Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington. | Forum

Liddington Warren Farm 1

Image by GLADMAN

Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.

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megalith6 Aug 21, 2013 04:09:45

Replying to Rhiannon

Well, before anyone jumps down my throat again (should be getting used to that by now) I did say the suggested figures were very "reminiscent" of Lleu and Blodeuwedd's saga, I'm not saying they *are* this story. But it wouldn't surprise me if they were. British folk culture is deep - we know how deep thanks to the incredible story of the Cheddar Gorge Man. What appeals to me so much about the imagery is the owl symbol because it reminds me a lot of this - it is the most convincing image for me at Foxhill, if indeed it is an owl?

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_image.aspx?image=ps140811.jpg&retpage=21257

I personally think the Cerne Abbas Giant is a folly; I think the Uffington White Horse is genuine but I wonder if it was always a horse? I do believe Celtic lore can stretch back into prehistory because the Iron Age culture came after the Bronze Age, the cultural continuity only disrupted by the Romans - which is tragic - but I think enough remained to piece together what was lost, some of it at any rate, one day. But a great deal is cultural amnesia: what was Wayland's Smithy called before Wayland - it surely had a name? Some things we may never know now.

Cerne is a Celtic place name, it means cairn. The fact that the Church planted an abbey there makes me wonder if Cerne was not a significant location in pre-Christian times, the archaeology there seems to suggest that it was?

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cairn

A cairn can be a sepulchral monument and there are plenty of barrows dotted around Cerne Abbas - and a holy well

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/a558/a312/gallery/England/Dorset/cernewell_pc101649.jpg

tiompan Aug 21, 2013 10:36:13

Replying to megalith6

megalith6 wrote:

Well, before anyone jumps down my throat again (should be getting used to that by now)..British folk culture is deep - we know how deep thanks to the incredible story of the Cheddar Gorge Man.

I hestiated in replying as any negative response might be seen as throat jumping , it isn't , merely cautionary .
The Cheddar man story is not a continuation of folk lore and the Sykes aspect should maybe be taken with a pinch of salt . A bit like the fag smoking coke snorting mummy the potential level of contamination in these "studies " would never be seen today and must be seen as a possibility ,a retest if possible would be good .Another problem is that the haplotype was mt U5 which is incredibly common in Europe (11%) and Mr Targett may just as well be related to a viking or BA immigrant .

tjj Aug 21, 2013 14:05:55

Replying to megalith6

Far from jumping down your throat, I think this has the potential to be a fascinating mystery. It's a given that most hill figures (certainly the white horses of Wiltshire) are not prehistoric - many are relatively recent. The exception being the Uffington White Horse, which as you pointed out may well have looked quite different to how it looks today.

I think the Foxhill image, which may well have existed as a land figure, may be medieval. I've been looking at illustrations of medieval rural life and there are similarities in the clothes.
http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/medieval/rural/rurallife.html

Also, the owl was not necessarily a good omen in the Middle Ages, the opposite in fact.
http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast245.htm

Could be this image was a depiction of something rather more unpleasant than our current folk-lore inclinations suggest.

nigelswift Aug 21, 2013 14:30:39

Replying to megalith6

I'm still a bit puzzled about what it is that is casting shadows.