Silbury Hill is the largest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe. It was built over 4,000 years ago in the Neolithic period. Today part of the Avebury World Heritage Site, the monument’s purpose and significance for prehistoric people remains unknown. The Guardian has reported that the work to prevent this ancient monument from collapsing has been completed. On 29 May 2000 a hole unexpectedly appeared on the top of Silbury Hill. A shaft had become open to a depth of 14 metres. Despite attempts to safeguard it, in December the top collapsed to leave a large crater, damaging important archaeological deposits.

The secret of Silbury Hill, the most enigmatic prehistoric monument in Europe, isn’t the monument but the monumental effort which went into building it, according to the archaeologist who has spent most of the last year slipping around on wet chalk deep in the heart of the hill. Continue Reading »

The BBC tells us that Dr  Donna Heddle has warned that without action to preserrve the linguistic celtic heritage, the old languages would become lost. Orkney-based expert Dr Donna Heddle said without one they would become “devalued and lost”. She was commenting ahead of a conference, Voices of the West, which will be held in Inverness in June.

Dr Heddle, director of the Centre for Nordic Studies at Orkney College UHI, said:

Focussing on education and broadcasting allows us to look at minority languages at work. This conference underlines the fact that we need to learn from each other and work together to produce a unified strategy, otherwise these languages will be devalued and lost. We will lose our tongues and without our tongues we cannot speak for ourselves.

Source

UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Tara Hill was one of the most venerated religious spots in early Ireland and the seat of the High Kings of Ireland from the 3rd century until 1022. Despite its importance, the expectant visitor may be disappointed in what he sees as, at Tara there are no signs of regal past, nor impressive remains, only the remains of earthworks.

But this cluster of megaliths represents a part a larger system capable of recognising specific parts of the lunar and solar cycles. In the case of Tara, it the chamber of the Mound of hostages’ is aligned to mark the November, February quarter days, along with Dowth and Cairns L and U at Loughcrew. Tara is only 10 miles distant from The Boyne Valley, which is clearly visible from there.

We thought it was about time to give you an update on the progress of the Campaign to Save Tara. At the moment, building is continuing and it seems that Tara’s only hope lies outside of Ireland. Continue Reading »

One of the Vikings’ most important trading centres has been discovered in Ireland. The settlement at Woodstown in County Waterford is estimated to be about 1,200 years old. It was discovered during archaeological excavations for a road by-pass for Waterford city, which was founded by the Vikings.

The news was announced by the BBC, and they say:

Almost 6,000 artefacts and a Viking chieftain’s grave have been discovered at the site, which was established by the year 860. The grave contains a sword, shield and silver mark.

Source

There is a magical faery ball taking place at the Guildhall in Salisbury, near Stonehenge. The organisers say: Your hosts, Oberon and Titania, cordially invite you to enter our magic hall with your best finery and indulge in mischief, glamour, and magic in historic Salisbury, a few miles from sacred Stonehenge.

The ball is taking place on 20 June, 2008, Midsummer’s eve, from 7:00pm till 1am. We truly wish to make this an evening for our guests to remember: be whisked away by a horse and carriage to the marble steps of the Salisbury guildhall, where the Oreo String Quartet will be playing music for the season in the Foyer. Fine wines and casked ales are being provided by Shipseys for your enjoyment. DJ duo Sexbat and The Ingenue and DJ Andy Ravensable keep the trad-goth and industrial music going until the early hours. Photographer Dylan will take photos so you can have momentos of your special evening. Expect a surprise or two as well along the way, as this is a night when nothing is as it seems, and anything is possible!

What is the dresscode?

A. We hope people will stick with the Midsummer Night’s Dream theme, taking inspiration from the play or dress in something equally fae. We ask you also keep the “formal ball” idea in mind as well. In the past, our guests have come from alternative/dark artist backgrounds, so be prepared to see a fair bit of creativity! Masks are required - even the carriage livery and doorstaff is wearing them! - and you will not be admitted without a mask, though inexpensive masks will be provided if disaster strikes and you realise you left yours at home.

Skara Brae - click

A LONG-TERM strategy is planned to protect one of Europe’s most important archaeological sites from erosion, says news.scotsman.com. Skara Brae is vulnerable to coastal erosion. A Historic Scotland spokesman said: “When the settlement was built 5,000 years ago, it was at least 1km from the coast. The remains are now right on the edge of Skaill Bay, and … there is evidence to suggest that the rate of erosion has accelerated in recent years.”

Archaeology is one of the main attractions for visitors to Orkney, and last year Skara Brae had 74,000 visitors and Maeshowe had 25,000. Measures have been put in place to reduce visitor wear.

Historic Scotland says careful management is required to ensure the WHS is conserved while also protecting wildlife, including birds on the RSPB Ring of Brodgar Reserve.

More detail can be found here.

An update to our post about the new theory about the origins of the Celts, which can be found here, the ABP Welsh Communique gives us a little more detail. The full text of the article can be found here. In his O’Donnell Lecture at the University College, Bangor, Professor John Koch said that on the basis of an extensive continent-wide overview of linguistic and archaeological evidence, he has come to the conclusion that a Celtic civilisation and culture had originated on the Atlantic West of Europe in the Bronze Age.

Recent DNA researches has shown that contemporary British people – Celts and Anglo-Saxons alike – have more in common with the Basques than any other race group. This finding has attracted confusion and amusement in the popular English press. Continue Reading »

The Brittanica tells us that Breton is “a member of the Brythonic group of Celtic languages, spoken in Brittany in northwestern France. Breton was introduced into northwestern France in the 5th and 6th centuries by Brythonic Celtic refugees displaced from southern England by the influx of Anglo-Saxons. The language is closely related to Cornish and Welsh but has been influenced by French and perhaps by a continental Celtic language formerly spoken in the region.” [Brittanica] There are about 540,000 speakers of this Celtic language and a Welsh couple are helping to revive it.

Continue Reading »