Posted on 02/11/2008 3:11:33 PM PST by blam
Druid Grave Unearthed in U.K.?
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News
Digging for History
Feb. 11, 2008 -- Historical records tell of a mystical, priestly and learned class of elite individuals called Druids among Celtic societies in Britain, but there has been no archaeological evidence of their existence. Until, perhaps, now.
A series of graves found in a gravel quarry at Stanway near Colchester, Essex, have been dated to 40-60 A.D. At least one of the burials, it appears, may have been that of a Druid, according to a report published in British Archaeology.
Mike Pitts, the journal's editor and an archaeologist, authored the piece. Pitts studied classical Greek and Roman texts that mention the Druids in early France and Britain. The most detailed description, Pitts found, dates to 55 B.C. and comes from Roman military and political leader Julius Caesar.
"Druids, he says, were prestigious ritual specialists who performed human sacrifices, acted as judges in disputes, were excused action in battle and taught the transmigration of souls -- when you die, your soul is passed on to another living being," Pitts told Discovery News.
Other historians link the Druids to soothsaying and healing practices.
Within the wooden, chambered burial site, researchers have excavated a wine warmer, cremated human remains, a cloak pinned with brooches, a jet bead, divining rods (for fortune-telling), a series of surgical instruments, a strainer bowl last used to brew Artemisia-containing tea, a board game carefully laid out with pieces in play, as well as other objects.
"This person was clearly a specialist and also clearly wealthy and powerful, as indicated by the special grave and its apparent location within the compound of a 'chief.' That would all fit Caesar's Druid," he said, adding that Caesar likely also visited Stanway during his lifetime.
The surgical kit found in the grave includes iron and copper alloy scalpels, a surgical saw, hooks, needles, forceps and probes. Pitts said the collection mirrors basic medical tools from other parts of the Roman world.
Surgical Tools The board game and its arranged pieces, however, are anything but common. None other like it has ever been found at Roman-era sites in Great Britain.
Surviving metal corners and hinges from the board allowed Pitts to reconstruct it as an 8-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Raised sides suggest dice might have been used. The white and blue glass counters were positioned with care. Some were straight across the sides, another in a diagonal line and one white marker close to the board's center.
Pitts believes the game may have been another "divination tool," along with the rods, jet bead and scent bottles also excavated at Stanway.
Philip Crummy, director of the Colchester Archaeological Trust, told Discovery News that the person in the burial could very well have been a Druid "given the healing and divination attributes -- assuming that Druids could be trained in these skills."
Crummy agrees with Pitts that such individuals would have been "near the top of the social scale in Iron Age Britain."
He is, however, not yet convinced the person was Celtic, since the medical kit was "fairly Romanized" and the individual may have acted "like a Roman surgeon/doctor would have done."
"Divination was widely practiced in the Roman world too," he added.
Because of site's age and location, Pitts is more inclined to believe the person was indeed a Celtic Druid and could have been closely related to Cunobelin, a chief or king of the Catuvellauni tribe.
William Shakespeare immortalized Cunobelin as "Cymbeline" in a play of that same name. Cunobelin's sons led a heroic, yet failed, resistance against Roman Emperor Claudius' invasion of England in 43 A.D.
Surgical Tools
This ought to make Rowan Williams day, now he can go put flowers on the graves of his theological ancestors.
Any pictures of that board game? MB might be interested.
Thanks for the article Blam!
Hey Sarge..
PING!
1. No evidence that Druids ever existed.
2. Roman tools and dice
3. Dice were used as gaming dvices by Romans
4. Dated to Roman period in Britain
= Headline without substance
1. No evidence that Druids ever existed.
2. Roman tools and dice
3. Dice were used as gaming dvices by Romans
4. Dated to Roman period in Britain
= Headline without substance
1. No evidence that Druids ever existed.
2. Roman tools and dice
3. Dice were used as gaming dvices by Romans
4. Dated to Roman period in Britain
= Headline without substance
Dang thing hangs for about 15-20 seconds at a time, queuing up keyboard and mouse "events".
"Joseph of Arimathea and disciples arriving in Britain."
So legend has it - in the same time period = and was given large tracts of land by the ruling King - supposedly, (Cunobelin (Cymbeline) King of Britons died in 25 AD, and his son,) King Arviragus was the King who gave land (Glastonbury) to him and his band. (Joseph, the wealthy Pharisee and 'quiet' follower of Jesus, also reputed to by His uncle, had tin mine holdings in England, from which he acquired his wealth. He had, over the years, made trips to the area and would, therefore, have had to have contact and permissions with the ruling authority.
After Jesus was crucified, the story goes, and the Romans set out to hunt down and kill all close followers, and particularly family, of Jesus, Joseph fled to England, where his contacts stood him in good stead.
Arviragus was a DRUID King...
There are books and books, reams and reams of history/legend/fantasy/disinformation/obfuscation/truth hiding under myth, all intertwined in the life and times of Joseph of Arimathea. I've been researching him for decades and feel like I haven't but scratched the surface.
It is custom that he started the first church based on Jesus' teachings, in Glastonbury - and it flourished for hundreds of years - before being overrun...by greed and jealously, of course -
Wow. I said it three times! I don’t usually agree with me that much. Sorry!
If he was around in 60 AD, how come the Romans didn’t whack him, like they did the druids on Mona [Anglesly Island], before that little dustup with Bouddica?
She Crucified Her Enemies And Burnt London To The Ground. Meet Britain's First Feminist, Boadicea
Funny - she doesn’t look Druish.
been there, done that ;o)
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Thanks Blam. Crummy? Pitts? Great names to not be taken seriously. Of course, it's not as bad as their postgrad archaeology professor, Dr. Feeces-Cranium.Within the wooden, chambered burial site, researchers have excavated a wine warmer, cremated human remains, a cloak pinned with brooches, a jet bead, divining rods (for fortune-telling), a series of surgical instruments, a strainer bowl last used to brew Artemisia-containing tea, a board game carefully laid out with pieces in play, as well as other objects... The surgical kit found in the grave includes iron and copper alloy scalpels, a surgical saw, hooks, needles, forceps and probes. Pitts said the collection mirrors basic medical tools from other parts of the Roman world... The board game and its arranged pieces, however, are anything but common. None other like it has ever been found at Roman-era sites in Great Britain. Surviving metal corners and hinges from the board allowed Pitts to reconstruct it as an 8-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Raised sides suggest dice might have been used. The white and blue glass counters were positioned with care. Some were straight across the sides, another in a diagonal line and one white marker close to the board's center.Of course, the game wasn't just a game, but attributed to "divination". We don't know how it was used, so it must have been a ceremonial and/or cultic object. Or maybe this roll of parchment we found was just buried to serve as toilet paper in the afterlife. ;') |
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