New Views over Megalithia

[spiral]

Getting back to Arthur we are told the name means something like 'bear' and although he never existed he was a Romano Briton.

I wonder if that is incorrect? Perhaps the 'Ar' part of the name is connected with 'Arc' rather than bears? In which case was he another one of the ancient 'measurers' of the landscape? He did have a round table which could be a compass face or a clock face. 'Frae all the airts' is a well known expression meaning from all directions.

He was also skilled at drawing metal out of stone. Something nobody else could do at the time.

Ursula or Little Bear, said to be a 'Romano-British princess' a la Arthur, went on a pan-European pilgrimage ending at Cologne where she was murdered, apparently along with eleven thousand virgins.

Cologne's oldest monastery is dedicated to St. Martin of Tours who is the patron saint of Dover.

A straight line between Cologne and Dover goes via Dunkirk. Rather spookily the line extends to Stonehenge. Perhaps part of a great arc or Urs(ul)a Minor route.

There is a metal connection as Dover was one of the ports used by tin traders (a Bronze Age shipwreck was discovered in Langdon Bay, Dover in 2010).

This is a version of a beheading tale.

[macausland]

The birth of Aphrodite, associated with Cyprus and copper, was the result of the castration of Uranus and the throwing of his genitals into the sea. We don't usually see that in the paintings.

'The etymology of Greek Ἀφροδίτη is unknown.
Hesiod connects it with ἀφρός (aphros) "foam," interpreting it as "risen from the foam".[6]'

This from Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodite

Perhaps the old myths are merely an encoded description of smelting techniques. All trades keep secrets for obvious reasons. Technological process are often described in what we would describe as fanciful stories. Clearly seen when we look at the old Alchemist stories. Even the Chinese used the same method in their descriptions of processes.

Here's a youtube video of simple copper smelting using the bare minimum of equipment in what is assumed is how ancient metal workers extracted the metal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uHc4Hirexc

[macausland]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqTCvMEodA

And here's tin smelting

[Mick Harper]

I can't tell whether you are referring to this since your links didn't work on my computer (and in any case you should explicitly tell us what we are supposed to be looking at) but 'beheading' and 'foam' both play a major part in all types of metal smelting. During the process impurities rise to the surface, in the form of a foam, where they are constantly skimmed off, eventually leaving fairly pure copper/tin/whatever.

[Mick Harper]

Of course 'beheading' also has a banal application in the John Barleycorn myths (aka the John the Baptist story) when the stalks of corn are 'beheaded' of their ears during the 'thrashing'/threshing process.

[macausland]

Sorry about the lack of explanation.

If you copy the links and paste into the address window at the top they should get you there.

The copper smelting video is of somebody showing how copper can be smelted using very simple techniques.

Dig a small hole in the ground, put kindling in it and then ground down ore containing the copper. Light a fire and cover with charcoal and finally a piece of turf to keep the heat in.

Put the outlet tube of a bellows into the fire and blow air into it to raise the temperature. The carbon has a chemical reaction with the oxygen in the copper ore and eventually the copper is released. Everything is then put into water to separate the froth or slag from the copper which is then put into a crucible of sorts and then poured into moulds.

The moulds can be easily made by pushing a shape into sand. Perhaps a 'knuckle bone' or such like.

The link to the tin smelting is similar but done by a different person. The result is the same.

As you point out the problem then is to get the tin to the copper. Cyprus, the birthplace of Aphrodite, was a good source of copper. I believe Aphrodite was even associated with various birds, including doves.

The reference to Aphrodite refers to her rising like the foam. I think the whole story is a metaphorical description of the copper smelting process. Rather like the old recipes the alchemists had. Not quite 'scientific' but just as tricky to understand.

[hvered]

Cyprus, the birthplace of Aphrodite, was a good source of copper. I believe Aphrodite was even associated with various birds, including doves.

Another bird linked to Aphrodite is the goose or swan which is also the symbol of Hermes. One of her children was Hermaphroditos, half-male and half-female, which might point to an alloy [in medieval alchemy mercury, being both metal and liquid, seems to have signified dual nature]. Interestingly, the patron saint of metalworkers in Christianity is St Eloy!

Hermes allegedly slept with Aphrodite as a reward for finding her sandal, suggesting she was lame or limping, a common attribute of smiths. Her consort was Hephaistos, the god of metalworking.

Cyprus is proposed as the origin of the word copper probably because of its Latin version, Cyprium, even though the etymology is unknown.

[macausland]

Speaking of Cyprus, have a look on Google maps and zoom in on the northern spur pointing towards what looks like a deepsea harbour cut into the mainland.

Could there be the remains of a causeway there and one of those Venus pools?

[spiral]

I can't tell whether you are referring to this since your links didn't work on my computer (and in any case you should explicitly tell us what we are supposed to be looking at) but 'beheading' and 'foam' both play a major part in all types of metal smelting. During the process impurities rise to the surface, in the form of a foam, where they are constantly skimmed off, eventually leaving fairly pure copper/tin/whatever.

I have been wondering for some time whether the Pied Piper can be read as a cautionary tale of agricultural and mining folk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_Piper_of_Hamelin In many versions the childen follow the piper into the side of a mountain Koppelberg (SIC) Hill. Agricultural communities need young folks to work the land and if the younger folks were attracted to the riches of the mines, that would impact on harvesting, which could create food shortages, leaving a folkloric memory. We have seen a link between mineworking and Morris dancing already.

It is a story that illustrates the attraction of mining and the dangers for agriculture if your young folk leave....

For your hunting enthusiasts, Aberfeldy would say that this was an example of the hill being a sacred hunting territory.

[Mick Harper]

Speaking of Cyprus .... Could there be the remains of a causeway there and one of those Venus pools?

I occasionally get reports of Venus Pools in the Mediterranean (one in Corsica for instance). The problem is that the Med is tideless so how can you construct something that is tidal? Though I am told there is a very small tide so it could just about be possible.

This has a wider resonance so far as causeways go because though the Phoenicians (Tyre, Sidon, Carthage etc) seem to be properly Megalithic in always going in for causeways, ie their cities are connected to the mainland by artificial isthmuses, these are not tidal. This is important because we still don't know why the British Megalithics constructed tidal causeways. They could presumably just as easily built permanent ones above the high water mark.