Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington. | Forum

Liddington Warren Farm 1

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Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.

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Rhiannon Aug 18, 2013 09:25:42

Replying to megalith6

If Bryn Walters is such an archaeologist, why is the Swindon Advertiser piece full of such utterly speculative stuff as "And today it can be revealed that for the best part of 3,000 years a hillside near Swindon was the site of an epic chalk carving of a giant spearman." - Even if a figure was ever there, what proper archaeologist would encourage them to print that it's 3000 years old?

"For many years – possibly several centuries – it was located alongside an equally impressive chalk figure thought to depict the Saxon god Woden." - what's this all about then, one figure not enough? OH I SEE you can't have Woden in a neolithic carving can you, he's not been invented yet because he's Saxon apparently? So that bit was later, ok?

If this isn't all utter bilge I will eat my copy of the Owl Service. Please don't drag medieval Welsh stories into it. It's got nothing to do with the Mabinogion, that is Welsh - the names are all Welsh, the places are specifically mentioned eg Dyfed, Ardudwy, Dinas Dinlle, Caer Arionrhod, the river Cynvael, and lots of the action goes on near the sea. Not Swindon. Which is not named at all and is a very long way from the sea.

I wouldn't mind, but all this does nothing for the public profile of actual prehistory, it just makes anyone interested in it look like a fruitcake in association. In the 1970s it wouldn't have been a 'man with a spear' it would have been an astronaut you know. He looks like an astronaut to me, with his space helmet. I think the site was like the Nazca lines, it was a message to the space aliens to land near Swindon.

Sanctuary Aug 18, 2013 10:08:54

Replying to Rhiannon

Rhiannon wrote:

He looks like an astronaut to me, with his space helmet. I think the site was like the Nazca lines, it was a message to the space aliens to land near Swindon.

:-)

nigelswift Aug 18, 2013 10:32:53

Replying to Rhiannon

Well I'm glad someone else has thought the B word (ollocks!) In this game there's an increasing tendency to say people who have a default position of doubting are closed minded - but actually evidence is quite a good thing to base opinions on and if it ain't there it rather matters.

It was doubt that led me to ask about the dotted and solid lines. If the solid lines are speculative the figure pretty much loses 2 legs and the owl becomes mono-occular. (Course, if I'm wrong, hurrah!)

And the spear. Gerroff. Who carries a spear like that? So why say it IS a spear?

megalith6 Aug 18, 2013 13:49:27

Replying to Rhiannon

Rhiannon wrote:

If Bryn Walters is such an archaeologist, why is the Swindon Advertiser piece full of such utterly speculative stuff...

Bryn Walters is the Director of the Association for Roman Archaeology. The journalistic spiel sounds about right for this type of reporting, I doubt it follows Bryn's material that closely. I am unconvinced by the 'Woden' figure but this is an issue - British academia is largely departmental if not tribal with experts defending their own knowledge base and with much less awareness of neighboring eras: Bryn's specialism is the Roman age. With regard to Welsh mythology the majority of Britain spoke a Brythonic tongue before the Romans (and the Roman Church) introduced Latin and the Anglo-Saxons introduced West Germanic to eastern Britain, so it would be remarkable if Welsh folk tales such as found in the Mabinogion were not also current throughout the rest of Britain. Welsh place names in southern Britain supports Welsh culture here, such as place names like Dover, Andover and the River Avon. In terms of North Wales, the action you speak of would seem to have taken place on the banks of a tributary of the Cynfael and not the Cynfael itself, the water course in question being the Afon Bryn Saeth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llech_Ronw

nigelswift Feb 12, 2016 08:30:37

Replying to Rhiannon

"it was a message to the space aliens to land near Swindon."

They already have, and they've interbred.