Do the Craigh Na Dun stones from Outlander exist in real life? Unearthing the actual mystery

If watching Outlander, Starz’s fantasy historical drama, made you wish you could time-travel through the Craigh Na Dun stones like Claire Fraser (Caitríona Balfe), you're certainly not alone.

Since the show's inception in 2014, fans have wondered whether the magical Craigh Na Dun stones in Scotland, which eventually become a time-travel portal, exist in real life.

While the stones are sadly fake, they are located in a real-life location: a remote Scottish village called Kinloch Rannoch. But you will not find the standing stones there, as they were specially sculpted for the series.

In the fantasy drama, Claire touches the Craigh Na Dun stones in 1945 and is magically transported to 18th-century Scotland, where she meets a highlander, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). The stones play a big part in the series and are eventually used by many other characters, including Claire's daughter Brianna, to time travel.

Exploring the magic and inspiration behind the Craigh Na Dun stones in Outlander.

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The Craigh Na Dun stones in Outlander were designed and sculpted for the show

Fret not, fellow Outlanders! While the Craigh Na Dun stones from the fantasy drama do not exist in real life, many standing stones in Scotland are just as magical (but not time-traveling) and can be explored for the magical stories they carry through generations.

But first, here is a little information on the Craigh Na Dun stones, as they might be fake but are located in a real-life location. The Outlander crew hand-built these stones, and they were placed in Kinloch Rannoch, a remote village in Scotland.

Designed by production designer Jon Gary Steele and sculpted by an artist, the stones were built out of Styrofoam. As executive producer Ronald D. Moore revealed in the official Outlander Podcast:

“You could pick them up by yourself...And then we hauled them out to the actual location and we planted them in the ground.”

Kinloch Rannoch's dramatic moors and beautiful view of the Scottish highlands made for a perfect location, and thus, the Outlander crew chose the village to set their time-travel portal.

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Exploring the myths and inspiration behind the Craigh Na Dun stones in Outlander

While the stones from the fantasy drama might not be real, Diana Gabaldon aptly incorporated popular architecture from Scottish history into her novel. Standing stones are often found in and around Europe, especially in Scotland, and they often have mystical and historical tales associated with them, probably what gave Gabaldon her time-travel portal.

One of Craigh Na Dun's inspirations is the real-life Callanish Stones on the Isle of Harris, which have stood tall for 5000 years, since 2900 B.C.

In Starz's travel show Men In Kilts, Heughan and his co-star Graham McTavish, who plays Dougal McKenzie in Outlander, even visited the stones. Talking about the stories associated with Callanish and many ancient stones, Heughan notes:

“There’s lots of myths about these stones. They may have been giants that were frozen. Ones that didn’t convert to Christianity. They don’t say what they were used for. Some sort of pagan ritual maybe, maybe a gathering spot. Some people think they were used for cycles of the moon, different times of the years. Every 18 years, I think, there’s a point where the sun hits a certain point.”

There is no surprise that Gabaldon weaved such a mystic and magical story inspired by these stones, which served as Claire's and many characters' time-travel portal through the seasons.

Executive producer Maril Davis discussed the experience of shooting in such a magical location on the Outlander End of Summer series episode:

''Every single time we did that scene [Claire going through the stones], the wind would come up. It was just kind of spooky and magical. It felt like we were at the right place at the right time.”

In addition to time travel, Gabaldon also weaves many pagan beliefs, which are performed around these stones.

Claire and her first husband, Frank, see Geilis Duncan and other pagan women dancing naked around these stones at night, like a ritual in the series premiere, further adding mystery and importance to the stones.

While the fantasy drama had many iconic settings, including Castle Leoch and Castle Lallybroch, the Craigh Na Dun stones will continue to fascinate fans even long after the show.

Also Read: An Outlander spin-off on Master Raymond might solve mysteries better than Blood Of Blood, and here's why

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