Witches of Cornwall

[Adsos Letter]

Source: Archaeology Magazine
by Kate Ravilious

Over the centuries, many in the British Isles have appealed to witches in times of need--to cure a toothache, concoct a love potion, or curse a neighbor. Witchcraft, the rituals of a number of pagan belief systems, was thought to offer control of the world through rites and incantations. Common as it has been over the past several centuries, the practice is secretive and there are few written records. It tends to be passed down through families and never revealed to outsiders. But archaeologist Jacqui Wood has unearthed evidence of more than 40 witchy rituals beneath her own front yard, bringing to light an unknown branch of witchcraft possibly still practiced today.

Wood's home is in the hamlet of Saveock Water in Cornwall, a county tucked in the far southwest corner of the country. For thousands of years people have raised crops and livestock in its fertile valleys, and its coastline of dramatic cliffs, secluded coves, and pounding surf was once a haunt for smugglers. Cornwall is a place time forgot; steeped in folklore, myth, and legend; and purported to be inhabited by pixies, fairies, and elves. So it should come as no surprise that it has also been home to the dark arts.

When I visit Saveock Water it is raining, which adds to its unearthly atmosphere. Wood, a warm lady with sparkling hazel eyes, greets me in her cozy white-washed barn while rain hammers on the roof. She moved to Saveock Water 15 years ago because it was an ideal location for her work in experimental archaeology, replicating ancient techniques, including those used in farming or metallurgy. Since then she has carried out her experiments, such as growing ancient crop varieties, unaware of what lay under her fields. In the late 1990s, Wood decided to do some metalwork research by re-creating an ancient kind of furnace. "I dug down into the ground to construct a shelter close to the furnace and I discovered a clay floor," she says.

Wood was excited but busy with other projects and left the find undisturbed for a few years. In 2001, she gathered some archaeology students to explore it further. "It was a nightmare to dig because the field is covered in a soft rush grass with a dense web of roots, and the soil is heavy and laden with water," says Wood.

http://www.archaeology.org/0811/etc/witches.html

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Long article at the link, with several good pictures.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. thks

[Lucinda]

2. You're on a roll tonight! Thanks for all the interesting links.

:hi:

[Adsos Letter]

3. You are most welcome!

Gotta head over to the photography forum pretty soon...

:hi:

[Mojorabbit]

4. Cool article. Thanks! nt

[Hekate]

5. This is great fun and right up my area of interest...

... which is women's rituals; emphasis on the modern, but how they grow out of ancient roots, real or imagined.

Wood mentions St. Bridget (St. Bride) who "may" be associated with Brigid, the Celtic goddess. No maybe about it -- Brigid is one of the triple goddesses: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. When She moved over to Christianity, the Irish said She was the midwife to Mary at the birth of Jesus. Her sacred fire in Ireland was kept perpetually burning until about a thousand years into the Christian era--first by pagans, of course, then by nuns. There are sacred wells and pools all through the British Isles.

No surprise that the pools may be as much as 6,000 years old. Like the seven layered cities of Troy, sacred sites are places of power that successive religions build upon--especially if there is water bubbling out of the earth.

Thanks as always.

Hekate

[emilyg]

6. Thanks.