The Flag Fen Museum Pic: Flag Fen Lives

As we reported in our earlier post, the immensely important Celtic site of Flag Fen is in serious danger of decaying within the next twenty years! Originally scheduled until the 1st May 2012, a unique opportunity will become available for  folks to contribute to the new Flag Fen Archaeological Dig! Watch the video above to learn how important the  Bronze Age site of Flag Fen is and how endangered it has become. But now some fantasic news is breaking!

Starting in July of 2012, as much archaeological work as can be done will be done to rescue, preserve and maintain the remains. The project has been taken over by DigVentures who want to involve us, in a variety of ways to help fund the project.

They have raised 67% of the £25,000 necessary to properly fund the event and desperately need the remainder before the end of May.

The Big News

Digventures have announced several amazing new developments in the project. They report:

The original end date of our funding window is fast approaching; but as you may have noticed, things have changed. Our partners, Vivacity, have got some great plans for involving local people in the project, so they have asked us to keep the funding open until the 30^th of May to enable them to reach as many people as possible.

They also told us that:

Vivacity will be sponsoring four bursaries for students from University Centre Peterborough’s Archaeology and Landscape History BA course to dig with us at Flag Fen. We’re thrilled to work with them, and look forward to welcoming students from other universities as well.

Vivacity is offering the bursaries for students on University Centre Peterborough’s Archaeology and Landscape History BA undergraduate course.

Those who successfully apply for them will receive funding for a week of archaeology training and hands-on digging at the Bronze Age site.Abi Hunt, course leader and lecturer, said: Our students will benefit hugely from this opportunity. Flag Fen is not only one of Peterborough’s most important assets – it is incredibly important world-wide. It is vital for our local students to gain in-depth knowledge of the site. The bursary scheme is part of Vivacity and Dig Ventures’ Flag Fen Lives project which will see the archaeological trenches open to the public from July 23 to August 12.

The Preserved Causeway Pic: Flag Fen Lives

The Project

DigVentures Ltd will be excavating the iconic Bronze Age site of Flag Fen, where extensive drainage and climate change threaten to destroy the world-renowned archaeology forever.

Our work will be an essential part of saving the archaeology and giving the site a future life, and all we need to do is to raise £25,000 to make this incredible project happen. You and your friends can be a part of it – by supporting us through buying benefits, and even joining us on site. The more you contribute, the more involved you can become – from being one of the first to receive the site report, to rolling up your sleeves and actually taking part.

As soon as you support the project at any level, you will receive access to the Site Hut, an online forum providing exclusive daily project updates, interviews, lectures with archaeological superstars, films, photos – or just pop in for a nice cup of tea! We’ll be filming on site every day, and posting all sorts of fabulous information to keep you up to date. If you can’t join us in the field, we’d love a crew of armchair archaeologists out there following our every move.

The field school at Flag Fen (for those who purchase a benefit at £125 and above) will be really exciting this year. We’ve put a lot of thinking into making this the best experience possible, whether you are digging for a day, a week, two weeks, or the whole project. There will be dedicated staff providing orientation, training and instruction, as well as evening lectures, fun outings and plenty of time for questions. And some surprises, of course!

Activities for Children

Starting on Monday the 23rd July and going on (Weekdays) to Friday 3rd August, Time Team star Raksha Dave will be hosting sessions at the Flag Fen site for children in the Flag Fen Summer School. The activities are designed for 8-12 year-olds and will allow kids to be archaeologists for the day. They can dig on the site, and record their finds. They tell us that Pre-booking is essential due to limited spaces.

Go and visit the DigVentures site or go and get involved straightaway at the Sponsume donation portal.

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Handster at http://www.handster.com/celtic_myth.html or by using the QR code opposite. It’s als found on the Opera Marketplace as well as AppBrain in the US.
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Iron Age Furnace Pic: Zabanda

An ancient Iron Age settlement has been uncovered by archaeologists working for South West Water in Devon. It was found during an archaeological evaluation of the route of a new water mains between Beacon Hill reservoir, near Exeter, and the town of Cranbrook. Archaeologists were investigating a large prehistoric enclosure below the ground which was discovered by carrying out surveys from the air in 1996. Among the finds were shale bracelets and an iron-working furnace.

Excavations showed the enclosure would originally have had a massive bank inside a ditch.

‘Days before JCBs’

James Field, South West Water’s (SWW) ecologist and environmental planner, said it was an important settlement. He said:

Someone went to a lot of trouble to construct this ditch in the days before JCBs. In the lower layers of the ditch we have found a pile of broken bracelets made of shale – an oily, soft rock. Within the enclosure was an Iron Age iron-working furnace, which again is rare in the county. It is probable that the shale itself comes from as far as Kimmeridge in Dorset, which poses important questions about the significance and nature of this enclosure.

Devon County Council archaeologist Frances Griffith said:

It is of great interest to see this site partially excavated. The shale finds are an important discovery, as yet unparalleled in Devon.

The trenches will be refilled when the evaluation is complete and all finds analysed and archived.

[Source]

Furnace or Bloomery

A bloomery consists of a pit or chimney with heat-resistant walls made of earth, clay, or stone. Near the bottom, one or more pipes (made of clay or metal) enter through the side walls. These pipes, called tuyères, allow air to enter the furnace, either by natural draft, or forced with bellows or a trompe. An opening at the bottom of the bloomery may be used to remove the bloom, or the bloomery can be tipped over and the bloom removed from the top.

[Source]

Have at look at the experiments done at the Wareham Forge to see how this process would have worked.

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Handster at http://www.handster.com/celtic_myth.html or by using the QR code opposite. It’s als found on the Opera Marketplace as well as AppBrain in the US.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

Stonehenge Pic: Stonehenge News

There has been some controversy over the route of the Olympic Flame as  it wends its way during July 2012 to the Olympic Games which are currently being held in the UK. This is Bath reports that:Olympic torch relay organisers have reassured tourism bosses that the Olympic flame will visit the iconic backdrop of Stonehenge, after it was left off the official relay route through the West.

Instead of forming part of the public route through Wiltshire in July, the Olympic flame will be taken at dawn to the stones for a closed photo opportunity the morning after its overnight stop in nearby Salisbury.

The decision does mean, however, the public will not be able to descend on Stonehenge to see the once-in-a-lifetime moment it is carried around the Neolithic monument.

English Heritage, which manages the stones, and Olympic Torch Relay bosses confirmed the early morning visit after publishing a route which did not include Stonehenge or Avebury.

Western Daily Press reader Margaret Scott said:

Obviously Stonehenge is one of the major tourist attractions in Britain and it just seemed ridiculous if the torch relay is going to Amesbury but not going a mile to the west to be run around Stonehenge. They surely are not missing it out?

A spokesman for English Heritage said that they had been informed by the Olympic organisers that the torch would be driven to Stonehenge and back again early on July 12, before it is scheduled to leave Salisbury Cathedral, for a photocall.

Read the full story on the This is Bath website.

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Handster at http://www.handster.com/celtic_myth.html or by using the QR code opposite. It’s als found on the Opera Marketplace as well as AppBrain in the US.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

From now until the 1st May 2012, a unique opportunity will become available for  folks to contribute to the new Flag Fen Archaeological Dig! Watch the video above to learn how important the  Bronze Age site of Flag Fen is and how endangered it has become. Starting in July of 2012, as much archaeological work as can be done will be done to rescue, preserve and maintain the remains. The project has been taken over by DigVentures who want to involve us, in a variety of ways to help fund the project.

We can help with donations as small as a tenner (£10), which will allow us backstage entry to a website (called the ‘Site Hut’) with diary entries, a PDF of the final report and an invite to the final end-of-dig Party all the way up to donations of £2,000 which can give you or your company amazing involvement int he project. Part of the rewards they are offering for funding involve evening lectures and training, one or two week courses, day courses, lapel pins, T-Shirts and so on, Check out the full range of funding rewards at the DigVentures site.

DigVentures

DigVentures Ltd will be excavating the iconic Bronze Age site of Flag Fen, where extensive drainage and climate change threaten to destroy the world-renowned archaeology forever.

The site hut. The hub of the whole operation. A place to grab a brew and pursue a two-day-old copy of the Sun Guardian, and put the world to rights while that shower passes over.

The Site Hut will be open to supporters only, so head on over to our project page on Sponsume and sign up. We’ll throw the doors open on 1st May, 2012, at the end of our funding window!

Our work will be an essential part of the future sustainability of the site, and all we need to do is to raise the money to make this incredible project happen. You and your friends can be a part of it – by supporting us through buying benefits, and possibly even joining us on site.There are many different levels of support, each with different rewards.

Round House at Flag Fen Pic: DigVentures

The more you contribute, the more involved you can become – from being one of the first to receive the site report, to rolling up your sleeves and actually taking part. Join us from home, or join us on site and dig for a day, dig for a week, or dig for the whole project and become a trained member of the team. The choice is yours.

As soon as you support the project at any level, you will receive access to the Site Hut, an online forum providing exclusive daily project updates, DVIP lectures, films, and photos, or just pop in for a nice cup of tea! We’ll be filming on site every day, and posting all sorts of fabulous information to keep you up to date. If you can’t join us in the field, we’d love a crew of armchair archaeologists out there following our every move.

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Handster at http://www.handster.com/celtic_myth.html or by using the QR code opposite. It’s als found on the Opera Marketplace as well as AppBrain in the US.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

Explore Books Pic: Heart of Albion

‘Is some riddle solved by my surviving forever? Is not eternal life itself as much of a riddle as our present life?’ Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus logico-philosophicus, 1922

Given the extent to which modern-day pagans take as a truism that many of our folk customs have, unconsciously, retained relics of their heathen origins is traceable to the success of one man’s major opus – Sir James George Frazer’s The Golden Bough, a multi-volume work published in the 1890s.

‘It is difficult to overrate the influence of The Golden Bough. It offered a pattern which was immediately and attractively available; and it proceeded to dominate attitudes and thinking to a remarkable extent. The vegetation drama, ritual death and resurrection, the sacred tree, became accepted elements . . .’ So observed Roy Judge in his study of the Jack-in-the-Green [1], also noting that the Frazerian influence was complex.

While modern day researchers find little of Frazer’s work holds up to scrutiny, his opinions were accepted almost without question for about 60 years. In the introduction to the abridged one volume edition of The Golden Bough, prepared some thirty years after the original research [2], Frazer wrote: ‘I have neither added new material nor altered the views expressed in the last edition; for the evidence which has come to my knowledge in the meantime has on the whole served either to confirm my former conclusions or to furnish fresh illustrations of old principles.’

Frazer’s objectives were straightforward: to demonstrate that Christianity derived from the same principles as so-called ‘primitive’ religions. Within the constraints of the then-active blasphemy laws Frazer strove to treat the Bible as another rich mythology – to be studied objectively, and with the same contempt for the beliefs as academics showed for non-christian faiths.

A group of men with bells on their legs, dancing frenetically’

Frazer’s views were based on the work of Sir Lawrence Gomme, Sir Edward Tylor and Wilhelm Mannhardt although Frazer proved to be the better known of these researchers. Frazer in his turn influenced Sir Edmund Chambers and Cecil Sharp. Sharp, almost single-handedly, inspired the English folk dance revival and, in the process, drew attention to the then-dying remnants of other folk customs. Sharp’s Frazerian-influenced opinions were contested at the time but between 1914 and the early 1970s his views were unopposed – folklorists ‘were not concened with evidence (or the lack of it) of historical continuity, and . . . relied entirely upon similarities and parallels in form to construct grand hypotheses.’ [3]

Part of these ‘grand hypotheses’ was that morris dancing was an ancient rite which had remained unaltered for centuries. When an historian, Barbara Lowe, published her studies of the earliest origins of morris dancing in 1957 [4] she was totally ignored. This is not in the least surprising, as what she discovered runs entirely counter to Sharp’s fantasy. Lowe found that morris dances first appeared about 1450 as a new craze in the courts of the nobility and royalty throughout western Europe. These courts were notoriously fashion-conscious and briefly-favoured novelty was as prevalent then as in our own times.

Courtly morris of the fifteenth century was a Christmas-tide entertainment involving a group of men with bells on their legs, dancing frenetically in an attempt to woo a lady. After this display of male vitality she, in fine fickle, gave her heart to a fool. Not only did this little scenario find favour in the palaces of England, soon it was spreading among the common people. First along the Thames to nearby towns and then, by the sixteenth century, throughout England. Along the way it became less a feature of Christmas than of the Maytime or summer games.

A few ‘traditions’ really are traditional

The history of morris dancing is similar to many other popular traditions. A number of historians have intensively studied specific aspects of ‘traditional’ customs – and repeatedly revealed that these traditions peter out before the eighteenth century. A few ‘traditions’ really are traditional – but there are few of them. When we decorate our homes with greenery and give each other presents at Christmas, we are following a custom which goes back ‘time out of mind’. Few of us light bonfires for Mayday or Midsummer but, up until the late nineteenth century, this was a common-place custom which, also, can be traced back beyond written records. Probably the erection of Maypoles is equally archaic. But written records ominously peter out for all other ‘traditional’ customs

Historians know well that events are best shown up in written sources when they contravene custom or legislation. The names of common people most frequently enter the annals of written history when they appear in court records for greater or lesser crimes; not infrequently, drunkenness on feast days. The once-heated debates of churchwardens and clergy are veiled beneath the dry records of parish registers. These same registers reveal year after year the amounts spent preparing for such festivities as ‘church ales’ – until, abruptly, these expenses are no longer part of the meticulous lists. No one at the time explicitly stated that church ales had been superseded by other (less bawdy) forms of fund-raising, but the evidence is clear enough. So the genealogy of popular customs can be pieced together.

‘How traditional was “traditional”?’

There is clear evidence that in the late medieval era ‘new devotional fads were enthusiastically explored by a laity eager for religious variety’ [5] The greatest of the feasts of the late medieval liturgy, Corpus Christi, apparently well-established since time immemorial, was comparatively new, dating only from the thirteenth century. Such were the religious practices of the populace. This was ‘traditional religion’ in Britain – although this simply begs the question, ‘How traditional was “traditional”?’ Running in parallel were the ascending aristocratic interests in astrology and the attempts to subdue ‘witchcraft’ and the various activities of ‘cunning’ men and women. The boundaries between religion and magic were less well-drawn than they are with the hindsight of modern mentalities [6].

Behind these terse paragraphs are entire academic careers picking over the ways in which social history is a patchwork of ever-evolving changes. We think of our own times as being subject to unique processes of change. Yet history records an ever-changing flow. The difference of the modern day is mostly that the processes of communication are more immediate and more detailed, giving a greater awareness of change. An additional and pertinent difference is that, until recently, the ‘meanings’ of popular customs were not fixed by written accounts. Why things were done was the least rooted aspect of these activities.

‘Customs quite out of fashion’

Peeling the layers of the onion away, the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries saw the pro-Reformation and counter-Reformation sway back and forth with greater or lesser enthusiasm and enforcement. The reign of Elizabeth I provided an era of comparative tolerance, where the country was officially Protestant but the zeal of the senior clergy could be, and was, vetoed by the monarch.

During the Civil War and Restoration there is widespread written evidence of the way new religious and social ideals were being promulgated. The sometimes brutally aggressive Puritans stripped the churches of their images, rood lofts and altars – while a smaller, less-aggressive number, from time to time attempted to restore some of the ‘popish’ traditions [7].

Just how thoroughly the Reformation and Civil War swept away traditional customs is revealed by writers of the time. John Aubrey is a name well-known for his early antiquarian interests. He was a child before the Civil War and could see first-hand how many local customs, such as midsummer bonfires, had vanished during the Interregnum, ‘the civil wars coming on have put all these rites or customs quite out of fashion.’ [8] Aubrey also tells how the once-annual custom of decorating the salt-well at Droitwich on the patron saint’s festival was prohibited; the well promptly dried up. The ceremony was restored the following year, whereupon the water once again flowed.

Much has been made of the Restoration of Charles II and the establishment of Royal Oak or Oak Apple Day (29th May) as a ‘surrogate’ for the Mayday festivities prohibited by the Puritans. Yet closer inspection reveals that over thirty years of Puritan campaigning had wrought a severe dislocation and the popular pastimes which were ‘restored’ were different in nature and character. In essence, the post-Restoration festivities were not so much spontaneous customs of the common people as events which were organised by the ‘gentry’. It was the subtle transition from ‘participating’ to ‘attending’. [9]

Continue Reading »

The exposed “causeway” must be watered constantly in order to preserve it Pic: BBC News

Jason Palmer- Science and technology Reporter for  BBC NEWS  tells us: Renowned Bronze Age archaeological site Flag Fen in Cambridgeshire will host a first-of-its-kind dig that makes the public integral to the project.

The idea combines both “crowdfunding” and “crowdsourcing”; for contributions starting at £125, donors can get their hands very dirty and dig for a day.

The venture’s website will also stream live video from the dig as well as host lectures and interviews with experts.

The aim is to fully explore the site before it dries out and is destroyed.

Flag Fen was discovered in 1982 by archaeologist Francis Pryor, who uncovered part of a one mile (1.6km) causeway across the Fenland marshes in
Cambridgeshire.

The site lies largely underground, preserved for 3,000 years beneath a layer of peat that keeps artefacts from decaying.

An exposed part of the site, called the preservation hall, shows some of the thousands of timbers that make up the site poking up through the ground, and
these are regularly watered to stave off decay.

“It’s the only place in Europe where you can see this kind of archaeology exposed,”

said Lisa Westcott Wilkins, managing director of Digventures, the firm behind the new project.

Beneath, the peat will have preserved not just the wood artefacts such as  leather and other organic material, which at other Bronze Age sites will have
long since been consumed.

“The reason Flag Fen doesn’t have the sort of public profile of Stonehenge is  that there aren’t all these huge stones everywhere people can see – the entire site rests on top of very sensitive archaeology,”

she told BBC News.

But the water that has kept Flag Fen preserved until now is seeping away, due in part to climate change but largely to active drainage and the sprawl of neighbouring Peterborough, which nearly reaches the borders of the site.

Pic: BBC News

So the team at Digventures chose Flag Fen as its flagship site to try a new kind of archaeology, against a difficult global economic climate.

To read more about this fascinating project visit the BBC News report

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Wizzard-Media-Celtic-Myth-Podshow/dp/B004W8QR58 or by using the QR code opposite.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

Welsh Cakes Pic: A Seasonal Celebration

Welsh author and Druid Kristoffer Hughs writes a wonderful blog. A Seasonal Celebration So in honour of it being St Davids Day. We would like to share a little of it with you. Over to you Kris……

St. David’s Day (Wales/Celtic) 1st Of March.

St. David or to lend him his Welsh title ‘Dewi Sant’ is the patron saint of Wales, and it is believed he died on the 1^st of March in the year 589 AD, making the first day of March his feast day.

He was the epitome of austere Christian devotion and his Abbey in Pembrokshire was the centre of religious worship, study and strict learning regime. It is believed that he prevented the destruction of the monastery at Glyn Rhosyn from Irish invaders by converting them to Christianity. However David possessed incredible magical powers and at one point it was said that he caused a hill to rise where previously there was only flat ground in order for the people to hear his teachings.

In the “Armes Prydain” or the “Prophesy of Britain” the prophet Taliesin foretells the joining of the Cymry (The Welsh) in allegiance with fellow Celtic nations to defeat and drive out the Anglo-Saxons from the Islands of Britain under the banner of St. David. By today, the feast of St. David is so much more than its religious, Christian associations, it symbolises the spirit of a people, of a nation and a language. Welsh settlers in other parts of the world join together on this day to celebrate their roots and connect to their people back in the Motherland.

St. David’s day is a day of feasting, of coming together in companionship and in celebration of culture and heritage, language and song. Although it is said that David himself was a vegetarian, the presence of lamb and chicken in traditional St. David day meals may have caused his eyebrows to raise not just his hills!

Today is the day of the red dragon, of daffodils and leeks, which are claimed to drive away evil spirits. Most Welsh people will wear a daffodil today to express their pride in a nation that has maintained and kept dear its traditions and celebrations. The daffodil was adopted as the Welsh national emblem in 1907.Today we gather and raise our glasses to David, to the saints, and the ancestors that they took their inspiration from.

To read more and see some wonderful Welsh recipes visit with Kris at  A Seasonal Celebration and to find out more about, Kristoffer dont forget to visit his website at http://www.kristofferhughes.co.uk/index.html

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Wizzard-Media-Celtic-Myth-Podshow/dp/B004W8QR58 or by using the QR code opposite.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

Location of Wales (in Orange) Pic: Wiki

Last July (2011) in Swansea, Alun Ffred Jones AM, Minister for Heritage, launched the Archwilio project at the Treftadaeth Conference. The system gives access to over 100,000 records maintained by the four Welsh archaeological trusts. The Minister observed: Wales is the first country in Britain that has made all its archaeological records available online. Archwilio will be a tremendous asset not only for the people of Wales but also for those further afield who have an interest in the rich archaeology and cultural heritage of our country

He added that he was delighted to see independent organisations developing systems that will contribute towards addressing some of the aims set out in his The Welsh Historic Environment Strategic Statement, published in 2009.

What is Archwilio?

Archwilio is the online access system to the Historic Environment Records (HERs) of Wales. The system has been developed through a partnership of the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts to provide wider public access to this valuable resource. We believe that the dissemination of information leading to a wider understanding of our cultural heritage and historic environment is the most effective conservation tool. Archwilio translates as to explore, examine or audit and therefore encapsulates the use of the HERs in relation to the historic environment.

The four regional historic environment records compiled and maintained by the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts (WATs) aim to provide a comprehensive catalogue of archaeological and historical sites and finds of all periods throughout Wales. They offer a unique opportunity to investigate the heritage of Wales. Currently, about 100,000 individual entries are held by the four regional records, which are continually up-dated and expanded as new information becomes available. The HERs fulfil a wide variety of functions including assisting in the positive management and presentation of the historic landscape, planning control, and as a source for input to local history, conservation and tourism projects.

The HER covers all aspects of human activity in the landscape from early prehistory to the twentieth century without prejudice. Details of well- and lesser-known sites can be found, in addition to records generated by archaeological projects undertaken in the area. If you are interested in researching your local area, or finding out more about a particular historical period, this is a good place to start.

How you can help

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Wizzard-Media-Celtic-Myth-Podshow/dp/B004W8QR58 or by using the QR code opposite.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

The Orkney Temple Pic: BBC

On New Year’s Day, the BBC showed a program in the History of Britain series with Neil Oliver about the newly-discovered 5,000 year old Temple on Orkney. Built 500 years before the iconic monument of Stonehenge. The temple is opening new windows onto the beliefs of Neolithic people, turning the map of ancient Britain upside down. This is a vast site of undisturbed archaeology, set within one of the most important ancient landscapes in the world.

Already the site is revealing a series of incredible finds including the first ever discovery of Neolithic painted wall decorations, and even the pigments and paint pots used by Stone Age artists.

All the new archaeological evidence, and the wonders of special effects, has now been used to create a 3-D world of the entire temple, allowing Neil to walk inside in a bid to understand just how it might have been used. [BBC]

More amazing clips from this series can be found in the series clips library on the BBC website.

The Ness of Brodgar

The Daily Mail reports that a 5000-year-old temple in Orkney could be more important than Stonehenge, according to archaeologists. The site, known as the Ness of Brodgar, was investigated by BBC2 documentary A History of Ancient Britain, with presenter Neil Oliver describing it as ‘the discovery of a lifetime’.

So far the remains of 14 Stone Age buildings have been excavated, but thermal geophysics technology has revealed that there are 100 altogether, forming a kind of temple precinct. Until now Stonehenge was considered to have been the centre of Neolithic culture, but that title may now go to the Orkney site, which contains Britain’s earliest known wall paintings.

Oliver said:

‘The excavation of a vast network of buildings on Orkney is allowing us to recreate an entire Stone Age world.

‘It’s opening a window onto the mysteries of Neolithic religion.’

Experts believe that the site will give us insights into what Neolithic people believed about the world and the universe.

Nick Card, an archaeologist from the University of the Highlands and Islands, said:

‘It’s an archaeologist’s dream site. The excitement of the site never fades. This site is a one-off.’

Professor Mark Edmonds from the University of York, meanwhile, describes the excavation as ‘a site of international importance’.

Some parts of the temple are 800 years older than Stonehenge, which lies 500 miles to the south in Wiltshire.

The site is very close to the Ring of Brodgar stone circle and the standing stones of Stenness and is surrounded by a wall believed to have been 10-feet high.

Read more and see the incredible pictures at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2081254/Stone-Age-temple-Orkney-significant-Stonehenge.html#ixzz1j9UX5jHY

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Wizzard-Media-Celtic-Myth-Podshow/dp/B004W8QR58 or by using the QR code opposite.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

Irish Lady and young girl, c. 1570 Pic: Irish Tribes

Thanks to the Irish Tribes website, specialists in Irish Genealogy, for this article exploring the significance of the ‘Seanchas’. For the Ancient Celts, Law, History and Genealogy were all very much an integral part of their society and background. They begin with:- Seanchas   Until the 17th century, Seanchas was the indivisible combination of Gaelic law, history, and genealogy, carefully conserved by each clan’s hereditary scholars.  It was the underpinning of your ancestors’ lives, the very foundation of Gaelic society since the first Celts came to Ireland about 800 B.C.

Gaelic Society

This is how Professor Daniel Binchy described ancient Irish society:

“tribal, rural, hierarchical, and familiar (using the word in its oldest sense, to mean a society in which the family, not the individual, is the unit) — a complete contrast to the unitary, urbanised, egalitarian and individualist society of our time.”

Daniel Binchy was the Senior Professor of the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

Celtic Tribes & Ancient Irish History

With this mindset, Ireland’s ancient Celtic tribes created pre-Christian and early Christian Ireland.  We know of the Cruithin, Bolg, Laighin, Connachta, Eoghanachta, Uladh, Féini, and more.  We know the impact they had on Ireland’s early history before the Fall of Rome, rarely (although without much detail) even before the Sack of Delphi.  And we can trace their direct descendants to the modern day.

Kingship & Leadership

As a further demonstration of this mindset, men and women like Eochu Mugmheadhon, Niall Naoighiallach, and Gráinne Ní Mháille acted within and in cooperation with their kinships rather than as their dictators.  Irish kings were elected and leaders were chosen.  They were not arbitrarily imposed by concepts like divine right and primogeniture.

Rights & Privileges

Your ancestors’ rights and privileges depended upon belonging to their particular kinship group.  The rights and privileges of the Dál gCais were different from the rights and privileges of the Connachta.  Those of the Connachta were different from those of the Eoghanachta, and so forth.  Hence the importance of genealogy to the Irish for millennia.  Without it, your ancestors could not claim their rights.

The Intertwining of Genealogy, Law, and History in Gaelic Society

Genealogy identified kinship.  Kinship determined rights and privileges.  Competition for rights and
privileges helped make history.  Seanchas tracked it all.

Summary

Seanchas is a river of information about our ancestors, created by our ancestors, for our ancestors.  And for you.

Find out more about your own Irish Genealogy on the Irish tribes website.

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Appbrain at http://www.appbrain.com/app/celtic-myth-show/tv.wizzard.android.celticmythpodshow841 or by using the QR code opposite.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.