Interpretive Explorer by InterpNEWS

Volume 1, Number #2 March/April 2020

Hi folks – I am pleased to send the second issue of Interpretive Explorer to you and thanks for so many thoughtful comments and support for the first issue. Fortunately I am a “notes” hoarder from all my projects and it was fun to recall all the experiences I was grateful to have had. This issue focuses on trips and experiences in the Scottish Isles – the Isle of Iona and visiting several standing stone sites in the Isles of Aaron and Mull. I am working on the May/June issue with some shorter day trip explorations in the UK – including some work I did for Stonehenge, and visits to Burgh Castle and the Abbey ruin of St. Bennet in Norfolk, and Doune Castle in Wales from Monty Python film fame. Other explorations coming up – cultural heritage villages in Columbia, SA, Sea Turtle Nesting in Costa Rica and Mayan sites in Mexico. Also my experiences exploring a number of archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia and railroad ruins from Laurence of Arabia.

John Veverka exploring Stonehenge – Interpretive Explorer #7. May/June issue.

If you have interpretive explorer adventures and experiences you’d like to share, I have an open call for explorer articles to share with our readers. Let me hear from you: jvainterp@aol.com. Cheers, John V.

In this Issue

Page

- St. Columba, burial sites of Scottish Kings, and the Stone of Destiny. Exploring the Isle of Iona – Scotland. Interpretive Explorer #4 -John Veverka

-Exploring and Interpreting the Standing Stones of Scotland’s Isles. Interpretive Explorer #5, John Veverka

-Exploring and Interpreting Greece’s Ancient Silver Mines. Interpretive Explorer #6, John Veverka

-Getting Stoned on Petroglyphs Rod Burns, B.Ed., CPHI Quadra Island, B.C., Canada

Interpretive Explorer is published 6 times/year and offered as a free magazine to celebrate the interpretive profession. Articles of person interpretive exploration and revelation are welcomed. If you have any questions about Interpretive Explorer you’re invited to contact me at: jvainterp@aol.com, or by SKYPE: jvainterp. You can also visit the JVA web site at www.heritageinterp.com. John Veverka, Interpretive Explorer editor. Cover photo: Celtic Cross – the Isle of Iona, Scotland.

St. Columba, burial sites of Scottish Kings, and the Stone of Destiny. Exploring the Isle of Iona – Scotland.

John Veverka Interpretive Explorer #4

The Author posing by a 9th century Macleans Cross (left) and the Iona Abbey (right). The historic burial site for Scottish Kings and other nobles is to the far right of the Abby picture by the best replica St. Martin’s Cross.

A little background to this exploration, for over 25 years I had served as a heritage and interpretation consultant to many Scottish, English and Welsh organizations. I did site interpretive media needs analysis, interpretive tourism development and interpretive experience assessments. For this interpretive explorer experience, in the late 1990’s, I was asked by ASVA (The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions) to travel to the historic Isle of Iona and visit the Ionia Abbey and the burial grounds of Scottish kings. Traveling with ASVA’s director, we left Edinburgh and drove to Oban, a few hours’ drive from Edinburgh. Now, as I found out, Iona is not an especially easy place to get to, requiring several ferry trips. We reached Iona by the 10-minute ferry trip across the Sound of Iona from Fionnphort on Mull. The most common route is via Oban in Argyll and Bute. Regular ferries connect to Craignure on Mull, from where the scenic road runs 37 miles (60 kilometres) to Fionnphort. Tourist coaches and local bus services meet the ferries. While I enjoy ferry voyages, we had to remember that there were limited ferry times to leave Iona to get back to Mull. That would give us most of the day to explore Iona and meet up with the manager of Iona Abbey and other Abbey team members.

Logistics are always a part of interpretive explorations. For this trip we traveled from Edinburgh to Oban, then a ferry to Mull and then a second ferry to Iona. Only two times/day to and from Iona to keep in mind.

As with all interpretive explorer projects – this one began with historical research and there were lots of stories and history to learn about and books to read. Iona Abbey is located on the island of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull on the West Coast of Scotland. It is one of the oldest Christian religious centers in Western Europe. The abbey was a focal point for the spread of Christianity throughout Scotland and marks the foundation of a monastic community by St. Columba, when Iona was part of the Kingdom of Dál Riata. Saint Aidan served as a monk at Iona, before helping to reestablish Christianity in Northumberland, on the island of Lindisfarne. Iona Abbey, now an ecumenical church, is of particular historical and religious interest to pilgrims and visitors alike. It is the most elaborate and bestpreserved ecclesiastical building surviving from the Middle Ages in the Western Isles of Scotland. Though modest in scale in comparison to medieval abbeys elsewhere in Western Europe, it has a wealth of fine architectural detail, and monuments of many periods. The 8th Duke of Argyll presented the sacred buildings and sites of the island to the Iona Cathedral trust in 1899. In front of the Abbey stands the 9th century St Martin's Cross, one of the best-preserved Celtic crosses in the British Isles, and a replica of the 8th century St John's Cross (original fragments are in the Abbey museum).

The 9th century St Martin's Cross (left) and the 12th century chapel of St Odhrán (said to be Columba's uncle).

The ancient burial ground, called the Rèilig Odhrain (Eng: Oran's "burial place" or "cemetery"), contains the 12th century chapel of St Odhrán (said to be Columba's uncle), restored at the same time as the Abbey itself. It contains a number of medieval grave monuments. The abbey graveyard is said to contain the graves of many early Scottish Kings, as well as Norse kings from Ireland and Norway. Iona became the burial site for the kings of Dál Riata and their successors. Notable burials there include:       

Cináed mac Ailpín, king of the Picts (also known today as "Kenneth I of Scotland") Domnall mac Causantín, alternatively "king of the Picts" or "king of Scotland" Máel Coluim mac Domnaill, king of Scotland ("Malcolm I") Donnchad mac Crínáin, king of Scotland ("Duncan I") Mac Bethad mac Findlaích, king of Scotland ("Macbeth") Domnall mac Donnchada, king of Scotland ("Domnall Bán" or "Donald III") John Smith, Labour Party Leader

The Abbey’s graveyard and the burial sites of Scottish Kings and other nobles. In 1549 an inventory of 48 Scottish, 8 Norwegian and 4 Irish kings was recorded. None of these graves are now identifiable (their inscriptions were reported to have worn away at the end of the 17th century). Saint Baithin and Saint Failbhe may also be buried on the island. The Abbey graveyard is also the final resting place of John Smith, the former Labour Party leader, who loved Iona. His grave is marked with an epitaph quoting Alexander Pope: "An honest man's the noblest work of God".

Limited archaeological investigations commissioned by the National Trust for Scotland found some evidence for ancient burials in 2013. The excavations, conducted in the area of Martyrs Bay, revealed burials from the 6th-8th centuries, probably jumbled up and reburied in the 13-15th century. Other early Christian and medieval monuments have been removed for preservation to the cloister arcade of the Abbey, and the Abbey museum (in the medieval infirmary). The ancient buildings of Iona Abbey are now cared for by Historic Environment Scotland (entrance charge). T HE A RRIVAL OF C OLUMBA By the sixth century any reputation the island may have had for fostering pagan sages was eclipsed when the Christian missionary Columba arrived from Ireland with 12 companions. He had taken the name Columba, Latin for dove, as a religious name, preferring it to the one he had been given at birth - Crimthann, Gaelic for fox. Having studied in monastic schools, Columba had founded the monastery of Derry in Ulster at the age of 25. He then travelled the length of Ireland for 15 years preaching and founding hundreds of churches and monasteries. At the age of 42 he left Ireland in search of fresh pastures for conversion. Some say he provoked a battle in which many were killed in a dispute over his right to keep a copy he had made of a psalter belonging to the scriptorium of St Finian. According to this version of history, Columba exiled himself from his homeland in order to work in penance as a missionary in Scotland. The thirteen Christians arrived in a coracle at the southern tip of the island, and set about creating a church and monastery complete with kitchen, kiln, stables, mill and guesthouse â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all surrounded by a defensive bank and ditch that excluded both women and cattle since Columba believed "where there is a cow there is a woman, and where there is a woman there is mischief". Despite these restrictions, the community prospered, new followers joined, and two years later Columba travelled to the mainland to successfully convert the king of the Picts, having first engaged in a magical battle with the kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s druid. Soon monks from Iona were travelling all over Scotland, building churches and preaching the gospel. Three prelates from Iona founded the monastery of Lindisfarne, which became the most important Christian centre in the north of Britain. Columba gained a reputation for both saintliness and strong leadership, and clan chiefs and kings eagerly sought his advice. On one occasion, in the earliest recorded mention of the Loch Ness monster, Columba was said to have saved a manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life by ordering the creature to depart.

St. Columba however, was not the shy retiring type and set about building Iona’s original abbey from clay and wood. In this endeavour he displayed some strange idiosyncrasies, including banishing women and cows from the island, claiming that “where there is a cow there is a woman, and where there is a woman there is mischief”. The abbey builders had to leave their wives and daughters on the nearby Eilean nam Ban (Woman’s Island). Stranger still, he also banished frogs and snakes from Iona. How he accomplished this feat is not as well documented. The strangest claim of all however is that Columba was prevented from completing the building of the original chapel until a living person had been buried in the foundations. His friend Oran volunteered for the job and was duly buried. It is said that Columba later requested that Oran’s face to be uncovered so he could bid a final farewell to his friend. Oran’s face was uncovered and he was found to be still alive but uttering such blasphemous descriptions of Heaven and Hell that Columbus ordered that he be covered up immediately!

T HE B OOK OF K ELLS AND THE STONE OF D ESTINY Today Iona seems remote from civilisation, but in Columba’s time the islands were centers of activity, since they were much easier to defend than mainland strongholds. The island became a power-house in the spread of the new religion. Ionian monks produced the famous Book of Kells, and a tradition of royal burials developed so that 4 Irish, 8 Norwegian and 48 Scottish kings were laid to rest there, including Macbeth - made famous by Shakespeare. The book of Kells.

A legend reinforces the connection between royalty and the island by stating that the Lia Fail - also known as the Stone of Destiny, Stone of Scone or Coronation Stone - was brought to Iona by Columba, who then used it as a travelling altar on his missionary activities to the Scottish mainland. The Stone of Destiny is an ancient symbol of Scotland’s monarchy, used for centuries in the inauguration of its kings. Seen as a sacred object, its earliest origins are now unknown.

The Stone of Destiny kept under guard in Edinburgh Castle, and the Stone of Destiny under the coronation throne for English Kings and Queens – then returned to Edinburgh Castle.

In 1296, King Edward I of England seized the stone from the Scots, and had it built into a new throne at Westminster. From then on, it was used in the coronation ceremonies of the monarchs of England and then Great Britain. On Christmas Day 1950, four Scottish students removed the stone from Westminster Abbey in London. Three months later it turned up 500 miles away – at the high altar of Arbroath Abbey. In 1996, the stone was officially returned to Scotland. Today, it is one of the priceless treasures on display in the Crown Room, visited by millions of people each year. The stone will only leave Scotland again for a coronation in Westminster Abbey. The ferry landed – so let’s start walking.

All right – enough for the history review. We arrived at the ferry landing and now have a modest walk to the Abbey site. It seems that cars are not allowed on the island. But it was a nice day and a nice walk through the village to the Abbey complex. Once there we met up with the site manager, volunteer staff and other stakeholder representatives to learn more about any management and program/exhibition issues they would like us to address and advise them on. First the outside and exploring the graveyard and a walk through the burial site of kings.

As we learned from the research this is the ancient burial ground, called the Rèilig Odhrain (Eng: Oran's "burial place" or "cemetery"), and contains the 12th century chapel of St Odhrán (said to be Columba's uncle), restored at the same time as the Abbey itself. It contains a number of medieval grave monuments. The abbey graveyard is said to contain the graves of many early Scottish Kings, as well as Norse kings from Ireland and Norway. Iona became the burial site for the kings of Dál Riata and their successors.

The graveyard adjacent to Iona Abbey, Reiling Oran is named after one of St Columba’s followers Many of the wonderful grave slabs have been moved to the Abbey’s museum, to protect them from the weather, but this plaque shows you how a burial would have taken place. Issues for our group to think about included: - How to best interpret to visitors the history of the graveyard and the important historical figures buried here. - How to help protect the site and the stones. - Developing an introduction kiosk with site grave locations map. - Let visitors know why some gravestones were removed to the Museum. - Look at types of self-guiding media they could develop and offer to visitors. - Develop an outline for an interpretive plan for the total Abbey and for the graveyard. After a lengthy and productive discussion the group moved on to the museum where the removed grave markers are displayed.

The Abbey Museum

It’s thought that the world famous Book of Kells was made here, along with other great works of art. Iona’s Abbey Museum houses Scotland’s finest collection of early medieval carved stones and crosses. The following photos show the variety of exhibit presentations and stone cross restorations and interpretation in the museum exhibits. The focal point of the exhibition is a trio of reassembled upright high crosses (St. John’s, Mather’s and St. Oran’s) that were a result of artistic and theological experimentation particular to Iona. St. John’s was one of a number of high crosses that would mark the processional path towards the Abbey where people would stop and pray. This particular Celtic cross is one of the earliest examples found in Scotland.

The artifacts and displays were compelling. What needed attentions was a better format for interpretation and storytelling. Also improved interpretation on the grounds archaeology and any restoration and preservation practices. We spent a lot of time thinking about the need for an interpretive exhibit plan to help update the museum exhibits and storytelling. Some of the ideas that were discussed: - Develop both multi-lingual audio and printed gallery guides for each exhibit group. - Develop and illustrate one focused interpretive theme. - Develop and enhance volunteer guide training and resource notebooks. - Improve the interpretive writing and point size for current artifact labels. - Development budgets, costs and timelines. - Kinds of grants and funding sources to be explored. Time for a break and lunch. It’s been a busy and productive morning, but before we move on to the interior of the chapel the group suggested a working lunch. As food is an important element for any interpretive explorer, I was looking for a “traditional Scottish lunch” so here’s what I got – one of my Scottish favorites – Haggis, neeps and tatties. The very famous Scottish haggis is made from sheep’s organs cooked inside the stomach of the animal, served with neeps and tatties. There are similar versions of haggis eaten all over the world, such as the Brazilian Buchada de Bode made with goats intestines, but haggis is perhaps the most well-known. FYI – neeps is a sweet squash, and tatties are mashed potatoes.

After a great lunch we walked back to the Abbey and wanted to discuss the beautiful and historic interior, remembering that this is an active church and be mindful to interpretive options.

First, St. Columba Archaeological discoveries. An amazing new interpretive story of exploration and archaeology. One of the best parts of being an interpretive planner and explorer of interpretive possibilities is learning and discovering new things. For this story, this includes the huge discovery of the location for the cell of St Columbia. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the story. Archaeologists say they have identified the remains of the cell of St Columba on the Scottish island of Iona. They have used radiocarbon dating to place samples of burned wood in the middle of Columba's time there almost 1,500 years ago. The charred remains of a hut were excavated in 1957, but it has taken until now for science to accurately date them. The cell, or scriptorium, is where he worked, prayed and spent his last day. The samples had been carefully stored at several universities - and latterly in a garage in Truro.

Scientists used hazed charcoal to carbon date the hut. After his death Iona became a place of pilgrimage for kings and commoners. 60,000 of the latter still visit the rebuilt abbey every year. But did Columba leave any physical trace? His successor AdomnĂĄn, writing 100 years after the saint's death, described him working in his cell on a rocky hillock. That knoll is called TĂ˛rr an Aba - "the mound of the abbot".

Sixty years ago the site was excavated by a team led by the Cornish historian and archaeologist Charles Thomas. His dig in 1957 made an intriguing discovery. On TĂ˛rr an Aba the diggers found hazel charcoal, apparently the remains of a wattle hut. The site had been deliberately covered with beach pebbles and there was a hole where a post - possibly a cross - had been placed. Were these the remains of Columba's cell? Charles Thomas thought so.

The location of St. Columbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s writing cell. If only they could be accurately dated. But in 1957 that was impossible. The technique of radiocarbon dating was in its infancy then. It measures the level of carbon 14, a radioactive isotope, to assess the age of a sample of organic material. But 60 years ago the process was expensive, required the destruction of a relatively large sample, and the dates it produced had a wide margin of error. So Charles Thomas did not write up his findings in an academic paper. Instead he carefully preserved the samples from the dig along with his notes. He took the remains with him from university to university. After he retired he stored them in his garage in Truro. Which is where they sat until five years ago when a project led by University of Glasgow archaeologists Dr Ewan Campbell and Dr AdriĂĄn Maldonado heard of them.

Prof Thomas was happy to hand them over for testing using radiocarbon techniques of accuracy unimaginable six decades ago. The project, funded by Historic Environment Scotland and supported by the National Trust for Scotland, had the samples tested by the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre. The result? The remains of the hazel stakes date the hut between the years 540 and 650. Columba died in 597. Adriรกn Maldonado says it is "within a standard deviation of the lifetime of St Columba", which he says is "about the closest you can get to being certain that it is something that was standing when Columba was on Iona". Historic Environment Scotland's Senior Archaeologist Richard Strachan is similarly enthusiastic. He said: "It's fantastic, it absolutely nails it. There's no debate. We can actually prove this scientifically. This is real. This actually happened here." Historic Environment Scotland will fund the project as part of Scotland's Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017. As well as re-opening some of the 60-year-old trenches to look for more dating material, Doctors Campbell and Maldonado are writing up Charles Thomas's personal archive. Now to the historic Iona Cathedral The Vikings and the church.

Now no interpretive explorations into such a historic site on Iona would be complete without mentioning that the early church and Abbey was attached and destroyed many times in its early history, mostly by the Vikings. There are many passages from various chronicles, poems and personal accounts in relation to the Viking raids on Iona. These all serve as archaeological evidence.

The first example of this is Magnus Bareleg's bard, Bjørn Krepphendt, which paints a vivid picture of the raids. Barelegs was the King of Norway from 1095-1103, and visited Iona on one of his many sea raids of the Western Islands. An account by Simeon of Durham on the attack on Lindisfarne, from a north English chronicle, described the Viking's actions as "… they miserably ravaged and pillaged everything; they trod the holy things under their polluted feet, they dug down the altars, and plundered all the treasures of the church. Some of the brethren they slew, some they carried off with them in chains …" This would not be dissimilar to the Viking attacks on Iona. There’s lots of history available to learn from the many Iona books I had for references – too many stories – the Abbey needs an interpretive master plan to tie all the stories together. The Modern abbey In 1899 the Duke of Argyll transferred ownership of the ruined remains of the Abbey and Nunnery sites to the Iona Cathedral Trust, which undertook extensive restoration of the Abbey church. Restoration of the Abbey buildings began in 1938 when Rev George F MacLeod established the Iona Community. The scheme was designed to unite craftsmen and trainee ministers in the task of renovating the historic site. Experiencing the physical renewal of the Abbey was intended to prepare the young ministers to achieve spiritual renewal when they returned to their inner city parishes. The Abbey restoration was completed in 1965, from which time The Iona Community have run it as a residential centre and continued daily worship in the Abbey Church. In recent years, the Iona Cathedral Trust found the financial burden of maintenance of the Abbey increasingly difficult and passed this responsibility to Historic Scotland who now manage the Abbey and maintain its fabric.

Interior showing the medieval architecture of the abbey church. The abbey buildings are now the centre for the ecumenical Iona Community and still used with frequency today. The final review meeting with the Abbey staff, volunteers and stakeholders. Well, after a very long and exciting day we needed to bring the heritage assessment experience to a summary. The presentation about the archaeological research was stunning and captivated us all. In our summery presentation were the Abbey management and staff, local historians, volunteer guided and other local stakeholders and also representatives from Historic Scotland. We reviewed our assessments and ideas from all tourism aspects, from the Ferry landing and walk to the Abbey, the external interpretive architectural media, the graveyard experiences, the museum exhibitions and interpretation, and the church interiors and burial interpretation. We ultimately provided a lengthy assessment report. Some of the highlight conclusions: -The total Abbey experiences can offer a remarkable and spiritual experience. - There was no focused theme or storyline for visitors to follow. An analogy might be showing visitors 50 puzzle pieces but not showing them the picture on the cover of the puzzle box that the puzzle pieces will form. - There is a need for an “interpretive master plan” to help organize the Abbeys stories and recommend a variety of interpretive media to illustrate that story to visitors. - There is a need for a variety of self-guiding media (audio tours and printed guides) addressing different stories and Abbey locations. - Marketing and addressing the travel needs of visitors (Ferry departure times, time that can be spent on site, locations for meals or B&B’s need to be improved. - An interpretive welcome kiosk by the Ferry landing to help new visitors find their way to different Iona attractions. After a very nice discussion, it was time for us to catch the Ferry back to Mull and then to Oban and finally back to Edinburgh. Being an interpretive planner, coach and explorer is a wonderful life – lots of work, but my head is full of new experiences and thoughts. Coming up next in my travels, the stories of the Standing Stones in Scotland and its’ Isles and more exploring to come. Prof. John Veverka Interpretive Explorer jvainterp@aol.com www.heritageinterp.com Standing stones, Isle of Arron.

Exploring and Interpreting the Standing Stones of Scotland’s Isles. John Veverka Interpretive Explorer #5

The author with the Machrie Moor Stone Circles the collective name for six stone circles visible on Machrie Moor near the settlement of Machrie on the Isle of Arran, Scotland (left photo, and the Callandish Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis are believed to be 3000 - 5000 years old. In the 17th century, the people of Lewis called the stones fir bhrèige, or 'false men'. As I had mentioned in past Explorer articles, I was fortunate to have spent over 25 years serving as an interpretive trainer and heritage consultant to most UK agencies including for this piece, Scottish Natural Heritage, and the National Trust of Scotland. Whenever I had an assignment to visit a site – and working with a heritage site expert such as a historian or archaeologist, I also scheduled from free time to explore local heritage sites and archaeological treasures. In this case of a collection of Interpretive Explorer experiences, I could explore the Isle of Aaron, Isle of Mull and Isle to Lewis on my way to or from other project locations. As I have said in the past – any explorer needs to do their site/visit research before starting your explorations so you understand the stories behind what you are seeing and experiencing. Most people don’t realize just how many standing stones sites there are in the UK in general – hundreds, both small and large and I wanted to visit those that I could and learn what the experts knew about their story to date. In preparing this explorer article from the late 1990’s – early 2000’s, visits I thought I would add some new research an information that has been developed since my explorations there. Here are some updated theories about the standing stones by Melissa Hogenboom.

The purpose of Scotland's ancient stone circles is one of archaeology's most enduring mysteries. A new theory claims to hold the answer. Across Scotland there are patterns of various-shaped stones, often dotted together in rings. Two of these stone circles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Stenness and Callanish, on the isles of Orkney and Lewis respectively â&#x20AC;&#x201C; are believed to be among the UK's oldest, dating back some 5,000 years. There are many more scattered around the Scottish countryside. As some of the stones weigh 10 or more tones, transporting them was a considerable undertaking. But the real reason for their creation, and why they were placed in the locations where they are found, has long been a mystery. One group of researchers claims to have the answer. They have found evidence that these stone circles were erected with cosmic influences: that is, they were placed specifically to better see the Sun, the Moon and the stars. But this may not be the whole story.

The Callanish tones were built 5,000 years ago (Credit: Chmee2/CC by 3.0. Stenness and Callanish were built some 5,000 years ago during the Neolithic period, more commonly known as the Stone Age. This was a time when communities had already settled into a farming lifestyle. Soon after, Neolithic farmers started to create places to commemorate the dead. Stone circles were one way to do so. The idea that these memorials were erected using astronomy is not new.

An academic called Alexander Thom spent several decades studying Britain's standing stones, starting in the 1930s. Due to their geometric accuracy, and despite the fact that the stones were made up of various shapes, Thom proposed that standing stones served as observatories: places to best watch the stars. He published his findings in 1955, about 30 years after he began his initial investigations. Now, over half a century later, researchers have returned to the idea in a new study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports in August 2016. The paper develops Thom's purported astronomical link further, and re-evaluates how and why Scotland's standing stones were built.

The standing stones of Stenness on Orkney in the Scottish Isles.

The researchers first looked at the way standing stones were aligned to astronomical events. They then combined this with data on the shape of the landscape and elevation of the ground. "We discovered there were only two different-shaped horizons surrounding these monuments, which was pretty incredible in itself, and that the Sun and the Moon were placed in very specific patterns in this landscape," says lead author Gail Higginbottom of the University Of Adelaide, Australia. "These patterns were repeated across all these monuments. That was quite astounding." Higginbottom concludes that the landscapes on which the stones were set were specifically chosen to show the most extreme rising and setting points of the Sun and Moon. Even if the landscape was mainly flat, people still looked for mountains or hills so they could see the most interesting Sun or Moon movements. Further, Stenness and Callanish are believed to be the oldest reliably-dated circles where this occurred. Others followed suit well into the Bronze Age. In all, Higginbottom's team applied their astronomical formula to more than 100 of Scotland's stone circles, finding similar patterns to the sky in each. "So it seems the tradition â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that perhaps these two standing stone circles began â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued [for 2,000 years]," she says.

Although there is no way to know exactly why these stone circles were created, Higginbottom believes it was so people could acknowledge the very places that showed the "permanent representation of their understanding of their universe." That is, they understood the specific cycles of the Sun and Moon, which in turn connected them to nature. "It showed that their understanding of the Universe was that it was cyclic and made up of opposites," she says. "Dark and light, north and south, night and day." However, this idea has plenty of detractors. An element of astronomical activity may have influenced some stone circles, concedes Kenneth Brophy of the University of Glasgow in Scotland. But he says we cannot use current applications of science and math to understand these individuals' motives. "That's a very modern way of looking at the world," says Brophy. "We have to understand them through power structures in society, rather than emphasizing arcane mathematical measurements. There's nothing we can see in prehistoric people in other walks of life that suggests they had this highly mathematical view of the world." For Brophy, the circles represented ritual and power. Specific landscapes would have been chosen because they had a special history that people were drawn to. For instance, research has suggested that Callanish was built so that people could view one stone circle from another "in a very stage-managed way," he says. The stones themselves are also revealing. Callanish was built out of stones with beautiful ripples and patterns, showing Earth's striking properties. "People weren't looking at the sky," says Brophy. "They were trying to capture the land." It is also clear that stone circles were places where social rituals could have taken place, especially to honor the dead. There is evidence of burials and cremations at some sites, most notably at Stonehenge. Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen specializes in Neolithic archaeology. He says that the ground plans of many of Scotland's stone circles are similar to the structures people built for their everyday housing. But instead of being for the living, the stone circles seem to have served the dead. "They're essentially very large houses for the dead and spirits," he says. Death, it seems, had a strong grip on these Neolithic pagans. "The dead probably continued to influence the everyday life," says Noble. He says the people may even have spent more time on structures for the dead than for their own settlements. While some of the sites do appear to have astronomical alignments, such as the recumbent stone circles of north-east Scotland, Noble agrees with Brophy: astronomy alone does not explain how they were made. "If you [were] going to build something that marks [a] particular lunar cycle, I don't think you would put up stones of that scale," he says. "It's unnecessary. Instead, Noble argues that the circles were as much about ritual as showing off status. Communities could "out-do" each other by building bigger and bigger monuments, which expressed their power. Regardless of how or why they were built, they were clearly sacred to the people who made them.

"People were living on more of an edge than we are in the western world," says Higginbottom. "There was still a sympathetic magic. They believed that if they set up these monuments, they [were] connecting death and [nature]." It might even be that the stones became symbolic of the dead themselves. Their physical bodies were gone, but the stones represented the "watchers of this great spectacular sky show and of the seasons," Higginbottom says. Now letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s get exploring. The Isle of Mull Standing Stones If you remember from the previous article about the Abbey on Iona, we had to travel from Oban, by ferry, to the Isle of Mull before taking another ferry to Iona. So on the way back from Iona there was time to find and explore the standing stones on Mull. The Standing Stones of the Isle of Mull are unique to the Western Isles, and indeed the rest of Scotland, in that they are often arranged in the form of a small row of between three and five stones.

The Kilmore or Cnoc Fada Standing Stones (above right photo) were found in a clearing in trees at the South end of Cnoc Fada, just 230m North-west of the road from Dervaig to Tobermory.

There is a small car park at the top of the hill. A site map of Mull is helpful here. Always ask if site maps are available before you start your exploring. These are the standing stone sites we visited. Note that there were not any interpretive panels or other information available except a tourist guide map with little information about each. This explorer adventure was help with a local historical guide who knew where all this stone circles were and could give me some basic background on each.

Maol Mor The Maol Mor linear setting of four standing stones can be found in a clearing in forestry on the level top of the broad ridge of Maol Mor, and immediately to the South of the isolated rocky summit.

Lochbuie Stone Circle (left photo) This is a beautifully situated and nd well pr preserved stone circle located near the shores es of Loch L Buie and overlooked by Ben Buie. The circle le was originally nine granite stones, set in a ring ng about 12 metres in diameter, with the tallest stone being ing about two metres high. The Quinish stones (right photo) are a row of four stones only one of which now rema remains upright. The standing stone is 9'2" high. gh. Close Clos by are 2 fallen stones with an almost concealed fourth ourth pi pillar. Reports suggest there was a fifth stone, one, now gone

Dervaig Cemetery. There are three ee ston stones in Dervaig's newer cemetery, aligned approxima oximately NNW-SSE, the most northern of which is now included in the dr dry stone wall. It is suggested that these stones are not being treated as well as their kin just up the hill at Cnoc Fada.

Glengor Standing Stones. A setting of three stones on the Isle of Mull, two of which have been re-erected. A magnificent site, though according to Canmore only one stone was upright in 1800, and the others re-erected at a later date. The kerb around them looks fairly ancient but may in fact have been added at the time the stones were reerected. It does not detract from their setting, however, and this is a site well worth a look. All three stones are over 2m in height, and quite dramatic in effect. Glengorm was originally known as Sorne. In 1850, the new landlord, one James Forsyth, began to 'improve' his estate in the usual fashion in the Highlands - by clearance. The main house was replaced by a large and imposing baronial 'castle'. Forsyth sought advice on a new name for the estate from one of the few remaining tenants of the land, an old lady, and she suggested Glengorm, meaning Blue Glen. Little did he suspect that the name would commemorate, for all time, the days when the glen was indeed blue with smoke from the burning homesteads. Update October 2019: This row is featured on the Stone Rows of Great Britain website - see their entry for Glengorm, which includes a description, a plan of the row from a recent survey in June 2016, photographs of the alignment showing the restricted views of the sea from the rows, access information and a list of online resources for more information. After a long day of exploring on Mull it was time to go back to my B&B and have a nice wine and a favorite local dish for supper â&#x20AC;&#x201C; then catch the early ferry back to Oban and then Edinburgh tomorrow.

Food is always a part of exploring – it’ it’s part of the history and culture of the places ces we visit. When you visit an island you can expect outstanding nding se sea food.  Exploring the Machrie Moor Stone one C Circles on Machrie Moor near the settlement ent of Machrie on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. This trip to the Isle of Aaron was as anot another “exploration of opportunity”. On n assignment assignm for the National Trust for Scotland, my consulting ng servi services were to visit and critique interpretive program, progra planning and services opportunities for two castles: stles: Lochranza Castle and Brodick Castle (photos photos and history his on the following page). As with any explorers plorers trip, you first have to figure out how to o get there, the figure out where to stay for a few days, arrange to meet eet Na National Trust staff for the site visits and consultat sultations, and do my pretravel research and logistics planning. nning. H Here’s some logistical information and a bit of history hi on the castles they wanted me to have a look at.

The crossing by car ferry from Ardros rdrossan Harbour to Brodick was served by the he large larg and modern MV Caledonian Isles which has a range nge of on board facilities including the Mariners rs cafeteria cafe for meals and snacks, the Coffee Cabin, The Still till Ba Bar, Gift Shop and various comfortable lounges. unges. The crossing takes 55 minutes, and it is advisable to book ook in advance if you are planning to bring a car ar to the t island.

Here’s a map to give you a bit of the geography of the area and the location of Aaron (red circle). Note that the Isle of Mull is noted in the top left of the map.

In finding a place to stay the National Trust recommended Blackwaterfoot (right photo) (Scottish Gaelic: Bun na Dubh Abhainn) " bottom [ of ] the black river " is a village on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Kilmory. It is located in the Shiskine valley in the southwest of the island. It is one of the smaller villages of Arran and home to one of Europe's two 12-hole golf courses. A short walk from Blackwaterfoot is Drumadoon Point, home to the largest Iron Age fort on Arran. Further North is the King's Cave, reputed to be a hiding place of Robert the Bruce. Blackwaterfoot is also home to Blackwaterfoot Hall, home to Earl Blackwood-Davidson. Arran has a history that dates back as far as the Stone Age, perhaps as far as 7000BC, and today we can still see some of the structures created by its earliest inhabitants – look at Machrie Moor. Arran was originally part of the kingdom of Dalriada through the Bronze and Iron Ages – with Gaelic speaking inhabitants being ruled from Ireland. In the 6th century, Christianity arrived on the island with the founding of a monastery by St Brendan at Kilpatrick. The Old Clachan Church has been recently renovated and is one of the oldest preaching houses on Arran – well worth a visit! www.shiskinevalley.org As the years passed, Arran fell into the hands of Viking invaders, the Celts, the English, and the Stewart and MacDonald Clans. Like so much of Scotland, there is a rich heritage of feuds, battles and complex politics to be found on Arran!

Lochranza Castle (left) and Brodick Castle (right photo).

Lochranza 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. Brodick Castle is a castle situated outside the port of Brodick on the Isle of Arran, an island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was previously a seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The castle is a Category A listed building and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. The Castle and gardens were acquired by the National Trust for Scotland from the Lady Jean Fforde in 1958, in lieu of death duties upon the death of her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Montrose. The castle is open to the public during the summer, with Brodick Country Park open all year round. The site welcomed 39,708 visitors during 2018. While the work on the meetings about the two castles were wonderful, and by B&B was great – I was looking forward to my explorer time to seek out and visit Aarons standing stones. First a nice local favorite meal at the end of the day and a good night’s rest for an early start meeting my National Trust guide With local foods being a fetish of mine, I tried the sea food supper platter. What can I say, I was hungry.

When you’re working on an island where fresh sea food is a wave away – what do you expect? Loved it.

Then in the morning – a traditional Scottish breakfast.

I figured with all the hiking we’ll be doing I’d burn off the calories (I didn’t). OK- coffee in hand we are off to see the Machrie Moor Stone Circles. The grandeur of some of these ancient ceremonial monuments on Aaron can best be appreciated by a visit to Machrie moor. Here, there are six stone circles all within a short distance of each other. They can be found near the end of a farm track that leads from the A 841 road. The site is sign-posted and a small car park is provided for visitors.

It is easy to find but a walk of just over 1 mile is needed to reach the site. The track can be muddy and wet in places but it is fairly level and an easy walk. There is a site about half way along this track next to the Moss Farm Road stone circle, do not confuse this circle with the main Machrie moor circles, these are all clustered together at the end of this same path. There is an introductory panel to tell the visitors more about the history of the site.

Machrie Moor Stone Circles is the collective name for six stone circles visible on Machrie Moor near the settlement of Machrie on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. The author by the large 4.2m high stone pillar of reddish sandstone is a remnant of Stone Circle No.3 (left photo). The three stones of Machrie moor Circle 2 are the tallest standing stones on Arran. Only three stones remain in what was part of a Circle 13.7m in diameter.

As you wander around ound this th unique place, set as it is within sight ht of the jagged mountains of northern Arran, you ou cannot cann help wonder what those who spent a huge amount a of time and effort putting it alll together togeth had in mind. You might also start to o get the unsettling sense that aspects of it seem too good go to be true: could our more recent ancestor estors have moved some of the boulders here re to "improve" " an existing archaeological site?? The answer to the second question would seem em to be "no". Excavations of two of the circles in 1985-6 may not have solved ved the "why" question, but they did a great deal al to establish e what was done on Machrie Moor, and a when.

The starting point for activity here re seem seems to have been in about 3,500BC, when n pits were we dug in the areas now occupied by Circles 1 and 6. The purpos purpose of the pits is unknown, but ridged Neolithic olithic pottery pot was recovered from them. A thousand years later, r, in aaround 2,500BC, timber circles were erected ed on the th sites of the earlier pits. The timber circle in the area of toda today's Circle No.1 was especially elaborate,, comprising compr a double ring of posts with more in its centre. Over ver time time, the timber forming the circles rotted away, ay, and the t land was subdivided into small plots and nd ploughe ploughed.

Then, in about 2,000BC, stone circles were built on the site of the two earlier wood circles. It is assumed that the four other stone circles were built at the same time. What is known more clearly, from excavations in the 1860s that produced finds from most of the circles, is that some time later each of the circles was used as the burial place for at least one - presumably important - person.

The Double Ring of No.5 Stone Circle.

The first people on Arran to leave visible signs of their life and times here were the Neolithic people, who lived on the island in the period between 4,500BC and 2,000BC. They were farmers, and traces of their field systems have been found on Arran. However, they have left their most distinct legacy on Arran in the form of stone circles, standing stones and cairns. We do not know what these monuments were used for, but it is safe to assume that they had some kind of ceremonial function. The first of these megalithic monuments was constructed towards the end of the Neolithic period, and more monuments were built over a long period of time - into the Bronze Age (approx. 2,000BC to 600BC). We’ve had a long day and long walk. Time for this day’s exploring to end and head back to the B&B at Blackwaterfoot and chat about the day’s treaking. Trying to keep the theme going we discovered Machrie Moor whiskey and a nice dinner.

So tomorrow it’s a morning ferry back to the mainland and then catch a train to Edinburgh. I have a few weeks left on this spring’s trip and I have one more explorer trip to make – to see the Callandish Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis. That exploration is coming up next. Now to the Machrie Moor whiskey for a taste of Aaron. 

The Isle of Lewis and Harris – Standing Stones, Norse Vikings and the Uig Chessmen. So much to see and explore – so little time.

The Calanais Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis are believed to be 3000 - 5000 years old.

The Norse Mill, Carlow Borch, the Uig Chessmen and the Turssel stone. My May visit time is running out and I wanted to get to Lewis and Harris this trip. I’ll be back to Scotland and Wales again in September, but the fall weather on the Isles is chilly and the ferry trip is known for choppy waters.

While there is the amazing Callanish Standing Stones to visit, there are lots more to see here and ASVA (Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions) has me lined up to visit several sites on Lewis over two days. Remember that it’s a day trip just to get here and another day trip to get back to Edinburgh. So first things first – review and plan for travel logistics The main ferry to Lewis is from Ullapool on the mainland, which takes 2 hours 45 minutes. You can also travel from Skye to Harris and drive north. Vehicle reservations are recommended. The pic to the bottom left is the location for the Isle of Lewis and Harris, and our ferry landing there. Note that the food on the ferry is not so great so for the 2 hour 45 minute trip I packed a lunch and some snacks. The ferry was stocked with “adult beverage” so that was fine.

As with any of my interpretive explorations the key words are “research, research and more research”. I wanted to learn more about the history of the Isle of Lewis and the history of the main heritage sites I was asked to visit and critique the interpretation of them. The story of the Isle of Lewis is steeped in both history and mystery. Man has inhabited Elodeas, meaning marshy, for probably 5000 years. The Standing Stones and Stone Circles bear witness to this early occupation, as do the Iron Age forts and archaeological sites scattered around the Island. Brochs, hill forts and the evidence of the Iron Age that we see today, were constructed from about 250 B.C. to 500 A.D., and mainly on the coastal fringes. As you enter the broch, we looked for the cavity on the right. It is thought that this was a guard cell where someone would have sat ready to pounce on any unwanted visitors.

Carloway broch, An Iron Age round fortification

I see Lewis with large areas of peat land and bog. However, this was not always the case. Up until about 1500 B.C. the island was fertile, warmer, and much less wet. Farming was predictable, secure and the seafood plentiful. Prior to this time was when most of the monoliths and stone circles were constructed. When the climate changed the people of Lewis adapted, but had to move to the coastal machair areas to survive. The acidic bog areas developed and the peat is the result. A major date in the Lewis historical calendar was 1150 B.C. when mount Hekla in Iceland erupted, producing the equivalent of a ‘nuclear winter’ for Scotland. The effect on Lewis, Harris and the rest of Scotland was devastating Before and after the re-population of the Hebrides, the Celtic peoples were the predominant social group, with roots back into central Europe. The fortifications that were built on Lewis must have been to defend themselves from other Celtic groups, as this was well before the days of the Viking raiders. Duns and Brochs are basically fortifications; the only difference is that Brochs tend to be bigger. Domestic dwellings had a similar, but simpler construction. An excellent example can be seen at the West end of Bernera where a reconstruction has been made next to the existing iron-age village.

Throughout the years from the late 500’s Christianity made its presence felt throughout the Western Isles, mainly through the work of the Monks of St Columba. St Columba brought Christianity from Ireland and established a Christian settlement and Abbey on the Isle of Iona. One fine set of ruins can be visited on the area of land a few miles beyond the airport at ‘Point’. The ruined church is called St.Columba’s. Towards the end of the 800’s the relative stability of the Island was rudely awakened by summer visitors from Scandinavia. The Vikings were on opportunist raids to begin with, but by the middle of the 900’s settled in many of the coastal areas and made farms and permanent residences. A few Viking era buildings remain, the best examples for the visitor to see are the Mill and Forge near Shawbost, now renovated and Liamshader near Carloway.

The Vikings also left a very important set of artistic relics in the Lewis Chessmen. See opposite for more detail. The real impact of the Vikings though was on the environment. The Vikings were heavy users of timber and relied on it for their houses, boats and fuel. The native woodlands were soon consumed and this vital resource was finally seriously reduced by a Viking leader called Magnus III who instigated a ‘scorched earth’ policy. The Vikings influenced the building techniques for years to come and even during the last few hundred years, the traditional ‘Black house‘ has elements of Viking construction.

The Viking era came to an abrupt end after the Battle of Largs in 1263 when King Haakon of Norway was defeated by King Alexander the third of Scotland. Within three years, all of Norway’s lands in the West were returned to Alexander. Probably this political change meant very little to the well settled Viking farmers who must have been well integrated into the island.

However, several clan families were able to establish themselves under the new Scottish regime. The Clans were of mixed Viking and Celtic origin, some of them with traceable names from Norse leaders like ‘Leod’. His sons were therefore Son of ‘Leod’, or MacLeod. Other dominant clans were Morrison and MacAulay, mainly due to their loyalty to the Lords of The Isles, MacDonalds. The place names of Lewis maintain a mixture of Viking and Celtic origin as do many Gaelic words; however, the enchanting soft lilt to the inflexion within the dialect of the modern Leoisher is probably the most noticeable trace of this ancient fusion. OK – so that’s a brief history. I’m here and at my hotel (one that I can recommend to any traveler): the Royal Hotel, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis.

Stornoway’s most historic hotel – the Royal is a comfortable, traditional hotel, where you can relax and enjoy Hebridean hospitality – whether you’re visiting us on holiday to the Outer Hebrides, for business or to enjoy dining in either our Boatshed Restaurant or HS-1 Cafe-Bar.

As any traveler knows, find a place to stay that has “government rates” and a great restaurant. I also like to try new beers too. Had to review my work for tomorrows meetings and visiting the heritage sites on my ASVA “to visit” list with local staff and historians.

Day one – meetings with local historic site staff and volunteers on their needs and visions for what they would like interpretation to accomplish. Also who were their visitors, visitation seasons, operating and maintenance budgets and needs and research and new interpretation to share with visitors? After a quick lunch we were off to our first site visit, the Calanais Standing Stones.

John Veverka exploring the Calanaus Standing Stones site.

“The Calanais Standing Stones are an extraordinary cross-shaped setting of stones erected 5,000 years ago. They predate England’s famous Stonehenge monument, and were an important place for ritual activity for at least 2,000 years. We don’t know why the standing stones at Calanais were erected, but our best guess is that it was a kind of astronomical observatory.” Patrick Ashmore, who excavated at Calanais in the early 1980s writes: ‘The most attractive explanation… is that every 18.6 years, the moon skims especially low over the southern hills. It seems to dance along them, like a great god visiting the earth. Knowledge and prediction of this heavenly event gave earthly authority to those who watched the skies.’ We spent about an hour here marveling about the stones, the people who erected them, hidden purposes and chatting about how to best create interpretive media and methods for bringing their story to life. Next on to see the Trussel Stone.

The 6 meter high Standing Stone lies just off the A857 and about 4 km north east of Upper Barvas, about 20km north of Stornoway on the A857. Turn west into the township and after 600m a track leads to a parking area and to the stone. Largest single standing stone in Scotland. The stone is maintained by Historic Scotland This is an impressive standing stone and you really donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know just how big it is till you stand by it. We chatter about â&#x20AC;&#x153;how they got it here and erected itâ&#x20AC;?. That had to be a huge community job!

Our last two stops for the day (still got dark a little early) included The Norse Mill and Kiln and Carlow Borch sites.

As we passed along the A858 in Western Lewis near the township of Shawbost (Siabost) we watched out for a brown tourist sign pointing west towards a Norse Mill. From the small car park, a well made path leads for a quarter of a mile to two traditionally constructed and thatched stone buildings set into a small river valley. Lewis was once home to as many as 200 small horizontal wheel mills. What is variously know as Shawbost Mill or the Mill of the Blacksmiths remained active until the 1930s, though the last still operational in Lewis only stopped turning in 1945. Some more history from the guide books:

Shawbost Mill was first restored in the late 1960s, but the current restoration dates back to 1995. The building you see on your right as you approach is the kiln. It isn't immediately obvious how this worked, but half the floor area comprises a raised stone platform within which is set a circular stone-lined pit. This presumably contained the fire that heated and dried the grain spread out around the remainder of the kiln. The mill is more immediately spectacular, though here much of the workings are set in a chamber below floor level. Water from the nearby burn was led into a mill lade some way upstream from the mill. It was then channeled to the top of a mill race just behind the mill itself. From here a steep chute directed it down onto one side of a circular set of paddles, set horizontally in a chamber directly beneath the mill.

These paddles turn the millstone that grinds the grains. Kiln interior and millstone. Shawbost Mill is not the largest or best known of Lewis's visitor attractions, but a visit does provide a fascinating insight into a way of life once very common on the island. So the end to a busy day – lots of notes and things to think about. Back to my hotel and now think about a traveler’s subject – food. I need a nice dinner for my brain to work well – so for my local meal I wanted to try the outstanding foot served at the Temple Café on Harris. I loved the building and historic setting. Hay – we were hungry!

OK – last day on Lewis. Sites we wanted to visit today: Carloway broch, An Iron Age round fortification, and the traditional ‘Black house‘ that has elements of Viking

construction. First – breakfast. I know, but I burn a lot of calories hiking around.

Interpretive Explorers need to always try local foods and meals – they are really tasty.

So our first morning drive was to explore Carloway broch, An Iron Age round fortification. Here is a bit of history from our guide book and from the local historians. At the time of my visit there, there were no interpretive panels on site, and distribution (and sale) of the guide books were limited, although some hotels had them for sale.

Most brochs were built in the period from 100 BC to 100 AD. Dun Carloway was probably built in the 1st century AD. It probably got its current name from the Norse Karlavagr ("Karl's bay"), a relic of its time as part of the Kingdom of the Isles. Through the centuries Dun Carloway remained in use until the floor level was too high due to build-up of the occupation layers. The broch was occasionally used in later times as a stronghold. The Morrisons of Ness put Dun Carloway into use in 1601. The story goes that they had stolen cattle from the MacAuleys of Uig. The MacAuleys wanted their cattle back and found the Morrisons in the broch. One of them, Donald Cam MacAuley, climbed the outer wall using two daggers and managed to smoke out the inhabitants by throwing heather into the broch and then setting fire to it. The MacAuleys then destroyed the broch. Presumably in the 16th century the walls of the broch were still largely intact. By the middle of the 19th century a large portion of the top of the wall had disappeared, the stones being re-used in other buildings. The situation in 1861 is shown in a drawing published in 1890 by Captain Thomas. To prevent further decay Dun Carloway was in 1882 one of the first officially protected monuments in Scotland. Five years later, the broch was placed under state management. Since then, restoration has been performed on the broch. At the beginning of the 20th century and in the 1970s there was limited archaeological excavation. After about 40 minutes exploring the site we needed to more on to visit the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Black houseâ&#x20AC;?.

Black houses of Scotland Hundreds of years ago the highlands of Scotland and Ireland were dotted with a type of dwelling called black houses. These were long narrow buildings, often laid in parallel to other black houses, with dry-stone walls and thatched roofs rendered black with soot. The smoke came from a peat fire that was lit at all times in the center of the kitchen and living area. As appalling as it sounds, the houses had no chimneys and very small windows leading to a suffocating accumulation of smoke inside. The smoke escaped through the porous roof, slowly blackening the turf or straw in the process.

The smoke killed bugs living in the roof. Smoked thatch was also considered an excellent fertilizer. So every year, the roof was stripped down and the blackened thatch used to fertilize their fields, while the roof was rethatched to supply for next year. This traditional Lewis thatched house is fully furnished, complete with an attached barn, byre and stackyard. Built in around 1880, No.42 Arnol gives a special insight into island life. This blackhouse was once the residence of a Hebridean crafting family and their animals, which moved out in 1966, and today it is preserved almost as the family left it. A peat fire burns in the open hearth with the smoke filtering out through the roof. A furnished 1920s croft house is also open to view. The new visitor centre is contained on one level, where there is a shop,

Visitor Center exhibit on components of a Blackhouse (push the feature button and the model site lights up to help you find each blackhouse feature.

Well, that finishes up my trip to Lewis and Harris – have to catch the noon ferry back to the mainland of Scotland and then back to by B&B in Edinburgh.

Back home in Edinburgh. I have stayed at the Ascot Guest House for over 20 years of trips to the UK and Scotland. I do recommend it. My usual room #4. Always plan for reliable logistics and travel planning.

Where to next – depends on who’s on the other end of the phone when I’m back in the office. Lots of projects on the runway, many local and some international work pending. We’ll see.

Exploring and Interpreting Greece’s Ancient Silver Mines John Veverka Interpretive Explorer #6

The ancient silver mining and ore processing site of Laurium, (left photo) and early Greek silver coins. Greece’s rise to power in ancient times was paid for by the discovery, mining and smelting of silver that would forever change the history of ancient Greece. That is where our story of exploration will focus on. A few years back when the phone rang or an e-mail showed up I never knew what project I would be asked to do or where I would be asked to travel to. So when this call came in it was from the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration of Greece. This projects scope of work was to travel to Athens Greece to work for the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy with their project to help identify important (but un-preserved and interpreted) ancient silver mining historic sites, and present to the Institute staff a course on interpretive master planning for heritage sites. This was going to be a several day trip – one day travel to Athens, 3 days on site for the course and then site visits and interpretive recommendations, and then one day to travel home. When my wife learned of this trip there was no way she was staying home, so as I had a zillion frequent flyer miles and sitters for the kids, we were on our way to Athens. We left a day early to give us a chance to explore Athens before my work, and her traveling in tour groups would begin. We arrived in Athens early and found our hotel and time for a nice “Greek meal” for supper. Remember that Interpretive Explorers travel on their stomachs.

Our hotel for the week and our first evening Greek dinner - Traditional grekisk middag med lamm kabobs, sallad, ris och tzatz – stockbild.

Then some time to explore Athens (John at the Temple of Olympian Zeus (photo bottom left) (Greek: Ναὸς τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου Διός, Naos tou Olympiou Dios), also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus, is a colossal ruined temple in the centre of Athens that was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman periods it was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world. The temple's glory was short-lived, as it fell into disuse after being pillaged in a barbarian invasion in the 3rd century AD. It was probably never repaired and was reduced to ruins thereafter. Despite this, substantial remains remain visible today and it continues to be a major tourist attraction.

We did the usual tourist adventures, including a long uphill walk to enjoy exploring the Acropolis of Athens. After a day of being tourists we were back to the hotel for dinner and me for preparing for three days with the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration of Greece. So I needed to continue reading about the history of ancient silver mining in Greece, and also preparing for the interpretive planning workshop that will start in the morning. Here is a brief background on the silver mining of ancient Greece from a handout they provided me with. An introduction to ancient mining techniques by Chris Mundigler Ancient mining techniques go well back into our history – well back into our prehistory, in fact. As we progressed through the Stone Age, with more and more sophisticated tools and weapons being designed and developed, so too, our need for more and better raw materials for these implements. Stone and flint led to copper, and then bronze, gold, silver, iron… all in the name of progress, war, technology, vanity or greed. In fact, it’s ironic (pun intended) that the substance prized and even mined by our ancient ancestors for some of the earliest stone tools and weapons – flint – was later a hindrance encountered by Classical miners – who were in many cases also Classical minors – in gold mining galleries described by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century AD as “thought to be the hardest thing that exists, except greed for gold, which is the most stubborn of all things.” (Natural History, 33.21.74). Pliny also describes some of the perils of ancient mining techniques as whole masses of flint (or by some translations, quartzite) are “burst asunder by fire and vinegar” which produce suffocating heat and smoke and the veins of flint (quartzite?) themselves were often prone to collapse on the miners. So unstable was the surrounding flint, and so precious was the gold being sought, that “the mere hope of obtaining their coveted object was a sufficient inducement for encountering such great dangers and expenses.” (Natural History 33.21.78) This was the world of deep mining in Greek and Roman times and such was the life of peril and suffering the unfortunate slaves, criminals and workmen who risked (or were forced to risk) life and limb for the glory, pleasure and extravagance of power and ruler. Whether it was copper, silver or gold – especially in Spain – there are numerous ancient accounts of the unfortunates slaving away (pun intended) in the depths of the earth, sometimes for their whole lives, to retrieve a profit they would never enjoy. As Pliny again tells us, “the mountains are mined by the light of lamps – the spells of work are also measured by lamps, and the miners do not see daylight for many months.” (Natural History 33.21.70).

Ancient Greek mining lamps.

But it’s Diodorus, in his “History” of the 1st century BC, that gives us the despair that was felt by the miners working away day and night for the wealth of their masters: “compelled beneath blows of the overseers to endure the severity of their plight, they lose their lives in this wretched manner… indeed, death in their eyes is more to be desired than life, because of the magnitude of the hardships they must bear…” (History, 5.37-38) The harsh working conditions, which often included little or no proper ventilation for the miners, saw no real improvements from Greek to Roman times and the technical innovations for these mining operations were few and far between as well. Two of the best examples we have of well-established underground mining techniques come from the Laurion silver mines south of Athens in Greece – especially important in the 5th century BC – and the Roman Rio Tinto silver mines in Spain, both using mining technology only slightly improved upon from their earlier Bronze Age predecessors who worked these same mines as early as 3000 BC. The basic process of driving shafts and galleries into the ground, to roof supports and inadequate ventilation, continued into the Greek and Roman mines with the latter only really improving the operation once they started digging below the water table – the Laurion mines near Athens never really having to worry about drainage to any large extent because they stopped above sea level. Some of the early operations at Laurion were simply trenches dug into the surface of the ground to extract the rich silver deposits there. Later, the lower levels at Laurion – reached only by shafts dug deep into the Attic landscape – yielded such rich deposits of silver for the Greeks, in fact, that Themistocles was able to build an entire fleet of ships he needed to destroy the Persians in the 480s BC. Ancient Greek warships had large sails and many oars, which made them fast and agile. The ancient galley type vessels had three banks of oars and where called Triremes. To handle a trireme efficiently, needed at least 170 men, with one man handling each oar. The soldiers carried on-board used a long, narrow deck, to fight from. Looking at the remains of ship wrecks, archaeologists have found that one trireme was 115ft long (35m). That’s the length of about 3 school buses combined!

A huge part of Greeks silver mines when into funding a large fleet of Greek triremes.

Monday Morning – time to go to work. First – time for a great Greek breakfast to get us going. I am going to be off for a day’s training course on interpretive planning and my wife will join a tour bus to see Athens. One of the things I learned was that cheese comes with just about everything as does fresh bread. More food that I usually have for breakfast (cereal, toast, coffee). Fortunately I could walk to me meeting site from the hotel. Greek street signs. 

So once at the offices of the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration of Greece, we got busy with the course and what they wanted interpretive planning to accomplish for them, and where (what sites they were working on). Tomorrow we will do a bus tour to visit many of the key historic silver mining sites. Many sites are just sitting there after hundreds or even thousands of years – in situ – with no protection from damage at all. These are the challenges for interpretive planning to address.

Team members participating in the Interpretive Planning Workshop from our Tuesday site visits. Geologists, mineralogy and mining experts, educators and preservation experts. I am in the center of the photo in the black jacket. While my workshops and courses are “magical” (I do magic to illustrate different interpretive concepts) everyone was thinking about lunch. Interpreters need to be well fed to operate well. A typical restaurant lunch location close to the institute’s offices.

I work up this morning with a lot of anticipation. After the workshop we were ready to do some it visits and see how we could apply the concepts from the workshop to developing interpretation at these diverse sites, many of which were thousands of years old but not officially protected and had no interpretation on site at all. When I write this exploration memory I also want to explain the silver mining and production process and steps we were seeing and having the history experts explaining to us. Of course, first one of those wonderful and filling Greek breakfasts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; then on to the office and the bus. First, something a little lighter to start the day then to the bus.

Our first stop was at a 2000 year old abandoned ancient mining site. There were a series of mining tunnels mostly operated by small groups of miners. We did explore some of the mines (although dangerous) to see what it was like to be a miner here working by oil lamp.

In the photos above you can see the many individual mine entrances as the early miners were exploring for the best veins of silver producing rock. The work must have been very dangerous and working conditions in the tunnels hot and painful.

We did find different sample of ore on the ground by the different mine entrances.

One of the many old mine entrances (left photo) and our mineral experts explaining the different ores and the kinds of minerals they were used to produce. Near-by the actual mines were located Ancient Ore Washerie near the legendary Mines of Laurium, Greece which we would be visiting later that day). An ore washerie (bottom left pic) was used for separating the silver out of smelted lead ore. The process is called cupellation. Water would be sluiced around in buckets and the little teeth like impressions would catch the waste and the precious metals would be easier to extract from the top.

We then visited another old mine site located next to an ancient Greek amphitheater about 25 miles from Athens. As we visited this site and viewed the gated mine entrance I was taken by the story the historian told us. This mine was mined by mostly slaves. Once they entered the mine they would never come out again â&#x20AC;&#x201C; alive -! The live expectancy of the slaves was three months, so there was a supply of slave miners coming in while the dead were coming out.

Early graphic of slaves working in a mine.

The ruins of a smaller community amphitheater located by the ancient mine entrance.

The visit to this site was amazing in thinking about how Greece got it wealth from the slave labor of others. Next we were off to a mineral museum on our route to the Lavrion Ancient Silver Mines heritage site. This site was fully protected and at the time had on-going archaeological work proceeding. So first to our short visit to the Mineral museum to learn more about just what minerals were mined here and locally and how they were mined â&#x20AC;&#x201C; mining tools and processes.

Mineralogical Museum of Lavrion.

A display of ancient mining tools (left) and some of the mineral displays in the museum.

Now the rule is that an army gravels on its stomach â&#x20AC;&#x201C; well, so does an army of academics and interpreters. So before moving on to the Lavrion Ancient Silver Mines, we needed to feed our brains and stomachs and talk about what we saw and experienced this morning and how to interpret these very important stories.

Now we are feeding about 15 people so lots of different foods show up for us to share and pick on. It was amazingly good â&#x20AC;&#x201C; family style. Now weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ready to move on to explore the mines of Laurion, ancient mines located approximately 50 kilometers south of Athens. The mines are best known for producing silver, but they were also a source of copper and lead. They are a protected and important cultural and archaeological site.

Upon arrival we spent the rest of the day exploring the cultural heritage site â&#x20AC;&#x153;the mines of Laurionâ&#x20AC;? with a tour by the site historian and archaeologist team leader. The mines were exploited in prehistoric times as a source of copper and galena, a lead ore. In the classical period, mining in the area resumed. The Athenians used large numbers of slaves to mine the area, with the silver produced contributing significantly to the city's wealth. Abandoned in the 1st century BC, the mines were reactivated in 1864 and mined for their lead by French and Greek companies until 1978.

This site has such a rich history – here is what we learned as we explored the site. “Laurion, Greece, which lies approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Athens between Thoricus and Sounion, was famous in ancient times for its productive mines. Silver, copper, lead and even rare metals have been mined there since the Late Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC at least. Then mining mysteriously stopped there for a period of a few centuries. However, the mines were revived in the sixth century BC and thrived during Greece’s Classic Period, with slaves doing the laborious mining of the metals. The city-state of Athens exploited the mines to the full, and they became a vital source of revenue. In the 4th and 5th centuries BC, the output of the Laurion mines represented fully 25 percent of the Athenian state’s annual wealth. According to Dr. Elias Konofagos, a chemical engineer and member of the energy committee of the Academy of Athens, the annual gross revenue from just the silver and lead from the Laurion mines at that time was 920 talents. The talent (“talanton”) was an ancient unit of mass and a commercial weight, as well as representing corresponding units of value equivalent to these masses of a precious metal. The 920 talents were equivalent to 5,520,000 Attica drachmas, with those silver coins each weighing 4.36 grams.

In the beginning of the fifth century BC, the annual output of the Laurion mines was an astounding 20,000 kilograms of silver and 8,000 tons of lead. Archaeologists have discovered almost 200 different mines and shafts in the area dating back to the years 480-250 BC. It was the silver from these mines that financed the Greek fleet The rich mines of Laurion stopped operation only in the year 1992, and today, its property belongs to the Ministry of Culture. The ancient mines, which figure so large in Western history, are now part of the Laurion Technological and Cultural Park. Today, several abandoned mining sites sprinkle the rugged landscape west of the modern town of Lavrion. The most prominent archaeological site is located at Agios Konstantinos. The ancient silver production site is poorly signposted, but easily accessible by car. The archaeological site sees few visitors and it's a rough patch of land to negotiate, with no facilities anywhere nearby.

I didn’t want to forget to tell you how the silver was actually processed from the mine to the silver coins. So here is an overview of the ancient (to modern) silver processing. The photos below are the sites where the silver ore was washed and crushed (the large square table (bottom left) at Laurion and the smaller washing station we visited earlier).

So here are the main steps: Mining Ore extraction from very deep vertical mineshafts, off which were narrow and cramped horizontal galleries. Preparation of ore Ore separated from waste in special “washeries” (several have been excavated in the Laurion area, e.g. Agrileza, Thorikos). Cupellation Impure silver heated in a furnace or crucible with materials capable of absorbing the impurities (principally lead) as shown below.

The primary tool for small scale cupella cupellation was the cupel. Cupels were manufactured tured in i a very careful way. They used to be small vessels shaped ped in tthe form of an inverted truncated cone, made ade out of bone ashes. According to Georg Agricola the best m material was obtained from burned antlerss of deer dee although fish spines could work as well. Ashes have too be gground into a fine and homogeneous powder der and mixed m with some sticky substance to mould the cupels. upels. M Moulds were made out of copper with h no bottoms bottom so that the cupels could be taken off. A shallow depression pression iin the centre of the cupel was made with h a rounded rounde pestle. Cupel sizes depend on the amount of material aterial to be assayed. This same shape has been n maintained mainta until the present.

Silver and gold ingots (from shipwreck recks). The silver, copper and other ingots ots would then be re-melted and transformed into o the coins c that help build the Greek fleet and make Greece a wealthy ealthy country.

As I had noted earlier, the rich mines of Laurion stopped operation only in the year 1992, and today, its property belongs to the Ministry of Culture. The ancient mines, which figure so large in Western history, are now part of the Laurion Technological and Cultural Park. This is our exploration and site visit on our 3rd and final day of interpretive services analysis and potential interpretation recommendations. So after another great Greek breakfast I headed back to the office of the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration of Greece – boarded our bus and headed back to explore the remains of the modern Laurion mining operations. Below are a few pictures of the site and the ore processing factories of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

We arrive back at Laurion in the morning by the industrial ore processing sites. You can see our bus in the photo as we enter the preserved plant. For a historical reference note the photo of the site in the early 1800â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where the main offices are circled in red in the photo, and those same structures as they appear today.

We met a site cultural preservation and interpretation officer for a guided tour of the facility and the remains of different ore collection and processing stations where the ore was separated from waste in special â&#x20AC;&#x153;washeriesâ&#x20AC;?. Then on to the cupellation processing where impure silver was heated in a furnace or crucible with materials capable of absorbing the impurities (principally lead) as shown below.

In later years the mine also produced copper lead and rare minerals.

Large scale cupellation processing.

After my work with the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration of Greece, we had one more day to explore, so the one site I had to see was there the Battle of Thernopylae (the last stand of the 300 Spartans) occurred. The Battle of Thermopylae (Greek: Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν) was fought between an alliance of Greek citystates, led by Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes. The battle occurred during the second Persian invasion of Greece, at the pass of Thermopylae ('The Hot Gates'). The Persian invasion was a delayed response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece, ten years prior at the Battle of Marathon. Xerxes amassed a huge army and navy and set out to conquer all of Greece. A Greek force of approximately 7,000 men marched north to block the pass in the summer of 480 BC. The Persian army (alleged by the ancient sources to have numbered one million but actually considered at between 100,000 and 300,000) arrived at the pass in late August or early September. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held off the Persians for three days in combat, before the rear-guard was annihilated in one of history's most heroic last stands. During two full days of battle, the small force led by King Leonidas I of Sparta blocked the only road by which the massive Persian army could pass. After the second day of battle, a local resident named Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks by revealing a small path that led behind the Greek lines. Aware that his force was being outflanked, Leonidas dismissed the bulk of the Greek army, and remained in a rearguard element of 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans and perhaps a few hundred others, the vast majority of whom were killed here (at the monument site pictured below).

Ω ΞΕΙΝ ΑΓΓΕΛΛΕΙΝ ΛΑΚΕΔΑΙΜΟΝΙΟΙΣ ΟΤΙ ΤΗΔΕ ΚΕΙΜΕΘΑ ΤΟΙΣ ΚΕΙΝΩΝ ΡΗΜΑΣΙ ΠΕΙΘΟΜΕΝΟΙ "Go tell the Spartans, Passerby, that here, in accordance to their laws, Three Hundred lie." This wraps up this week’s work/visit/exploration of Greek silver mining history and my introduction to Greek history, foods, historic industry and culture. Heading back to the hotel for one last wonderful Greek meal I kept thinking of the 3000 years of history I was lucky enough to see, explore, understand and hopefully contribute to its interpretation of these stories. The next day, back home in Michigan, I would be waiting for a phone call or e-mail to get me to pack bag, head back to the airport – and on to another interpretive exploration and adventure to undertake.

Get Getting Stoned on Petroglyphs Rod Burns, B.Ed., CPHI Quadra Island, B.C., Canada

Along the coast of British Columbia bia and Alaska, First Nations Peoples have been n migrating migr and building seasonal and permanent settlements for at least 14,000 years. The same is true in n many other corners of the world. Why were petroglyphs created / mad made? When the south moving migrants nts establ established a permanent village, as residents they were able ble to ffocus on necessary survival skills: hunting, fishing,, food pr preservation, house construction. Beyond necessary survi survival skills, personal talents / skills became expressed: d: danc dancers, drummers, weavers, carvers. Most carvers worked in wood. A very ffew worked in stone (petroglyph). Scholars have written hundreds of books translating the meanings of Egyptian Hierogl ieroglyphics. Translations describe crop harvests, foreign invasions nvasions, royal families, local animals and many more themes. Some interpretations suggest stellar maps ps and poss possible flying objects, suggesting inter-planet planetary travellers, thousands of years ago. Ironically, archeologists do not share cons consensus about interpretations of petroglyphs phs between be Alaska / British Columbia Coastal. Some glyphs phs sugge suggest a human face. Others might be a representation sentation of marine life. Others just appear to be a random collection tion of round dimples in the rock.

When were the earliest Petroglyphs yphs ccreated? Migrations, down the coast have been ddated back 13,500 years (Prof. Dr. Daryle Fedge, Fedge 2018). We do have a few artifacts: hammer stones, spear ar poi points, adze for carving canoes and masks, dating ating back ba 500 to 7,000 years BP. To date, “when” even with Carbon arbon D Dating, is a calculated guess, consensus suggesting suggest 1,000 – 5,000 BP. Ultra Modern Petroglyphs There have been a very few quasi-succe success scrapings and poundings The face was done sometime in the he 1920 – 30’s. It is accredited to an unknown etcher. her. The Th artist, was most likely employed at the Limestone Quarry, Quarr just a few hundred meters (yards) from the face. We do not know his motivation, other than to leave his mark, his artistic rtistic endeavour e to an unknown future audience. He would have had a basic hammer er and a metal spike to peck at the rock face. The material being g pecked pecke is Limestone, which is very soft, compared to Granite ranite. The face would have only taken a few hours to reach ach this thi stage. This Limestone ‘glyph’ will likely ly erode away in a few hundred years due to the stones stone softness and reaction to chemicals in sea water. In trying to experience, first hand, nd, wha what it might take to replicate a simple 3,000 year oldd ‘glyph di dimple, many of my friends and tourists have chosen hosen dif different types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, metamorphi tamorphic. Twenty (20) minutes is about the longest any particip participant has lasted in trying to make even a small peckk or de dent in any of the Coastal Rocks. The scratched images ages ((see photo) were gone within a few days. The rockk dust was washed away by the tide waters. Unique conditions in selectingg a carvi carving location? Individual stones were migrantss to the coast, much the same as with the humans. Like the peopl people, they are relatively recent arrivals to our landsca landscape, having been carried here in glacial ice flows, betwe between 8,000 and 12,000 years ago. While migrating people floatedd down tthe coast in 10m long canoes, the stones boulderss were ccarried down coastal mountain valleys and inlets, ets, set settling on islands. These boulders are often referredd to as “Glacial Erratics”. Erratic, 600m / 1000 ft above a sea level

The ice-transported boulders which ich hol hold the petroglyphs are all Granite Rock. This his rock roc type is many times harder than both Limestone and Sandstone andstone, the most common materials holding inland ‘glyphs. ‘ Coastal Petroglyphs are found mostly ostly aalong existing ocean shorelines. They are not carved car into rock faces, like well known Petroglyphs, far inland. A second unique aspect here on the he Isla Islands is a condition known as Glacial Rebound. bound. 10,000 years ago, the glaciers were over 4 km (2 1/2 miles) iles) de deep. As the glaciers melted, the weight of the ice ic decreased by millions of tonnes which enabled the islands nds to rrebound (rise up) approximately 80 m / 250 ft. The Th melt water from the 4 km high ice fields has raised ocean ean le levels by about 50 m. / 150 feet. Unique human conditions to making aking a ‘‘glyph Known coastal petroglyphs get submerg bmerged by rising tidal waters every 6 hours. Our petroglyphs pe are underwater 1 m. / 3 feet, or more,, twice per day. The high / low tidal change times es shift shif about 20 minutes per daily cycle and month to month. The water temperature itself ranges es from 1C to 15C (35 F – 60 F). At such cold d temperatures temper the carver, sometimes standing in or being splashe splashed by rising waters, would have only 5 - 8 hours per day, before getting exceptionally cold and wet! Possibly, ‘glyph etching was more ore of a summer job. In our area, the ‘glyphs generally all face ce south sout – southwest. The orientation would maximize summer mer warmer w waters and longer day light hours. Unique base materials for many any coastal coast petroglyphs: In many websites, we learn that the Petroglyphs Pe were made by repeated pecking through an iron--oxide patina (sort of a varnish) which has coated parent nt rock over ove hundreds to thousands of years. Contemporary ary artists art etch / peck directly into very soft Sandstone. Coastal Coa ‘glyphs are pounded into Granite Stone, which hich is many m times harder than Sandstone and Limestone. How long did it take to carve a face or a single dimple? I’ve read how, pecking through the he pati patina, with a hammer stone against a stone awl, that in a few hours you can somewhat replicate the likes of a multi-thousand housand yyear old image. With our Granite Stones, being many any ti times harder than limestone, I’m not convinced by the sim simple answer “just peck away”. The structure of the Coastal stal petro petroglyphs are NOT the tiny pecks through the layer of iron on oxi oxide patina. Patina pecked holes go to a depth of approximately tely (1) mm / 1/16th inch. The Granite dimples and the widthh of featur features making the face or animal image are much larger and nd consi consistent in dimensions: 5 cm(+/-) wide by 0.5 cm (+/-) deep. ep. Th The coastal petroglyphs are 4 times deeper than the pecked flat lat rock ffaced petroglyphs.

An interesting addition to the prominent images is that many are surrounded by dimples. One ‘glyph rock has in excess of 75 dimples. Each dimple is a duplicate of the others in size and shape. It remains; open to guessing how the grooves were actually created. They do not show the expected straight lines and pecked indentations. Petroglyphs made from Granite Rock took unknown hours to complete. No artist today seems to work in Granite, unless they are using ultra modern powered grinders. In conclusion: In writing this article, a very exciting awareness moment came when my very basic geology rock knowledge crossed over into my basic wood and stone carving skills. My wood skills have developed from 25 years of home projects undertaken only after lots of pre-reading, watching and talking with skilled others. I have pounded different types of rocks, trying to make a dent into the rock. NO successes. Technique, time, place and environmental conditions play against each other. Another point, needing more research and pondering, involves the motivations for a person to dedicate untold hours to peck, etch, grind. When they are finished, temporarily or permanently, their works spread across small and large areas. Did they ever imagine, thousands of years into their future, people would be marvelling at their creations, pondering their origin? Was there an Ahhhh – a feeling of Success! I want to do another one! Did village members and visitors comment “That is so good, would you do one for us?” In contemporary times, the “accepted meaning / interpretation” of the single image or collection of images becomes an exercise in convincing the audience. Having academic credentials, gives the writer of the interpretation credibility. Heritage Interpreters are constantly challenged to balance accredited interpretations with decades of field time learning any number of opinions of others and considering their supporting evidence. A “ Can I Do it” project I leave you with is to make a simple dimple. In your own rocky area, make a dimple in a rock, the size of the bottom of a pop bottle. Send InterpNews a report / photo of your experiences. Rod Burns, B.Ed., CPHI Quadra Island, B.C., Canada bpc@connected.bc.ca References: - Joy Inglis: Spirit in the Stone: Petroglyphs of Quadra Island, Horsdal & Schubart Publishers 1998. ISBN: 0 920 663 58 3 No longer in print. - Internet searches: key words Petroglyphs, Writing on Stone Provincial Park, Ontario, Petroglyphs Canada, Petroglyphs Arizona, -YouTube videos: key words Stone Carvings: how to make -Photos: Rod Burns, CP Heritage Interpreter

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