The Lost Stone of Odin

Somewhere between these two cones occurred a great act of destruction.

The Odin Stone once sat between the Watchstone and the stones of Stenness.

It was about this size, but with a hole near the centre large enough to fit a man’s head through.

It was used for hand fastings and swearing oathes. Babies would be passed through for blessings.

That was until the arrival of Captain MacKay. In December 1814, he destroyed it using black powder.

He gave a litany of excuses: he needed the stone for building, he was trying to improve the land for farming, but the real reason was he did not want the locals continuing their pagan celebrations.

The Odin Stone was not part of the main Stenness circle but stood as a separate holed monolith roughly 60 metres to the north-west. Contemporary descriptions suggest it was about 2.5 metres tall and around a metre wide. The hole had been deliberately cut close to one edge, positioned roughly two to three feet above ground level.

On Captain Walden’s 1772 map it is labelled “Stone of Sacrifice”, reflecting the speculative interpretations of 18th-century antiquarians rather than any firm evidence. Fortunately, the stone was recorded before its destruction: it also appears in an illustration published in 1784 by Reverend Robert Henry, giving us a reliable sense of its form, if not its exact placement. Its real importance lies in later local custom rather than prehistory.

Tradition held that bargains and betrothals were sealed by passing hands through the opening and swearing what became known as the “Odin Oath”. Visitors noted that promises made here were regarded as especially binding, with social consequences for those who broke them.

In 1780, naval surgeon Lieutenant Ker described the practice after visiting the stone with Kirkwall doctor Dr Groat. The destruction in December 1814 by Captain MacKay therefore caused outrage. Formal complaints were raised and legal action was threatened to prevent further damage.

In his own letters, MacKay offered various practical justifications — from needing building material to improving farmland — while some later accounts have interpreted his actions as hostility toward the stone’s ritual use.

The backlash effectively brought an end to further destruction at Stenness.