A Stony Gaze

Investigating Celtic and other Stone Heads

by John Billingsley

The Celts were just one among many cultures that elevated the image of the human head to a sacred, cultic level. Northern Earth editor John Billingsley shows how veneration and respect for the severed human head can be traced back to the ritual activities of the distant Stone Age, and reappears throughout history as a consistent magical motif involving the use of skulls, masks or sculpture.

Avoiding the narrow limits of archaeology and Celtic studies which have biased other work on the topic, he shows how the motif of the severed head flows through time as a recurrent part of folk religious tradition rather than as a vehicle of any specific religious belief or cult. Heads found in a magical context - identified by locations and appearance - are stylised, studiously avoiding portraiture and individuality. He calls this the archaic head tradition, as a defining element of these heads is a quality of timelessness, of seeming old even if they are not. Along with the key factor of location at typical threshold points like wells, gateways and bridges, this appearance provides a key to their magical and symbolic role.

The archaic head is explored in its pre-Celtic archaeological context, in Celtic artefacts and literature, in British and European folk-tales, mediaeval church architecture and its grand resurgence in the yeoman society of northern England in the seventeenth century. Through these avenues, the consistent but shifting meaning of the stylised head is investigated, leading to a conclusion that identifies the archaic head as a presence on the threshold of otherworld experience in both pagan and Christian milieus.

Archaeology, folklore, cultural tradition, magical symbolism and vernacular history come together in A Stony Gaze, the first and only work dealing specifically with this topic. Written to be suitable for both the academic and general reader, references, full bibliography and extensive index are included. Line illustrations are by Northern Earth artist Craig Chapman, with photographs by the author.

A Stony Gaze is published by Capall Bann Publishing, Freshfields, Chieveley, Berkshire, RG20 8TF, U.K., at £10.95. ISBN 189830771 7

Signed copies are available from the author at 10 Jubilee Street, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire HX7 5NP, U.K. @ £10.95 post free within the U.K. Please make cheques payable to John Billingsley.

John Billingsley is available for talks, interviews and articles on this topic. Please write to the above address or contact by email.

"I have no hesitation in recommending this book as the best objective discussion of this important and for too long ignored subject which has so many influences upon the way in which we have perceived the sacred and numinous world" - David Clarke, co-author of Twilight of the Celtic Gods

"A Stony Gaze achieves two things: one is to sweep away the mistaken idea that most of the archaic stone heads in Northern England are Celtic, and the second is to establish the head as a guardian motif, expressing otherworldliness or liminality in both religious and secular settings" - Christine Rhone, Talking Stick

"Three cheers for the amateur tradition in British archaeology! ... Billingsley's work draws on his MA thesis to offer insights into every aspect of severed and sculpted heads" - Jeremy Harte, 3rd Stone

"That John Billingsley's knowledge of this subject is encyclopaedic is evident... John's perceptive insight, along with some beautiful illustrations, make this a definite 'must-have'" - David Taylor, White Dragon