Let us Raise a Glass

Well here we are at the end of 2012, what a year it has been.  Thankfully the world didn't end so I can once again thank my readers for continually reading my musings, you really are amazing and we have passed the 4000 views marker!  Something I never dreamt would happen when I started writing.  Blog technology tells me that the Advent Calender posts were successful and the amount of hits it registered was amazing...with this in mind 2013 will have artefact of the month as a regular feature.  I of course want to make this blog as good as I can and to do it I would love feedback from my viewers.  The Thanet research will continue and I hope to add some other bits and bobs along the way...deciding what is the hard part.

Thank you again for sticking with me and let us raise a glass to 2012's archaeological achievements and the adventures that 2013 may bring.

Family Fun

Well it's the season for family gatherings and with it comes the dreaded game of Monopoly, so here we have...

Image taken from the BBC

a Roman gaming board.  Well a fragment of one, discovered in bonnie Scotland.  It is thought that the board was originally 15 squares by 8, with each player having 15 counters and a king.  The game was called 'Ludus Lutrunculi' and we think it worked a little bit like chess or checkers. 

I didn't pick this artefact to tell you all about Roman games, instead I picked it to show a different side to those rotten Romans!  They are always seen as an invading force, imposing their customs on those around them.  We spend much of our time studying the impact they had on such societies, particularly in terms of military involvement.  We see them as building military centres, basing soldiers in areas where they were experiencing unrest and disruption to their overall plans.  One of their lasting legacies in Britain is Hadrian's Wall, still in situ it is a popular tourist attraction now, but, it has not always been that way; it was once a means of keeping away the unwanted and declaring the lands they classed as their own.  Despite this harsh and physical barrier a gaming board found it's way into Scotland.  This game shows the human side of the Romans, identifying that despite being seen as a military machine, they were people.  They were social, miles from home and on the whole very few of them are likely to be truly Roman.

So when the bickering starts on Christmas Day about who won, who cheated, which rules to follow, you can take some comfort in the fact it has been happening since the Roman Period!

The Final Countdown?

Well it is December 21st 2012 and the World is thankfully still turning...so did the Maya get it wrong?  Well lets investigate....

First things first, what does it look like? 

Traditionally we expect to see something a little bit like this



Image taken from the Daily Mail

But the Maya also used their pyramids to help them along, so calenders could also look a bit like this

Image taken from How Stuff Works

So how does it all work?

Well we have days, months, years, counts and cycles to get our heads around so we will go with a step by step approach and hopefully you will still be with me at the end!

The lowest unit is a kin or 1 day and 20 kin make 1 uinal or 1 month...with me so far?  Each uinal is based on the movements of the moon making the Maya calender lunar focused.

18 uinal is equal to 1 tun which is 360 kin, after the 20th kin of the 18th uinal there are 5 days left over, these are known as wayeb.  These days are particularly important as they are free days, meaning all gods are able to access the world, even those of the underworld.  This means that all fires must be put out and the Maya community almost becomes one of mourning; fires must be put out, no food can be consumed if it has been cooked and there are even rules about washing and brushing hair.  To break these rituals is to invite the gods of the underworld into your life and bring upon bad luck; to be born in these days is considered a terrible curse and your life would be filled with misery.

20 tun is equal to 1 katun and 20 katun is equal to 1 baktun which is about 394 years.  Still with me? This continues up to 1 alatun which is equal to about 63 million years, so what does this mean for the end of the world?  Well considering the calender only started on August 6th 3114BC with the beginning of the Maya world, we have a while left yet!!

So what about these counts and cycles?

First we have the Tzolkin cycle, this is known as the divine calender and is needed to make sure all religious activity occurs at the right time.  It consists of 260 days or kin each with a number from 1-13 and one of 20 Maya names.  The cycle starts again after reaching the 260th day.

Then we have the Haab cycle, this is where the uinal and the tun come into things.  This calender is solar based, providing the 360 'normal' days and the 5 days of wayeb or 'free' days, full of bad luck.  Unlike we do in our calender the Maya did not take the quarter days into consideration.  The original uinal were named according to seasonal processes, which was logical until the quarter days were left out...then eventually the uinal names were a little more abstract.  After the Haab cycle has been completed 52 times, it is judged to be the end of the Calender Round, this occurs once in most lifetimes; meaning a longer dating method is needed, this is the Long Count.

The Long Count is a means of calculating when an event happened in relation to a set day, this start day is thought to be August 6th 3114BC in our calender.  It is this count that is said to have ended today, however, Long Counts also run in cycles and instead of being the end, its really a beginning.  Today wasn't about doom and gloom, instead a celebration of a new beginnings!

So there we have it...the Maya Calender.  Hopefully you stuck with me to the end and all made some sense at least. 

When a Stone is not just a Stone

Image taken from www.explorer.com

 I have opened today with an image of the truly breathtaking Skara Brae, Orkney.  With Winter Solstice almost upon us today had to focus upon the Neolithic, an era where so much research is focused upon the interaction of people with the Sun, Moon, Stars and Planets.  It is a period I love dearly, but, have rarely been fortunate to study.  So today I will tell you a little bit about the beautiful Skara Brae and then share one of my favourite Skara Brae artefacts.

Today is wet, windy and all together rather bleak, but, nothing like Orkney in the Winter of 1850.  A storm hit Scotland and such was its' strength that some 200 people lost their lives.  It also uncovered one of the World's most well preserved and admired archaeological sites.  The 'village' of Skara Brae was known once more...and William Watt wasted little time in exploring the ruins, quickly setting up an amateur excavation.  By 1868 and after uncovering 4 houses his attentions were no longer upon Skara Brae and the site was once more left to the elements.  This was until 1913 when sadly a group of individuals visited the site looting and plundering an unknown number of artefacts, which by now could be anywhere.  It was again left, then the Winter of 1924 set in and another storm hit Orkney, this time causing part of a house to be swept away, this time it was decided that something had to be done and Skara Brae's future rested with Edinburgh University and more specifically Gordon Childe.

By the 1970's 10 houses were fully excavated and the insight gained into Neolithic life was ever rising.  The houses formed a pattern, 9 having almost identical layouts, with one bucking the trend.  This lone house was quickly interpreted as being an area of crafts, a theory supported by the vast amounts of bone and ivory it contained.  Skara Brae is now listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site and excavations and surveys are ongoing.

It is often said that the settlement is small, a village maybe, however it is also often forgotten that Skara Brae was once much further in land and a great deal is likely to be lost to sea.  Surveys have also indicated further dwellings in nearby fields, though excavation is not yet possible.  The wealth of artefacts remaining on the site leads many to suggest that Skara Brae is Britain's Pompeii.  A theory that may not be too far from the truth, well minus the volcano bit!  The preservation is amazing and the cultural remains are unparallelled for a site of its' type.  Why did the inhabitants leave all their belongs behind?  Surely they would need them where ever they moved to?  For us as archaeologists the fact they left everything means we can do far more with the site, but as people if we stop and think about it, it means they left in a hurry.  There was no planning, just up and gone, which means one thing...they were scared.  It is thought that the 'village' was shielded by sand dunes, providing shelter from the Orkney elements.  However, the dunes that kept them safe may well have been what caused them to flee.  If a storm, such as that of 1850, occurred the protector would quickly become the enemy and begin to fill their homes.  Some say it was quickly which caused them to up and leave, others argue it was slowly and leaving was far more controlled and for other unknown reasons.  I am pretty convinced by the storm personally, it is was revealed it after all!

I keep hinting at artefacts and how they were left, but you have yet to see any, so I think it is about time I shared.

Image taken from twcenter.net

They are carved stone balls and have presented archaeologists with yet more mystery.  They appear in their highest numbers in North-East Scotland, but are known in the rest of Scotland, the very North of England and Ireland.  They are all roughly the same size, c6cm in diameter, but their stone type and weight vary dramatically.  This rules out them being used a measurements for traded goods, but does open endless new questions.  Some people think the carvings and bobbly bits are there to make securing a rope to them easier, thus allowing them to be used as weaponry.  Considering geographies and period I am far from convinced by this interpretation. 

Geography plays a part in the second theory.  North-East Scotland and its' islands have many Neolithic standing stone monuments and these carved balls are found in locations close by.  As such it has been suggested that they were used to roll the wooden sleepers that carried some of the stones to their destinations.  It is suggested that is why they are all of similar size, however, would they not be left with the standing stones, why would you take them home again?

Some people have suggested that they are net weights or sinkers, used to assist in fishing.  The number of bones and shells from sea based creatures certainly adds to this theory in the case of Skara Brae.  As does the lack of presence in graves, suggesting that they were not owned or significant in the afterlife.  I would expect to find them on beaches rather than in 'villages', but if they had left in a rush this is possible.

My favourite theory is a bit more in line with the gods and the Solstice.  It states that the carved balls are a form of rune or oracle.  They are thrown, moved, rolled and how they fall tells their users what the gods want from them.  The varied shapes and bobbles have the potential to relate to different gods.  It also explains the conformity in size and styles, if the purpose is cosmological they are made within the boundaries of the belief. 

So there you have the theories, what do you think?  Do you agree with one? Or do you have something different? Don't forget to share!!

A Glimmer of Hope in the Darkest Hour

Today I was going to bring you an image relating to Prehistoric Cave Art, so I set about some research.  I decided the best place to start was Lascaux caves, I have seen the images so many times but I have never taken the time to properly look.  I am so glad I waited, their website (as long as you have Flash Player) provides quite the explorers experience.  I was truly amazed! I shall give you my thoughts on the matter then give you the details on how to explore it yourself...we can all be Indie for just one day!! Here's a glimpse...

You are probably wondering why I sold this as a glimmer of hope, so I'll explain.  The cave was discovered by 4 teens in 1940, World War II was well underway and France was a bleak and weary land.  In September of that year they explored a 'fox den' convinced it would give them a secret entrance to a manor house, they didn't get that...they got something far better!  The boys saw the cave paintings explored as best they could and told their teacher what they had found.  He went to see for himself and was amazed at their find, and told the Chair of Prehistory in Toulouse.  A photo study was carried out by October and the site was given national historical importance shortly after.  In 1947 study was continuing but the caves were open to the public, by 1955 visitor numbers were still growing and shortly after provisions were made to make the cave more suitable.  By the late 70's there were noticeable affects on the caves of the visitor numbers and it was promptly closed to the public in order to preserve it.  Study is on going and a replica cave was built, which is still open today. 

Such a discovery in 1940 must have brought glimmers of the World that local people thought they had left behind.  It provided an escape from all the death and destruction that had become the World.  The care that was shown to Lascaux during War must have told the French people that there would be an end and it would end well...why else would time and money be spent on their heritage?  If the caves had not been found during the War years, funding and security may well have been harder to come by...but this cave and its' art showed how long people had lived in the region, they could be billed as French and utilised in terms of propaganda.  This was probably of more value at the time than the caves ever have been to the world of heritage...they provided light at the end of the ever growing tunnel.

I'm sure you are all set to explore now and if you haven't already stopped reading my musings and done a Google search (Thank you for sticking with me!) here is the all important link:

http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/index.php#/en/00.xml

Happy Exploring!