Idol bugger | Forum — The Modern Antiquarian

FourWinds Mar 30, 2003 23:16:01

Replying to Annexus Quam

Well, they did find these at Knowth

http://www.megalithomania.com/show_site.php?site_id=0&image=1052

The inset is an extremely phallic thing. It was discovered at the entrance to one of the passages in an oval setting of quartz stones.

There was a broken, plain version of this found in a similar position at Newgrange.

At a few Irish sites some tablets similar to the Iberian ones have been found, but surprisingly they are more associated with court tombs, which predate passage tombs .... hhhmmm

It has been suggested that the tombs at Carrowkeel could have been painted. There has never been any proof found of this, but the theory was proposed because the limstone there is totally unsuited to carved decoration. Jury's out on that one.

Personally I like the Mr & Mrs Stone outside the one passage at Knowth ... seen here being propostitioned my one Holy McGrail <cough>

http://www.megalithomania.com/show_site.php?site_id=0&image=1054

Annexus Quam Mar 30, 2003 23:32:55

Replying to FourWinds

mmm, weird, intriguing. any clues when they date from? seem to be post-2,000 BC? I mean, Knowth and Newgrange had long expiry dates, didn't they? the mace looks like the stuff presented in the book Prehistory of Sex by the way.

As for painting, I understand the concerns about limestone but there is strong evidence in passage graves of painting on (granite obviously) stone slabs. The colour red is paramount and it was accompanied by black. The fact that it is no longer there does not mean that possibly all of them were painted. Slate too loses a layer with time, perhaps...

The totem thing sounds so logical. An earlier Mesolithic tradition carried on into the Neolithic?

BlueGloves Mar 31, 2003 08:33:47

Replying to FourWinds

That pairing of yin and yang shape is very frequent - http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/image.php?image_id=12695 . Often the pair are closer than this ! In the type of stone rows where there's a double line of upright stones, close together, it's possible that they were paired as black and white/male and female.

Other than that I'd describe Rock Art found in the Pennines as 'very dull'. It's the best evidence for supposing that the dour bluntness of the population was well established back then.

Megalithic Art