 m tall, is furthest from the coast, whereas Kellingin, 68 m tall, is closer to land, standing with her legs apart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Icelandic name of the bird, rita, whereas the English name was given in allusion to its call. The specific name is from Ancient Greek tridaktylos (‘three toes’), referring to the fact that this species is missing the small, back-pointing fourth toe, which most other gull species possess.

In North America, this species is called black-legged kittiwake to differentiate it from its near relative, the red-legged kittiwake (Rissa brevirostris), which breeds on small islands in the far northern Pacific.

 

 

 

 

 

Some of these formations, named Hljoðaklettar, have withstood erosion from the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum River. Hljoðaklettar means ‘Echo Rocks’, so named due to the peculiar acoustics of the area, which produce echoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Krishna grew up with a herdsman, well protected against a cruel king, Kansa, who was killing man-children, as a fortune teller had warned him that he would be overthrown by a young man. A divine voice warned Krishna, who took shelter with the herdsman. When he had reached manhood, he killed the evil king and liberated the people.

Krishna and other Hindu gods are presented on the page Religion: Hinduism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As sea trade routes emerged, the importance of Raqmu declined, and in 106 A.D. it was conquered by the Romans, who renamed the Nabataean kingdom Arabia Petraea (‘Rocky Arabia’). In the Byzantine era, several Christian churches were built in Petra, but the city continued to decline, and by the time the Muslims gained power in Jordan, the city had already been abandoned. Only a handful of nomads resided here.

The area remained unknown to the West, until it was rediscovered in 1812 by Swiss traveller and orientalist Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784-1817), who travelled in Arabia under the name Sheikh Ibrahim Ibn Abdallah.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The three zebra species are described on the page Nature: Nature’s patterns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A long time ago, a khan (chief) had a beautiful wife. Another khan fell in love with the wife and stole her from her husband. This caused a brutal war to break out between the khans. The khan, who had abducted the wife, asked a wise man what to do. He advised the khan to kill the wife, so that her former husband could never take her back.

The khan now organized a large fiest, ordering seven bulls to be killed, after which he killed the wife. However, huge splashes of blood gushed from her heart, drowning the khan and his servants, and washing away the seven bulls. When they finally came to rest, the bulls turned into a red stone formation, resembling the backs of seven bulls. (Source: advantour.com/kyrgyzstan/legends/jety-oguz)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is widely distributed, from eastern Sudan and Eritrea southwards through eastern Africa to north-eastern South Africa, and also in western Angola, Namibia, and western South Africa. Small remnant populations exist in western Central African Republic and Nigeria. About 11 subspecies have been described.

It prefers rocks with growth of scattered bushes, where it can seek shelter from enemies, including eagles. It has been observed as high as 4,500 m altitude on Mount Kilimanjaro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archaeological excavations, however, have revealed that parts of the fortress were built long before Kasyapa’s reign. (Source: R. Beny & J. L. Opie 1970. Island Ceylon. Thames & Hudson, London)

Ancient paintings, depicting beautiful noble women, are found on the rock wall. A selection is shown on the page Culture: Folk art around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Such structures show links with electro-magnetic energies and increased crop production. This interesting theory, which was proposed by my late friend John Burke, is described in depth on the page Book – Seed of Knowledge, Stone of Plenty: Understanding the Lost Technology of the Ancient Megalith-Builders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initially, the work was in the hands of Polish-American designer and sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (1908-1982).

Still, the sculpture is far from completed. When finished (if that should ever happen), the final length will be 195 m and the height 172 m. The outstretched arm will be 80 m long, the opening under the arm 30 m high, and the index finger 9 m long. The face of Crazy Horse, which was completed in 1998, is almost 27 m high. By comparison, the heads of the presidents at Mount Rushmore are 18 m high.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For hundreds of years, this rock has been sacred to local peoples, including Lakota, Cheyenne, and Kiowa, and it appears in the mythologies of several other tribes. One legend relates that a giant bear was pursuing a small band of people who, by magic or otherwise, were able to find shelter on top of the rock, just out of reach of the bear. The deep furrows on the side of the rock were made by the angry bear’s claws as it vainly attempted to climb it.

Today, the rock is the site of tribal vision quests and other rituals, and in the surrounding grasslands, Sun Dances and other tribal ceremonies are performed. Vision quests are described in depth on the page Book: Seed of Knowledge, Stone of Plenty, Chapter 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this way, the dragons saved the young Vietnamese nation, and for this reason, the bay was named Ha Long, meaning ‘descending dragons’.