Thunderstone (folklore)

Throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia flint arrowheads and axes turned up by farmer's plows were considered to have fallen from the sky. They were often thought to be thunderbolts and are called "thunderstones". It was not until travelers returned from far-away places where these implements were in actual use that the origins of these objects became known. Even then, these travelers' tales received little popular credence.

In Scandinavia thunderstones were frequently worshiped as family gods who kept off spells and witchcraft. Beer was poured over them as an offering and they were sometimes anointed with butter. In Switzerland the owner of a thunderstone whirls it, on the end of a thong, three times round his head, and throws it at the door of his dwelling at the approach of a storm to prevent lightning from striking the house. In Italy they are hung around children's necks to protect them from illness and to ward off the Evil eye. In Roman times they were sewn inside dog-collars along with a little piece of coral to keep the dogs from going mad. In Sweden they offer protection from elves. In the French Alps they protect sheep, while elsewhere in France they are thought to ease childbirth. In Burma they are used as a cure and preventative for appendicitis. In Japan they cure boils and ulcers. In Malay and Sumatra they are used to sharpen the kris, are considered very lucky objects, and are credited with being touchstones for gold. Among the Slavs they cure warts on man and beast, and during Passion Week they have the property to reveal hidden treasure.

In the British Isles some idea of their original use is retained, and they are often referred to variously as elf arrows, elf bolts, elf darts, or fairy arrows, and are said to have been shot by elves or fairies at a person or animal to bewitch them. On the other hand, they are thought, for the most part, to protect the possessor from these little people. The presence of flint instruments found in British cinerary urns of the Roman Era is explained by two theories: 1) they were used by the mourners to lacerate themselves; 2) flints (like all fire-producing stones) are potent magic for preventing the return of the dead. In Ireland flint stones are soaked in water to make a medicine which is good for man or beast. Mounted in silver they are worn as protection against elf-shot, i.e. elf- or fairy-inflicted disease. In North Carolina and Alabama there is a belief that flint stones placed in the fire will keep hawks from molesting the chickens, a belief which probably stems from the European idea that elf arrows protect domestic animals. In Brazil, flint is used as a divining stone for gold, treasure and water.

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