Silbury Hill

Archaeologically there has been a fascinating new development today since it has been proven that Silbury Hill in Wiltshire is no longer unique! For so long archaeologists have been speculating about this amazing huge circular flat topped hill which is all completely articicial and trying to decide what it was for. They've dug tunnels into it and all manner of stuff, but let's be honest they still don't know. Now it appears there is a second such hill in Marlborough and they have just released the date as being prehistoric! Mega-monuments like this don't come to light so very often these days so this is big news. I hope it's right! Now we need to see if this one can tell us what they might have been for! Are there more lurking out there confused with medieval castle mounds (or mottes) for instance or thought to be entirely natural? It's so good when new discoveries set everyone thinking again and re-assessing what we thought we knew about the past. There's always the danger we will become complacent about our heritage and think we know it all, when we don't even know the half of it!
I often wish I could travel back in time and see what really went on! I would also take the hand of the person who invented knitting and thank them for giving me personally so much pleasure over the years puzzling over complex patterns and motifs! They could never have realised what they were letting loose on an unsuspecting world! What a brilliant invention, all you need is a ball of yarn, two needles and the possibilities are endless!
I'm less sure I want to meet the person who thought that ironing was a great idea...but that's just me!

Mowing or moaning?

Like a lot of other people I've been trying to shed a bit of excess weight by eating more healthy food - and less of it - and doing more exercise. I've always been quite large, statuesque is a kinder phrase. If you say you are 'big boned' everyone just falls about laughing as if it's the weakest and most feeble excuse in the world for being heavy...but when it's true it isn't funny! When you have been blessed with such a thing, the flesh hangs happily on it and you cart it around! I wouldn't mind so very much, I've been walking every day doing at least 3km and when I'm not doing that I'm swimming and I now regularly swim 2 miles a week! Which may not sound very much but feels like it! I've lost 2 stones in weight not by crash dieting but by lifestyle and dietary changes cutting out the bad stuff and doing more of the good. So I'm doing everything right....today I mowed the lawns in extra quick time because A) rain was threatening and B) I'm feeling fitter I think, but do you know what galls me more than anything? I've given up all those bad things and lost all that weight so far and nobody can tell!! They all say I look EXACTLY the same. Now either I am the world's leading cover up artist and dress brilliantly to conceal extra pounds (which I seriously doubt) or like I said at the start when you have a huge foundation you just don't seem to get any smaller! So I guess I'll just have to keep on mowing those lawns, swimming and walking until one day I turn sideways and disappear. This could take some time......

Space Archaeology ?

The BBC have been running stories under the banner heading of 'space archaeology' which isn't strictly accurate since it involves the study of the earth from space i.e. satellite imagery and not the other way around. Don't get me wrong, this is brilliant, it's like aerial photography with a bigger lens I guess, but it's not exactly new... we've been doing that for years! In some circles they call it 'remote sensing' but I guess that is even less sexy as a concept or a banner heading! I secretly suspect somebody has been reading Von Dannekin (is that how you spell the guy's name?) or 'were our ancestors influenced by alien visitors' for the uninitiated. The idea that brilliant innovative human beings were unable to come up with inventions and new technologies all by themselves is quite frankly insulting to every one of us. The human race is brilliant, can wrest success from the jaws of defeat by ingenuity and pragmatism and can make something out of nothing by sheer tenacity and perseverance. It's one of the reasons why I became an archaeologist, because I can really appreciate how brilliant that is as a concept! If we can't do things by our own hands then we invent something which can help us to do it better: from the humblest bone needle to make clothes; knives and weapons to feed ourselves; shelters to live in; receptacles to cook and store things in; right through to items purely for adornment or pleasure and even to space travel....I'm not saying we're alone in the enormity of space...logic suggests this is unlikely, but it didn't take astronauts from other planets to get us going. Who knows, maybe it IS actually us that are the most intelligent life forms out there and the rest will look to us for guidance. If so, they will have a while to wait and I dread the responsibility this places on us but I suspect if it's possible we'll get there, eventually! 

There really is a certain feling of deja vu about this Icelandic volcano. Looking on the internet for a while it was clear some were predicting this eruption back in November! I've seen the lava flow from the biggest eruption and the same volcano is credited with causing the deaths of up to 20% of the population of Iceland through starvation and destruction of farmland. It must be hell with all that dust. I visited last year when the 'other' volcano - which I can actually pronounce but can't spell- went up, well just after it actually. Everything was cloaked in black dust. Its an amazingly bleak and beautiful country, spectacular but those who live there have my greatest respect. Farmers who can produce food and tend to their animals in such conditions are a rare breed for sure and must be working like slaves right now, having just come through winter. Spare a thought for them, just as they thought it was safe to let everything outside again. How can this happen to them again so soon? To all those who moan that they can't have their holidays just remember there are always those who are worse off....

Some rain and the cup that cheers

I never thought I'd ever say it, being on the western side of Britain where all those Atlantic winds laden with rain usually wring themselves out right overhead, but lately we've been a bit short of the wet stuff. Not any more, it arrived yesterday and recharged the rivers which are now fairly gurgling by. It has refreshed the grass and washed the leaves clean! I know there's a weird name for the smell after the rain. I cannot recall what that word is right now but there's a lot of it about...and it's terrific! You can almost hear the plants sucking up the water and giving out a collective "ahh!" as if they've just had a cup of the most refreshing tea in the world! Hmm that's not a bad plan...think I may just go and join them!

Spring becomes summer

It's a truly beautiful morning today, full of promise and sunshine. The trees are so verdant with their new leaves, the sky peppered with clouds, the sunshine now has some significant heat and the hedgerows are coming alive with flowers. Have had a wander amongst the bluebells today and seen a red kite in flight and a heron on the riverbank. The animals are contentedly chewing the cud in the fields of lush green grass. It's just one of those mornings when it is possible to push away all the awful things, the worries, the fears for the future and stresses of life for a few minutes at least and just concentrate on simple pleasures. That's what I call bliss and for a few minutes just listening to the cuckoo call and hearing the gurgling water splashing in the river this is heaven on earth. I'm right by a road and people have sped past this spot in their cars and missed it all, they will never know how close to my version of heaven they came or what simple beauty they missed.

A sense of place

Have you ever noticed some areas seem to have their own special resonance, a feeling which cannot be explained but which seems to linger there when you come across them? Is it just down to a splendid view perhaps or is there really a sense of peace or possibly something more turbulent? Some would say this is complete balderdash, but others hold strongly to the view that a place can record, hold and repeatedly replay past events. Some factors which determine where we chose to stop or set up permanent residence are constant: how damp somewhere is, how exposed to the elements, whether there is adequate shelter, how accessible it is, does the surrounding area grow food well, and is there sufficient drinking water for example. Looking at past settlements, now in ruins with the builders and occupiers long gone it is still appealing to speculate what they thought of the view, what attracted them to this spot in the first place and to try to pick up on any thoughts or fears they might have left behind. If only the walls could truly talk!

Archaeologist discovers 21st century

Hi there,

I'm new to all this modern technology and this is proving to be both an uphill struggle and a steep learning curve for me. It's an odd thing that as I sit here now, I cannot for the life of me think of anything important to say. I guess the contestants on various game shows felt the same as the answers disappeared from their minds just at the wrong moment. It seems really strange to just be speaking randomly to nobody in particular, but knowing the whole world could be listening. If you see what I mean? I love all things historical and archaeological and have produced and grown a lot of my own food for years. I guess that makes me a tree hugging hippy on the quiet and certainly a bit alternative. I'm attempting to write my first novel and looking after a farm at the same time. It makes my life busy. I have a teenaged daughter who makes technology look easy (give me a flint tool any day) and I'd like to think I'm kind, gentle, have a free spirit and a good sense of humour. I know I work hard and I love swimming and country walks....see, told you I'm a nature lover. If you want to find out more concerning my random thoughts just watch this space....