| “ | Some say the hill is enchanted, others say it is cursed. Both are right. | ” |
— Claire, Dragonfly in Amber
| ||
Craigh na Dun (Gaelic: Creag an Dùin) is the location of the ancient stone circle by which Claire Randall travels from 1945 to 1743. Its distinguishing feature is the large cleft stone, through which a time traveler may pass.
History
As with most stone circles, the hill of Craigh na Dun conceals more secrets than it illuminates. Those with the particular ability to hear the stones have stumbled upon it accidentally, sought out its passageway, and almost universally come to fear and dread the mysterious gateway that the cleft stone marks.
Events of the Novels
Outlander
Claire in 1946
In spring of 1945,[1] Claire and Frank Randall take a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands in Inverness. While there, they observe a group of local druids perform a ritual on Beltane within a nearby circle of standing stones called Craigh na Dun. After the women leave, a particular blue flower catches Claire's eye, but before she can analyze it properly, one of the druids returns and she and Frank make haste to leave before getting caught.
When Claire returns later, alone, to take a specimen of the flower, she begins to hear and feel a strange buzzing, as of bees, and in a disoriented state she steps through the cleft stone, and ends up in 1743.
Dragonfly in Amber
On the eve of the Battle of Culloden in 1746, Jamie sends Claire back through the stones a few weeks before Beltane, and she arrives in 1948.
Voyager
In 1968, Claire makes her third passage through the cleft stone on Samhain, back to 1766.
Drums of Autumn
In 1971, Brianna goes through the cleft stone on Beltane, and Roger goes through a few months later on Midsummer's day. They both arrive in the year 1769.
An Echo in the Bone
Having returned to the 20th century via another time gateway in the Americas, Roger and Brianna begin to collect their knowledge and various theories about time travel, including known and suspected locations of portals.
Written in My Own Heart's Blood
Roger leaves with Buck through the cleft stone in their quest to find Jem.
Trivia
- While Craigh na Dun is a fictional stone circle, many such structures exist all over the British Isles, including Scotland.
- The stones in the TV series were made of styrofoam and installed on location.[2]
References
- ↑ In the American printing of Outlander, Claire goes through the stones in 1945. The date was changed in the UK printing (published as Cross Stitch) to 1946, which the editor thought was a more reasonable time for Claire and Frank to make their post-war trip to the Highlands. For more about this discrepancy, see The Outlandish Companion.
- ↑ Ron Moore's Outlander Podcast for episode 101