Happy Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all

Boadicea's grave 'under McDonald's restaurant' in Birmingham

Boadicea's grave 'under McDonald's restaurant' in Birmingham

Statue of Boadicea in London

The grave of ancient warrior queen Boadicea may have been discovered under a McDonald's restaurant, archaeologists said today.

Digs beside the burger bar in King's Norton, Birmingham have uncovered Roman artefacts which archaeologists think may have been the location for the famous battle between Boadicea's army and the Romans in 61AD.

Local councillor and archaeologist Peter Osborn said: "We know for certain that the battle between the 200,000 ancient Britons and the Romans happened somewhere in the Midlands.

Read the full story here.

Bronze Age boat is uncovered

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Bronze Age boat is uncovered

"THE village of Netley, in Rathnamaugh, Crossmolina, was the scene of some painstaking work this week as archaeologists toiled to excavate a prehistoric logboat discovered some weeks ago in the area.

The dugout or logboat was stumbled upon in the course of pipe laying works as part of the Ballina Regional Water Scheme being carried out by Ward & Burke. Upon the discovery, on Sean and Aileen Gough’s land in Netley, Mayo County Council enlisted a team of archaeologists to assess and unearth the artefact. Following a visit to the site, The National Museum has expressed significant interest in the find.

Site Director, Ms Joanna Nolan, told the Western People: “The boat dates back to pre-historic times; obviously a tree-trunk boat, it is most likely Bronze Age which would be 3000 years ago”.

Considering the amount of land improvement that has been carried out in the region, this discovery is a fascinating one, with the canoe-like structure clearly some form of wooden boat. The team, which includes archaeologists Gary Burke, Roísín Burke, Eileen Padden, Gerard Mohan, John Kerrigan, Paul Clarke, Oliver Murphy and Michael McTighe under the direction of Joanna Nolan, delicately removed the soil strata by brushing and created a support-system"

Slán

Shawbost Norse Mill and Kiln

I know this is strictly speaking not Celtic, but it is of interest and does concern our nieghbours and cousins. The Norse occupied the Hebrides for nearly five hundred years, between the end of the eighth century and the end of the thirteenth century. This long period of coexistence left a profound impression on the culture and archaeology of the Western Isles, one that is often underestimated in the light of the succeeding centuries of Scottish affiliation. Although the term Norse is often used in relation to these structures, it seems likely the design was introduced from Ireland. More info here www.culturehebrides.com/heritage/agriculture/


"As you pass along the A858 in Western Lewis near the township of Shawbost (Siabost) watch out for a brown tourist sign pointing west towards a Norse Mill.


From the small car park, a well made path leads for a quarter of a mile to two traditionally constructed and thatched stone buildings set into a small river valley. Lewis was once home to as many as 200 small horizontal wheel mills. What is variously know as Shawbost Mill or the Mill of the Blacksmiths remained active until the 1930s, though the last still operational in Lewis only stopped turning in 1945.



Shawbost Mill was first restored in the late 1960s, but the current restoration dates back to 1995. The high quality path was added in 2003.

The building you see on your right as you approach is the kiln. It isn't immediately obvious how this worked, but half the floor area comprises a raised stone platform within which is set a circular stone-lined pit. This presumably contained the fire that heated and dried the grain spread out around the remainder of the kiln.

The mill is more immediately spectacular, though here much of the workings are set in a chamber below floor level. Water from the nearby burn was led into a mill lade some way upstream from the mill. It was then channelled to the top of a mill race just behind the mill itself. From here a steep chute directed it down onto one side of a circular set of paddles, set horizontally in a chamber directly beneath the mill. The water turned the paddles, which caused the upper of the two millstones in the mill itself to turn, which in turn ground the grain. Part of the mechanism jogg"

Slán

Pipe-layers unearth bit of history

"Pipe-layers unearth bit of history

WORKERS laying new water pipes around Bridlington have tapped into a previously undiscovered part of the area's history.

Contractors have found the remains a 2,000-year-old village near Thornholme, including children's and animals' bones, British and foreign pottery, coins and the outline of a roundhouse.

Thornholme Rome settlement dig. (PA0630-7d)

Archaeologists have des-cribed the find as significant and teams are now sifting through a field off the A614 looking for more artefacts.

Site manager Ben West-wood, from Northern Archae-ological Associates, said: 'The earliest pottery we have so far had dated for the site indicates that it is from the second century. The latest is a coin from the late third or maybe fourth century.

Site manager Ben Westwood. (PA0630-7f)"

"The items are incredibly well preserved, especially the young bones, and we think the site was occupied for 200 or 300 years from what we have uncovered here so far."It's significant because it adds to the picture of what we know about Roman settlements and the people who were living in this area of the Yorkshire Wolds.

Thornholme settlement dig. (PA0630-7h)

Slán

3,000-Year-Old Log Boat To Be Raised From Tay Estuary

"Excavations are underway on the Bronze Age log boat. Courtesy Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust

One of the oldest boats discovered in Scotland is being excavated and raised from its site in the Tay Estuary.

The Carpow log boat, as it is known, situated near Abernethy, was discovered in 2000. Identifying it as a log boat, used for fishing and wildfowling, Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust radiocarbon dated it to 1000BC - the late Bronze Age.

Archaeologist David Strachan of the Trust explained: "It was discovered in 2000 by a metal detectorist - half of it was sticking out of the mud."

"The buried portion of it was very well preserved with intact transom boards [stern timbers], but the exposed part is deteriorating."

There are records of 150 log boats from Scotland, yet only 30 survive in museums or in situ and these are often distorted by shrinkage or warping. Records show seven log boats found in the Tay estuary, but only one survives, in Dundee Museum. Found in 1860, it has been dated to about 500AD.
The Carpow log boat is not only one of the best preserved, but also the second oldest dated log boat from Scotland."

Slán

The Stolen Child

Amazon.com is moving from selling books and other odds an ends to making movies. A sure sign that they’ve got too much money.

Variety says the online retailer is optioning the movie rights to the Keith
Donahue novel “The Stolen Child”. They won’t actually finance the
production, instead they’re shopping it around to Hollywood studios and other potential partners looking for
someone who actually knows something about movies to put it on movie screens.

Amazon.com spokesman Drew Herdner says “With our brand and our retail
experience and customers around the world we believe we can be an extremely
valuable partner in the development, marketing and distribution of this film.” In a way he’s right, though they seem more suited to a
multi-tiered marketing deal with a major Hollywood studio than actually
developing their own films. Take a look at what Starbucks did with Akeelah and the
Bee. They marketed the hell out of it in their stores and made a little money
off it, but they didn’t stick their noses into actually making movies. Something
like that seems like a better fit for Amazon.com than this.

But ever savvy Amazon.com has always been quick to jump on diversifying. On the web it's diversify or die. These days there’s almost
nothing you can’t buy on their site. In fact, you might have a hard time
actually finding the books with which they first got their selling start amidst
all the other millions of types of entertainment and shopping content.

So what exactly is The Stolen Child about? Amazon describes it as “a
bedtime story for adults”, which might give some of you horrifying flashbacks to
a certain recently released, reportedly very bad M. Night Shyamalan movie. Don’t
worry, no narfs here. In the book, two narrators tell intertwining stories. One,
an adult trying to remember his “stolen” childhood. The other, a 7-year-old
child trapped in time. Folk legends about changlings and faeries are mixed in to
link the two stories together when 7-year-old Henry is kidnapped by hobgoblins
and replaced by an imposter.

OK, so this has got to be seen :)

Slán

Inis Oírr - a tranquil retreat

"Although there is every chance that Inis Oírr has been inhabited for 5,000 years, the earliest evidence of civilisation is at Cnoc Raithní a Bronze Age burial mound dating from 1500BC. Nearby at Teampall Chaomhán is a medieval church ruin (half buried in sand) and the 16th Century Caisleán Uí Bhríain (an imposing three-storey tower house built within a Stone Age fort). To the north of the island, golden sandy beaches offer safe swimming and stunning vistas of Connemara, while the Eastern shore boasts a shipwreck and breathtaking views of the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. "

Now there is somewhere I'd love to go. The full article is an emotive and fascinating read.

Slán

Downs dwellers of Iron Age

"'Time team' unearths evidence of Downs dwellers of Iron Age
Jul 24 2006



ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed Iron Age and Roman pottery during a week-long excavation on Farthing Downs.

Fragments were discovered in one of the Anglo-Saxon burial mounds, originally excavated by antiques collector John Wickham Flower in the 19th century.
Archaeologists working at the site believe the pottery must have been missed by Wickham Flower, as he removed all the artefacts he unearthed.

It follows the discovery of human bones in graves near the burial mounds during a dig at the site last year - held, such as this dig, in National Archaeology Week."

Slán

Ancient bones shed light on Roman Britain

"Ancient bones shed light on Roman Britain

Archaeologists uncover farmstead and infant burial site along route of modern water pipeline
Alexandra Wood

ARCHAEOLOGISTS in Yorkshire have stumbled across fascinating remains which are shedding new light on what life was like for ancient Britons under the rule of Rome.




The experts working along the route of a new water pipeline have discovered an ancient farmstead to the south west of Bridlington.
Its occupants kept cattle, sheep and possibly pigs and lived in wood-framed roundhouses which were only yards away from where children were buried in small, round graves.

So far five infant burials have been uncovered, including what is probably a foetus.

Archaeologist Ben Westwood said: 'They are all buried in the same kind of area to the south of where the houses were, literally a few metres away.
'They are really buried within the domestic core of the settlement, keeping them very close to the centre of the village.

'Adult burials in this period were outside the confines of the settlement for obvious reasons.

'These baby burials for some reason were kept close to the houses.

'It hints at all sorts of things."

Slán

What's Going on Here?

"The local rock here erodes into the long slabs used to construct the monument, so this is a good example of available materials influencing design and structure. The basic design - a basket (or corbeille) type structure with the perimeter stones angled outwards, is common throughout the Sahara, although usually these monuments are much smaller. A string of these monuments, situated on a ridge, overlooks an old lake bed, which sometimes contains some water (see adjacent photo). Many of the slabs seem to have been exracted from bedrock exposed where a wadi transits from the ridge where the monuments are situated, to the lower elevation basin that contained the ancient lake.

Monument building suggests increased territoriality, and this makes sense if the people who built these structure wanted to demonstrate their association with, and rights to (even ownership of), the water resources in this locality. Monument building in the Sahara started as the region was becoming more arid, and was roughly contemporaneous with the megalithic period in Europe. There is abundant evidence from the arid belt of the northern hemisphere that there territoriality, organised conflict, and monument construction increased as the climate deteriorated after about 6000 years before present. This process of increasing territoriality and social organisation eventually led to the emergence of the first large urban, state-level 'civilisations', which emerged in river valleys in otherwise arid areas. In the Sahara the only river is the Nile - in the central Saharahn regions similar processes occured, on a smaller scale, around diminishing lakes, for example in the Fezzan region of Libya, where the Garamantian civilisation emerged. "

What's all this about? Is this another one of those strange monumetns that are fey inspired?

Slán

Megalithic New England

Megalithic New England

It's not just Europe that has standing stones and the like:

The Mystery Hill complex, the largest and most sophisticated of its kind in
North America, covers over 30 acres and is composed of monolithic standing
stones, stone walls and underground chambers, most of which are aligned to
obvious astronomical points.

...noted archaeo-astronomer Byron Dix has
determined that New England is replete with underground chambers. He says, ". .
. there are some 105 astronomically aligned chambers in Massachusetts, 51 in New
Hampshire, 41 in Vermont, 62 in Connecticut, 12 in Rhode Island, and 4 in Maine.

Megalithic culture across other areas of the world is a whole new area of research for me. It is one that may reveal unexpected Celtic connections to far flung corners of the world. I have long suspected that the Celts, being natural travellers, traded, colonised and migrated throughout a lot of the world and only areas with strong archeological evidence have remained. This evidence has dictated the historian's view of Celtic history and this picture may well change and expand in the immediate future.

Dig by students reveals site may date back 10,000 years

13 July 2006

Dig by students reveals site may date back 10,000 years


The remains of at least one longhouse have been unearthed at a Schoharie Valley excavation site (New York state, USA) that professional archaeologists have called one of the most important in the state. Located on a terrace overlooking the Schoharie Creek, the excavation - named the Pethick Site - has so far uncovered more than 80,000 artifacts. The site even drew dozens of amateur archaeologists and curious townspeople midway through the eight-week dig as word spread of the chance to experience firsthand a professional archaeological excavation.

The site - in its third year of excavation - is run as a field school through cooperative effort by the University at Albany department of anthropology and the Division of Research and Collections at the New York State Museum. "This is probably the most significant excavation I've ever been a part of," said Sean Rafferty, site co-director and assistant professor. Rafferty directed a previous excavation about a half-mile away from the current site and has participated in other digs throughout his career. "It still amazes me that we found one of the most prolific sites in the state completely by chance."

In 2004, the field school was denied access to a site, called Smith-Holloway, a stone's throw away from Pethick. But, after that denial, a local archaeology enthusiast, Carleton Smith of Central Bridge, led the team to an open field where he had uncovered numerous artifacts.Shovel test pits were dug, yielding rich archaeological deposits. And the Pethick site was born.

The field school program trains undergraduate and postgraduate students in the techniques of professional archaeology. For eight weeks, students learn the basics of archaeological field work, laboratory processing and artifact analysis. Those who complete the work are then able to seek jobs at private or public contract archaeology firms throughout the country.

"We discovered a pitted stone, scraper, projectile point and part of a drill so far today," said UAlbany senior Joshua Porter of Latham. "We've been slowly excavating a fire pit on top of a storage pit, which is a pretty impressive find." Newly discovered artifacts and their carbon dating indicate that people have inhabited the site since the Early Archaic Period, dating to as early as 8,000 BCE Mounting evidence indicates it has been continuously occupied since at least 3,000 BCE.

The occupants of the Schoharie Valley at that time are generally believed to be the ancestors of modern Iroquois cultures, including the Mohawk.Numerous artifacts from that period have been recovered, including countless chipped stone waste flakes called chert, a byproduct of stone tool manufacture; projectile points, including Brewerton side-notched, Meadowood and Levanna; animal bone; seeds; and pottery chards. Many hearths, fire-cracked rock deposits, storage pits and pieces of pottery patterns have also been documented. Preliminary analysis suggests the presence of numerous house outlines and at least one longhouse.

The daylong event was planned and executed by UAlbany graduate students Steve Moragne and Jamie Moore to generate public interest in archaeology. They were surprised by the number of people who attended and their interest in the history of the Schoharie Valley."Local people often have a better idea of site locations and what types of material can be found. Our current excavation is a perfect example of the public and archaeologists working together, which I hope will continue in the future," Rafferty said.

For more information on the site in the Schoharie Valley and future excavations, call the UAlbany anthropology department, 442-4700, or the New York State Museum Cultural Education Center, 474-5976, or go to http://www.albany.edu or http://www.oce.nysed.gov.

Slán


Source: Times Union (10 July 2006)

Front garden in Kent yields ancient tools

24 June 2006
Front garden in Kent yields ancient tools

The Britons of 250,000 years ago were a good deal more sophisticated than they are sometimes given credit for, new archaeological evidence suggests. It comes in the form of giant flint handaxes that have been unearthed at a site at Cuxton in Kent (England). The tools display exquisite, almost flamboyant, workmanship not associated with this period until now. The axes - one of which measured 307mm (1ft) in length - were dug up from old sand deposits in a front garden.

"It is a site where there would once have been a slow-moving river," explained Dr Francis Wenban-Smith, from the Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins at the University of Southampton."It would have periodically overflowed its banks; and there would have been occasional sand bars and islands that got exposed. Obviously, at some point, Palaeolithic man was doing something there, left his handaxes, and they got covered up."

The biggest of the tools - the second largest of its type found in Britain - is beautifully preserved and sharply pointed. It was probably used to butcher prey, which at that time would have included rhino, elephants, large deer and an extinct type of cattle known as aurochs. Another big implement was uncovered immediately beside the star find; this time a cleaver, 179mm (7 inches) long by 134mm (5 inches) wide.

The culture at Cuxton is one that archaeologists refer to as Acheulian, to describe the type of stone tool manufacturing that was dominant at that time. Dr Wenban-Smith says the latest finds hint that these people were more advanced in their cognitive and behavioural development than is normally assumed. "Both handaxes come from next to each other which is an important point because it shows they were making different designs," he said. "This points to their mental capabilities. It shows that they could hold in their minds the idea of the shape they wanted to make. There are also technical traits in terms of how they were sharpened which would have to have been preconceived. To my mind, this helps prove that these people were not so far away from us as some would think and also that they were probably using language."

The Cuxton manufacturing techniques were soon supplanted by a different way of making stone tools, known as Levalloisian technology. Dr Wenban-Smith said it was unclear whether this knowledge was imported from further south in Europe or independently discovered by the Britons themselves.
Source: BBC News (20 June 2006)

Slán

Scottish Gaelic speakers visit Nova Scotia to help restore fading language

Scottish Gaelic speakers visit Nova Scotia to help restore fading language

James Keller
Canadian Press
Monday, July 24, 2006

HALIFAX (CP) - Olivia MacDonald hopes to be fluent in Gaelic some day.

The nine-year-old from St. Andrews, N.S., has learned the dwindling Celtic language at home from her father and in after-school programs.

And earlier this month, she participated in a weeklong immersion program with five Scottish women and their eight children, who are in Nova Scotia teaching their native tongue.

"I'm Scottish and I really like it and I think it's really cool to be with people from Scotland," Olivia says from her home in St. Andrews. "I can say a lot of things."

Olivia is one of about 120 children in three communities to take part in a series of workshops, games and other activities designed to help them learn to speak and understand Gaelic.

The group from Lochaber, Scotland, moved on to the Cape Breton community of Iona last week, and are now doing the same in nearby Mabou. The children are immersed in the language during the day, and adult classes are held in the evenings.

I wish there were activites like this in my area for Irish....

Slán

BBC NEWS | England | Somerset | Iron Age villagers 'behind times'

Iron Age villagers 'behind times'

Iron Age villagers living in west Somerset were 'behind the times' according to evidence unearthed by a team of archaeologists.

The team has been investigating the site at Maundown Water Treatment works near Wiveliscombe.

Six round houses dating back to 100 BC have been revealed by the dig.

Read more here.

Slán

Fight for Stonehenge takes to the air

Fight for Stonehenge takes to the air

Hot-air balloonists will highlight danger of traffic-choked roads and call for tunnel beneath monument

Robin McKie, science editorSunday July 23, 2006The Observer

A hot-air balloon will rise over Salisbury Plain tomorrow on a trip that will mark one of the country's strangest scientific breakthroughs: the 100th anniversary of the first aerial photograph of Stonehenge.

The 1906 flight was the first use of air reconnaissance for studying ancient monuments in Britain, and will be commemorated with a balloon flight of English Heritage officials and other VIPs. 'Aerial photographs are our main method for finding new [archaeological] sites,' said Martyn Barber, of English Heritage's aerial survey unit. 'They are invaluable for studying the past.'

But the trip has another purpose. It is to form part of an unofficial campaign by English Heritage to maintain public awareness of the World Heritage site. They are anxious to press ministers who have promised they will decide in the next few months on what to do with the main roads that run near the 5,000-year-old stone circle.

Also, see here.

Slán

Republican National Convention Blog NYC 2004: The Occult Life of Things

The Occult Life of Things

Pan-pipes thought to be imbued with the soul of the Sun-God Credit: Marcos Guerra, STRI, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Take another look at your car, your fork and knife, your personal digital assistant.

Is it possible that "inanimate objects" have a life of their own? Fernando Santos-Granero, STRI Staff Scientist, is organizer of "The Occult Life of Things," a symposium at the International Congress of Americanists in Seville, Spain on 17 July, 2006. Natives of the Amazon region consider animals, plants and objects as subjectivities that have lives of their own and are essentially social beings.

This "animistTM" vision of the world goes hand in hand with a "perspectivistTM" vision in which all beings and things view 'self' as human and "other" as non-human. The focus of the symposium is an analysis of these occult lives; occult not only in the sense that the lives of things are supernatural, but also because the human essence of things is not normally visible.

The Yanesha of eastern Peru believe that pan pipes are animated by the Sun God, the Creator, explains Santos-Granero. Before playing the pipes, Yanesha men offer fermented manioc drinks, coca leaves or tobacco juice to "raise its spirit." When they play the flute, the life-giving force of the Sun God is broadcast to all nearby beings and things.

The symposium will gather linguists and anthropologists from Europe, South America, and the United States who are specialists on Native Amazonian societies. Participants will address three major aspects of the life of things.

Slán

Guardian Unlimited Arts | Arts news | Fight for Stonehenge takes to the air

Fight for Stonehenge takes to the air

Hot-air balloonists will highlight danger of traffic-choked roads and call for tunnel beneath monument Robin McKie, science editorSunday July 23, 2006The Observer

A hot-air balloon will rise over Salisbury Plain tomorrow on a trip that will mark one of the country's strangest scientific breakthroughs: the 100th anniversary of the first aerial photograph of Stonehenge.

The 1906 flight was the first use of air reconnaissance for studying ancient monuments in Britain, and will be commemorated with a balloon flight of English Heritage officials and other VIPs. 'Aerial photographs are our main method for finding new [archaeological] sites,' said Martyn Barber, of English Heritage's aerial survey unit. 'They are invaluable for studying the past.'

Slán

The inspiration lives on

RONALD RAE IN HOLYROOD PARK, EDINBURGH

The monumental granite sculptures of Ronald Rae form the first exhibition of sculpture ever to be held in Holyrood Park. The 21 sculptures are shown in partnership with Historic Scotland in a variety of locations around the park, and within the gardens of Holyrood Palace. They represent more than 20 years of work by the acclaimed sculptor, made in Edinburgh but never displayed together in their home city. "I thought it would be good to bring my bairns home," says Rae. "I've always been rather fond of Arthur's Seat, a geological miracle in the middle of the city. This is a sharing, a giving back to the city that I love."

Rae's sculptures are carved by hand from vast lumps of stone quarried in the north-east, and include animals inspired by Celtic and Pictish art, as well as images drawn from the Christian faith. The newest of the works is the Lion of Scotland, opposite the Parliament building, 20 tons of Corrennie granite which needed a 100-ton crane to lift it into place.

"You can't fool around with granite, you've got to be so truthful to yourself," Rae says. "The stone is a little over 470 million years old, give or take 1,000 years. It is older than the crags. It's a very humbling experience to split crystals that haven't seen the light of day for 470 million years. The stone selects me, I don't select the stone. It's punishing work, but you have to die a little in these things, you have to give your soul. They are my prayers, my celebration of life, my thankyou for being born. I like it that people can climb on these things, engage with them."

• Holyrood Park, until May 2007, www.ronaldrae.co.uk or pick up a flyer from attractions near the park.

Scotsman.com Living - Outside the gallery walls

TIME TEAM TO UNCOVER ISLAND'S SECRETS

TIME Team will uncover the early years of Manx Christianity when the popular archaeology programme films in September.

After months of speculation, it has been confirmed the Channel 4 series will feature the Island.

A team of more than 40, including a few well-known faces, will spend three days trying to get to grips with an important area of Manx history.

Series editor Michael Douglas confirmed presenter Tony Robinson, who also played sidekick Baldrick in the BBC comedy Blackadder, will travel here.

The excavation will be overseen by respected archaeologist and Time Team regular Professor Mick Aston and Phil Harding, whose West Country accent, hats and eccentric hair have made him a favourite with fans, will also join the dig.

Mr Douglas said the filming will take place in September, but declined to reveal where because it is on private land.

However, he added: 'We're going to be investigating a keill – an early Manx chapel – that could date as far back as the 7th century, but may also contain evidence of the Viking presence in the Island.

'Almost every keill in the Island, well over 100, was investigated, dug or fiddled about with by antiquarians in the early part of the 20th century, and the general consensus now is that they missed and/or destroyed lots of important information about the early years of Manx Christianity.

'The keill we're looking at is one of the very few that was untouched by the antiquarians, so it's a unique opportunity to use all the modern techniques at our disposal to investigate the chapel and put it into the wider context of Manx life before, during and after the Vikings came to the Island.'

He added: 'It'll be a standard Time Team dig in the sense there'll be between 40 and 50 of us pitching up for the three days of filming – that number includes archaeologists, geophysics, landscape surveyors, three camera crews, production team and so on.

'Tony will, of course, be presenting with Professor Mick Aston in charge of the archaeology. Phil Harding will be leading the team in the trenches.'

20 July 2006

News - Isle of Man Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More

Stone Pages Archaeo News: Brownslade Barrow's secrets revealed

Brownslade Barrow's secrets revealed

Archaeologists will take advantage of a summer lull in firing at the MOD's Castlemartin Range this August, to spend time unravelling the mysteries of Brownslade Barrow. The site, situated on part of the Castlemartin Army Training Estate, was first excavated over a century ago. It is believed to originate from 2300-650 BCE.

Brownslade Barrow is one of Pembrokeshire’s (England) most interesting and important historical sites; it has evidence of multiple use and the quality of remains found there during recent excavations are much better preserved than at other sites in the county. "It was partially excavated in the 1880s and is believed to have prehistoric Bronze Age origins," said Polly Groom, the National Park Authority’s Archaeologist "Evidence was found of later re-use, with burials presumed to date from the early Medieval period. Two very recent trial investigations on site revealed over 100 pieces of human bone, from at least six individuals. Radiocarbon dates put them within the early Medieval period (5th - 11th centuries CE). The remains may occupy a time span of up to 500 years. The site is really unusual in having good preservation; mostly in Pembrokeshire the soils are so acidic that the preservation of remains is very poor. This makes Brownslade even more important and interesting," she added.

The site is currently being damaged by badger burrowing, so this summer’s excavations will allow information to be retrieved before it is destroyed completely. The Ministry of Defence is funding the four-week long dig which is co-ordinated by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and Cambria Archaeology. Information, pictures and updates will be posted online in a regular ‘dig-diary’ throughout the summer - visible on www.cambria.org.uk.

Source: Pembrokeshiretv.com (21 July 2006)

Slán

SUFFOLK TIMBERS COULD BE IRON AGE CAUSEWAY SAY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

The timbers are several thousand years old..

“This is the first such structure to have been discovered within Suffolk and is one of only a few in Britain,” said Jane Sidell, English Heritage Archaeological Science Advisor, “and as such is a nationally important find.” The timbers were found on the banks of the River Waveney, and have been remarkably well preserved with chiselled points intact. Clearly sculpted by hand, the vertical posts were uncovered during the excavation of a new dyke on Beccles Town marshes – part of a multi-million pound Environment Agency project.

Timbers unearthed during flood defence work on the Norfolk-Suffolk border have been dated to between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, archaeologists have revealed.

The very well preserved finds are the first of their kind in the region – it is thought they may have belonged to a walkway across the marshland in the Iron Age.

The full story can be found here.

Slán

BBC NEWS | England | Humber | Workmen unearth ancient village

Workmen laying a water pipeline in fields near Bridlington have uncovered the remains of an ancient settlement believed to be almost 2,000 years old.

Archaeologists have described the find near Haisthorpe, which includes a traditional roundhouse, as significant.

They have unearthed the remains of children buried at the site, as well as coins, pottery and irrigation ditches.

The village may date back to 100AD and was undiscovered for so long because the fields have never been ploughed.

Yorkshire Water, which was carrying out the pipe-laying work, said a number of other archaeological finds had been made along the route of the new pipeline.

Archaeologists found the outline of a traditional roundhouse at the site.



Slán

Trial a test case for the Irish Language

Sinn Fein MEP Bairbre de Brun last night called for legislation to allow court cases in Northern Ireland to be conducted in Irish.

She was speaking after 24-year old Maire Nic an Bhaird, from Woodside Walk, Dunmurry, on the outskirts of Belfast, had a charge of disorderly behaviour adjourned at the city's Magistrates Court until September 6.

Ms Nic an Bhaird, a drama teacher at Colaiste Feirste, west Belfast, denies committing the offence in May on Belfast's Malone Road.
The case is being seen as a test case by some in the Irish language community.

"Considering the European Charter, the Good Friday Agreement and the Criminal Justice Review, she should now be able to get her papers from the Prosecution Service in the Irish language," Ms de Brun said.

As Irish language activists picketed the Laganside court complex, she said her former pupil should also be able to use Irish in the actual court proceedings.
"This young woman has spoken Irish all her life and has gone through her entire schooling through the medium of Irish.

"While I would obviously prefer that she didn't find herself before the courts, a main concern for the Irish language community is that all the proceedings should now be in Irish," she said.

"In particular, it is imperative that the Prosecution Service provide the relevant papers in Irish and she herself be able to address the court in Irish," Ms de Brun, a former Stormont Executive Minister, added.

Solicitor Michael Crawford said Ms Nic an Bhaird was a native Irish speaker and her whole environment was Irish.
Mr Crawford said that as all legal proceedings had been conducted in Irish, he had written to the Public Prosecution Service requesting that all papers in the case should be in Irish also.

Resident Magistrate Fiona Bagnall adjourned the case for three weeks to allow the defence to make written submissions in support of their application and to facilitate a response from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Ms Nic an Bhaird was released on continuing bail.

Slán

Waterford Today - 19 July 2006 - Prime Time and High Court for Gaeltacht planning

Percentages of Irish speakers in the Déise Gaeltacht have been falling
dramatically in recent years and a double-whammy effect has been cited as the
reason for this - there are more and more people moving in who cannot speak
Irish and most of the young people of house-buying age, ready to start a family,
are moving out because they have no hope of buying a site or a house due to
sky-high property prices.

With average house prices on estates nearing the 1 million euro mark and
with some having guide-prices of up to €900,000 – it would take 3 Gaeltacht
families to buy one house between them. This talk is not sabre-rattling, the
Irish language faces extinction as a living language in Waterford within 10-15
years if the current trend is not reversed immediately. We will only
realise the significance of this when it is far too late. Having first
introduced Irish-language-speaking conditions on planning permissions for
housing estates in the Déise Gaeltacht in 2003, in 2006, 3 years later, we know
of no system put in place to actually implement these conditions.

This is awful news.

Slán

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | North East/N Isles | Excavation unearths burial site

Archaeologists believe they may have discovered one of the oldest churches in Scotland during an excavation in Aberdeen.

They are awaiting test results which will confirm whether they have uncovered a religious burial site dating back to the 6th Century.

The find was made during Scotland's biggest archaeological dig in the east kirk of St Nicholas Church.

So far 300 skeletons have been unearthed, far more than expected.



BBC NEWS UK Scotland North East/N Isles Excavation unearths burial site

USATODAY.com - Were letters inspired by nature?

Carrying on from the investigations into the possible origins fo writing http://silverwolf.batcave.net/Ogham/Phosphenes.html I have found the above article about the possible origins of letter shapes from the natural shapes found in nature.

Natural shapes, contours found outdoors, appear to be the inspiration for
letters in most alphabets, concludes a study in The American Naturalist
journal.

In the study, essentially a computer analysis of letter shapes led by
theoretical neurobiologist Mark Changizi of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena, Calif., the researchers sorted letters by their
"topology," not their basic shape. Topology is the branch of math that
classifies and characterizes shapes.

Although this theory has a lot going for it, I think that there is a basic flaw which may be more a matter of perspective than of error. The evidence for a correspondence between the shapes in nature and the shapes of early writing is probably quite strong, but this does not address the issue of why choose to write in the first place. What prompted the evolution of a complete system of linguistic representation using geometric patterns (or natural patterns, come to that)?

In the study then, a letter like X equals any character written as two-slashes
that meet anywhere, like a "+" sign. And an "L" is the same as a "V". The team
concentrated its study on 36 two or three-segment shapes ("N" is an example of a
three-segment shape) across 97 writing systems. Looking at 1,442 letters, the
team checked the frequency of each shape, and measured how well they matched
4,759 Chinese characters and 3,538 "nonlinguistic" symbols, such as musical
notation or traffic symbols. They ran the same analysis against random scratches
and children's scribbles as a test of the method.

This may relate to the fact that whatever culture developed a particular writing system still has the same physiological construction as any other culture. This may be closer in explanation to the Phosphene theory.

Worth watching this researcg, I feel.

Slán

USATODAY.com - The hullabaloo about hobbits

More information about the little people found on the island of Flores in Indonesia.

As reported by the discovery team led by Michael Morwood of Australia's
University of New England and Tony Djubiantono of the Indonesian Centre for
Archaeology, the hobbits stood about three feet tall, and had surprisingly small
brains for critters that seemed to have scattered tools around Liang Bua cave on
Flores. Flores suffered a massive volcanic eruption around 12,000 years ago.
That may have wiped the creatures out but they have become the stuff of legend,
with islanders telling stories about the little people who once lived
there.

First reported in the journal Nature, the vituperation among
paleontologists surrounding the hobbit discovery has been almost as remarkable
as the hobbits themselves. For example, a competing archaeologist ran off with
LB1, the fossil hobbit described in the Nature report and bones from another,
returning them only after making damaging molds of the soft bones. (LB1 is the
"holotype" for the new species, sort of the gold standard by which a species is
recorded, making the damage more troubling.) Whether the hobbits are offshoots
of humanity or just brain-damaged pygmies has become a new scholarly debate in
the field of human origins.

What's all that about? What happened to honest scientific investigation?

Based on the analysis of microencephalic skulls, the team rules out the most
likely form of microencephaly for LB1. But the rest of the bones are too big a
mix to come to a definite conclusion about the ancestry of the hobbits, other
than to say, judging by their "primitive" features, they must have spent a long
time on Flores, say two million years, even further back than Homo erectus. How
hobbits got there is another mystery. But "it's attribution to a new species,
Homo floresiensis, is supported," they conclude, even if we don't quite know
what they are.

Maybe the truth is still out there?

ABC News: Tripping Out: Scientists Study Mystical Effects of Mushrooms

July 11, 2006 — - This may come as no surprise to the flower children of
the 1960s, but in one of the few controlled human studies of a known illegal
hallucinogen, the active ingredient in "sacred mushrooms" created what
researchers are describing as deep mystical experiences that left many of the
study participants with a long lasting sense of well-being.

The controversial study, conducted by Johns Hopkins University of
Medicine, looked at whether a pill containing psilocybin, derived from the
psilocybe mushroom, would induce mystical experiences among 36 healthy adult
study participants. All had religious backgrounds, and all were also given the
active drug ingredient in the attention-deficit disorder drug, Ritalin, at a
separate time as a comparison.

The results were clear: Sixty percent of the psilocybin group elicited
behaviors consistent with a "full mystical experience" as measured by
psychological scales. Two months later, about 79 percent of the group reported
"moderately to greatly increased" well-being or life satisfaction.

I believe there has always been a strong connection between hallucinogens and shamanism. A lot more research on my part is necessary here and I hope others will help me out, but it would be fascinating to know what herbs the ancient celts had access to to stimulate these experiences, if any.

Slán

Discovery Channel :: News - Archaeology :: Stonehenge-Like Tomb Also Marks Solstice

Bryn Celli Ddu - "The Mound in a Dark Grove"

This 6,000 year old monument is aligned to the Midsummer sun.

Discovery Channel :: News - Archaeology :: Stonehenge-Like Tomb Also Marks Solstice

June 22, 2006 — An ancient British tomb monument contemporary with the first phase of Stonehenge’s construction suggests one prehistoric culture built the two structures to mark the summer solstice, according to archaeologists.
The tomb is called Bryn Celli Ddu, which in Welsh translates to "the mound in a dark grove." It is located on the island of Anglesey off the northwest coast of Wales. New radiocarbon dating of postholes outside of the burial monument determined the mound is over 6,000 years old. Stonehenge dates to around 2800 B.C., but some historians think it could be much older.

Although Stonehenge and the mound were erected at approximately the same time, Burrow told Discovery News that the construction of the mound "reflects a much older tradition."

Since the Salisbury Plain megalith also marks the winter solstice, some archaeologists have argued that winter may have been a more important time for its builders. Summer now appears to have been at the heart of many probable early rituals.

Fascinating stuff, innit?

Slán

Witchvox Article

Related to the study of plants associasted with Ogham, to me it sdeems fairly obvious that celtic knowldge of herbs and ehaling would be remembered with Ogham associations. This article on WitchVox could be useful:

Witchvox Article

It says:

Herbs , as most of us already know , have different spiritual, medicinal and medical properties. Spiritually, they can aid healing and cleansing of thespirit/soul , mind and/or heart (and chakras.) Medicinally, they can assist in the healing of physical ailments and/or illnesses , and magically, they can aid in the casting and/or production of spells and/or bending of the will toward the acquisition of personal desires. If we study herbology long and hard enough, we can learn how to use herbs to our benefit in each of these ways.

This is not something I can see myself becoming expert at :) However, the other half is pretty handy with herbs, so perhaps I can nudge her to write an article on two on the subject for us!

Slán

So Much More Than Fairy Stories (from The Northern Echo)

A new book explains how shield yourself from spells. Sheila Weber reports.

DID you know that Weardale has more than its fair share of faeries? Or that Yorkshire has an abundance of hobgoblins and such?

A new book spotlights the host of strange sightings of supernatural beings who inhabit these parts and, indeed, the British Isles in general.

So Much More Than Fairy Stories (from The Northern Echo)

The Book is called 'Fairies and Folklore' by Elizabeth Andrews

Slán

Commitment to community what our ancient Brehon Law can teach us in today's Ireland - Tuam Herald

This wonderful article in the Unison newspaper in Ireland, had the following to say about Brehon Law:

Under the Brehon Laws women had more rights and protection than under any other western code of law until recent times. There was no 'glass ceiling' setting a limit on how high a woman could progress. They were political leaders, judges, physicians and led their people in battle. They were protected in law not just against rape but also against sexual harassment and discrimination. Were they to be hospitalised they would be supported by a sick benefit. They were not financially totally dependent on their partner and had an equal right to divorce.

It strikes me that this equalitarian freedom applied to women under Celtic law is something that our modern societies could learn from our ancestors. Seeing that these laws were created (or at least written down) at the time of Saint Patrick, there is a good chance that earlier Celtic views on Law are represented. I must find out more about Brehon Law.


Commitment to community what our ancient Brehon Law can teach us in today's Ireland - Tuam Herald

Slán

New Scientist Breaking News - New hobbit bones bolster separate species claim

I found this fascinating article on New Scientist that brought back to mind the discovery of the miniature skeletons in 2005. The question is: were they a separate species? What other types of extinct might be discovered?

I have always wondered about the origins of mythological creatures. Unicorns, pegasi and multitudes of fantastic creatures recorded almost globally (OK, well I exaggerate a bit!) may have some basis in history. Being of a romantic nature, I find the concept very exciting.

The stories of dwarves (and indeed giants) are well recorded in many myths - the Norse being a prime example. Fey stories in Irish lore are often associated with Little People. Perhaps, in addition to the dimunition of ancient peoples, these tales actually record encounters with other species?

New Scientist Breaking News - New hobbit bones bolster separate species claim

Slán

Silverwolf's Blog

I have created a Flickr account (Yahoo site) and uploaded the celtic photographs to it. As we explore more and more, I shall keep this account up to date with our photographic journals :)

You can find it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47733744@N00/.

Most of my time is spent updating the Tir Na mBeo website. More ogham details have been entered and an article on celtic history.

See more here: http://silverwolf.batcave.net.

Slán

Celtic Warrior on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

What an amazing work of art!

Celtic Warrior on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Slán

Tir Na mBeo : The Celts

Not much to report at the moment, we have been stuck into updating the website. My other half (some say better) has written an article on mythological celtic history, the Ogham sections have been expanded (yet again) and double-checking all links to external sites is a nightmare!

Still, it is looking good - I only hope people enjoy it and find it useful.

Tir Na mBeo : The Celts

Slán

Tir Na mBeo : Ogham : Associations

Ogham Associations

A new article has been added to our Research site, Tir Na mBeo, about the traditional associations of the Ogham letters.

This article describes the traditional associations with the Ogham staves. Assocations are a way of linking the Ogham symbols with other symbols. These symbol links are necessary to a diviner or one using them as part of a magical system. A linked symbol allows the mind to tread pathways that may not have been foreseen or expected. The psychic faculty is extended in such a search and the mind open to influence by the fey.

The full lists can be found here.

Tir Na mBeo : Ogham : Associations

Slán

The 'Batcave' has been updated

The updating of our study research website has gone on another stage further. All of the dead links have been removed, and some of the background material has been supplied. A new article on the classification of fey by faerieruth has been added, although it is not complete yet. Read more here.

Site search facilities, privacy policy and contact us pages have also been added.

Enjoy the site.

Slán

Silverwolf

Celtic Shamanism?

This article proposes that the details of Celtic religio-magical practice are not shamanic. It summarises a lot of practices that we have literary evidence for and argues that these practices do not meet Mircea Eliade's traditional definition of shamanism.

I have hoped to accomplish three things in this article. The first is to
show that 'shamanism' is not a religion, but rather a technical term used to
denote a well-defined set of practices and mythology. Furthermore, it is my hope
that I have shown that these practices are but components found within a greater
cultural milieu. Without the context of the culture those practices themselves
have no purpose, no understanding, no focus. Lastly, I hope that I have shown
that we of Gaelic culture do not have to rely on such a vague and misleading
title as 'shaman'. To the contrary, each skill and art has a name that holds an
understanding, power and full body of knowledge that is its own. These jobs
were/are fully empowered by the understandings of their culture. These are what
we call those who have done special things in our culture. We have no shamans,
and our religion is not 'shamanism'.

The article is well worth a read, and the references at the end cry out to be pursued.

Clannada na Gadelica - Gaelic Traditionalist Resource Site

Slán

Phosphenes and Entoptic Images

Phosphenes and the Origin of Symbol and Script

I encountered the following paragraph in Pennick's book about Alphabets when doing some background reading for Ogham study.

Historically, it was from the Phoenician script that Greek originated. But modern research on human perception may provide us with another possibility, one embedded deep within our own human consciousness. Modern neurophysiology has identified phosphenes, geometrical shapes and images that are present subconsciously in the visual cortex and neural system. These are present in all humans: they are described as entopic (sic), being visible when the eyes are shut. They can also be seen when the consciousness is altered by some means: during meditation, in trance, or in hallucinations induced by fatigue, illness or drugs. Geometric shapes related to letters are often perceived in the early stages of trance.

These states of consciousness are the domain of the shaman, the human who treads the thin line between life and death in her or her quest for enlightenment.

--- p.5, "The Secret Lore of Runes and other Ancient
Alphabets", Nigel Pennick, Rider, 1991. ISBN: 0-7126-3963-2 Go to Amazon

If this is true, then it is possible that the origins of script lie in internal perception rather than in an arbitrary construction of a symbol system (alphabet) used to describe pictorially or phonically.

I did some resesarch on this and the results can be found here: http://silverwolf.batcave.net/Ogham/Phosphenes.html.

Fascinating stuff!

Slán

New Blog

This is a testing blog on the new Blogspot site....

How does it look? What sort of features can I find here that might be of interest to readers? Dunno.....

These and many other questions to be answered later..

Slán