Lifting stone
Encyclopedia
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, particularly Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
(where it is referred to as steintökin), Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
. They were usually heavy local stones, without any modification, with the challenge being to lift such a stone, proving your strength. Some of the stones are in fact so heavy that there has been no authenticated lift in modern times, only legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
. Recently, lifting stones have often been incorporated into the World's Strongest Man
World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
competitions.
Iceland
In Iceland, lifting stones were categorised into the fullsterkur ("full strength") weighing 155 kg (341 pounds), the hálfsterkur ("half strength") at 104 kg (228.8 pounds), hálfdrættingur ("weakling") at 49 kg (107.8 pounds) and amlóði ("Useless") at 23 kg (50.6 pounds). They were traditionally used to qualify men for work on fishing boats, with the hálfdrættingur being the minimum weight a man would have to lift onto a ledge at hip-height to qualify. One such set of stones can be found in the town of DjúpalónssandurDjúpalónssandur
Djúpalónssandur is a sandy beach and bay on foot of Snæfellsjökull in Iceland. It was once home to sixty fishing boats and one of the most prolific fishing villages on the Snæfellsnes peninsula but today the bay is uninhabited....
at the foot of Snæfellsjökull
Snæfellsjökull
Snæfellsjökull is a 700,000 year old stratovolcano with a glacier covering its summit in western Iceland. The name of the mountain is actually Snæfell, but it is normally called "Snæfellsjökull" to distinguish it from two other mountains with this name...
. One of the most famous Icelandic stones is the Husafell Stone
Husafell Stone
Husafell Stone, is a legendary lifting stone located in Husafell, Iceland. The stone weighs roughly 418 lbs; and is kept near a goat pen built by pastor Snorri Bjornsson over two hundred years ago. The stone has been used as a test of strength by either simply lifting the stone, or by lifting and...
which weighs 418 pounds.
Clach cuid fir
Clach cuid fir, Gaelic for "Manhood Stones", originate from ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Manhood stones were used for centuries as tests of strength in Scotland. Typically, a young man was welcomed into manhood when he was able to lift his clan's testing stone to waist height.
There are many famous stones residing in Scotland including the McGlashen Stones, the Inver Stone, the Blue Stones of Old Dailly, and the Dinnie Stones. Both the Mcglashen Stones and the Dinnie Stones have been used in numerous Strongman
Strongman
Strongman or Strong Man can mean:* Strongman * Strongman * Strongman * High striker, a physical strength carnival attraction* Strongman , a Marvel Comics character...
competitions since the 1980s including World's Strongest Man
World's Strongest Man
The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
and Pure Strength
Pure Strength
Pure Strength was a strongman competition held from 1987 to 1990 which was created by Tjalling van den Bosch.-Event History:The first year of the event was known as "Pure Strength Challenge" and was a single man competition featuring only Bill Kazmaier, Geoff Capes and Jon Pall Sigmarsson. The...
.
Clachan-ultaich
A Clach-ultaich (kʰlˠ̪axˈulˠ̪t̪ɪç, pluralPlural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
clachan-ultaich) is another type of lifting stone found in Scotland. One such can be found in Duntulm
Duntulm
Duntulm is a township on the most northerly point of the Trotternish peninsula of the Isle Of Skye made up of Shulista , south Duntulm and Ghlumaig....
on the Isle of Skye, the so called Clach-ultaich Iain Ghairbh MhicGilleChaluim Ratharsair "the lifting stone of Iain Garbh MacGilleChaluim of Raasay
Raasay
Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is most famous for being the birthplace of the poet Sorley MacLean, an important figure in the Scottish literary renaissance...
". Its weight is said to be a ton.
The Charter or Blue Stones of Dailly
Dailly
Dailly is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the Water of Girvan, south of Maybole, and east of Old Dailly. "New Dailly", as it was originally known, was laid out in the 1760s as a coal-mining village...
in Ayrshire are a pair of lifting stones located in the cemetery of Old Dailly church.
Basque Country
Stone lifting is also a traditional sportBasque rural sports
Basque rural sports, known as Herri Kirolak in Basque, is the term used for a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people...
in the Basque Country
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
involving the lifting of stone, called harri jasoketa
Harrijasotzaileak
Stone lifting is a popular form of herri kirol or rural sport in the Basque Country in which stones or various shapes and sizes must be lifted off the ground and onto the shoulder....
. There are several varieties, particularly using round stones and rectangular ones. The goal can be raising and dropping a stone of certain weight as many times as possible or simply raising a heavy stone once in order to beat an existing record.
Carrying variants
The stone carry or stone walk is a traditional ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic athletic event involving the carrying of large stones down the field of competition. This type of event has become very popular in the sport of strongman, with many variations being used in numerous competitions all over the world.
The rules are simple: the competitors each pick up a pair of very heavy stones equipped with iron handles, and they each carry the paired stones as far down the field as they can. The length of the field varies depending on the site, but a hundred feet is typical. This event is also known as the farmer's walk.
If two or more competitors carry the stones the entire length of the field, heavier stones are then used. At the New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
Highland Games
Highland games
Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...
, the record carry is a pair of stones weighing 508 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(230 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
) carried just under 100 feet (30 m).
The game probably originated as an outgrowth of the need to clear stones from agricultural fields to create clearance cairn
Clearance cairn
A Clearance Cairn is an irregular and unstructured collection of fieldstones which have been removed from arable land or pasture to allow for more effective agriculture and collected into a usually low mound or cairn. Commonly of Bronze Age origins, these cairns may be part of a cairnfield where...
s.
A similar Basque sport
Basque rural sports
Basque rural sports, known as Herri Kirolak in Basque, is the term used for a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people...
is the ontzi eramatea where the weights were originally milk canisters.