Classification: Collected Island Folklore
Estimated Period: Late 19th Century
Source: Oral accounts, later transcription
Status: Unverified

Not long after the burial on the island, a shepherd searching for a missing ewe discovered the remains of an old stone structure on the higher ground. Most of it had already disappeared beneath earth and vegetation. Only fragments of masonry remained visible. According to later accounts, the shepherd found a narrow opening between two stones. He heard someone speaking inside.

The oldest version of the story insists that he believed a woman had somehow become trapped beneath the ruins. He called to her and received an answer. She knew his name.

The shepherd attempted to widen the opening with an iron tool. The stone proved unusually resistant, but eventually a small piece fractured away. The opening remained no wider than a man's finger. The voice became clearer. The shepherd asked where his missing ewe had gone. The woman told him. He found the animal exactly where she said it would be, caught between rocks above the northern shore.He returned the following evening.This time he asked another question.

Within a generation, island tradition maintained that if one placed an ear against the broken stone and asked sincerely enough, something beneath it might answer.

Archivist's Observation

The shepherd is remembered locally as the first person to hear the voice. No surviving version of the story records him asking who was speaking.