Month: April 2021

The year is 1958, and Ronnie Simison is working on his farm on South Ronaldsay, in the Orkney Isles of Scotland. There is a mound close to the cliff edge, and Ronnie notices some horizontal stones poking out from it. Taking a spade, he digs down, finding a wall. Close to its base, he finds a mace head, three stone axes, a black ‘button’, and a small chert knife.

He uncovers a lintel and realises this is some kind of structure. It’s not long before he’s revealed a small entrance leading to a low tunnel. Crawling inside, lit only by his cigarette lighter, Ronnie finds himself staring at around thirty human skulls!

Of course, he closed up the site, reported it to the authorities, and waited for some form of official archaeology to take place. And he waited…

Twenty years later, and with no word of any official interest, Ronnie finally opened up the tomb again himself. What he found within was amazing. Skulls lined the walls and, when the excavation was complete, there were 16,000 bones, the remains of at least 342 individuals. Strangely, in amongst them were the remains of over 14 white-tailed sea eagles.

What was so special about the sea eagle? Was it an animal sacred to the tribe that inhabited the area? Were the birds interred with their chiefs or their shamans?

Outside, the tomb was no less interesting. Around the door were the remains of many sacrificial animals, mainly calves. They appeared to have been brought to the tomb, slaughtered, then dismembered. They had left the meat lying at the door, perhaps as an offering to the dead or the ancestors. Perhaps as a meal for the sea eagles!

Opposite the entrance was a pile of pottery. Large numbers of these earthenware vessels had been brought to the tomb, then deliberately smashed.

It may spoil the effect slightly when we later discover, through radiocarbon dating in 2006, that the eagle bones were not interred with the human occupants. They were buried in the tomb between 500 and 1,000 years later, at the very end of the Neolithic period. Sad as that is, it shows that the tomb had ceremonial importance to people living on the island for over 1,000 years. Think about that in modern-day terms, and you’ll find that 500 years ago was the reign of Henry VIII in Britain. 1,000 years ago was the reign of the last Anglo-Saxon king Harold II, destined to die at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

It makes you wonder how much more ancient history is waiting to be discovered by one person with a spade…

While you’re here, take a look at this new book promotion. More than 40 books in the First in Epic Series category for you to browse through… and all free!

A Bright Cold Day in April is still running too. Check it out here!

Until next time.

D J Eastwood

While I’ve been writing Guardians of the Circles, my Neolithic Historical Fantasy series, I’ve had to do a lot of research. The one thing I’ve noticed most is the number of plants, trees, and animals that I take for granted as British… but they’re not!

Photo by Amee Fairbank-Brown on Unsplash

The most obvious one is the Rabbit. Is it British? No. The Romans may have kept them as pets, but they were introduced from Spain and France in the 11^th or 12^th century. The nearest native species we have is the Brown Hare, which is now relatively rare in the UK.

Other historic arrivals are the Fallow Deer, brought from mainland Europe by the Normans, and the Grey Squirrel, which was introduced in the 19^th century from America.

We’ve lost a lot of species throughout history, too.

The Eurasian Lynx was once common here, as were the Brown Bear and the Elk. The last known wolf in Britain was shot in Scotland in 1743, though there have been some suggestions of reintroducing them.

We take Chestnut trees for granted here, yet they arrived with the Romans, and Horse Chestnut was not planted here until the 16^th century.

Other plants have become a nuisance. Wherever you are in the world, I’m sure you may have come across Japanese Knotweed, an invasive plant that can take over extensive areas of ground very fast.

Even here, on the Isle of Lewis, sitting on the edge of the Atlantic and 50 miles from mainland Scotland, we have our invaders. Though the Hedgehog is native to the UK, they do not belong on these islands. They were brought in by folks wanting them to eat the slugs and insects in their gardens, but they like birds eggs too. Not a problem when the birds nest in trees, but most of our birds are ground-nesting because of a lack of trees!

Another thing that is becoming a common sight here is Gunnera Manicata.

This plant looks like some kind of giant, aggressive rhubarb. The stems are spiky and can grow to over 2 metres tall, with huge leaves at the top. Birds spread the seeds and, although they were not introduced here until the mid-1800s, they are popping up everywhere. We had one that set itself behind our barn, and it took me over an hour to dig out!

Right, I’m off to shut the chickens in for the night. (They came, originally, from tropical south-east Asia.)

Oh! Before you go, I have some news for you. A new virtual Book Fair entitled “A bright, cold day in April” is available. Lots of titles to choose from, all free. Take a look HERE!

D J Eastwood