Reflections on Past, Present and Future

The castle was in the hands of the Bishops of Narbonne from 1110, when it was handed over to them by the Lords of Termes (not altogether willingly, by the sounds of things...) and it remained with them until the French Revolution. Obviously they kept it in good order - it now earns its keep as the home to an exhibition about the last Cathar, Guillaume Belibaste, who was burned here as a heretic in

Here's a view from just outside the village, showing its location from a distance.  Note how it seems to nestle quite low in the landscape, rather than perching at the top of hills as is more usual round these parts:-





This of course means it wouldn't have been much use against artillery, but obviously no-one tried to take it by force, or I doubt it would still be here to impress us today.

One last view now, showing at close quarters how it dominates the village:-

I'm currently watching a fascinating programme on Channel 4 called 'WWI Tunnels of Death: The Big Dig'.

I thought it'd be your standard run-up to Remembrance Day fare of history combined with film footage, etc. but as a piece of archaeological film-making  it has proved fascinating.  The work was carried out in advance of a pipeline, and the upstanding archaeology has in many cases been wrecked by shells, though I suppose these shell holes themselves now count as archaeology so you have to assign them context numbers and excavate them in the same way that you excavate a post-hole.

They've just uncovered a messed up bit of German fighting trench, which has been hit by a British shell and which I suspect may have bodies in it (I remember a Facebook feature referring to the recovery of some in situ corpses in a WWI trench and I can't help wondering if this is the same dig...)

Great archaeology, but oh so miserable (horse jawbone uncovered, too...) and a reminder that the past can be so very, very brutal... 

Well worth catching up with, I must admit!

Here, as promised, are some more images of the wonderful abbey at Lagrasse.  I know I previously waxed lyrical about the painted ceilings which proliferate throughout the medieval houses of Languedoc - well, here's another bit of medieval interior decorating which left me a bit gobsmacked.

Now, experts in medieval architecture often wax lyrical about our colourful medieval past, always going out of their way to remind us that the cold austere stonework we see in modern churches is nothing like the original medieval decor.  But it's a bit difficult to envisage what actually would have been going on, and I find that usually, when I stumble across real examples of medieval interior paintwork, it's nothing like how I would have imagined it.

Take this wall, for example.  I hadn't a clue what was going on here, until I actually found a display in the room which revealed that this incredible painted stonework is original medieval painting:-





The photograph has actually come out rather well, giving a true impression of what is a very strange but not altogether unpleasant decorating scheme.

No sooner had I got my head round this, than I realised that this little room was the antechamber to a small chapel which could not unfortunately be accessed, because it still had its original medieval paintwork surviving on all four walls, and an original in situ medieval tiled floor, too.

Wow...

Thankfully, the authorities have provided visitors with shuttered hatches through which they can view the interior.  The These do not do much to assist photography, but I did my best.  The east wall shows the Tree of Life, and is still inlaid with some of its original precious stones:-





I've left these photographs at an unusually large size so you can get a better look...

Here's a view of the tiled floor now, which doesn't do it justice, I'm afraid, but believe me, it was impressive:-





One last view of the interior now.  This magnificent fireplace is much later than the medieval paintings and tiling featured above, but if I remember aright, it was earlier than I'd expected.  I'd opted for a late 16th or early 17th century date, but I think it was much earlier in the 16th, a sign no doubt that Scotland (and England!!) were the tail end Charlies as far as renaissance fashions were concerned:-

This is the first of a series of posts devoted to the Abbey of Lagrasse, which is one of several extremely well-preserved abbeys in Languedoc.  It's currently undergoing a massive programme of renovation, which will hopefully ensure that the building will survive well into the future.

The church, unfortunately, was not accessible, so I can't show you any pretty pictures of the interior.  But the conventual buildings are all extremely well preserved, and the structures have now found a new life as a museum of Romanesque sculpture.

Here's a distant view, showing its magnificent Romanesque bell-tower:-






Clearly, the building programme here was pretty much completed during the Romanesque period, as there's few traces of Gothic to be seen.  Unlike the nearby church in the town which we visited yesterday, which has seen a substantial amount of remodelling.







Here's a view of the cloisters, with its lovely Romanesque capitals.  The classical influences are certainly evident here:-







But the regional traditions are also clearly visible.  This is a view of the refectory, which has the massive diaphragm arches which are so commonly seen in the local churches.  At the time of our visit, some restoration works were underway here - you can see the fenced-areas where archaeologically-monitored works have been taking place.  The roof has been replaced recently, but the buildings were still in use until at least the eighteenth or nineteenth century, which probably explains why the fabric hasn't been brutally pillaged the way our own abbeys have been in the UK.

Apologies for the photographs, which are nowhere near the usual standard, but I really, really, really had to share these!

During our 2012 visit to Carcassone and Languedoc, we visited a whole lot of sites, all of which had much to recommend them.  But if I was asked to pick a personal favourite, it wouldn't be the majestic city of Carcassone, or the dramatic towers of Lastours, or indeed any of the castles and abbeys that we visited (and I'll be introducing you to more of these over the winter!) 

No, I think it would have to be the painted ceiling of Lagrasse, a hidden gem which lay completely off the tourist trail and which caught us completely by surprise.

The clues were right there from the beginning.  Here's a 'faux' set of pictures painted onto the exterior of a medieval house in Lagrasse itself.  You can spot a reference to that inevitable medieval cliche, the Lady and the Unicorn, amongst other motifs:-

It's Thursday evening, and because it's pouring with rain outside, my usual Thursday evening walk is postponed until tomorrow. 

So I'll post instead!

I promised you a follow-up post on Lancaster Castle, and here it is. 

I originally intended to include a shot of the ghastly medieval cellar where the poor old Pendle witches were incarcerated, but unfortunately my one decent photo was cluttered with people (including children), so I didn't think it appropriate to include it.

The 19th century prison is a different matter...

Years and years ago, when I first studied Archaeology at Uni, I attended a brilliant series of lectures called The Archaeology of Religion, Magic & Burial, presented by the one and only John Barrett (of Fragments of Antiquity fame - if you haven't read it, and you're interested in British prehistory, then go find a copy. It's just like having a potted version of the lectures to hand!). 

Throughout this course, we were encouraged to read all manner of works by anthropologists (like Levi Strauss), sociologists (like Giddens and Bourdieu) and philosophers (like Barthes and Wittgenstein).  This breadth of reading certainly gave us a fascinating insight into the past which was completely at odds with the Processualist school of archaeology which remained the dominant paradigm at the time and placed the acolytes of 'Barrettism' (I'd happily count myself as one!!) in the realms of the post-Processualist movement.  Scary to think that I'm now talking of post-Processualism in the past tense, though to be honest I'm not sure what's replaced it!

One of these lectures was devoted to the works of Michel Foucault, who wrote an in-depth study of the changing history of punishment.  As an undergraduate I never read this book, which is entitled DIscipline and Punish, if I remember right, but I do remember a contrast being made between 'medieval' modes of punishment, which usually involved the physical destruction of the body (the example quoted was the horrific torture and execution of a fellow who tried to assassinate a French King in the 17th century - We were subjected to a detailed excerpt from the book which detailed the death and it left a deep and lasting impression on Meek Little Student-me...).

Foucault contrasted this means of punishment with the 19th century belief in correction and confinement, with its roots in the post-Enlightenment period, and cited as his example that typically 19th century institution the 'panopticon' style prison.  Here you have your inmates under constant surveillance by a central warder, who is located in a way that they can observe their charges at all times.

The prison block at Lancaster is a good example of the panopticon style. This photo is taken from the central point in the cell bay, where the warder would have been located.  Bear in mind that the solid doors are a very late addition, and that originally you would have been able to observe the inhabitants within a barred door:-





This view shows the interior of a cell - complete with a later addition, a ceramic toilet bowl.  (I'm sure slopping out would have been carried out until quite recently, judging by the modern style of the toilet bowl...)

A brief diversion now, by way of Lancaster Castle, infamous for the role it played in the trial of the unfortunate Pendle Witches...

Now, as some of you might remember, I am particularly fascinated by sites which show evidence of consistent use over long periods.  Churches and cathedrals are a good example: many of our early ecclesiastical buildings are still performing the same role in the wider community now as they did a thousand years ago...  Another example I think I featured was Fort George: a Hanoverian barracks which still houses a working regiment of soldiers.

Here's another one: Lancaster Castle, which occupies the site of a Roman fort and which has been in almost constant use for the same basic purpose ever since, namely a focus for administration and the dispensation of justice (however flawed that justic might be, as I'm sure the Pendle Witches would be keen to argue...)

Lancaster Castle was used as a prison until the early years of the 21st century, and is currently in limbo while its owners (the Duchy of Lancaster) decide how best to deal with it. It may, for instance, find itself reborn as luxury holiday let accomodation,,,

Anyway, when we stayed in Lancaster on our way down to Wantage, we jumped at the chance to have a good look round this excellent example of a kind of building which usually isn't open to casual inspection.  And Lancaster Castle really did not disappoint.  It was a brilliant example of a palimpsest, where layers of meaning are overwritten and superimposed and the 'reader' has to disentangle all the different elements to create a meaningful narrative.

Most of the buildings are of 18th or 19th century build.  But within this later gothick confection, earlier elements survive.  The earliest surviving part of the castle is the Well Tower, which is pictured below:-

I've just returned from the second of my three conference outings for the autumn season.  Today's offering was the autumn meeting of the Finds Research Group, a research body dedicated to small finds of the historic period. The FRG normally has its meetings down south in Englandshire (i.e. well out of the reach of Yours Truly) but today it was having an unusual foray north of the border in Edinburgh.

It was certainly well worth the trip.  The papers were all very interesting, in a day conference devoted entirely to Precious Metals.

My highlights had to be the two papers on Early Historic & Viking silver: Firstly, Martin Goldberg gave a fascinating talk on the Early Historic & Viking Use & Manufacture of Roman to Viking Silver, which demonstrated how metallurgical analysis can establish the relative dates of Early Historic & Viking artefacts by the nature and percentages of impurities in the metal - Roman silver is higher quality, and less debased, and as it gets recycled through the years, more base metal gets added, hence more impurities appear.  Goldberg's presentation was followed by another equally absorbing paper by Alice Blackwell, who presented a paper on New Research on the Norrie's Law Hoard. This identified the presence of three 19th century fakes amongst the original Pictish hoard, again isolating them by using metallurgical analysis.  One of the interesting observation made by Goldberg was how the English warrior elites of this period favour gold & garnet, while the Pictish/Viking elites of the north make more extensive use of silver and enamel.

Honourable mention must also go to David Caldwell for his engaging lecture on that magnificent artefact of medieval Scots origin, the Bute Mazer - here's a link for what can only be described as an over-sized quaich with real attitude!!

http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_collections/highlights/bute_or_bannatyne_mazer.aspx

Caldwell was somewhat scathing of the abilities of the goldsmith, who's thought to have been based in the West of Scotland.  He pointed out that the lion looked like it was wearing a knitted balaclava, then compared it to the man-in-a-lion-suit that features in that classic comedy sketch, Scott of the Sahara by Monty Python.

Oh dear.  I'll never be able to look at the Bute Mazer in the same way again. Conversely, I'll never look at Scott of the Sahara the same way, either!!!

And now I'm signing off.  Last night's Book Signing was for the launch of The Healing of Luther Grove by Barry Gornell.  Again, it was a fascinating insight into how it;s done - this particular event featured a useful question & answer session, but how I could possibly fit this in to a similar event is a trickier task to accomplish...

Because I had a fabulous day at work today, speed-writing captions to accompany an array of pretty slides which summarised almost twelve thousand years of human occupation in Scotland (Mesolithic to World War II - Phew!!!) and appeasing that frustrated part of me which is and will always be a Failed Academic (!).  And because I'm currently enjoying a television history of WALES which is being shown on BBC SCOTLAND (wonders never cease...)...

...I thought I'd indulge in some gratuitous photos of Segbury Hillfort.

Okay, it's not quite an Uffington in its grandeur, because it's a univallate hillfort, as opposed to a more complex multivallate hillfort, but its scale is still quite staggering;

Hot on the heels of Wayland's Smithy comes another chambered tomb now.  This time it's a bit closer to home - yes, at last J and myself managed to track down that elusive beast known as the Haylie Chambered Cairn, which lurks up on the raised beach behind Largs. 

This monument is also known as 'Haco's Tomb' - Haco being a reference to King Hakon, who led a band of Norsemen against the Scots in the Battle of Largs (1263). There are a few prehistoric monuments recorded around Largs: by the nineteenth century they'd earned a place in local folklore as burial markers for dead Vikings, or monuments set up to commemorate key sites in the battle.

They are, of course, several thousand years earlier than the battle itself.  The earliest of these monuments is undoubtedly this chambered cairn, which I've tried and failed to locate on a previous foray into Largs but which today I actually managed to track down!!

It was originally part of a much larger mound called 'Margaret's Law', but this has been largely removed over the past two hundred years leaving just this burial chamber ('Haco's Tomb') behind:-






Fans of Neolithic monuments please note that this particular example is not a representative of the Cotsworld-Severn group.  I cast a critical eye over it today, trying to figure out if it was a prime example of a Clyde-Carlingford, but since I couldn't see any sign of any overlapping side slabs, or any horizontal slabs subdividing the chamber ('septal slabs') I wasn't convinced:-




But according to the experts, the Haylie cairn is indeed an example of a Clyde-Carlingford, though sadly this chamber represents a much diminished remnant of what would originally have been a much bigger and more impressive monument.  Futher information is available, on both the monument itself and the results of the early excavations carried out here, in the RCAHMS' Canmore entry which I have linked to below:-


http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/41155/details/margaret+s+law+haco+s+tomb+haylie/


And because we were walking through Largs enjoying the prehistoric monuments, I just couldn't resist taking another picture of the Bronze Age standing stone that I featured in photos from my last visit to the town. Only this time it doesn't look quite so gloomy!