Category: Medieval

The hero archetype and Lugh

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations Çatalhöyük Leopard reliefs all in 2019 01

At its core the “hero” is the figure who steps out of ordinary society, confronts chaos or a monster, and returns (or dies) having secured order for the group. In Jungian and comparative-myth terms it sits in the “warrior-champion” slot of the collective story-board; evolutionists would say it crystallises the survival value of decisive coalition leadership in small bands.

Long Meg and her Daughters standing stone and stone circle

An aerial photo of Long Meg and her Daughters standing stone and stone circle in Cumbria. Part of a site report on britgantesnation.com

Long Meg and her Daughters is a remarkable Neolithic monument located near Penrith in Cumbria, England.

Camp Green (Danes Camp), Hathersage

Danes Camp Hathersage

Camp Green (often called “Danes Camp”) crowns a limestone-capped knoll immediately north-east of St Michael’s Church in Hathersage (OS grid SK 234 819). Perched above the Hope Valley, it commands wide views down the River Derwent corridor and sits at the transition between the Millstone Grit plateaux to the north and the lower limestone and sandstone vale to the south

Roman Rig Defensive Works

The Roman Rig is a defensive dyke built to defend against attack from the south. It runs from Sheffield, past Templeborough and carries on almost to Doncaster. If this is a Brigantian dyke it would certainly add weight to Websters definition of the Roman border in the period.

Guide: Ritual/Ceremonial Mounds

Marlborough mound 20240518 looking southwards

These are raised platforms created first and foremost for cult, procession, assembly or conversion—not for fortification or routine boundary-making. They tend to be much more significant and monumental than other mounds and raised platforms. Some are the largest structures known of their type. In Britain, possibly the best known example is Silbury Hill in Wiltshire.

Moulton Henge

Moulton Henge - 1m Lidar

Archaeologists now recognise a true Neolithic henge lying immediately south-west of Moulton village, roughly midway between the Swale and Dere Street. The monument is almost 200 m across, with a low earthen bank encircling an inner ditch and a central platform about 110 m wide; the ditch lies inside the bank—the classic “Class II” henge arrangement.

Cow Ford close to Nathwaite Bridge

Fords and River crossings at Nathwaite Bridge Coverdale - OS Series 1 - Thanks to National Library of Scotland

In the field of Bridge Barn, close to Nathwaite Bridge, there are two fords marked on the OS Series 1 map. This site page holds the details of our investigation into the fording point we think may be called Cow Ford.

Intach Ford: Upstream of Nathwaite Bridge, Coverdale

Ford close to Nathwaite Bridge

In the field of Bridge Barn, close to Nathwaite Bridge, there are two fords marked on the OS Series 1 map. This site page holds the details of our investigation into the fording point we think may be called Intach Ford.

Guide: Fortified Barns in Yorkshire – A historical overview

Monastic Fortified tythe barn in Wenseydale

Even in a rural community of mainly farmers, there are often reasons to wish to build or create a structure that is for, at least in part, for defensive purposes. Thus, some barns in Yorkshire and other places can be seen to have “arrow slits”, and later, square “gun ports”. This article provides a brief overview of what these structures are, why they were built and how they were used.

Hutton Rudby

Hutton Rudby

Hutton Rudby was once known as Hutton-juxta-Rudby, or Hutton-nigh-Rudby, because it is really two villages: Hutton and Rudby, separated from each other by the River Leven. How old is the village? There have been people living here for thousands of years. Stone Age tools have been found in North End.

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