Have you heard the legend around the London Stone? It's said to make one Lord of the City if you strike it with your sword...or cause London's downfall if destroyed.
It is not obviously magical, no angels singing, no glowing aura, nor is it impressively large and mighty. Set behind glass in a wall on Cannon Street, is a little block of oolitic limestone that is the subject of grand London mythology.
What we do know is that it has been treasured by Londoners for a very long time. This stone was included in one of the earliest maps of the City of London, and much of its (at one point considerable) bulk wasn't even known about until architects were re-building around it after the Great Fire (BBC).
There is an "ancient saying" around the stone, which is traced all the way back to 1862 (so not quite ancient), "So long as the Stone of Brutus is safe, so long will London flourish." Legends also posit that Medieval Kings and Queens would touch the stone to take control of the city - which can be traced back to 1450 when Cade, a Kentish rebellion leader, entered London, struck the stone and proclaimed himself Lord of London. Some say it's an ancient alter for Druidic sacrifices, that the head of the villiage that would become London would make sacrifices to it, and that it is the magical Heart of London - that's a lot of mythology to put on a little rock. (Museum of London)
The stone has been thoroughly researched by premier archaeologists at the Museum of London, however we're no closer to solving the many questions around the stone - like its place and time origin, or its initial purpose. So it remains, capturing Londoners' imaginations, becoming that much more grand and magical through local legend.
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