Observations placeholder

The Ancient Stones of Wales – Chris Barber and John Godfrey Williams
Chapter 16 QUARTZ

Experiments were begun in 1988 by the authors of this book involving the use of small transistor radios in the close vicinity of prehistoric standing stones. The hand-held radios were tuned into a radio station on the medium wave and slowly carried around the standing stone. Although the stones chosen for the experiment were a considerable distance from any houses, machinery, motor cars and electric pylons, it was found that in each case there were a few limited areas of less than a foot across where the radio set was subject to some kind of radio interference. These interesting results have been obtained at a number of prehistoric standing stones in Wales and it is thought that the radio interference is probably caused by a power ray emitted from the quartz embedded in the ancient stones.

Initial results from this new line of research indicate what a great deal more needs to be done in this field which will open up all kinds of exciting possibilities. It is hoped that others may try these simple experiments and that there will be co-ordination to gather information so that a proper evaluation of this form of radio interference can be made.

The importance of the presence of quartz in connection with our ancient stone monuments to their builders thousands of years ago is shown in the archaeological records of the finding of considerable amounts of quartz-bearing stones or chippings inside some of the prehistoric dolmens or burial barrows of Wales.

At one of the best-known Welsh sites, namely Bryn Celli Ddu dolmen at Llanddaniel Fab in Anglesey (SH 508702), it is mentioned in the Royal Commission of Ancient Monuments, Anglesey report that when the chamber was excavated thoroughly in 1928 the outer chamber, which was filled by the original blocking of earth and stones, was found to have a barrier of water-worn and deliberately broken pebbles of white quartz, such as were found all over the site.

By 1935, the excavators of these ancient sites had become more meticulous and did not throw out pieces of stone containing quartz because, when Ty Newydd dolmen at Llanfaelog, Anglesey (SH 344739) was excavated, the pieces of quartz found there were carefully collected and counted. The Royal Commission of Ancient Monuments, Anglesey reports that over the entire floor of the dolmen there was a deposit of black earth containing much charcoal about 2 inches thick, and scattered in this layer were one-hundred-and-ten pieces of broken white quartz. No explanation for the presence of so many pieces of white quartz (which can be assumed were purposely placed there either by the original builders of this huge ancient monument or its subsequent users) has been given.

There are still quite a number of dolmens in Wales that have not been properly excavated. When any work of this nature is done at one of these dolmens, particular attention should be paid to the presence and position of any pieces of quartz-bearing stone and these should be carefully examined by an expert. Such stones may have been the equivalent of our silicon chips to the ancient builders, whose techniques of moving huge stones showed that they had much more intelligence than is usually attributed to the ancient Britons.

In recent years, some researchers in California have shown considerable interest in the use of crystals and quartz in particular. A recent book, “Windows of Light, Quartz Crystals and Self-Transformation'', gives much interesting and useful information about quartz and deals with its uses for healing purposes. Reading this book makes one wonder about the large amounts of white quartz which may have originally been in all Welsh dolmens and it opens up new and intriguing areas of research into the knowledge of our remote ancestors which could prove beneficial to modern man.

"A sharp blow to a quartz crystal under pressure can cause thousands of volts of electricity to be discharged from it."  David D Zink