The Cymry or the true history of Britain.

a reply to: urbanghost

I was fascinated when I found a book on sewn boats in Falmouth library. This link is the best I could find at short notice. There was even a tribe in the North Baltic who specialised in producing reindeer sinew for boat sewing. This method could have been used long in the past to create sea going craft and we will probably never find more than the tiniest fraction of evidence remaining today.
www.fotevikensmuseum.se...
(Please check your private messages.)

a reply to: urbanghost

Severin found the skin boats were more suited to cold waters. On their voyage they were once completely submerged and popped back up like a cork. Another time the boat was caught between two ice floes and squeezed but then sprung back into shape. A stiffer boat may have shattered.

These sewn wooden boats could explain a lot about pre metal working sea passages. When excavating the ancient sacred site beside Hetty Peglers Tump fishbones were discovered of a species that is only found out beyond the mouth of the Bristol Channel suggesting confident boat use.

a reply to: Kester
Skin boats have been used for centuries in Wales, they are still used. The Coracle

a reply to: urbanghost

I'm assuming the ships referred to in the Triads are from the pre metal working age. Am I right?

a reply to: urbanghost

I've seen some of these boats, they look fantastic. www.flaxland.co.uk...

The ability to carry a coracle is a huge advantage over the dugout canoes.

a reply to: Kester
The legend is supposed to be 12th century, but a guy called Alan Wilson, who was mentioned on this thread before says that the legend has been mistranslated and really points to the 6th century

a reply to: Kester
There are also different types of coracles, some for shallow water and others for deep.
I have always wondered if the idea for them came from seeing a bowl floating in a cooking pot.

a reply to: urbanghost

Have you come across this guy? self-realisation.com...

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: urbanghost

Have you come across this guy? self-realisation.com...

I guess I won't be going to bed anytime soon.
what surprises me is that hardly anybody knows these legends, yet they are the oldest legends of this island.

First time I've heard of this!
www2.le.ac.uk...

I was looking for a pointer to the quartz content of the bluestones but I think I'll sleep on this instead. Thank you for starting this thread. I'll be back.

a reply to: Kester

First time I've heard of this!

No me neither. Not sure what to make of it, but one thing going against it is that the stones were supposed to have been taken on boats from Wales
This is what Wessex Archaeology has to say about it.
The bluestones were not the only rocks found at Stonehenge that came from Wales. The Altar Stone belongs to the Senni Beds of the Old Red Sandstone formation, which outcrops in many parts of West and South Wales.

a reply to: Kester
Everybody has heard of the Amesbury Archer, there is another burial that is in the same area. Lead isotope analysis of the teeth of the men in this burial show they either came from Wales or the lake district. Boscombe Bowmen
On the subject of bowmen, there was a find in Wales of a stone wrist-guard like the one the Amesbury Archer was wearing. It is the same colour, red. Only about 2 or 3 have ever been found in Britain that are this colour, most are of green stone.

a reply to: urbanghost

And also on the subject of bowmen I love the story about the well preserved bows from the Mary Rose being twice as strong as historians had presumed. We really have degenerated into a race of weaklings.

Smash the kids computers and get them out running and climbing! (But don't kick them down a skate ramp.)

originally posted by: urbanghost
Luckily enough the roundhouse is built on his own land, so that was one obstacle out of the way.

I know many people who have constructed simple homes on their own land and then faced fines, bulldozers and evictions. For all those contemplating this eminently sensible lifestyle choice please get informed and prepare your defence beforehand. A thread on that subject is called for.

a reply to: urbanghost

I just came across a suggestion that the bluestones may have been polished when Stonehenge was built.

My reason for wondering about the quartz content is the ability for quartz to hold memories and messages.

a reply to: urbanghost

For those who prefer to listen here he is.


What I can say about this man is he can come up with the right information at the right time. I was once online immersed in a cutting edge group conversation while a friend was having a speakerphone conversation with Michael beside me. Suddenly Michael said something that completely changed the context of what we were all discussing. I typed it out instantly and that message got through to masses of interested people.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: urbanghost

I just came across a suggestion that the bluestones may have been polished when Stonehenge was built.

My reason for wondering about the quartz content is the ability for quartz to hold memories and messages.

When you polish the bluestones, because of the quartz content it looks like the night sky with the stars. Quite magical. You can imagine how they must have felt standing around these stones with fire and the quartz sparkling like the stars.
I will try to find a picture

Here is a picture of polished Preseli bluestone, it looks like a galaxy.

It is a very hard rock, harder than granite and is excellent for carving, I have on of these made from it.

a reply to: urbanghost

I see. Add a few zilly zybins and illuminate with a blazing fire you'd be diving through portals. If that makes sense.

What tools are used to carve bluestone?

a reply to: Kester
Not sure what they used originally, possibly other stones? Now they use high speed diamond drills or laser.