Wiltshire forum 25 room
Image by Chance
close
more_vert

I know what you mean. And I don't like to sound an utter cynic, because it'll probably appeal to certain people, and that sort of person will be jolly happy to be popped in a 21st century pseudo longbarrow for eternity, and good luck to them. I mean it's not like you get much of a choice in the end. Mr Rh and I have plans to feed the vultures at the local safari park. But the management probably aren't going to go for it. So it's nice to get a shelf (very neat and I thought a bit ikeaesque) in the new barrow, it's something different from the usual. And that farmer / builder is happy to oblige and happy to take their money. And fair enough. Happy all round. Go for it.

But I can see your point, that it's not really about burying a community of people with shared beliefs and ideas (beyond 'ooh I'd like to be buried in a long barrow') wot is what would have been important to the original long-barrow users. And so your reasons for wanting to be in there seem a bit more flimsy because you don't know what the original views of the longbarrow internees were? Maybe it's like a modern egyptian wanting to be popped into a pyramid (although we know a bit more about ancient egypt because of hieroglyphics). It's going to be a kind of fringe choice. A bit like the vultures.

aah let them get on with it I guess.

Aye, i've absolutely nothing against anybody wanting to do it, if the thought of it makes them happy and they feel its right for them then good luck to them, absolutely.

But, yes, it seems whatever was going on at, say, West Kennet in 3600BC was pretty specific and those bones being in the chambers could represent a hundred thousand different things in terms of culture. And like you've said it may very well be that it was a community with shared beliefs etc, and they would have had very clear ideas about (I imagine) what they 'were at'.

Buuuuut.. a thought has just struck me. (2 in 1 day, christ, oops, no i mean god, oops, no, i mean blimey).
I suppose later cultures DID bury their dead at older sites.. Buuuut.. they were actual special sites with a history. The beaker folk (lovely drinking vessels they had) didn't construct new Long Barrows on new sites.. they re-used the old ones.

Oofph, i'm getting confused now.

I think my point is, a continuation of a tradition is 'acceptable' but this is a new thing acting as if its a continuation. I think. Am i right?