Hag Stones, Adder Stones, Skrying Stones, Odin's Stones, Fairy Stones; holey pebbles have a multitude of names but where I come from people call them Lucky Stones, and the old fishermen in all the villages round about string them on thin line to hang on their houses or boats. When I was a kid almost every cottage in the coastal villages had a string of Lucky Stones hanging by the door. You hardly ever see them now, but whether that's because the old beliefs are fading away or because there are very few fishermen working off the beaches any more, I really wouldn't like to say.
One English Hag Stone, strung on 39 inches (99cm) of waxed cotton cord for you to tie to your preferred length. I've scrubbed the stone clean but added no surface finish so the stone itself will rest against your skin. Unique and unrepeatable, there will never be another like this one.
Size: One and three quarter inches long and an inch and one eighth wide.
46mm x 30mm.
The holes are made in the stones in varying ways, mostly depending on the type of rock it is. Most people think it's only ever the effect of the sea over time, when a small pebble gets stuck in a crevice and as it gets tumbled by the waves and currents, and rolled around on the sand and shingle, it will eventually wear a hole. But there are little creatures like snails living on our beaches who have very abrasive shells, and when they creep into a gap they wriggle about and turn round and round to wear themselves a custom-fitted hole to hide in. There are even worms with acidic spit who can literally munch their way through rock. And some holes are fossilised worm tunnels that were originally made in mud before time turned the mud into stone. I think that's all way cooler than just the random effect of water and sand!
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