Pic: Erin Hart

Erin Hart is making a name for herself as a first-class author or Irish Mystery steeped in legend, forensics, archaeology and plenty of thrills.   Haunted Ground (#1)   Two farmers cutting turf in the west of Ireland make a grisly discovery—the perfectly preserved severed head of a beautiful young woman with long red hair. Called out to the bog to investigate, Irish archeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin are thrown together by their shared curiosity about her fate.

Archaeologist Cormac Maguire is quickly called to the scene—"bog bodies" are always a remarkable find, sometimes centuries old but still close to their original condition. Cormac and Nora embark on a mission to determine the identity of the beautiful young woman and what led to her brutal fate.

But there are other mysteries buried within this small Irish town as well. Villagers are still suspicious of Hugh Osborne, a local landowner whose wife and young son disappeared abruptly two years ago without a trace. As Cormac and Nora dig into the background of the enigmatic redhead, policeman Garrett Devaney quietly reopens the Osborne case.

As deeper layers of secrets are revealed in each mystery, sleeping dangers are awakened, and past deaths could translate into future murders. Meticulously crafted, and resonating with traditional music and folklore, HAUNTED GROUND considers Ireland’s turbulent history, revealing the eternal, subliminal connections between past and present.

 Lake of Sorrows (#2)

Pic: Erin Hart

Death hangs heavy in the disturbed air of Ireland’s lonely Loughnabrone peat bog, an ancient holy place, steeped in legend, drowned in sorrow, and long since abandoned by man. Pathologist Nora Gavin has been called to an archaeological site in the bleak midlands west of Dublin—a place known as the LAKE OF SORROWS—to assist at an excavation where a well-preserved Iron Age body has been found in a bog

But moments after her arrival a much more recent victim is discovered. Like the ancient body, the new corpse bears multiple wounds, suggesting the ghastly ritual sacrifice of Ireland’s blood-soaked pagan past. How many hundreds or thousands of years ago was the man killed? Was his a ritual death, some kind of sacrifice? These academic questions are intriguing, but of much more urgent interest is the second body found nearby—of a man wearing a wristwatch, hardly an Iron Age accessory. But his corpse does show strange similarities to that of his ancient counterpart. Both bodies bear signs of "triple death," a primitive practice in which a victim was ritually slain three ways, perhaps to appease some pagan trinity.

Nora and archaeologist Cormac Maguire, embroiled in a tumultuous love affair, must team up again professionally, and are soon enmeshed in the web of tangled desires and terrible secrets that surround this untimely death. The danger mounts, fueled by illicit liaisons, rumors of ancient gold, and one person’s thirst for vengeance. Nora and Cormac must tread carefully, for as they draw closer to the truth, they come ever nearer to becoming the next victims of a ruthless killer. A magnificent follow-up to a sensational debut, LAKE OF SORROWS again weaves together history, folklore, and forensics, conjuring the dark character of the Irish countryside in a complex and chilling thriller.

 False Mermaid (#3)

Pic: Erin Hart

Erin Hart’s HAUNTED GROUND was one of the most praised mystery debuts in recent years, and its follow-up, LAKE OF SORROWS, also received outstanding acclaim. Now Hart combines her page-turning storytelling skills and deep knowledge of Ireland and Irish myth with a Minnesota setting close to her heart.

Nora Gavin remains haunted by a cold case that nearly cost her sanity five years ago: her sister Tríona’s brutal murder. After failing to bring the killer to justice, Nora fled to Ireland, throwing herself into her work and taking the first tentative steps in a new relationship with Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire. She’s driven home by unwelcome news: Tríona’s husband—and the prime suspect in her murder—is about to remarry. Nora is determined to succeed this time, even if it means confronting unsettling secrets. As she digs ever closer to the truth, the killer zeroes in on Tríona’s young daughter, Elizabeth.

Back in Ireland, Cormac Maguire heads north to visit his ailing father, and hears the tale of a local woman who vanished a hundred years ago. Was she a seal-maiden who returned to the sea, or was some more sinister force at work in her disappearance?

Caught up in parallel mysteries, Cormac and Nora wrestle with identity, suspicion, truth and falsehood, and of course the biggest riddle of all—will they have a chance at a life together, or will tragedies of the past continue to keep them apart?

Please find out more about Erin Hart and her works on her website at erinhart.com

Alternatively, if they keep their back-catalogue of the podcast, it should remain for some time and the episode you are looking for is episode 3 – Basse Yutz Flagons.

A History of the World in 100 Objects

Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, narrates 100 programmes that retell humanity’s history through the objects we have made. The series spans two million years of history and uses objects from the British Museum’s collection to tell a history of the world, from the earliest times to the present day. The 15-minute programmes are broadcast Monday to Friday on BBC Radio 4, and the podcast is published daily. Beginning in January, 2010 the programmes will be broadcast in three tranches through the year. 

Basse Yutz Flagons

The Basse Yutz Flagons – two bronze drinking flagons made by the Celts in Northern Europe 2,500 years ago and considered to be the most important and earliest examples of Celtic art. Writer Jonathan Meades and Barry Cunliffe help describe the Celts, dissect the stereotypes and consider their celebrated love of drink.

 Find out more about the podcast on the BBC site and more about the wonderful work on prehistory that happens on Ishtar’s Gate. Thanks to caigwynn on the Ishtar’s Gate forum for passing the news on in the first place

Pic: www.celtsand vikings.com

Many people of Celtic origin are intrigued by the history and meaning of the symbols found on Celtic jewelry designs. If you share this very natural curiosity about your ancestry, you may be interested in starting a Celtic jewelry collection of your own. It can be difficult to choose from the many stunning choices currently available in the marketplace. I’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to the common symbols found on today’s special pieces. With this useful outline, you can begin to decide on what means the most to you.

 The Insular Art Period -

The Insular Art Period was a rich period in Celtic art. During the post-Roman era in Great Britain, starting around 600 AD, Celtic artisans crafted unforgettable designs out of precious metals. Each piece was rife with intricate knot work, zoomorphic (animal) symbols, and delicate spirals.

As well as metal work, artisans also carved stone crosses and drew rich, illuminated texts, such as the Irish Book of Kells. The Insular Art Period lives on today in the spirit and quality of modern-day Celtic jewelry designs. For a truly authentic piece, look for jewelry that is handcrafted by the master artisans of Ireland itself.

Today’s designers take their cue from the Insular Art Period, referencing the High Crosses and Celtic crosses that stand in the churchyards of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. They use the influences of the past to create timeless symbols of spiritual faith and dimensional beauty.

Some Irish craftsmen spend years in apprenticeships before they are ever permitted to finish traditional jewelry designs. Their skill and passion add an heirloom quality to today’s collectible rings, pendants, and earrings.

Knot Work In Past And Present -

Knot work is a common feature on today’s Celtic and Irish jewelry – but what does it mean? The hidden symbolism inherent in the curving, never ending lines of traditional knot work has a mysterious quality that leaves us curious.

Celtic knot work is used to symbolize the interconnectness of all things, and the eternal nature of God’s own love. It is a feature on many art treasures, such as the Book of Kells, which features rich, gilded borders. The Book of Kells now rests at Trinity College in Dublin, where onlookers can enjoy its pictorial depictions of the four Gospels of the New Testament.

Celtic knot work is also known as interlace, and it is used to great effect in the Book of Kells. Rich, bold colors make the beauty of the interlace come to life.

On today’s rings, pendants and earrings, knot work is a common feature. It can flank engagement stones, or be found in the careful engraving on Celtic Cross pendants. Its beauty and versatility give great individuality to modern Celtic jewelry.

All over the world, the delicate, interwoven lines of interlace are recognized as uniquely Celtic. By choosing a starter piece of Celtic jewelry that features knot work, you will be choosing an ancient symbol that may have also been worn by your ancestors, thousands of years ago.

Zoomorphic (Animal) Symbols –

On ancient Celtic instruments, such as the Irish bodhran, there are often painted animal symbols that pique the imagination. But what do they symbolize? You may also have wondered at the zoomorphic symbols that appear on today’s Celtic jewelry designs.

Zoomorphic symbols have been used for centuries to illustrate the sacred animal symbols of Great Britain’s most illustrious families. The Clans of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales used animals because of the traits they were thought to possess. For example, the Book of Kells features both a winged lion and a winged bull.

Giving spiritual, magical qualities to animals is a tradition in Celtic art and mythology. Serpents are also a common zoomorphic symbol. The serpent was thought to be a facet of Pagan worship in the ancient times before Christ, when Druid beliefs were commonplace.

Animal symbols are often carved in interlace fashion, combining two time-honored symbols of Celtic history. Jewelry may feature interlace birds, reptiles, or other animals that underscore the Pagan belief in uniting with nature itself.

Shamrocks -

The Shamrock is found throughout Ireland, on objects as diverse as beer bottles, national flags, and gold and diamond pendants. The Shamrock is a symbol of the Patron Saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick grew up in the Pagan faith, but in his teen years he converted to Christianity. His life was spent in the service of Christ, and he spent thirty years building schools, monasteries, and churches that celebrated the power of the Gospel.

Saint Patrick used the trefoil, or three-leaf, design of the Shamrock to convert Pagans to Christ in Ireland. He felt that the three leaves were a natural symbol of the Holy Trinity (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit). The dedication of Saint Patrick is celebrated each year on March 17th, as Saint Patrick’s Day parades and festivals are held.

In jewelry designs, Shamrocks are a potent reminder of Saint Patrick, and of Ireland. The Shamrock remains the most recognizable of all Irish jewelry motifs.

About the Author

L Maher is a content writer who writes and researches about gorgeous and extraordinary Celtic jewelry, as well as Irish culture and history. Get more information regarding Celtic jewelry.

Pic: Two Story Roundhouse, Nat Mus Scotland

The Northern Scot reports that archaeologists are inviting members of the public to join them in ­exploring the past at an Iron Age settlement in Moray. Once a year, experts from National Museums Scotland excavate the site at Birnie – one of the most significant locations of its kind in Britain.

Now amateurs will get to learn more about its hidden treasures when the archaeologists stage an open day on Sunday, September 7. Continue Reading »

Originally posted 2008-09-19 09:19:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Celts shared many similarities with the Indians from India. One is in their religious beliefs and the Celts believed in Karma and reincarnation and the Otherworld. Another similarity between the Celts and the Ancient Indians was their social levels. The Druids were a part of Celtic society, but the word Druidae was a Greek word used to describe the second tier of Celtic society. The second tier consisted of the educators, philosophers, judges, etc that made up the Celtic intelligentsia. This tier in Celtic society was underneath the leaders of Celtic society much like the Brahmins existed underneath the leaders in ancient India.

They were highly advanced for their time. They began crafting swords and spears and lances with iron and thus dominated everyone else they fought. They also used iron smelting to build tools to clear forests and build roads. The ancient Romans, noted for their road building simply learned from the Celts and improved upon what they learned. Also, they had advanced cavalry tactics for their time and dominated ancient battlefields with them. Alexander the Great formed a peace treaty with the Celts claiming that the Greeks were they equal and sought peace. The Celts agreed to peace with Alexander the Great which allowed Alexander to fight his conquests in Asia and Persia. Upon Alexander the Great’s death, the Celts waged war with the Greeks and conquered Macedon and were about to invade the other city states like Athens when the Celtic leader Brennus killed himself. Three Celtic armies then backed off and disappeared northward.

The Celts also largely fought the Romans and often defeated them in battle, yet never made it as far south as Rome itself, they stayed in northern Italy except for when Hannibal sacked Rome with his mighty war elephants. Hannibal could not have traveled through Celtic lands without Celtic allegiance and the Celts along with Hannibal sacked Rome. The Romans however, were stubborn and learned much from fighting the Celts and adopted their tactics and weaponry and improved upon them and began defeating the Celts in Northern Italy and with Julius Caesar, in Gaul and finally into what is now England. By Hadrian’s time the Celts were left in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The Romans built Hadrian’s wall at the height of their Empire and the Celts were on the northern side of the wall and the Romans on the southern. The Celts near Hadrian’s wall on the southern side often revolted and this was a trouble spot for the Romans.

The reason the Celts are often overlooked in history and that the Romans and Greeks and Egyptians are not is because the Romans and Greeks and Egyptians all wrote and had their own written alphabets. The Celts knowledge was all passed down orally so that others would never learn their ways.

In conclusion, the Celts were one of the most successful civilizations of the ancient time period. The Celts used iron smelting to build advanced weaponry and used advanced tactics to dominate their Ancient foes. The Romans, after learning from the Celts and improving upon what they learned began defeating the Celts in battle and established their own Empire with the fall of the Celts.

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Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Celts. Around 400 BC a great swathe of Western Europe from Ireland to Southern Russia was dominated by one civilisation. Perched on the North Western fringe of this vast Iron Age culture were the British who shared many of the religious, artistic and social customs of their European neighbours. These customs were Celtic and this civilisation was the Celts.

The Greek historians who studied and recorded the Celts’ way of life deemed them to be one of the four great Barbarian peoples of the world. The Romans wrote vivid accounts of Celtic rituals including the practice of human sacrifice – presided over by Druids – and the tradition of decapitating their enemies and turning their heads into drinking vessels.

But what were the Celts in Britain really like? Was their apparent lust for violence tempered by a love of poetry and beautiful art? How far should we trust the classical historians in their writings on the Celts? And what can we learn from the archaeological remains that have been discovered in this country?

With Barry Cunliffe, Professor of European Archaeology at Oxford University; Alistair Moffat, Historian and author of The Sea Kingdoms – The Story of Celtic Britain and Ireland; Miranda Aldhouse Green, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Wales.

In RealMedia only.

Last broadcast on Thu, 21 Feb 2002, 21:30 on BBC Radio 4

BBC Website

Pic: Lulu P

La Trobe University’s Lynne Kelly believes Stonehenge was built as a sacred site to pass down knowledge to the generations of Neolithic Britons who settled on the plains surrounding the structure between 2400 and 3000BC

Ms Kelly said the original bluestone circle was installed to act as a memory system to recall oral histories of the Neolithic culture that had operated as a hunter-gatherer society before settling in the area.

“Stonehenge was initially a circle of stones and it had a henge around it,”

Ms Kelly said.

She said the site was used to perform seasonal ceremonies of song and chant carried down from the culture’s history, with the stones acting as symbolic markers or memory trigger to each event.

“The Neolithic Britons who built Stonehenge, like other cultures starting to settle, lacked a written language with which to preserve their knowledge.The most reliable recording system they had were mnemonic methods, whereby knowledge ranging from animal behaviour to astronomy could be communicated through chants and rituals.”

Ms Kelly said the giant stones for which Stonehenge was now famous were not installed until 500 years later, and had been aligned with the solstice to act as a calendar for the continuing ceremonies.

She acknowledges she came across the theory by chance two years ago following a visit to Stonehenge.

“It was there as a tourist that I realised this method of using a physical site as a mnemonic is actually known the world over and could be applied here,” she said.

Ms Kelly has discussed the theory at length in a doctorate for the university and presented her findings at the National Communications Association convention in Chicago last November.

She will also publish a book on the topic later this year.

Source

Pic: Newgrange saga in lap of the gods

The Irish Government is proposing to build a dual-carriageway, within 500 metres of the Bru Na Boinne World Heritage Site in Ireland. The EIS claims it will impact a number of the 44 archaeological sites discovered within 500 metres of the 3.5km bypass, and  there is a high likelihood of more being discovered. Many of these sites are no doubt part and parcel of the Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne. http://whc.unesco.orwhc.unesco.org/en/list/659g/en/list/659

The bypass will be visible and audible from the Knowth passage tomb, and although just outside the buffer zone the road still passes through an area protected under the County Development Plan and the European Landscape Convention and the Valletta Convention.
http://www.meath.ie/LocalAuthorities/Publications/PlanningandDevelopmentPublications/CountyMeathPlanningPublications/CountyMeathDevelopmentPlan2007-2013/File,6743,en.pdf

It also appears to be in breach of the 2002 management Plan for the Site. The seven volumes of the Plan can be downloaded from the right hand toolbar
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savenewgrange/

While the closing date for written submissions was in February, it is expected that the Irish Planning Board, An Bord  Pleanala, will hold an oral hearing into the matter in the coming weeks.

Save Newgrange was set up in January, to help ensure that the Bru na Boinne receives the legal protection it is guaranteed, under Irish, EU and international law. We have made the Environmental Impact Statement available for download at http://www.savenewgrange.org

We hope to avoid another Tara scenario, where objections by international experts and expert bodies, like the Archaeological  Institute of America, the World Monuments Fund, and the Landmarks Foundation were received too late to be considered by the planning board. So, we are hoping to receive objections from such experts and present them at the oral hearing. Their Tara statements and others can be found at http://www.hilloftara.info

The WHS site is already adversely affected by the M1 motorway, completed in 2003, which straddles the western boundary of the site. A report made by UNESC/ICOMOS after a reactive monitoring mission shows that the continued listing of the site is in question, as a result of various inappropriate developments since incription in 1993. The report can be found here:
http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2004/mis-659-2004.pdf

Ironically, there is another public consultation under way, called Brú na Bóinne Research Framework by the Heritage Council.
http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/archaeology/heritage-council-initiatives/bru-na-boinne-research-framework

Thank you for your kind consideration.

Vincent Salafia

These wonderful places are the spiritual and historical heritage of the Irish people and we support the Save Newgrange and Save Tara Causes in preserving them for future generations.  If you feel you or your organisation can help support this important  cause in anyway please contact :

Vincent Salafia  Email : salafia@gmail.com

http://www.savenewgrange.org

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=438725795435

Yahoo Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/savenewgrange/

Pic: CMP

Whilst browsing the web. I came across this facinating article by  John Patrick Parle and thought our readers may enjoy it …. Speakers of Celtic languages once dominated a swath of Europe stretching from Spain to areas of modern-day Turkey. At various times in their heyday from 500 to 100 B.C., these Celtic peoples controlled what is now France, southern Germany, northern Italy, Switzerland, Austria, the Balkans, and other adjoining territories.

These Celts of continental or mainland Europe are often separated for analytic purposes from the insular Celts of Ireland and Britain.

Experts on the Celts are quick to point out that the religious practices and the homaged Celtic deities were not consistent throughout the vast territories populated by the Celts. Indeed, the gods of the ancient Celts were often localized deities of the tribe or the geographic region. Gerhard Herm quotes Celtic researchers in reporting that some 374 names of Celtic deities have been identified in Europe, and that only sixty-nine of these appear in more than one geographic area. This claim is bolstered by Barry Cunliffe who asserts that although there were more than 200 Celtic gods and goddesses, their recognition was not consistent or unchanging across Europe.

The Celtic gods had much to do with nature and its cycles, especially in the earlier periods of Celtic history, before human characteristics were deified. Gods and goddesses were often connected with sacred springs, rivers, groves, or tribal shrines in the outdoors. Celts approached their gods for help with healings, fertility, bountiful crops, and other forms of good fortune. Julius Caesar commented that the Celts were "superstitious," and that they offered many sacrifices and amends for justice to appease their gods.

Most likely, the mainland Celts did not give human form to their gods and goddesses until later in the Iron Age, perhaps in the first or second century B.C. According to Simon James, only a few religious statues have been found dating to the early Celtic period. Then there is an interesting story about the Celts’ attack on Delphi, Greece in 279 B.C. Diodorus Siculus reports that the Celtic leader Brennus the Younger mocked statues of the Greek gods at the temple–"when he came only upon images of stone and wood he laughed at them, to think that men, believing that gods had human form, should set up their image in wood and stone."

But once the Celts had greater interaction with the Etruscans, Romans, and Greeks, the Celtic gods began to take human form. By the first century A.D., the Roman writer Lucan reports that Celtic woodcarvers created statues that were "grim-faced god-images, coarsely hewn from rough tree-trunks, bleached by the weather." It is possible that the Celtic deities of the European mainland became quite anthropomorphic, with many human characteristics. This was clearly the case in Ireland and in Britain, as told by the mythic literature. But such Celtic mythic tales were not written down in mainland Europe, so we don’t know a great deal about the traits and stories of their gods. (Many of us end up trying to extrapolate based on Irish and Welsh mythology.)

To read the rest of this fascinating article please visit  Article by John Patrick Parle

Pic: mharrsch

The Celtic torc is crafted as a rigid piece of twisted metal that is open ended at the front. Produced in the period of the European Iron Age the ancients wore this adornment as an arm ring, a bracelet, a circular neck band or as a necklace. In the British Isles the Iron Age spanned from about 800 BC until after the Roman conquest in about the 5th century CE. This time span is testimony of the Celts superior craftsmanship during a time which is not depicted as the ‘civilized era’. Even after Roman occupation the Celts continued to develop their craft and became noted for their beautiful jewelry

. In fact their jewelry exceeded the quality of Byzantium wares. Celtic torcs became very popular throughout Europe from about the 8th Century and were worn as a symbols of power status. Since then and today the Celts are revered for their symbolic designs and beautiful patterns depicted in their jewelry.

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