Ancient burial ground uncovered

[Adsos Letter]

Source: BBC

More than a dozen skeletons thought to be thousands of years old, have been found by Oxford archaeologists working at an ancient burial site in Dorset.

Excavations are taking place at the site in Weymouth before builders move in to build an access road to the Olympic sailing centre for 2012.

Archaeologist David Score said they had catalogued finds from almost every period of human life.

He said it "really added to knowledge of the Bronze and Neolithic eras".



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/7804287.stm

[Xipe Totec]

1. Oxford? Weymouth? Had to click to make sure it wasn't Massatwoshits. n/t

[myrna minx]

2. I'm just curious, is your moniker an Umberto Eco reference?

I'm a huge fan of his work.

[Adsos Letter]

3. yes and no....

As I understand it (having just skimmed the Wikipedia account of Umberto Eco :dunce: ) Umberto Eco is a medievalist, and wrote "The Name of the Rose," which I suspect you are quite familiar with. Apparently it involves some attention to apocalyptic themes, and involves a monk named Adso as the narrator.

My reference is to "Adso's Letter" which is common shorthand for a 10th century treatise written by "Adso of Montier-en-Der," and known fully as Adso's Letter on the Origin and Time of the Antichrist. It was composed for Queen Gerberga, the wife of the Carolingian King Louis IV, who wondered (among other things) whether or not Norse raids along the western coasts of France were "precursors" of the arrival of Antichrist. At the time some people believed that Antichrist's "appearance" would be preceded by active agents/forces preparing the world for his arrival. He responded with a missive that combined biblical texts with a large body of contemporary, popular beliefs about the Antichrist.

The fame (such as it is) of the treatise stems from its compilation of various strands of thought concerning Antichrist, and the figure of the Last World Emperor, into a single treatise organized as a kind of "saint's life' narrative. This served as the basis from which many later ideas regarding Antichrist were formed. Professor Bernard McGinn, of the University of Chicago, has some excellent studies out on the development of apocalyptic beliefs in both Eastern and Western Medieval Christendom; see, among others, Visions of the End: Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle Ages. http://www.amazon.com/Visions-End-Bernard-McGinn/dp/0231112572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230698299&sr=1-1

I chose the name because there was a time when I was doing quite a bit of study on the origins and development of apocalyptic thought, and I was interested in how believers in apocalyptic prophecy use it as a lens to interpret the events of their own time. I was also interested to note that the assigning of apocalyptic significance to the Norse raids, and settlements in Normandy, was an indication of how psychologically disruptive they were to people of the time.

...sooooo.... I suspect Umberto Eco is familiar with Adso's Letter, and may even have drawn the name of his narrator from that knowledge, but that is the wildest speculation on my part.

See? Ya ask a simple yes/no question... :rofl: :hi: I'll probably change the name if Skinner decides to allow it again.

[myrna minx]

5. Thank you so much for the back story of "Adso's Letter".

I was unaware of of the complete history. I appreciate the book recommendation as well. I believe you're correct about Eco's wink and nod by naming his narrator Adso. He writes as if his readers are as brilliant as he is, (LOL, in my case, not so much) therefore he rewards his readers with such gems.

Eco comes from the position of a skeptic, using logic to dispel the "demon haunted world" his characters inhabit, no matter what era. In his book "Foucault's Pendulum", he takes on ancient mystery cults, the Knights Templar, the Temple of the Rosy Cross, Hermetics et AL. I had to chuckle about the overwhelming success of the da Vinci Code, when Eco (albeit he wrote it from the perspective of a skeptic) had already put many of these ideas to print in this tome.

I first read his these books when I was in High School (before the internet) and I think I understood perhaps 1/64 of either book. I would read a paragraph and then have to get out the encyclopedia and the dictionary. LOL.

Thanks again. :hi: (PS-I'd keep the name!)

[xchrom]

4. recommend

[1776Forever]

6. I have always been fascinated with the Celtic culture - this is something I will follow, Thank you!

This structure is called the spiral of life and was found in the remnants of an old temple from the Bronze Age in Ireland. The sign is drawn in one single line without beginning or end.
Compare with , an old Celtic sign that was also used in pre-Columbian America, and in Greece and neighboring countries in antiquity. See The triple spiral denotes the Threefold Goddess. The circle, spiral and wheel are all powerful symbols representing the cycle of life, death and rebirth, including the seasons of the year.

From this website:

http://www.123celtic-irish-jewelry.com/celticart.asp

[druidity33]

8. check out my stuff...

link at sig line...

Happy new year!


(etsy for current work...)

:)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Depending on how old the remains are...

they could even be pre-Celtic.

On edit: NEVER MIND! I just read the reference to Romans, so they're probably not pre-Celtic.

[mahina]

7. K for cool and R for the convo above. MM, ADL, you two are the groovy.

That is all.