Book of Kells
* Trinity College Dublin Library * Dublin, Ireland *

Leabhar Cheanannais or “Book of Columba”, “The Book of Kells”, is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book written in Latin that contains the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various texts and tables. It was written in 800 C.E. by Celtic Monks. The texts are largely drawn from the Vulgate including passages from earlier versions of the Bible known as the “Vetus Latina”. It is one of the World’s masterworks of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is one of Ireland’s finest national treasures. The decoration combines Christian iconography with ornate swirling motifs typical of Insular art with figures of humans, animals, and mythical beasts combine with Celtic knotwork, interlacing patterns in vibrant colors, and Christian sybolism. The manuscript today has 340 folios which have been bound into four volumes. THe leaves are on high-quality calf vellum and the lettering is in iron gall ink with colors made from substances imported from various distant lands. The manuscript was never finished. There are 5 competing theories for its place of origin and time of completion. The first theory, is that it was created at Iona and then brought to Kells where the illuminations were then added but never finished. The second theory is that the book was entirely produced at Iona. The Third theory is that it was produced entirely in the scriptorium at Kells. The Fourth theory is that is was produced in the North of England, transferred to Iona, and then to Kells. The Fifth theory, is that it is the product of an unknown monastery in Pictish Scotland. It is named after the Abbey of Kells where it lived for many centuries. When the Kells Abbey was plundered by Vikings in the 10th century, the Book was believed to be moved out of Kells to save it from being looted. The earliest historical reference to the book was found in a 1007 entry in the Annals of Ulster stating that “the great Gospel of Columkille, the chief relic of the Western World, was wickedly stolen during the night from the western sacristy of the great stone church at Cenannas on account of its wrought shrine.” It is assumed the “Great Gospel of Columkille” is the “Book of Kells”. It was recovered in Kells by the 12th century and remained there until 1654. It was sent to Dublin for safekeeping when Cromwell’s cavalry was quartered in the Church of Kells. It has remained in the Trinity College Library in Dublin ever since. It has been rebound several times over the centuries. Some of these damaged the illustrations, especially during the 18th century. It was damaged again in 1985, 1953, and then again during its last binding in 1953. It also sustained minor pigment damage when sent for an exhibition to Australia. The book is 330 x 250 mm. The cropped folios, done in the 19th century rebinding, brought the text area to 250 x 170 mm with each text page having 16-18 lines of text. The extent book contains preliminary matter, such as the complete text of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John through John 17:13. The remainder of John and some preliminary matter is missing since the 11th century. The remaining preliminary matter consists of two fragmentary lists of Hebrew names contained in the Gospels, Breves causae (Gospel summaries), Argumenta (short biographies of the Evangelists), and Eusebian canon tables. It also contains the text of the four Gospels based on the Vulgate but does not contain a pure copy of the Vulgate. The illustrations feature a broad range of colours, with purple, lilac, red, pink, green, and yellow being the colours most often used. The Insular work pigments contain red and yellow ochre, green copper pigment (verdigris), indigo, and lapis lazuli.

Ragnarok

 
Ragnarok

“Ragnarok”, “Gotterdammerung”, or a.k.a. “Doom of the Gods” or “Final Destiny of the Gods” is the apocalypse in Norse mythology. Its an important event in the Norse canon. This event will be followed by the Fimbulvetr, or the “Winter of Winters”. These three winters will follow each other with no summer. This will be a time of conflicts and feuds between all people and inhabitants on Earth, and all morality is believed will disappear. The mythos discusses that the “wolf Skoll will devour the sun and his brother Hati will eat the moon, plunging the Earth into Darkness. The stars will vanish from the sky. the Fjalar cock will crow to the giants and the Gullinkambi cock will crow to the Gods. A third cock will awaken the dead. The Earth will shudder with earthquakes and every bond and fetter will burst. The wolf Fenrir will be released. The sea will rear up because Jormungand the Midgard Serpent will write in fury making his way to the lands. With every breath, he’ll stain the soil and skly with poison. The Naglfar ship will be freed from waves caused by the serpent, and the Hymir giant will lead the giants to the battlefield. The Realm of the dead will send a second ship with Loki as the helmsmen, off to the battle. The fire giants led by Surt will leave Muspell in the south to join forces against the Gods and scorch the Earth. Heimdall will sound his horn, calling the sons of Odin and heroes to the battle. From all corners of the world - the Gods, the Giants, the Dwarves, the Demons, and the Elves will ride towards the huge plain of Vigrid to fight the last battle. Odin will engage Fenrir in battle, and Thor will attack Jormungand. Thor will be victorious, but the poison will eventually kill him. Surt will seek out the swordless Freyr, who will succomb to the giant. The one-handed Tyr will fight the Garm and they will kill each other. Loki and Heimdall, will meet a final time, and both will die. The fight between Odin and Fenrir will rage for a long period until Odin gets seized and swallowed. Odin’s son Vidar will leap to kill the wolf. Surt will fling fire in every direction and the nine worlds will burn, killing all friends and foes. The earth will sink into the sea. After the doomsday, a new and idyllic world will arise from the sea and abundant with supplies. Some of the Gods will survive will others will be reborn. Wickedness and misery will be non-existent and Gods with men will live happily together. Two humans, Lif and Lifhrasir will survive by hiding in the wood Hoddmimis holt and will repopulate the Earth. The personified sun, Sol will have a daughter at least as beautiful as she and this daughter will follow the same path as her mother. ” This cosmic event is attested in the 13th century “Poetic Edda” from early traditional sources, and the “Prose Edda” written also in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. There are several archaeological objects that depict events from Ragnarok. These are (1) Thorwald’s Cross: a partially surviving runestone erected on the Isle of Man, depicting a bearded human holding a spear down at a wolf, his right foot in its mouth, while a large bird sits at his shoulder. This dates between 940-1000 C.E. Its believed to depict Odin, with a raven or eagle at his shoulder, being consumed by Fenrir at Ragnarok. There is also a depiction of a large cross and another image parallel to it that some state is Christ triumphing over Satan. (2) Gosforth Cross: mid 11th century, from Cumbria, England that parallel’s Thorwald’s Cross combining Norse Pagan and Christian symbolism in a similar manner apparently combining scenes from Christian Judgement Day and the Pagan Ragnarok. (3) The Ledberg Stone. 11th century C.E. from Sweden and is similar to Thorwald’s Cross featuring a figure with his foot at the mouth of a four-legged beast, perhaps of Odin being devoured by Fenrir at Ragnarok. (4) The Skarpaker Ston. 11th c. C.E. from Sweden - father grieving his dead son used the same verse as in the Poetic Edda in the engraving translating to “Earth shall be riven and the over-heaven”.
Some correlations have been made between Ragnarok and the 9th century Old High German epic poem Muspilli about the Christian Last Judgement that states the world is to be consumed in flames. Other comparisons between Ragnarok and other Indo-European peoples depict a later evolution of a Proto Indo-European belief about a cosmic winter motif between the Norse Fimbulwinter, the Iranian Bundahishn, and Yima. Vidarr’s stride compared to Vishnu’s with a special shoe to tear apart the beastly wolf. Larger patterns drawn between final battle events in Indo-European cultures including the occurence of a blind or semi-blind figure in the themes. Other theories about the volcanic events after the death of the Gods - the sun turning black, steam rising, flames touching the heavens - may be inspired by the volcanic eruptions on Iceland. Records of eruptions on Iceland bear strong similarities to the sequence of events described in Voluspa, especially the eruption at Laki that occured in 1783.

 
About the Vikings & Their Coming To Ireland:
The Vikings were originally the inhabitants of Norse countries, such as where modern-day Denmark and Norway are now located. They became a seafaring explorer people due to the Scandinavian land pressures occuring in 700 C.E. Many of the first Vikings to set out were the younger sons of nobility who stood to inherit nothing from their father’s estates. They bonded with groups of warriors and went down the coasts pillaging settlements. They sold their booty for money and this became their lifestyle. They utilized longboats to sail across the North Sea to attack Britain, France, and Ireland. It is from these invasions that they were labelled the “Norsemen”. and then as “Vikings”. They called themselves “Ostmen”. The Vikings first landed in Ireland in 795 C.E., settling in Iona. Most of these original Vikings were Norwegian and very Pagan. When they ran into Christianity, they smited the religion, demolished Christian iconography, symbols, and sites. They were brutal to their prisoners and were known barbarians. This was one of the reasons they attacked the monastic settlement of Iona initially. They attacked the Rathlin Island Monastery in 795 as well as Hompatrick, Inishmurray, Inishbofin, and Sceilg Mhicil. The Norse raiders struck Iona again in 802 and 806 killing over 68 monks. They would hit-and-run raid these monasteries taking the riches and slaves that they brought back to sell in Scandinavia. By 841 C.E. they founded a permanent settlement at the mouth of the River Liffey which became the foundation for the city of Dublin and was named after the “Black Pool” that the area represented. Dubhlinn became a thriving slave trade center for the British Isles. It was defeated by the Irish in 902. From there The Vikings moved their power base to the Isle of Man. They established similar bases of wooden stockades built around beached longboats in Waterford (914) and Limerick (922). These quickly became prominent trading centers. Dublin was ruled by a Norse king from 853-1014. A second phase of raids took place in 914 where they re-captured territories recently taken back by the Irish. They retook Dublin in 917. The Native Irish resisted, while some formed ephemeral alliances with the Norse creating combinations of Irish against Norse, Norse agaist Norse, and Irish against Irish. The Vikings eventually settled the lands they conquered and became farmers or fishermen. By the 11th century, the Irish built a stronger opposition as they had adopted much of Viking military methodology until Brian Boru became the first King of all Ireland with a success over the Vikings by 1014. The Norse were pushed out and the Viking period only lasted 220 years.

Photos from the Dublinia Viking and Medieval History Museum:

 
Dublina Viking & Medieval History Museum

* http://www.dublinia.ie/ * St Michaels Hill * Christchurch, Dublin 8, Co. Dublin, Ireland * 01 679 4611 *
Located within and connected to the infamous Christ Church Cathedral of Dublin (a.k.a. “The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity”) is now one of Dublin’s most spectacular and interactive museums/tourist attractions. Christ Church is the elder of Dublin’s two medieval cathedrals, next to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Christ Church is officially claimed as a set of both the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic archbishops in Dublin. The Museum and Cathedral sits in the former heart of medieval Dublin next to WOod Quay at the end of Lord Edward Street. Christ Church is the only one of the three cathedrals that can be seen from the River Liffey. It is the home of the purported tomb of “Strongbow” - the medieval Norman-Welch warlord who came to Ireland and marking the start of English involvement in Ireland. The Dublinia Museum tells the story about how Dublin was settled by the Vikings and that is was an important medieval mecca at one time. It was established by the Medieval Trust in the rooms of the disused Synod Hall. The concentration of the museum is between the 11th century and the Reformation. The museum is a living history museum, with hands-on displays, and typical museum artifact displays. Reconstructed dioramas give glimpses of Dublin in the Middle Ages. The Museum gets quite crowded and is sometimes difficult to navigate around. The museum also houses the archaeological finds and a presentation of the current excavations of Wood Quay. The museum is linked by a bridge to Christ Church. Parts of the building are visible and climbing the tower will give you spectacular views of Dublin’s skyline. There are three prime exhibitions in Dublinia: (1) Viking Dublin Exhibition, (2) Medieval Dublin Exhibition, and (3) History Hunter’s Exhibition. Visitors can explore the Viking times of Dublin, its settlement, what life is like on a Viking warship, the clothing, what it is like to be a slave, and how cramped Viking homes were. Visitors can learn the runic alphabet and learn the mythos of the time. Visitors can see medieval Dublin - following history from Strongbow to the Reformation, what warfare and crime/punishment was like in the times, and about the Black Death. Visitors can get a glimpse of the historic Dubin Faire. Tourists can also gain insight into modern archaeological practices and current digs in the area, the technology they use, and the tools they utilize. Rating: 5 stars out of 5.

Sidewalk outside Dublina

Christ Church Cathedral:

Christ Church Cathedral

Dublin Faire

Black Death:

Artifacts:

Skeletal remains:

Skeleton

Skeleton

View of Dublin

Saveok Mill Archaeological Site

Saveok Mill Site
Greenbottom, Cornwall, England * http://www.archaeologyonline.org/index.html *

A small local farm in Greenbottom, Saveok Mill has placed itself on the archaeological map when resident Jacqui Wood discovered very curious archaeological features in her backyard when clearing the ground for a metal-work furnace on her land as one of her experimental archaeology projects. The current property, as “Saveok Mill” or now “Saveok Water”, is in its current evolution from the 17th century as a standing farm or community of 5 houses that once housed occupants who had worked at the local mill. When Jacqui Woods moved onto the property as her new home, little did she know what laid beneath her feet but none-other but an Archaeologist’s fantasy. Jacqui Woods, one of the world’s authorities on Prehistoric Cooking as well as Experimental Archaeology, who was also the consultant on the 1991 world famous discovery of the “Ice Man” could not believe her eyes with what she was uncovering. Since discovery, she has been excavating the finds at Saveok for at least the last 8 years. Jacqui has turned Saveok Mill into a Center for Experimental Archaeology, as well as home to archaeological field school sessions run and operated by herself. I first heard about the site in Archaeological Institute of America’s “Archaeology Magazine” article on the Cornwall Witches. Having been a subject of speciality for my graduate work research on the study of modern day Witches - this article struck a cord of harmonization within me as a means of continuing my research. I was extremely excited to visit this site that was revealing amongst the world’s first evidence of ritualistic practices of this nature all in one place. I made arrangements to visit with Jacqui in June of 2010.

Nestled in a sheltered river valley in Mid Cornwall England appears to be a ritualistic site that has been utilized as such for hundreds, if not thousands of years. The site dates from the Mesolithic (7,000-3,500 BCE) upwards to the 17th century of the Common Era (C.E.). Exposed in a trench along the south facing peak pank on the bend of the river between two shallow lakes were revealed Mesolithic remains ranging from evidence of dwellings, stone tools, and lithics. There are also well-preserved Animal Hoof prints along what was once the river or lake bed shoreline. Through time, this entire site was purposely covered over with various clays to make the river bank a suitable place for dwellings through the years. In an area that Jacqui Wood (excavation director and site manager) has labelled “A/2″ there has been found the first phase of the site that is believed to be the Mesolithic dwelling platform (approximately 8,500 B.C.E. (Before the Common Era)) which is covered by a dense green clay floor surrounded by stony yellow clay in which stake holes were found to support the dwellings were driven. The next site phase determined appears to be a Neolithic ritual area was a series of Spring pools that may have been utilized as ‘purification pools’ or ’sacred wells/springs’ through the ages. This natural spring line were large rectangular pools stone-lined with white quartz cores. As of this writing, there are at least two such pools on the site. Patterns of the stone lining, pool contents, and the seasonal filling of the second pool appears to have religious or ritualistic usage. Both of these features are very unique in Cornish archaeology - the only other such find was under the Maeshowe monument in Orkney that had a similar stone lined drain. The next phase of the site appears to have had ritualistic use by means of offering pits (upward of 35) primarily swan-feather lined with imported pebbles or additional elements in them that date from the late 1500’s to the 1640’s onward. Use of such offering pits during a period of turmoil in England when Cromwellian Puritans destroyed much of pre-Christian Pagan England along the countryside would not only have been extremely dangerous to practice, but simply unheard of for the time period as the practice of witchcraft often led to a death sentence. These offering pits are believed to be evidence of Cornwall Witchcraft practice throughout the ages. While lineage or written evidence for the site is lacking, the remains are vast and tie into much of the lore, practices, and belief systems utilized by Paganism in the area - standing as the most common-sense theory at this point in the investigations. These practices may or may not have been done by the former 17th century residents who built the dwellings that currently exist on the site. But some of the offering pits were certainly dug during their occupation. Ethnographic discussions with locals suggests that some of the land’s residents, the Burnett’s, were reputedly witches. Since anti-witchcraft laws were in place since 1541, their participation in these activities would have definitely remained hidden, for at this time the King James version of the Bible at the time declared into law that “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live“. [Exodus 22:17] The stone-line spring may have been utilized as a ‘holy well’ by these residents as well as its prehistoric use as such. The spring was packed full of ‘offerings’ dating to at least the 17th century including 125 strips of cloth from dresses and clothing, as well as pins, remains of a cauldron, cherry stones, human hair, shoe parts, imported heather branches, and nail clippings - all very commonly used offerings to sacred springs and wells. Modern day applications of these elements can be found existing in sacred wells and springs throughout the Cornish landscape today. Pins and cloth are common offerings to wells. Heather branches are associated with luck. The scraps of clothing could potentially have been remnants of ‘clotiers’ that are found around most of the wells throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland perhaps from a tree that was alongside the spring or just offered into the pool directly. (see modern example in article on “St Madron’s Well” located 25 miles from this site) This Well and/or Spring had sometime after the time of Cromwell had been filled in and destroyed in order to hide the practices that were taking place on this site since at least Neolithic times. The death penalty for the practice of Witchcraft officially ended in 1735 and by that time, evidence of this ritual site was covered over, and later residents of the site would have not been aware of what lie beneath.

The presumed ritualistic “offering pits” are generally 40 cm sq. x 17 cm depth earthen dug pits that were primarily carefully lined with the intact pelts of a swan and other bird remains such as claws and beaks from different species. Some of the pits had other animal elements including pigs, dogs, and cats. One was lined with the skin of a black cat and contained 22 eggs - all with chicks close to hatching, as well as cat claws, teeth, and whiskers. Another had a dog skin, dog teeth, and a baked pig jaw. Another pit had a mysterious 7 inch iron disk with a swan skin on one side and animal fur on the other. Based on ritualistic comparisons from Celtic Paganism, Witchcraft, Santeria, and Voodoo - such offering pits are common practice for fertility spells, sacrifice, and magical intentions. The abundant use of swan feathers, suggest fertility in this case, and based on local folklore could have been offering pits to the Goddess Brigid (now the Catholic St. Brigid) as per interviews with local witches and folklorists determined due to Brigid’s association with swans and fertility magic. According to local folklore and beliefs - the swan feathers associated with fertility were possibly offered her to promote conception. If conception took place - then 9 months later the person would return to empty the pit. This is the current explanation for some of the empty pits that were found. Some of the pits also contained leaf parcels of imported stones that have been traced to Swanpool Beach which is approximately 15 miles away from the site - a area famous for its population of swans. Not only were these practices at this time dangerous because of Cromwell, but the act of killing a swan would have been risky throughout English history as swans belong directly to the Crown. In addition within these feather pits were found over 57 unhatched eggs ranging in size from bantams to ducks that were flanked by the bodies of two magpies. Magpies are birds very tied to Cornish folklore and also seen as taboo to be utilized in such a way. These organic remains had incredible preservation on this site due to the Spring’s water-logged ground and mineral content. Radiocarbon dates of some of the swan feather fits date to 1640. The cat pit dates to the 18th century and the dog pit dates to the 1950’s. The combination of the holy well/spring, remains of the cauldron, ritual offerings to the well, swan feather lined offering pits, and other ritualistic evidence strongly suggested that this site was a ritual place for Cornish Witches. If this is the case, then Saveok Mill serves as one of the world’s best examples of sites of this kind since much of Witchcraft practice through the ages prior existed only in witches bottles and remains found in Salem, Massachussetts in the New World. Much of this fabled history, ressurrected by modern day Witches or continued by family tradition witches in the local area, has been buried in secrecy and buried underneath intentional cloaks of mystery. Until the modern era of the practice, written records of this religious movement and/or practice was next to non-existent.

In addition today for Saveok being a Archaeological Center and Site, as well as a training ground for future archaeologists, the location also serves for the groundbreaking launch ground for a number of Experimental Archaeology projects. Jacqui Wood through the last several years has been working on developing a re-created Iron Age village with roundhouses, kilns, and structures to explore into the lifeways of past. During my visit in June of 2010, I participated in their current project in Construction of an Iron Age Round House.

More photos and parts of the site:

• Preserved Animal Tracks along the ancient shoreline
• Lithics
• Ritual Offering Pits
• Purification or Votive Pools

More Pictures and Story to come …

Additional Resources:
• Witches of Cornwall: http://www.archaeology.org/0811/etc/witches.html

remnants of cloth from the Spring/well

Path to and from the Site:

Photos 6/14/2010:

Excavation Area:

Around Saveok Mill:

The Cats of Saveok:

The Lab:

• Displays on the Orkney Hood

The Round House:

Progress on the Iron Age Roundhouse Reconstruction:
June 15, 2010

Experimental Archaeology:

Salt Processing:

Ice Man Grass Skirt:
Photos and displays about Jacqui Wood’s reconstruction of the Ice Man’s Grass Skirt. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081204-iceman-moss.html

Other Projects:

Reconstructed Kilns, Ovens, and Roundhouses - the Former Celtic Village Site:

Saveok Archaeology Sheep:

Areas of the Site:

• Site Map
• Area A1
• Area A2
• Area B1
• Area B2
• Area B3
• Area C
• Area EF
• Area I
• Area K
• Area L
• Area Wheat
• Area Oak

Area D: Copper Working Area:
http://www.archaeologyonline.org/Site%20-%20Area%20D.html

This area of the site is purported to be where copper was worked. In the northwest corner of the trenches that Jacqui placed were remains of a intense fire and a temporary shelter. You can read details of the area at Jacqui’s site, linked above.

Various Artifacts Found Between the Pools and the Pits:

Ceramics and teeth that was mineralized like turquoise from copper elements in the soil:

Possible Temple?

Views around Saveok: (6/16/10)

The Roundhouse:

The classroom:

 
The Round House @ Saveok Water
Saveok Mill Archaeological Site * Chacewater / Greenbottom / Truro, Cornwall, England * http://www.archaeologyonline.org/Roundhouse/roundhouseindex.htm *

One of the Experimental Archaeological Projects at Saveok is the construction of a Iron Age village … starting with building Iron or Bronze Age styled Round Houses. During my June 2010 visit to Saveok, I was blessed with the pleasure to participate in and help build this unique historical dwelling. Jacqui Wood (Director of Saveok Water) has done it before, several times since 1992, and a few times at Saveok - each time with her perfecting the technique and style. There is still one on the property that lay in ruins as it is being monitored and studied in how it decomposes, breaks-down, and what traces it leaves through time. This particular Round House that Jacqui is building in 2010 is one based on an excavated Round House from Black Patch in East Sussex. The Round House that it is being styled after was a Bronze Age period Round house that was constructed into the hillside. It took Jacqui’s crews some time to hack into the rocky hillside for the foundation plot, but what you have now is a splendid and sturdy location for the project. In this style the walls of the building were not just made up of the same height using posts but as the wall progressed around the house the posts would get shorter and the natural material of the hillside would make up part of the walls.

What are Round Houses?

Round houses are a circular naturally constructed building that is made of thatch, wood, and other organic materials. It was a standard housing type found in Western Europe prior to Roman occupation. The walls of these houses were made of either stone or wooden posts that were joined by wattle and daub panels. The house was roofed with thatch in a conical shape. These houses can be found throughout Europe in varying sizes from 5-20 meters. These have been built in the United Kingdom since the Iron Age. Not Much has been told about the Round house in the archaeological record as even though the post holes have been preserved in the bogs - telling us a bit about the foundation, the rest has been theorized by means of experimental archaeology. It is postulated that the pitch of the roof should be at least 45 degrees, a central fire to be lit inside for heating/cooking/and maintaining the wood/thatch, and the outer walls to be constructed of wattle and daub. There was no smoke hole ever included as the smoke from the fire would just drift and seep out through the thatch.

Saveok’s construction based on the Black Patch Round house requires natural stone and earth foundation as a hole within which the structure would sit, natural timber posts, wattle/daub, and thatch to make up the structure. Before I participated in the project, several phases of construction had already passed. The Saveok crew had recycled/salvaged materials from the old round house down in the valley; Excavation of the site, foundation, and cut in the bank where the Round House would be set; Collection of additional wood and thatch from the Cubert Holiday Park; Digging the Post Holes; Construction of the Ring Beam; Construction of the Outer Wall (41 posts with wattling of willow or hazel); Construction of the Rafters; Wall daubing, and Thatching. No metal nails as natural wood stakes would be hammered into holes to connect posts/lumber together where the wattle/daub didn’t. It was pretty fascinating. You can read about the progress and see earlier photos here as well as follow links from there to future progress of the project:

1. Clearing / Setting up the Foundation
2. Collecting Materials
3. Setting the Post Holes
4. Erection of the Ring Beam
5. Building the Outer Wall
6. Outer Post holes and Wall
7. Construction of the Rafters

Following are photos I took while assisting in June of 2010: (More photos to be added in the days to come as I process them)

Progress on the Iron Age Roundhouse Reconstruction:

June 15, 2010

Saveok Purification Pools:
Saveok Mill, Greenbottom, Cornwall, England
Located on the small local farm of Saveok Mill called “Saveok Water Archaeological Site”, resident Jacqui Wood discovered very curious archaeological features in her backyard when clearing the ground for a metal-work furnace on her land as one of her experimental archaeology projects. One of the phases of the site, was the uncovering of sacred stone-lined purification pools that had a plethera of ritual offerings within them such as cloth, heather branches, a cauldron, clothing, shoe parts, pins, finger clippings, and hair. This votive pool was found to have been filled in during the mid-18th century. The silt appears to have been imported into the site from elsewhere. This site phase appears to be a Neolithic ritual area was a series of Spring pools that may have been utilized as ‘purification pools’ or ’sacred wells/springs’ through the ages. This natural spring line were large rectangular pools stone-lined with white quartz cores. As of this writing, there are at least two such pools on the site. Patterns of the stone lining, pool contents, and the seasonal filling of the second pool appears to have religious or ritualistic usage. Both of these features are very unique in Cornish archaeology - the only other such find was under the Maeshowe monument in Orkney that had a similar stone lined drain. Since anti-witchcraft laws were in place since 1541, their participation in these activities would have definitely remained hidden, for at this time the King James version of the Bible at the time declared into law that “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live“. [Exodus 22:17] The stone-line spring may have been utilized as a ‘holy well’ by these residents as well as its prehistoric use as such. The spring was packed full of ‘offerings’ dating to at least the 17th century including 125 strips of cloth from dresses and clothing, as well as pins, remains of a cauldron, cherry stones, human hair, shoe parts, imported heather branches, and nail clippings - all very commonly used offerings to sacred springs and wells. Modern day applications of these elements can be found existing in sacred wells and springs throughout the Cornish landscape today. Pins and cloth are common offerings to wells. Heather branches are associated with luck. The scraps of clothing could potentially have been remnants of ‘clotiers’ that are found around most of the wells throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland perhaps from a tree that was alongside the spring or just offered into the pool directly. (see modern example in article on “St Madron’s Well” located 25 miles from this site) This Well and/or Spring had sometime after the time of Cromwell had been filled in and destroyed in order to hide the practices that were taking place on this site since at least Neolithic times. The death penalty for the practice of Witchcraft officially ended in 1735 and by that time, evidence of this ritual site was covered over, and later residents of the site would have not been aware of what lie beneath. Over 128 pieces of fabric, varying from different weaves, thickness, and color were found in the votive pool. There were over 48 leather shoe parts found in the votive pool from sandals to shoes. Shoe offerings are notably in history to be associated with female genitals and could have been deposited for fertility offerings. Heather branches found offered into the pool are potentially good luck offerings done by gypsies. Six delicate pins were also found in the votive pool.

• http://www.archaeologyonline.org/Site%20-%20Area%20B1-%20Pool.html

Ritual/Purification Pool Artifacts:

Cloth found in the Purification Pool:

Cauldron fragments found in the Ritual Pool:

Pins, Hair, Nail Clippings, Wood, seeds, and shoe parts found in the Ritual Pool:

Heather branches and cloth found in the purification pools:

Crystal and stone items found in the pools:

Offering Pits at Saveok Water Archaeology Site:
Saveok Mill, Greenbottom, Cornwall, England
Within the last 10 years, one of the world’s best archaeological examples of Ritual Witchcraft has been exposed in Cornwall, England. This site, Saveok Water Archaeology, has several site features suggesting ritual offerings, purification pools, and spellcraft dating as early as the mesolithic upwards to offering pits from the 1500’s to early 1900’s. Some of the practices on the site took place during conservative religious periods that outlawed the practice of Witchcraft, killing of swans, or Pagan faith and ritual. This didn’t seem to affect the religious patrons to this site as offerings and practice appears very abundant on these grounds. Prior to these finds, some of the only remains of witchcraft in England were witch bottles. Located on the small local farm of Saveok Mill called “Saveok Water Archaeological Site”, resident Jacqui Wood discovered very curious archaeological features in her backyard when clearing the ground for a metal-work furnace on her land as one of her experimental archaeology projects. One of the phases of the site, discovered in 2003, in areas EF and Area L appears to have had ritualistic use by means of offering pits (upward of 35) primarily swan-feather lined with imported pebbles or additional elements in them that date from the late 1500’s to the 1640’s onward. Use of such offering pits during a period of turmoil in England when Cromwellian Puritans destroyed much of pre-Christian Pagan England along the countryside would not only have been extremely dangerous to practice, but simply unheard of for the time period as the practice of witchcraft often led to a death sentence. These offering pits are believed to be evidence of Cornwall Witchcraft practice throughout the ages. While lineage or written evidence for the site is lacking, the remains are vast and tie into much of the lore, practices, and belief systems utilized by Paganism in the area - standing as the most common-sense theory at this point in the investigations. These practices may or may not have been done by the former 17th century residents who built the dwellings that currently exist on the site. But some of the offering pits were certainly dug during their occupation. Ethnographic discussions with locals suggests that some of the land’s residents, the Burnett’s, were reputedly witches. Since anti-witchcraft laws were in place since 1541, their participation in these activities would have definitely remained hidden, for at this time the King James version of the Bible at the time declared into law that “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live“. [Exodus 22:17] The death penalty for the practice of Witchcraft officially ended in 1735 and by that time, evidence of this ritual site was covered over, and later residents of the site would have not been aware of what lie beneath.

The presumed ritualistic “offering pits” are generally 40 cm sq. x 17 cm depth earthen dug pits that were primarily carefully lined with the intact pelts of a swan and other bird remains such as claws and beaks from different species. Some of the pits had other animal elements including pigs, dogs, and cats. One was lined with the skin of a black cat and contained 22 eggs - all with chicks close to hatching, as well as cat claws, teeth, and whiskers. Another had a dog skin, dog teeth, and a baked pig jaw. Another pit had a mysterious 7 inch iron disk with a swan skin on one side and animal fur on the other. Based on ritualistic comparisons from Celtic Paganism, Witchcraft, Santeria, and Voodoo - such offering pits are common practice for fertility spells, sacrifice, and magical intentions. The abundant use of swan feathers, suggest fertility in this case, and based on local folklore could have been offering pits to the Goddess Brigid (now the Catholic St. Brigid) as per interviews with local witches and folklorists determined due to Brigid’s association with swans and fertility magic. According to local folklore and beliefs - the swan feathers associated with fertility were possibly offered her to promote conception. If conception took place - then 9 months later the person would return to empty the pit. This is the current explanation for some of the empty pits that were found. Some of the pits also contained leaf parcels of imported stones that have been traced to Swanpool Beach which is approximately 15 miles away from the site - a area famous for its population of swans. Not only were these practices at this time dangerous because of Cromwell, but the act of killing a swan would have been risky throughout English history as swans belong directly to the Crown. In addition within these feather pits were found over 57 unhatched eggs ranging in size from bantams to ducks that were flanked by the bodies of two magpies. Magpies are birds very tied to Cornish folklore and also seen as taboo to be utilized in such a way. These organic remains had incredible preservation on this site due to the Spring’s water-logged ground and mineral content. Radiocarbon dates of some of the swan feather fits date to 1640. The cat pit dates to the 18th century and the dog pit dates to the 1950’s. The combination of the holy well/spring, remains of the cauldron, ritual offerings to the well, swan feather lined offering pits, and other ritualistic evidence strongly suggested that this site was a ritual place for Cornish Witches. If this is the case, then Saveok Mill serves as one of the world’s best examples of sites of this kind since much of Witchcraft practice through the ages prior existed only in witches bottles and remains found in Salem, Massachussetts in the New World. Much of this fabled history, ressurrected by modern day Witches or continued by family tradition witches in the local area, has been buried in secrecy and buried underneath intentional cloaks of mystery. Until the modern era of the practice, written records of this religious movement and/or practice was next to non-existent.

More Information:

• Jacqui Wood on the Feather Pits
• Archaeology Magazine: Witches of Cornwall

Opening A Unit in the Offering Pit Area on 6/15/10:

Discovery of New Pits: (6/26/10)

Excavating the Feather Pits: (6/17/2010)

Artifacts from the Offering/Feather Pits:

Fur and feathers, beaks, claws, wood, and teeth:

Saveok Mill Lithics:

Saveok Water Archaeological Site, Greenbottom, Cornwall, England

During my June 2010 visit to Saveok Water Archaeological Site in Cornwall, England - I had the pleasure to peruse the lithic collection from the site. Excavation owner and director, Jacqui Wood has begun to do some intriguing investigations into the habitation patterns of this area of Cornwall. Many of the lithics have been found in Area: Oak where a shallow lake was believed to have let out. Several flint blades were located in this area. There have been over 29 worked pieces of flint found on the site as of this writing. Most of the blades are largely narrow and microlithic. Most of these are believed to date around the Late Mesolithic (8,000-3,500 BCE). Jacqui Wood’s Flint Analysis can be found here: http://www.archaeologyonline.org/Site%20-%20Report%20-%20Flint.html. Other debitage and larger stone tools also have been uncovered as pictured below. Check the Saveok Water Archaeology Site Website for details in the near future.

 
Animal Tracks along the River @ Saveok Water Archaeological Site
Saveok Mill, Greenbottom, Truro, Cornwall, England

During my June 2010 visit to the Saveok Water Archaeological Site in the Area B3 were discovered very well-preserved (petrified?) hoof prints along where the river bank used to run on the site hundred to thousands of years ago. In this area were numerous types of animal prints superimposed on top of each other. Excavating in this area a peat deposit over a constant spring line that was never affected by the climate, presumably deposited clay over the tracks mixed with sand preserving the prints. The main hoof prints are believed to be bovine such as Auroch or primitive domestic cattle ranging around 17 cm in diameter. There is also presumed to be horse and deer prints as well in this collection. You can read more about this at the Saveok Archaeological Site.
 

Saveok Mill Clay