Catching Up: SF, Celtic Archaeology, and Space
Catching Up: SF, Celtic Archaeology, and Space
I know, I’ve been exceedingly delinquent regarding posting, but between teaching and dissertating, and tech editing, I’ve had no time for blogging.
So I’m going to post a bunch of very quick links, with almost no commentary. First of all, I’ve added a couple of links over there on the left. There’s Cronaca, from one David, who has all the markings of a medievalist. Then there’s the new SF and Fantasy category. It contains links to the Nielsen Hayden duo, Patrick’s Electrolite, and Teresa’s Making Light. They’re writers and editors, but I’ve been reading their blog since ConJose, so I thought I should link. Especially since entries like this on the dubiousness of saints imply a certain medieval tinge to Teresa’s writing. Then there’s Will Shetterly‘s blog Small Candle, Much Wind. Also there is a link to Diane Duane’s Out of Ambit blog. Now then; things I wanted to post about, but didn’t.
A new sort of Gaulish tomb was discovered at Gondole, near Clermond-Ferrand in central France, prior to the construction of a new highway. Inside the tomb were bodies of seven adult males, an adolescent, and eight horses, carefully arranged in a rectangle. The bodies, which appeared undamaged, were arranged with their heads to the south, looking eastward. The left arm of each adult was placed on the body before it. There were no grave goods. There are a number of interesting things about the burial, not the least of which is the ritual placement of the bodies. The horses are interesting too, given other instances of equine burials in this Gaulish territory.
Speaking of French archaeologists, Philippe Charlier, a French paleopathologist with degrees in archaeology and medicine, has studied Gaulish warriors from Burgundian graves. Apparently, one in ten Celts carried treponema, a bacteria related to syphilis. Several of the skeletons had hip deformities caused by riding, and many suffered from arthritis.
Over in Ireland, National Geographic reports on a decline in Gaelic speakers in the Gaeltacht. Perhaps recent efforts to translate the Quaran into Irish will help slow the decline of Irish speakers. And again, Irish Neolithic monument builders have proven to be clever computational astronomers. This isn’t exactly new, but it is interesting.
On South Uist, one of Scotland’s Western Isles, one of the outer Hebrides, Europe’s oldest known mummies have ben discovered, preserved in the Cladh Hallan quarry. They may date as far back as 3,500 years.
Over in Wales, Pembrokeshire native, archaeologist Dr Mark Merrony has followed in the footsteps of a nineteenth century antiquarian Richard Fenton, and found the remains of a large rectangular Roman building near Wolfscastle, Pembrokeshire.
And finally, there are these strange, but beautiful images from the Hubble of a dramatically erupting star.
