Showing 1-50 of 118 posts. Most recent first | Next 50 
London Stone: Making a Myth
Lecture. Museum of London, Tuesday, 13 April. 6.30-8pm. Free.
"John Clark has recently retired from a long and distinguished career as Senior Curator (Medieval) at the Museum of London. In this talk he investigates the strange history of London Stone, the mysterious block of limestone that currently sits, ignored by passers-by, in an alcove in the wall of a building opposite Cannon Street Station."
More here - http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/london-stone-making-a-myth-3/
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Avebury - megaliths & myths
"A lecture at the University of Bath will explore the theories and myths surrounding Avebury stone circle.
"In the lecture on Wednesday 24 February, Roger Vlitos will give an illustrated lecture that compares and contrasts the beliefs of those who manage the site, with others who claim it as their traditional shrine."
More here - http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2010/02/15/pl-avebury/
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CABE hits out at plans for the proposed £20m visitor centre
"Its footpaths are "tortuous", the roof likely to "channel wind and rain" and its myriad columns – meant to evoke a forest – are incongruous with the vast landscape surrounding it."
"So says the government's design watchdog over plans for a controversial £20m visitor centre at Stonehenge, the megalithic jewel in England's cultural crown. CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, has criticised the design of the proposed centre, claiming the futuristic building by Denton Corker Marshall does little to enhance the 5,000-year-old standing stones which attract more than 800,000 visitors each year."
More here – http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/feb/07/stonehenge-city-garden-visitor-centre
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Stonehenge surrounded by two circular hedges?
A survey of the Stonehenge landscape suggests the monument was surrounded by two circular hedges.
Writing in the Guardian yesterday, Maeve Kennedy reports on the startling evidence of a Great Stonehenge Hedge. "Inevitably dubbed Stonehedge, the evidence from a new survey of the Stonehenge landscape suggests that 4,000 years ago the world's most famous prehistoric monument was surrounded by two circular hedges, planted on low concentric banks."
More here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/feb/04/stonehenge-hedge-discovery
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Bremore, Slane, Tara: How can we know the Dancer from the Dance?
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Evening Walks within the Stones
"Inspect and photograph (for non-commercial purposes only) the stones closely, and see the inscriptions, including the famous 'daggers' believed to date from prehistoric times and wander at will inside the circle..."
Walks will be led by David Dawson and will take place on -
10 June - 8.45pm to 9.45pm
14 June - 8.45pm to 9.45pm
9 July - 7.30pm to 8.30pm
More here - http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/events/index.php?Action=2&thID=500&prev=1
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Wiltshire museums join forces to tell story of Stonehenge
"English Heritage, the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, and the Wiltshire Heritage Museum have agreed to collaborate on presenting and interpreting the story of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site.
"The two museums will make loans from their collections to English Heritage for display in the proposed new visitor centre, while English Heritage will assist the two museums with their own displays and enhancing their archives to support the co-ordinated approach."
More here - http://wiltshireheritagemuseum.blogspot.com/2010/01/wiltshire-museums-join-forces-to-tell.html
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Giants of the Royal Society
Bill Bryson, writing in The Times today, pays homage to (among others) John Lubbock who, "...was a banker by profession, but was in addition a distinguished botanist, astronomer, expert on the social behaviour of insects, politician and antiquarian. Among much else, he coined the terms palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic in 1865. But his real contribution to life was to push through Parliament the first Ancient Monuments Protection Act, which became law in 1882. People forget how much of Britain's historic fabric was nearly destroyed in the past. Before Lubbock's intervention, nearly half of Avebury was cleared away for housing, and at one point it was even threatened that Stonehenge, then still in private hands, might be dismantled and shipped to America. Without Lubbock, many stone circles, tumuli and other historical features of the landscape would have vanished long ago.
More here -
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article6979468.ece
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To Wedge Tombs and the Wild (and William O'Brien)
"The latest issue of Archaeology Ireland has reported the first dating evidence, ever, from a Burren area wedge tomb."
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Archaeology 2010
Archaeology 2010 is a two day conference at the British Museum from the 26-28 February 2010 (the presentation of heritage research awards is on Friday, the 26 February and is free and open to anyone, although reservations are needed).
On Saturday, 27 February The Stonehenge Riverside Project will be discussed. Participants for the session include Dr Mike Parker Pearson, Professor of Archaeology, Sheffield, University and co-director of the Stonehenge Riverside Project. Dr Josh Pollard, Reader in Archaeology, University of Bristol and co-director of the Stonehenge Riverside Project. Dr Julian Thomas, Professor of Archaeology, University of Manchester and co-director of the Stonehenge Riverside Project. The Moderator for the session will be Julian Richards.
More here – http://www.archaeology.co.uk/london-2010/london-2010.htm
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Magic mountain yields jade axes
"Jade is normally associated with imperial China, notably the Han Dynasty burial suits made up of hundreds of jade plaques linked with gold wire; or with the Ancient Maya in Central America, where royal burials were often smothered in jade necklaces and carved objects. Prehistoric Europe is not usually thought of as society that used jade, but recent studies have shown that superb polished axes of green jadeites were traded from the Alps to the Channel 6,500 years ago, reaching Britain shortly thereafter."
The Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes holds a superb example of a jadeite axe from Breamore (mentioned in The Times article above and here - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article6497835.ece )
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Stargazing from inside Stonehenge: a unique winter solstice opportunity. But are you too late?
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Tara: The Damage Forever Done
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"Video about the finds from Bush Barrow, presented by Phil Harding of Wessex Achaeology, perhaps best known for his appearances on Time Team."
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The power of dogu: ceramic figures from ancient Japan
"Dogu are from the earliest-dated tradition of pottery manufacture in the world, dating to the prehistoric Jomon period, which began 16,000 years ago. Most of the figures in the exhibition are from about 2500 BC to 1000 BC (the Middle and Late Jomon periods) and show the development of the sculptural form over time."
The exhibition is in Room 91 at the British Museum until 22 November 2009. Admission free.
More here - http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/all_current_exhibitions/the_power_of_dogu.aspx
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M3, Co. Meath: The End of the Road
"These monuments were irretrievably damaged, however, in some cases destroyed and for what? The route chosen wasn't the only possibility, but viable alternatives were dismissed without a second look. In hindsight and given the collapse of the economy, the motorway itself may not even have been necessary. Some people obviously thought so. As has recently been revealed, Eurolink were given a minimum traffic guarantee, which surely indicates prior consideration, if not expectation, of low usage levels.
"Anyone with half an eye on national events will concede that this is a country where the elite are in and out of each others pockets, smoothing their respective ways along. You wouldn't have to be particularly conspiracy-minded to smell something fishy in the alterations of laws when they prove inconvenient to 'progress'. Or the swift 'about-face' of the Greens when they arrived in Government. Why was this route and project, opposed by the EU, prominent archaeologists and a significant body of the public, untouchable?"
More here - http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/m3-co-meath-the-end-of-the-road/
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The Stonehenge Riverside Project - Recent Results
"The Annual General Meeting of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society will take place at Devizes Town Hall, commencing at 2.30pm (10 October, 2009). This will be followed by a lecture from Prof. Mike Parker Pearson.
"Mike's talk is entitled 'The Stonehenge Riverside Project - Recent Results'. It is sure to be very popular so advance booking is essential. If you are interested in attending the lecture contact 01380 727369..."
More here - http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/events/index.php?Action=2&thID=442&prev=1
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Keeping Up Appearances
"About 4,500 years ago some inhabitants of Britain suddenly started wearing and being buried with jewellery. Subsequent centuries saw objects being fashioned out of amber, jet, gold, copper, bone and faience in a bewildering variety of forms."
A lecture entitled 'Prehistoric Jewellery in Britain and Beyond' by Ben Roberts will be held at the Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Devizes from 2:30 pm on Saturday, 24 October 2009. More here - http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/events/index.php?Action=2&thID=444&prev=3&catID=4
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The Celts in China
"Mummies, possibly of 'Celtic' origin and some 3,000 years old, have been unearthed in the Tarim Basin of western China for nearly 100 years. 'Cherchen Man' is just one of these but one of the most interesting. Cherchen Man is tall, red haired and wears a red tunic and tartan leggings. His mummified body, along with others, are now kept in Urumqi City Museum in Xinjiang province. Perhaps even more interesting are the burial sites where Cherchen Man and his people are found – these bear signs of a Celtic influence and include standing stones similar to British dolmens as well as icons reminiscent of sheela-na-gigs."
More here - http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/the-celts-in-china/
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A theory on the symbolism behind portal dolmens
Bachwen, Gwynedd: Some thoughts on Portal Dolmens, by Gordon Kingston is an interesting and thought-provoking feature on the symbolism behind portal dolmens. The author suggests that "...our monuments, particularly this type, had to be more than a burial utility with a common form, but an architecture that spoke. Whose voice would have caused wonder, awe, fear even."
More here - http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/
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Bonds Garage housing development
"The continued destruction of prehistoric monuments is a fact which I am sure we all deeply regret, and which reflects little credit on us as a nation. This year a portion of "Abury", the grandest monument of its kind in this country (perhaps in the world), was actually sold for building purposes in cottage allotments."
Sir John Lubbock speaking to the Anthropological Institute on 15th of January 1872.
"Recently the current statutory guardians of Avebury, English Heritage, expressed their opposition to the development of the site of the adjacent Bonds Garage for housing yet then failed to exercise their available powers towards it, thus allowing building to go ahead – which it will shortly – thus blighting the northern approach to Sir John's 'grandest monument of its kind in this country (perhaps in the world)' forever."
More here - http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/
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Stonehenge: University of Oxford one day course
Course on Saturday 23 January 2010 with Tim Darvill, Josh Pollard, Mike Parker Pearson, Julian Thomas and Amanda Chadburn.
"Stonehenge is rarely out of the headlines these days, whether as the focus of a new theory about the beliefs of prehistoric people, the subject of exciting new research into the Neolithic past, or the quest for improvements to the local road pattern and visitor infrastructure."
Programme details at http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/details.php?id=O09P146AHJ#Abstract
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Inspired by Stonehenge
An exhibition featuring memorabilia about Stonehenge opened at Wiltshire Heritage Museum on 16 May and runs to 20 September 2009.
"Inspired by Stonehenge focuses on the changing ways the monument has inspired and been experienced by visitors throughout the past two centuries. Well-known archaeologist and broadcaster Julian Richards, who has publicised extensively about Stonehenge, has, as guest curator, compiled the exhibition and written the exhibition catalogue. It is hoped the exhibition will rekindle not only concern for the monument, but a willingness to embrace and take care of Wiltshire's wilder heritage."
More here - http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/news/?Action=8&id=75&home=1
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The Stonehenge Olympics II
Hmm... getting a funny sense of Déjà vu here. See - http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/user/4131/weblog/
In the latest edition of British Archaeology, Mike Pitts (editor) writes, "As we go to press, Stonehenge's future is still unresolved, and the likelihood that anything sensible can be achieved by 2012 is fast diminishing."
Yup, the operative word here being 'sensible' (though the word 'anything' is a close contender).
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Pulling in to a dead-end bit of road by Alton Priors church (now closed off by a farm gate) I was about to head across the field towards the church when a herd of cows started ambling by with a few of their calves in tow; I held back behind the gate to let them pass (good thing too because the cows were being gently herded forward by a very handsome and very big black bull). Halfway across the field, and between the gate and the church, I passed someone coming in the opposite direction. The gentleman turned out to be the landowner and he told me, as we stood chatting in his field, that his family had farmed the area for more than a hundred years (and that the big black bull was really a bit of a softie).
I asked the gentleman if the church was open and he assured me that it was. I asked him if he knew anything about the sarsen stones under the church floor and he assured me they were there. We talked a little more and then he casually mentioned that I should also take a look at the 1,700 year-old yew tree in the churchyard and the spring that rose close by. I thanked him for his time and we parted.
The church was indeed open. Hot English summer without, cool sacredness within. Just your regular little country church. But where were the trapdoors leading to another sacredness? I ambled about the church for a bit then spotted a trapdoor that was partly boarded over and couldn't be lifted.* Disappointed, I was about to leave when I spotted another trapdoor. Kneeling alone there in the silence, slowly pulling the clasp and watching as the trapdoor lifted to reveal a sarsen stone below was... mmm... more than a little magical.
I went outside and spent some time under the ancient yew tree in the churchyard - then tried to find the spring that the farmer had mentioned. I found the stream but everything else was too overgrown and the day too hot to look for more.
Alton Priors is a very, very special place. A little church built upon a sarsen circle set in the Vale of Pewsey. I've been to a lot of circles but none have had the sense of continuity that Alton Priors has. Go there and be at home (the church is open during the summer months; at other times the key can be obtained from one of the nearby houses).
* Since writing this the larger of the two trapdoors can now be lifted revealing a stone beneath. There is also a sarsen under the north-east buttress.
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Showing 1-50 of 118 posts. Most recent first | Next 50
Studied art and design at Swindon School of Art, Wiltshire, England and afterwards Japanese painting and calligraphy at Kyoto University of Fine Arts, Kyoto, Japan.
In 1966 I was a lay monk at the Zen Buddhist temple of Ryozen-an in Kyoto and practiced under the guidance of its Director, Ruth Fuller-Sasaki and senior monk Dana R Fraser (co-translator of Layman P'ang: A Ninth Century Zen Classic).
Also present at Ryozen-an was the author and poet Gary Snyder. Gary Snyder was one of the first Westerners in Japan to study Zen Buddhism and was the inspiration for Jack Kerouac's book, The Dharma Bums.
I was assistant conservator (paintings) at Kyoto National Museum from 1969-1980 and Chief Conservator (Eastern Pictorial Art) at the British Museum from 1980-1986. Japan Foundation Fellow 1973-1974 and Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works since 1985.
Interests include ancient history, classical music, comparative religion, the fine arts, poetry and writing.
Home: Chelmsford, Essex ENGLAND
weblogs:
Avebury Matters http://aveburymatters.blogspot.com/
Megalithic Poems http://megalithicpoems.blogspot.com/
Silbury
http://silbury-hill.blogspot.com/
The moral right of the author with regard to text, illustrations and photographs has been asserted.
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