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.
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Back in August, 2011 the Guardian reported that King Arthur Pendragon appeared at the high court in London to argue that the “royal” remains should be returned to their age-old resting place in Wiltshire.

Pendragon, a 57-year-old former soldier and biker who changed his name by deed poll, wanted the high court to give permission for a judicial review of the government’s decision to allow the remains to be taken away for analysis.

But Mr Justice Wyn Williams refused King Arthur, ruling there was insufficient evidence to show the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) had acted unreasonably. Arthur said:

Even though on this occasion my appeal has been dismissed I am still very much hopeful that I can win in the future. I wasn’t asking for the bones to be put back straight away, I simply wanted confirmation that they will be returned to the site as soon as possible.

He said druids felt the remains were “guardians” of the site.

The judge heard that the cremated remains of more than 40 bodies – thought to be at least 5,000 years old – were removed from a burial site at Stonehenge in 2008 , with ministers giving researchers from Sheffield University permission to keep the bones until 2015. [source]

The Peaceful Protest Continues

Druid and eco-warrior King Arthur Pendragon has been leading a high-profile picket based at Stonehenge with the intention of getting the remains of the ancient dead returned to their resting place.

King Arthur said: “Let those we lay to rest, stay to rest.”

Button badges for King Arthur’s campaign proclaim “Bring back the ancient dead!”

Remains of the ancient dead that were buried at Stonehenge were removed by archaeologists and it was said that after carbon dating them they would be returned. However, this has not been done and the remains of the bones of the ancient dead have been held at Sheffield University.

King Arthur and other druids and pagans refer to these bones as those of ancient ancestors. Stonehenge is regarded as temple for druids and pagans. The ancestors who were buried there are believed to be the guardian spirits of Stonehenge and were meant to remain where they were buried.

Sign the Petition Below

King Arthur and fellow protesters organised a petition which has been signed by a large number of people. A question on the petition asks those who sign it to sate their religion and King Arthur was proud to be able to announce that the petition had signatures from over 60 people from different religious pathways and beliefs.

To Support King Arthur’s call for the reburial at Stonehenge of the Ancient cremated human remains (known as the Guardians) held by Sheffield University , please sign the following E Petition;
( http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/14696 )

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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.

Pic Wikipedia

The triple spiral or triskele is a Celtic and pre-Celtic symbol found on a number of Irish Megalithic and Neolithic sites, most notably inside the Newgrange passage tomb, on the entrance stone, and on some of the curbstones surrounding the mound.

Believed by many to be an ancient symbol of pre-Celtic and Celtic beliefs, the triple spiral appears in various forms in pre-Celtic and Celtic art, with the earliest examples having been carved on pre-Celtic stone monuments, and later examples found in the Celtic Christian illuminated manuscripts of Insular art. The triple spiral was possibly the precursor to the later triskele design found in the manuscripts.

The triple spiral is one of the main symbols of Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism, often standing for the "three realms" – Land, Sea and Sky, or for one of a number of deities who are described in the lore as "threefold" or triadic.^[1] The god Manannán is probably most often the one symbolized by the triskele, though some also use it for the goddess Brighid. Some Celtic-inspired Wiccans also use the triple spiral symbol, most often to represent the concept of the triple goddess.

According to Uriel’s Machine by Knight and Lomas (2003) the triple spiral may represent the nine month period of human pregnancy, since the sun takes a fourth of a year to go from the celestial equator (an equinox) to extreme north or south declination (a solstice), and vice versa. During each three-month period, the sun’s path across the sky appears to form a closely-wound quasi-helical shape, which can be likened to a spiral, so that three spirals could represent nine months, providing an explanation for a link between fertility and the triple-spiral symbol.

Source

Originally posted 2009-10-14 11:20:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Stonehenge Pic: Steven Waller

Jonathan Amos Science  correspondent, BBC News, Vancouver reports: Music could have been an inspiration for the design of Stonehenge, according to an American researcher. Steven Waller’s intriguing idea is that ancient Britons could have based the layout of the great monument, in part, on the way they perceived sound.

He has been able to show how two flutes played in a field can produce an  auditory illusion that mimics in space the position of the henge’s pillars.

Mr Waller presented the idea at the AAAS meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

He told the BBC:

 ”My theory is that the ancient Britons, when they were hearing two pipers in a field, were experiencing sound wave interference
patterns, where in certain locations as you walked around the pair of pipers, you would hear loud or quiet zones.

“If you could look at it from an overhead view, it would look like the spokes of a wheel. And, as you walk around the circle, every time you come to one of
these sound-wave cancellation points, it feels like there is this massive  invisible object in front of you.

“Put all this ‘vision in your mind’ together and it forms a Stonehenge-like structure.”

‘Supernatural explanations’

The La Mesa, California-based researcher said he had demonstrated the auditory henge effect using blindfolded subjects.

The phenomenon of interference leads to amplified and silenced regions

He took these people into a field where two pipers were playing and afterwards asked them to draw diagrams of the soundscape they had experienced.

“These people were not told anything about interference patterns or Stonehenge; they were completely naive subjects,” he recalled.

“And it was very interesting when they took the blindfolds off, and after having described the presence of large structures to then discover nothing was there in the field except these two flutes – they were flabbergasted.”

To read more on this fascinating subject and to hear audio about Steven’s experiment and how an ancient flute may have sounded visit BBC.News

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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.
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We found a short film by Mairéid Sullivan about the importance of the Hill of Tara on You Tube. She writes:

Over the past decade there has been considerable controversy regarding construction of the M3 Motorway through the Tara Valley, especially in light of the discoveries at Roestown and more recently Lismullin. While those finds are extremely significant, they pale in comparison to a more recent discovery at Tara.

This short film by the award winning documentary filmmaker and musician, Mairéid Sullivan, shows that the complexity and importance of The Hill of Tara goes well beyond what we’ve known about the site for the past few millennia.

Support the Anam Cara for Tara Arts Action Campaign
[Source]
(Anam Cara means “Soul Friend” in Irish Gaelic) an initiative of the http://GlobalArtsCollective.org

Originally posted 2009-04-12 08:52:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Men-an-tol Pic: Rainbow Network

Thanks to our Guest blogger, Glenn Broughton, for the following article. Our world is changing rapidly. The whole world has opened up before us through the Internet and wireless communications and our future lies uncertainly in front of us. Or does it lay partly behind us?

Interestingly, more people than ever before are now visiting and interested in ancient sacred sites across the globe. Stonehenge in England, the Pyramids in Egypt and Machu Picchu in Peru, are household names. What is it that is attracting so many people to check out these places? Who built these ancient temples and why?

Today these now-ancient sacred sites might at first appear to be just piles of rocks, dead relics of a bygone age. However, with an appreciation of our ancestors’ perspective and stories and myths passed down through the generations, we see a different story.

In Tune

It seems we are instinctively drawn to reconnect with the earth in a very personal way. Our ancestors knew the Earth intimately and understood its wisdom. They lived in much closer communion with the planet than we do today. Their sense of the natural forces of the Earth must have been a whole-body awareness like that of indigenous peoples around the world today, able to sense the serpentine currents of electromagnetic energy which course through the ground following the subterranean streams of water.

Their observations of the rising and setting sun’s movement along the horizon and the behaviour of the moon and stars in the night sky over generations would have developed into a body of knowledge recorded by site alignments and stone placements. This not only alerted them to the changing seasons but also to those times when the Earth energies and cosmic influences were strongest.

Everything is Energy

The trees were the first to teach us the consequences of enclosing natural energy. The Druids performed all their ceremonies in sacred groves for this reason. The stone circle builders developed this theme and used crystal-studded rocks to harness the natural energies. It took another five thousand years before we rediscovered the potential of crystal which we have successfully harnessed to power our computer based world.

Will water be the next great ‘discovery’? There is a growing understanding of the unique properties of water, such as its ability to hold information or memory, like crystal. Will the stories of holy wells having healing properties turn out to be backed up by the emerging science?

Working with the Energy

Science and open-minded spirituality appear to have run full circle and finally come together to reach the same place, namely that like attracts like and we create our reality – the laws of the universe make it impossible for anything else to happen.

On some level we still know what our ancestors knew – that the ancient sacred sites hold power and potential. The stone circles, chambers, temples and structures are containers of the Earth’s electromagnetic energy that is the same frequency as that of our brainwaves when we are in a meditative state. The law of resonance is the principle behind the power of prayer and ritual conducted in sacred space – in other words, sacred sites really work! Combining ‘New Age’ thinking with ‘Stone Age’ technology gives an updated meaning to the phrase ‘The New Stone Age’!

Glenn Broughton has been researching and visiting ancient sacred sites for twenty years and is drawn to explore their energetic properties and how such places of power affect us today. He has been a tour guide for most of this time leading groups exploring the mystery of sacred sites through Journeys With Soul http://www.journeyswithsoul.com. He also lecturers internationally on sacred sites, earth mysteries and crop circles, and is the co-founder / co-organizer of Earth Spirit Conferences http://www.earthspiritconferences.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glenn_Broughton.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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Pic: Joe O’Shaughnessy

A Connemara archaeologist says that the recent discovery of two stone axes in Galway city and county points to a ‘major’ hunter-gatherer presence on the Corrib catchment up to 9,000 years ago. The axes were found in Ballybane and in the garden of a private house in Clifden, Co Galway (Ireland), and are the latest in a number of significant finds recorded by archaeologist Michael Gibbons in the last couple of months

The Clifden axe was unearthed by Velta Conneely in her garden- the second such axe she has discovered there in eight years, Mr Gibbons noted.

Mr Gibbons has recently recorded a large court tomb overlooking Streamstown Bay in Connemara, where the earliest evidence for human settlement in west Connemara has been unearthed. He has also located two previously unmapped stone forts and a fulacht fiadh, or ancient cooking place, between Leenane and Croagh Patrick; a stone fort near
Ballynahinch and an oyster midden at Ballynakill bay, both in Co Galway; a cashel near Casla, Co Galway; and a number of arrowheads on Inishbofin island. Continue Reading »

Originally posted 2009-06-11 13:37:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

This is the seventh in the series of Albion Diaries filmed courtesy of MEV Productions, and is taken from ‘The Spirit of Albion’ filming from The Dijo Café in Horley and a Solicitors Office in Crawley. Keep your eyes sharply peeled during these clips and you might see some very familiar faces.

Esther, Annie and George are 3 people whose lives have reached a crisis point. On the night of 31st October, all three find themselves drawn to a clearing in the woods. Secrets are revealed and nothing will ever be the same again as an ancient power emerges from the shadows…

As you know this movie was inspired by the works of Damh the Bard and the Director, Gary Andrews, has put the whole story together into something new and astounding, something with a powerful message for today’s youth and we are so excited to see the film’s launch sometime around the end of 2011.

The Albion Diaries tell the Behind the Scenes story of the production of the Spirit of Albion movie. Marq English of MEV Productions is producing these video diaries of the film’s production, so you can get some idea of what’s coming and how it has all been put together.

Video Diary Filmed and Edited by Marq English.

Written and Directed by Gary Andrews.

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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.