Experts have successfully removed all traces of graffiti which had been daubed onto the ancient Skara Brae settlement on Orkney.
Poultices made up of a solvent and paper pulp were applied to the graffiti and left to take effect.
This removed much of the marker, but two further poultices with a different combination of solvents were then added to remove the remaining residue.
Story here
Whiteleaf Cross. A hill carving is set in the Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire and there are many varied tales as to how it became so.
The earliest reference to it is from a charter dated 903ad stating it as a boundary marker of a phallic nature, yet as a cross it is first shown noted in the parish records in 1742, but also supposedly depicted in a 14th century tile at nearby St.Dunstans Church. During the 1400s Monks came to the region and one theory states that it was they who carved the Cross piece adapting the previous Pagan marker to suit their needs to help convert the people of that region as it was the last remaining region of the native English Celt.
The area prior to their arrival was known locally as Waylands Stock, and most likely first named so by the Saxons on finding the Neolithic hill carving, Wayland being the ancient Deity of Smith workers, and stock referring in those days to a phallus.
At the top of the Hill there is one of the only Neolithic round barrows in southern England plus two bowl barrows, and to add further evidence that this hill was sacred to our ancient ancestors it was a Beacon Hill and is also on a most ancient track way known as the Icknield Way.
Farming records show that crops grown below the hill and on that side of the Icknield way fetched a better price at market. The Earl of Buckingham added the triangular base in the 1900s and perhaps so to enable more Victorian folk to slide down on their faggots as for a time this was a rather popular thing to do.
A campaign is now underway calling for a revival interpretation to return the carving back to its former Phallus self.
Please feel free to paste and send the pre written email to [email protected]
or visit myspace.com/waylandstock
Dear Bucks County Council, please accept this email as a positive vote towards the reworking of Whiteleaf Cross restoring it back to its intended form in honour of our ancestors that held this region most sacred and fertile indeed.
The carving in its present form was carried out to sever us from our ancient heritage and beliefs.
The hill carving was known locally as Waylands Stock and is stated so in a charter from 903ad that also makes reference to a boundry marker of a phallic nature. The Monks of Monks Risborough it is thought obliterated its former glory in the 1400s by re carving it in to a cross.
It would be most fitting then for us now to rename the carving back to Waylands Stock,
and return it to its intended form as a massive Phallus standing most boldly erect upon the hillside.
The Time Line Notice Board.
Informing Bucks CC with the following email may just help bring about a re-think of their three-year decision. [email protected]
Dear Bucks CC. The Unsightly Time Line Urban Structure With Benches is to remain at the top of the hill for three years we are told. I am not disputing that folk may like a place to sit but I firmly believe that the Time Line with benches at present is most out of keeping with an area of outstanding natural beauty. These sorts of urban structures tend to attract graffiti and vandalism that further degenerates the tone of an area plus then costs the council tax payer in it’s up keep and care. Also I greatly fear that it raises people’s ideals and next we may find a baby and toddler changing area, café and virtual reality nature experience complex. More seriously though what I am trying to say is that once an urban structure such as this one is established in an area it really can pave the way for all sorts of other urban clutter. I do think however that having a place to sit could be better resolved by tree stumps or carved out tree trunks if folk really do feel that a place to sit is really necessary.
with HUGH NEWMAN – Sunday 5.30pm
a multimedia presentation at The FESTIVAL OF LIFE, St Paul’s Steiner Project
1 St Paul’s Road, Islington, London N1 2QH
STONE AGE SURVIVAL: Earth Energies, Megaliths & Ancient Nutrition
Hugh Newman has studied Naturopathic nutrition and alternative therapies for seven years. He also organises the ‘Megalithomania’ conference in Glastonbury and is an international speaker on megalithic science. His two favourite subjects, nutrition and megaliths have at last come together in his new research on stone age survival techniques. https://www.newhuman.co.uk, megalithomania.co.uk
In this talk Hugh will explore how the ancients used dowsing, big stones and magnetic earth energy currents to enhance seeds, promote fertility and re-mineralise their food. Agriculture began at the same time as the construction of stone circles. Is there a connection and do we need this knowledge today?
THE FESTIVAL OF LIFE is London’s First Vegetable Oil Powered Event! Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd September – 11am to 7pm@ St Paul’s Steiner Project
1 St Paul’s Road, Islington, London N1 2QH
0870 7344 888 – [email protected]
festivaloflife.net
“ENGLISH Heritage will not stop the Rotherwas access road being built, the Hereford Times can reveal.
Advisors from English Heritage have decided they are happy with Herefordshire Council’s plans to continue building the road over the archaeological discovery, termed the Rotherwas Ribbon, which dates back to the same period as Stonehenge.
Scientific advisors from the organisation have recommended that the engineering solution proposed by the council will provide long-term protection for the archaeological find.
Work to preserve the Ribbon under layers of protective membranes and sand has already begun and further work can now be carried out.
English Heritage is also considering financial support for further archaeological excavations outside of the road corridor to enable the Ribbon’s history to be more fully understood.
Despite the advice from English Heritage, councillors still have to consider a range of options to discuss how the Bronze Age monument can be best safeguarded for future generations.
These include abandoning the road, which the council says would cost £6 million, building a bridge at the cost of £10 million, or creating a £110 million tunnel underneath the Ribbon.
If any of these options are approved council officers are warning that the county faces serious financial challenges and other important projects would be halted.
Instead, officers are recommending that the building of the road continues, at a cost of £400,000, and that the existing find is protected, in line with archaeological best practice.
Additionally, the presumed course of the Ribbon, both north and south of the access road, should be investigated to ensure opportunities for tourism, heritage and education are explored.
The council stopped work on the road around the site of the Ribbon earlier this year when the significance of the find was established.
Plans to protect it were initially put on hold after public demands to see it – around 1,000 people were given escorted tours during July.”
From the Hereford Times
Irish Independent
EU threatens huge fines if Tara M3 work is not halted
Thursday August 30 2007
WORK on the controversial section of the M3 near the Hill of Tara must
now stop.
And the Government now faces the prospect of being hit with millions of
euro in fines if it allows construction to proceed.
The Irish Independent has learned that the EU Commission has told the
Goverment that no work can be carried out near the national monument
discovered at Lismullin, Co Meath.
And it has ordered that a comprehensive assessment of what impact the
road will have on the Tara Skryne Valley be carried out before the road
is built.
The warning came as a legal challenge was launched yesterday aimed at
stopping the proposed motorway.
Michael Canney from the Campaign to Save Tara group issued legal
proceedings against the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for
Transport, the National Roads Authority and Eurolink Ltd, the consortium
awarded the construction and tolling contract.
The case centres on how the route of the motorway was chosen and Mr
Canney alleges that a comprehensive assessment of each route was not
carried out in line with EU law before the ‘preferred’ route was chosen.
And the Irish Independent can reveal that the EU Commission has warned
the Government that Ireland is in breach of EU law by not carrying out a
second investigation after the discovery of a national monument along
the route.
Former Environment Minister Dick Roche, in one of his last acts in
office, issued a direction that the Lismullin monument be excavated
before the road is built over it.
But a spokesperson for EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said
yesterday that Ireland was in breach of EU law by not carrying out a
second Environmental Impact Assessment after the monument was discovered.
“At the moment we are still talking to the Irish authorities,” the
spokesperson said. “We want a second assessment. The road cannot be
built until the second assessment is done.
“We have a legal disagreement with Ireland. We are saying you have now
uncovered this national monument, and you cannot proceed until there is
a second assessment.”
In a separate development Michael Canney is seeking a court ruling that
construction works on the motorway should be halted pending the outcome
of the case currently being taken by the EU Commission.
The case is the first of three threatened legal challenges to the €800m
motorway planned to help ease congestion on the Dublin to Meath route.
Yesterday Mr Canney said it was being taken as a ‘last resort’ and
because the ‘political and commercial backers’ of the project had
ignored public concerns about the road.
“It has never been my ambition to put my name forward in a legal
challenge, especially a challenge against such a seemingly impregnable
array of powerful political and economic forces,” he said.
“I have only done so as a last resort, and only because it is absolutely
essential that the silent majority who oppose this road have their
concerns heard.”
.............................................
thisisdorset.net/display.var.1645001.0.giant_daubed_by_vigilante.php
RESIDENTS living close to the Cerne Abbas Giant are angry with campaigners after the famous landmark was vandalised.
A man from the Fathers 4 Justice group, which campaigns against family law favouring mothers, is thought to be behind the 40ft penis on the National Trust site being painted purple. The landmark was targeted overnight between Friday and Saturday by someone describing himself as the Westcountry’s ‘Purple Phantom’.
Cerne Abbas Parish Council chairman Peter Smith said: “This is particularly irritating because it has happened inside the enclosure that protects the giant.
The land there is sacrosanct because it is a special site. We don’t want people damaging it for obvious reasons.”
Purple is the international colour for equality.
Written beside the giant were the words Read Family Court Hell’ – a reference to a recently published book by Fathers 4 Justice campaigner Mark Harris.
The action follows a rash of purple doors being painted on to the offices of Cafcass, the court welfare service, in the Westcountry in recent weeks.
And it is not the first time the Cerne Abbas Giant has been targeted in the name of publicity. In July cartoon character Homer Simpson was painted next to the giant to promote the new Simpsons film. Mr Smith said residents had not objected to that because it had not damaged the 180ft carving – believed to aid fertility – and had brought more people to the area to visit.
A Fathers 4 Justice spokesman said: “We have no idea who this man is, but clearly he is a sympathiser to our cause, has read a book that has made him very angry. He sounds like a vigilante.”
15 Sep—2 Dec 2007. Main Galleries, Royal Academy of Arts, London.
“This exhibition explores the work and achievement of the Fellowship of the Society of Antiquaries of London since its foundation in the early eighteenth century to the present day.
“It features works of art, antiquities and manuscripts of unique historical importance, such as a processional cross of King Richard III and his defeated Yorkist army recovered from the battlefield of Bosworth (1485). Also on show will be the earliest known medieval manuscript illustrations of Stonehenge,* as well as drawings and paintings of this and other historic sites and monuments by great artists such as Constable, Turner, Girtin and Blake.“**
* The 15th century Scala Mundi manuscript?
** More at royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/makinghistory/ and royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/makinghistory/ charles-hamilton-smith-the-grand-conventional-festival-of-the-britons-1815,450,AR.html
News story in today’s Herald newspaper has more details about this:
theherald.co.uk/features/features/display.var.1645911.0.0.php
Thought provoking archaeological artiness at Kilmartin’s Neolithic sites, with NVA
nva.org.uk/
and the National Theatre of Scotland.
“A landowner, one of his tenants and a local trader were ordered to pay £15,065 in fines and costs for illegally dumping huge amounts of waste on land designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The case was brought by the Environment Agency.
In March 2006, the Environment Agency became aware that a significant amount of waste was dumped on land at an ancient hillfort at Tunley, three miles south west of Bath.
This is close to Tunley Farm, where the farm buildings have been converted to business units, owned by Stephen Jones, who visits weekly from Wales to collect rent from the traders.
The waste consisted of construction and demolition waste including concrete, tarmac, bricks, blocks, subsoil, metal, fluorescent light tubes, electrical cable, asbestos sheets. Environment Officers also found larger items like an electric cooker, a metal three drawer filing cabinet and a wooden staircase.
A scheduled ancient monument is a nationally important site, given legal protection by inclusion on a list. Appropriate management is therefore essential to ensure that they survive in good condition.”
‘International Expert Report Calls for Preservation of “Unique” Lismullin Amphitheatre’;
Dr.Ronald Hicks has written a full and explanatory report on the need to save Lismullen..........
The article can be found at the following link below...
“The monument discovered earlier this year at Lismullin is, quite simply, unique. For that reason, if for no other, it should be preserved.”
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/6908300.stm
It seems a giant wheel was used to lift the huge blocks at Stonehenge. Interesting, but.....
A free exhibition of large format colour and monochrome images of Megalithic sites by Steve Francis at Artsmill Gallery in Hebden Bridge. The exhibition runs between Wednesday 22nd August and Sunday 23rd September 2007.
For further information visit artsmill.org/ or telephone 01422 843413.
Sorry there is currently no disabled access.
Student Dig Unearths Ancient Gum
A 5,000-year-old piece of chewing gum has been discovered by an archaeology student from the University of Derby.
Sarah Pickin, 23, found the lump of birch bark tar while on a dig in western Finland.
Neolithic people used the material as an antiseptic to treat gum infections, as well as a glue for repairing pots.
More here: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6954562.stm
“The Stonehenge Riverside Project, which begins on Sunday, aims to understand the purposes of Stonehenge between 2000 and 3000BC.
The archaeological excavations are pursuing a hypothesis that Neolithic Durrington Walls was the land of the living’ and Stonehenge the land of the dead,’ linked by a transitional journey along the River Avon.
As part of this exciting project, young people aged 16-25 are being invited to get involved through a youth volunteering project, which develops opportunities in the heritage and conservation sector in the south west”.
The excavations take place from August 19 to September 14, 10am to 4pm. Entry is free to the public and guided tours will be available throughout. On the Special Open Days August 25-27 and 8-9 September, there will be demonstrations of prehistoric cookery, archery, flint knapping and pottery by re-enactors.
Anyone interested can contact Hannah Mayell at [email protected] or on 07825034252.
This page at the 24 Hour Museum has a photo and diagram of the newly-found carving.
24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART49804.html
(You can call me a cynic, but when you think “mammoth”, what features come to mind? Fur. Tusks. And oh yes, a big long trunk.
Check out the diagram on this page. “The back and head of a mammoth complete with two tusks and an eye.” No trunk. Or alternatively, two trunks.
It is exciting stuff but is it reeeaaally a mammoth?)
Police searching for vandals who scrawled graffiti at the site of the ancient Skara Brae settlement are now looking for a 35-year-old man.
The man, who might speak with a Liverpudlian accent, is said to be 5ft 6 in, of medium build with fair hair.
He may be using the name Brian Finlay and make conversation about the Celts, police on Orkney added.
Staff found the graffiti daubed on the 5,000-year-old site – including the words “Scouse Celts” – on Tuesday.
Monument managers said vandals had entered one of the houses at the site and drawn a smiley face, their name and the date with black marker pen, defacing both the dresser and one of the bed posts.
It was initially thought that the vandalism may have been carried out by tourists travelling round the island in a silver people carrier.
However, police ruled the group out of their inquiries after questioning the vehicle’s occupants earlier.
The man they are now looking for is believed to be sleeping rough on Orkney and has a backpack with him.
Historic Scotland, which is responsible for the upkeep of the world heritage site, said that it was liaising with its conservation centre in Edinburgh to find the best way of removing the graffiti as soon as possible.
“Graffiti removal on buildings of historical or architectural importance needs to be handled sensitively,” said a spokeswoman.
“The careful process needs to ensure any long-term damage caused by the graffiti is kept to a minimum and the stone itself is not further damaged as part of the graffiti removal process.
“Our visitors have reacted with surprise and sympathy to the damage caused.”
The cost – which is expected to be substantial – is not yet known.
Skara Brae was first discovered following a major storm in 1850, which battered the island to such an extent that an outline of a series of stone buildings was revealed.
A series of excavations was carried out over the next century, finally revealing eight stone dwellings which were originally believed to be an Iron Age settlement.
However, in the 1970s radiocarbon dating showed that the village was originally built between 3200 and 2200 BC.
This is a message for activists who are up for helping the Irish protesters in their fight to avert the new M3 motorway away from an extremely ancient site, far predating Stonhenge.
Irish Authorities are overriding an EU condemnation that this part of the motorway’s construction is ILLEGAL and are about to bulldoze a recently excavated woodhenge, details below. The deep levels of corruption involved in the ‘development’ of this area are mind boggling.
There has been a small but strong protest camp at Tara since before the new year and now these amazing people are crying out for numbers. I’ve literally just got home to Bristol now and will be driving back over there next Tuesday 14th. It was almost impossible to leave. Please get in touch if you want to travel with us. If you are a van driver, even better – perhaps we could rally a really useful number of people.
The authorities are proposing to start dismantling the henge THIS tuesday morning so please please please, if you’ve been considering a trip to Ireland go now. Even if you haven’t, despite the heartbreak of what is happening there, you can’t help being overwhelmed with the atmosphere of the place. It’s done me so much good to be there. There are 2 camps, one up on the hill of tara itself, and one in the woods at Rath Lugh, where the henge, known as Lismullin is situated. Direct action is in progress but our help is urgently needed.
Road protests are new in Ireland as we all know it has remained unspoiled for hundreds of years, so people with direct action experience are critically needed.
National Express do a funfare from London to Cork via Bristol on bus & boat from £15 each way. If there are funfares available on different routes it will offer them if you click on Europe on their homepage and put in your travel details.
If you take the London – Bristol – Cork route get off the boat at Wexford, take a bus or train to Dublin then the 109 bus from Busaras Station towards Navan and Kells. Tara is about 50 minutes down this route. The driver will tell you where to get off. There’s a camp phone number at the bottom, or if you want to ask anything please get in touch. If you take a night crossing you can sleep and be at Tara by lunchtime.
If you can, please get there for Mon 6th/Tues 7th. Otherwise there will be at least one van leaving Bristol next Tuesday 14th, or alternatively to that there is another wave planned for Saturday 1st September. It would be great to get a van from London and Bristol organised.
A couple of surges of numbers and a huge spreading the word could still avert the road plans to any of the other 5, less damaging proposed routes. But nothing i say will compare to the feeling of being there, and then understanding why we’d be doing the right thing to protect it.
www.myspace.com/hilloftara
www.tarapixie.net
www.savatara.com
www.tarawatch.org
Cheers for reading all this.
From the camp:
A Call for Help From
The Ancient City Of
Tara
Co. Meath, Ireland
Your Presence is Urgently Needed
This place in county Meath Ireland is the location of a recently discovered Prehistoric Wood Henge
This Henge is the oldest astronomical observatory yet found anywhere in the world
The Irish Government M3 Motorway is routed directly through the Henge and a further one hundred and forty plus sacred sites. Common sense will tell you that the valley is of profound importance locally, nationally and internationally. Initial excavations by archaeological consultancy services Ltd (funded by the NRA national roads authority) revealed a ceremonial burial chamber at the centre of the 80m diameter complex. The grave contained the bones of a woman adorned with gold necklace and bracelets. It also contained the bones of a large hunting dog and horse. She had been buried with the utmost respect and full ceremonial honours. A Queen or Priestess of high regard. These remains have been removed and relocated to A.C.S Ltds warehouse on the outskirts of Dublin . No mention of this reached the media Why??
We Need You Now!
The Tara Skyrne valley is a key to all of our pasts
The NRA plans to move on the Henge on Tuesday 7th August at 5am
If we cannot show our presence in physical numbers this sacred site will be gone forever
Contact: Tara solidarity vigil no. (00353) 861758557 www.tarapixie.net
21st -23rd September 2007
Autumn Equinox Celebration
A 3 days forum of discussion and discovery whilst camping in the glorious Sussex Countryside with some of the most learned speakers presenting talks and workshops on prehistoric culture and ancient knowledge, Earth Mysteries and Healing.
including talks by John Michell, Andrew Collins, John Neal, Gordon Hillman, Stuart Mason, Carolin Comberti, Geoff Stray & many more. Plus a new stone circle is being created under the supervision of Robin Heath, John Martineau & others
Camping or day passes available.
@ Knockhatch Farm, Hailsham , Sussex .
To book tickets call the Dome Box office 01273 709 709
Also Including
Live and acoustic entertainment, Huge Market with local produce ad lots of fun for all the family and all the amenities and attractions of Knock Hatch Adventure Park .
A conference in a field debating earth mysteries, estoteria, Dowsing, Healing , Astro-Archaeology, Alignments, Druids, Pagans, Wiccans, Massage, Reiki, Group meditation, Archaeo botany, Wildfood, Organic food, Solar power, Environmental Issues, Local Bands, Drumming circles, Ancient acoustics.
Fully Green solar powered wind powered and love powered.
Day tickets available and 3 day camping pass.
To book tickets call the Dome Box office 01273 709 709
Organised by The Antiquarian Society & Marina Pepper theantiquariansociety.com
from BBC NEWS
Vandals have daubed graffiti on one of Scotland’s most historic sites in Orkney.
Staff at Skara Brae arrived at work on Tuesday to find graffiti scribbled on the walls of the Neolithic village.
The site brings in thousands of visitors every year and is one of Orkney’s most iconic tourist attractions.
Police are keen to trace a group of visitors who are believed to have been travelling in a silver Hyundai.
“It might not have the instant impact of modern graffiti but a mammoth carved on to a wall in Cheddar Caves 13,000 years ago is being hailed as one of the most significant examples of prehistoric art ever found in Britain.
The carving – a little larger than a man’s hand, is only the second piece of representational cave art found in Britain, and contemporary with the golden age of cave art in Europe.
Britain had a flourishing Stone Age culture but, unlike prehistoric sites in France and Spain, no cave paintings or carvings had been found until recently, when the discovery of Stone Age carvings of animals and humans at Creswell Crags, near Sheffield, launched a new hunt for prehistoric cave art.
Graham Mullan and Linda Wilson, of Bristol University, have spent several years minutely examining various Cheddar Caves for almost imperceptible carvings, using sophisticated new lighting techniques.
So far they have uncovered geometrical carvings in Long Hole, and the 13,000-year-old mammoth in Gough’s Cave. Experts believe the carving, in an isolated niche, may have been used by tribal shamans in religious rituals.
It lies beyond the main living area of the Stone Age tribe who inhabited the cave.
It takes an expert eye to see the carving which has just gone on show to the public. The creature’s huge tusks are the clearest feature.
Cheddar Caves director Hugh Cornwell said: “We’ve got to hand it to Graham and Linda.
“They looked closely at rock faces which had only been glanced at by previous archaeologists, and have come up with some very exciting finds.
“Gough’s Cave has always been one of Britain’s most important prehistoric sites, and inhabited for more than 1,000 years by our hunter-gatherer ancestors.
“The country’s first evidence of cannibalism was found here, and also Britain’s oldest complete skeleton, Cheddar Man.
“The mammoth carving was found just beyond the daylight zone, where our ancestors ate and slept.
“It may have been a secret inner chamber, only used by shamans to invoke their animal gods. Now, thanks to special lighting and a small display, all our customers can walk in and admire our mammoth. He’s a lovely little chap – a wonderfully spirited carving with enormous tusks.”
Speaking from his home in Bristol Mr Mullan said: “This is certainly a significant find. Before the discovery of the Creswell Crags carvings, I was one of the people who argued that there was nothing of the kind in this country at all.
“This shows that the people of Cheddar were doing the same sort of thing as their contemporaries in France.
“Some people are even suggesting that the work at Cheddar is so similar to that at Creswell Crags that it must have been carried out by the same people.”
The carvings pre-date the famous Cheddar Man skeleton by 4,000 years. Caves spokesman Bob Smart, said: “The mammoth dates from the golden age of cave art in Europe, but by the time of Cheddar Man, who died 9,000 years ago, it seems they had moved on to other forms of art and religion.”
Visitors enthused by the spirit of their ancestors can study the mammoth and then walk across the road to try their own hand at cave art in the Cheddar Caves Museum of Prehistory, built in the house formerly owned by Richard Gough, the Victorian who rediscovered Gough’s Cave.”
From the Western Daily Press:
westerndailypress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146238&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146064&contentPK=18105499&folderPk=100268&pNodeId=145795
Archaelogists have discovered a more than 2,000-year-old Etruscan tomb perfectly preserved in the hills of Tuscany with a treasure trove of artifacts inside, including urns that hold the remains of about 30 people.
by Sarah Stack (Irish Examiner 11 August 2007)
‘Bronze age Irish men were as fond of their beer as their 21st century counterparts, it was claimed yesterday.
Two Galway archaeologists have put forward a theory that one of the most common ancient monuments around Ireland may have been used for brewing ale.
They believe fulacht fiadh -horseshoe shaped, grass-covered mounds which were conventionally thought of as ancient cooking spots- could have been the country’s earliest breweries.
To prove their belief that an extensive brewing tradition existed in Ireland as far back as 2500BC, Billy Quinn and Declan Moore recreated the process. After just three hours of hard work, and three days of waiting for their brew to ferment, the men enjoyed a pint of the fruits of their labour.
Three hundred litres of water was transformed into a “very palatable” 110 litres of frothy ale.
“It tasted really good,” said Mr Quinn.
“We were very surprised. Even a professional brewer we had working with us compared it favourably to his own. It tasted like a traditional ale, but was sweeter because there were no hops in it.”
Mr Quinn said it was while nursing a hangover one morning, and discussing the natural predisposition of men to seek means to alter their minds, that he came to the startling conclusion that fulacht fiadh could have been the country’s earliest breweries.
The two set out to investigate their theory in a journey which took them across Europe in search of further evidence.
On their return they used an old wooden trough filled with water and added heated stones. After achieving an optimum temperature of 60C to 70C they began to add milled barley, and about 45 minutes later simply bailed the final product into fermentation vessels. They added natural wild flavourings and yeast after cooling the vessels in a bath of cold water for several hours.
Tomorrow they plan to start work on a fourth batch they hope will taste as good as their first.
The archaeologists, who reveal their experiment in full in next month’s Archaeology Ireland, point out that while their theory is based on circumstantial and experimental evidence, they believe that although fulacht fiadh were probably multifunctional, a primary use was for brewing beer.
Herefordshire Council is implementing its plans to preserve the Rotherwas Ribbon archaeological find and protect it for future generations.
A full council meeting confirmed that work on the Rotherwas Relief Road had been stopped around the site since the discovery in April of the Bronze Age ribbon of fire-cracked stones.
The council also determined that no irreversible action be taken that could prejudice its preservation for future generations.
I have received this email today from a group called the Sustainable Trust...the third paragraph is the interesting bit...
Crenver Grove, the 14Hectare woodland we manage for the Dandelion Trust, now entertains local children as part of Forest School activities. Any initiative to bring volunteers of all ages and abilities in contact with nature and their heritage is welcomed. Help with clearance of the invasive species is constantly needed, and is always a light-hearted activity. Just ring us for details. 01209 831718. ’ Breathing Spaces’, a Big Lottery fund have just made us a sizeable award for works to Crenver Grove, mending walls, an archaeological study, green woodworking workshops and training.
Globally-our little project in Sri Lanka helping tsunami victims has moved on. The Saga Charitable Trust have put a further £5,000 into the neglected village we helped back into employment with a Cornish boost to their coir spinning cottage industry last year. They will buy sewing machines, train and provide a showroom together with our Sri Lankan partners, the Centre for Environment & Development. We have also been instrumental in forming a Credit Union in this village, Madampagama. Microfinance often help poor villagers cross the poverty line, making their work and lives more sustainable. Scooby, a photographer from University College, Falmouth recorded the project. Her images of the progress is being exhibited around Devon & Cornwall this year. The exhibition is called ‘Recovery’. Prints are for sale at (www. Travellightphotos.co.uk)
Locally, we are engaged in negotiations to buy the ‘Giants/Pendarves/Carwynnen Quoit/Cromlech/Dolmen- also known as the ‘Frying Pan’. Naming it is a weighty problem, the least of our worries is clearing a planning technicality and raising the money to buy this Listed Scheduled Monument together with the surrounding 5 acres of land. We would be delighted to receive any donations towards the £22,000 asking price, or any offer of help or suggestions towards running a series of events to involve a wide audience. H.R.H the Duke of Cornwall , Camborne Town Council and The Cornish Gorsedd have kicked off the fund with Community Energy Plus donating 200 indigenous trees to extend the wildlife corridor on this land, which was formerly set aside land, owned by a bulb growing company.
So we trundle on, pleased with an involvement in a new magazine called ‘The Source’, happy to make charcoal for cooking and drawing, and most of all to welcome new people to help us ‘treat the world as if we intend to stay.‘
The website for this is sustrust.co.uk/new_projects.html
