Vila Wolf's Dyslexic Folklorist Ranting

Bryn Cader Faner, Wales

Bryn Cader Faner is a Bronze Age round cairn which lies to the east of the small hamlet of Talsarnau in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd in Wales. The diameter is 8.7 meters (29 ft) and there are 18 thin jagged pillars which jut upwards from the low cairn. It is thought to date back to the late third millennium BC. The site was disturbed by 19th century treasure-seekers, who left a hole in the center indicating the position of a cist or a grave. Originally there may have been about 30 pillars, each some 2 meters (7 ft) long. However, before the Second World War, the army removed some stones on the east side.

Images of Teotihuacan circa 1905

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/teotihuacan-excavations.htm

Boscawen-Un Stone Circle, Cornwall, England

Boscawen-Un is a Bronze age stone circle close to St Buryan in Cornwall. It consists of a central standing stone encircled by 19 other stones, including 18 made of grey granite and one of bright quartz, which describe an ellipse with axes of 81 feet and 72 feet. The position of the quartz stone in the southwest may indicate the likely direction of the full moon during the solstice. At the northeastern edge of the stone circle are two stones in the ground, one of which has an axe petroglyph. These engravings are unusual in the United Kingdom, though they can also be observed on some of the stones at Stonehenge.

There is a wide gap in the west of the circle, which suggests the loss of stones. However this gap may represent, as with the nearby Merry Maidens, an entrance. The central stone is 9 feet long, but because of its strong inclination to the north-east, the tip is only 6.5 feet above the ground. It is thought by some researchers that the central stone embodies the phallic male principle and the quartz stone represents the female powers of the ring.

Boscawen-Un is a Cornish name, from the words bos (farmstead) and scawen (elder or elderberry tree). The suffix Un denotes an adjacent pasture. Therefore, the name translates as the pasture of the farmstead at the elderberry tree.

O'Brien’s Castle, Aran Islands, Ireland

O'Brien’s Castle on Inis Oírr in the Aran Islands was built in the 14th century. Because the Aran Islands were the key to controlling Galway Bay, they were contested, fortified and garrisoned by various competing powers. During the Medieval period until 1582, the Aran Islands were controlled by a branch of the O'Brien Clan from County Clare. From as early as the 13th century, there are records of payments of large amounts of wine by Galway City to the O'Brien Clan to keep the shipping routes in the area free from piracy.

The castle was taken from the O'Briens by the O'Flaherty clan of Connemara in 1582. It was occupied by the O'Flahertys and other clans until 1652, when the Aran Islands were surrendered to Cromwellian forces. The castle appears to have been partially dismantled at that time in favor of the Arkin Fort on Inis Mór.

El Mirador, Guatemala

El Mirador flourished from about the 6th century BCE, reaching its height from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, with a peak population of perhaps between 100,000 and 250,000 people, judging by the size and extent of the labor pool required to build the massive constructions. It then experienced a hiatus of construction and perhaps abandonment for generations, followed by re-occupation and further construction in the Late Classic era, and a final abandonment about the end of the 9th century. The civic center of the site covers some 10 square miles (26 km2) with several thousand structures, including monumental architecture from 10 to 72 meters high.

There are a number of “triadic” structures (around 35 structures), consisting of large artificial platforms topped with a set of 3 summit pyramids. The most notable such structures are three huge complexes; one is nicknamed “El Tigre”, with height 55 metres (180 ft); the other is called “La Danta” (or Danta) temple. The La Danta temple measures approximately 72 metres (236 ft) tall from the forest floor, and considering its total volume (2,800,000 cubic meters) is one of the largest pyramids in the world. When the large man-made platform that the temple is built upon (some 18,000 square meters) is included in calculations, La Danta is considered by some archeologists to be one of the most massive ancient structures in the world. Also the “Los Monos” complex is very large (48 meters high) although not as well known. Most of the structures were originally faced with cut stone which was then decorated with large stucco masks depicting the deities of Maya mythology. According to Carlos Morales-Aguilar, a Guatemalan archaeologist, the city appears to have been planned from its foundation, as extraordinary alignments have been found between the architectural groups and main temples, which were possibly related to solar alignments. The study reflects an importance of urban planning and sacred spaces since the first settlers. 

Source of photos - http://unchartedruins.blogspot.com/2013_04_01_archive.html

Bronze Age Wheel Unearthed in Cambridgeshire

Archaeologists excavating the Must Farm Bronze Age Settlement in Cambridgeshire have unearthed a wooden wheel dating from 1100- 800 BCE. It is the oldest complete example ever found in Britain. 

Must Farm is a Bronze Age settlement consisting of six stilted roundhouses that were built amid a wetland, or fen, near the River Nene. Excavations revealed that the site was destroyed around 1000-800 BCE due to a fire. The site has been dubbed the “Pompeii of the Fens” due to its remarkable preservation. 

The wheel is made of oak planks and is so well preserved that the hub and part of the axle remained intact. It is thought to have been part of a cart that could have carried up to two people. The presence of the wheel, however, is puzzling since the Must Farm settlement was built upon a wetland where canoes would have been a more efficient method of travel. Nonetheless the discovery of the wheel is important because it demonstrates the inhabitants of this watery landscape’s links to the dry land beyond the river. Additionally, the wheel will help to expand archaeologists’ understanding of Late Bronze Age technology, and the level of sophistication of the lives of people living on the edge of the Fens.  

Ruins of a colonnade, unknown, circa 1898.

Ruins at Palmyra, Syria, circa 1876.

Avochie Castle, Scotland

Avochie Castle is a ruined tower house, dating from the 16th century, or early 17th century, around 4.5 miles north of Huntly, east of the river Deveron, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The modern Avochie House is just to the west.

This was originally a property of the Gordons of Avochie, who were active in the conflicts of the reign of Mary Queen of Scots and her son James VI. The castle was the property of Adam Hay Gordon in 1871.

Lochranza Castle, Isle of Arran, Scotland

The castle dates from the 13th century when it was owned by the MacSweens. In 1262, King Alexander III granted the castle and its lands to Walter Stewart, the Earl of Menteith. It is believed that Robert the Bruce landed at Lochranza in 1306 on his return from Ireland to claim the Scottish throne. By 1371, the castle was the property of Robert II. It is thought that at this time it was used as a royal hunting lodge.

During the 1490s, James IV used the castle in his campaign against the Lord of the Isles and the Clan MacDonald. In 1614 it was occupied by James VI and in the 1650s it was used by Cromwell.

By 1705, Lochranza Castle was the property of the Hamilton family, after it was purchased by the Duchess of Hamilton. The Hamiltons had owned other estates on the Isle of Arran so they eventually sold it to the Blackwood-Davidson family who used it as their principal seat. During the 18th century, the castle fell into disuse and was abandoned. Most of the visible remains date to the 16th century.

Ruins of Mitla, Oaxaca, Mexico, circa 1895.

Fast Castle, Scotland

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Trelleborg Viking Ring Fortress, Denmark

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Fast Castle, Scotland

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Haunted Castle Toward: The Dunoon Massacre

Castle Toward was the home of the chiefs of Clan Lamont. The lands were granted to the Lamonts in 1472 and a castle was soon constructed. By 1646, the Clan Campbell, neighbors and enemies of the Clan Lamont, had steadily encroached the Lamont’s lands. After the Battle of Inverlochy (1645) the Clan Lamont laid waste to some of the Campbell’s territory. The following year, the powerful Clan Campbell army invaded the Lamont lands and laid seige to their two castles, Toward and Ascog. Unable to withstand a long seige and with no hope of reprieve, Sir James Lamont surrendered the castles, having apparently reached honorable terms - the terms being that he would hand over his castle while he and his followers would go free. The Campbells then asked for hospitality at Castle Toward, which was given, according to custom, but then reneged on their agreement and slaughtered the Lamonts in their beds, throwing bodies down the well to poison the water should they have missed anyone.

The Campbells slaughtered over two hundred of Lamont’s men, women and children. It is said that one tree held 35 bodies from its branches, and another 36 men were buried alive. The two Lamont castles were decimated and Sir James Lamont was thrown into a dungeon for five years. This event became known as the Dunoon Massacre. It would be 16 years before the ringleaders of the massacre were brought to justice and Sir Colin Campbell beheaded. It is said that the spirits of the murdered Lamont clansmen can still be seen roaming around the castle ruins.

The ruins of the 15th century Castle Toward stand close to the waters of the Firth of Clyde on the tip of the eastern arm of the Cowal peninsula of Argyll. The ruins are on the grounds of the great house that replaced it, also called Castle Toward.

The Gympie ‘Pyramid’, Australia.

Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Queensland Dr Prangnell demonstrates the classic head in the sand approach of Queensland’s Archaeological “establishment” to the questions surrounding the origins of the Gympie Pyramid by stating in an interview with the editor of the Gympie Times 9th September 2006;…. “ the University has no intention of trying to test the myth as any digging on the site (of the Gympie Pyramid) would just give credibility to something that was impossible.”

Probably one of the most interesting things about the Gympie Pyramid is that the entire Academic and Archaeological “Establishment” of Australia likes to pretend that it is not there and refuses to do any form of  serious investigation into it. More over they refuse to apply basic science to test the “myth”. The quote above is an excellent example of this strange and unscientific attitude. A thorough, scientific survey and excavation of the site would solve the mystery one way or the other; but no the old head in the sand technique is preferred.

The fact is that the Gympie Pyramid is a serious, famous and unexplained archaeological anomaly that causes hackles to rise on the necks of our most learned historians and archaeologists, they gnash their teeth and tug their hair like Spanish Inquisitors confronted by an unrepentant heretic but they still refuse to go there…. http://www.stradbrokeislandgalleon.com/Gympie.html

…What is known as the Gympie Pyramid is the rounded eastern end of a sandstone ridge north of the town of Gympie that had stone terraces cut into the sides, giving it a pyramidal shape. It is not a pyramid in the Egyptian or South American sense. The pyramid is approximately 5 km from the centre of Gympie, and is located north of the town on the Tin Can Bay road.

Its interior remains unknown and has been a source of speculation, and there are believed to be three or four entrances, some blocked, leading into it. The pyramid is 30.4 metres (100ft) high and has six stone terraces varying from 10 metres wide at the bottom to two metres wide towards the top, and incorporate some natural rock features. Stone for many of the terraces has been shaped, and squared and some of the larger stones used would be extremely heavy.

On the summit is a sort of ‘turret’, an upstanding section made of drystone walls with a depressed centre, and nearby there are two very heavy stone grinders, which may have been used to prepare ritual offerings. There is also a pile of stones that look like a collapsed building. Three large flat stones roughly shaped as diamonds have been found on the site. These have slots in the centre, which may have been for offerings and iron bars have been found on the site that fit the slots.2

The terraces were believed to have been up to three metres high, but have become lower due to cattle and weathering. The pyramid is originally thought to have been terraced on three sides, but much of these were destroyed by bulldozing or early (or later) settlers carting away the stone for building purposes. An interesting little stone lined cell has recently been found at the base of the pyramid…. http://www.newdawnmagazine.com/articles/the-gympie-pyramid-evidence-of-an-ancient-civilisation-in-australia

Ruins of Roman triumphal street in Thamugadi, Algeria, circa 1860-1890.