March2006

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This and That

If you fancy a day out in Dorset in October, Peter Knight is organising the “2006 Convention of Alternative Archaeology and Earth Mysteries”.  The date is Sunday October 8^th at Sherbourne in Dorset and it will run from 10.00am to 8.00pm.  The cost is £25 on the door or £22 in advance.  Contact Peter Knight, 34 Badgers Way, Sturminster Newton, Dorset DT10 1DW, telephone 01258 472722.  Web site is www.stoneseeker.net

Several members have kindly donated raffle prizes recently – many thanks.  Raffle tickets are available at the door at the meetings, only £1 per strip of tickets, and proceeds help defray the cost of the journals etc.  Also, donations from the raffle takings are donated to a charity, Water for Life on a regular basis.  This charity trains dowsers in poor regions of India to find sources of clean drinking water.

Kate Fenn is our speaker this month, she will also be taking part in March’s field trip.  In addition to these she will be running a two day workshop for us in May.  See later in the newsletter for details. There is not a lot of time between now and then so please get your places booked as soon as you can.  Places are limited!

March Field Trip.

Meet at 10:45 on Sunday, 26^th at Knoll Down.  The car park can be found by taking the A4 towards Calne from the Beckhampton roundabout (west of Avebury), after 500 yards on the left at Map ref SU076693 Explorer 157, Landranger 173.

In our first group visit in some time to this often energetically powerful spot we will have the opportunity to look into some of the complex patterns of earth energies which some say are magical.

Following Lunch we’re off to meet Kate Fenn and visit her groups Medicine Wheel and Sweat Lodge.  This is a wonderful chance to see how these ancient forms of sacred space benefit so much from regular ceremonial use whilst returning whilst returning back to nature in between use.  A big thank you to Kate and Rod (Lodge Firekeeper and landowner) for offering us this great opportunity.

As ever stout waterproof footwear and clothing are recommended.  If you are coming along to the pub for lunch please let me know as soon as possible so that I can book us all in.

Shaun

Nice Day For It

I ensconced myself at a long trestle table to one side of the pavilion and the Archaeologists sent a delegation over, of their coach and captain, wicket¬keeper-fixer, opening bat and occasional drunken umpire.

It was the red-headed multi-tasking W. R. Hartnell.

"Hello, Stoutey," he said.

"Hello, Sarge," I said.

I 'Nice day for it."

"And cricket," I said, maintaining the tradition. Hearty, leaden badinage.

"Better out than in," said W.R."S."H., sniffing the damp Avebury air and loudly hitching up his trousers.

"As the fire-eater said to the contortionist," I volunteered.

"Got here all right then?" he said.

"Just about."

He looked away and went appropriately quiet. "Can't be many pitches in a World Heritage Site;" he observed.

"Just over that henge lies the sacred temple," I said. "I'd say we were within the precincts, wouldn't you, or extremely adjacent. An honour to be here."

"On a Sunday morning in late summer," he said dreamily. "Nice little wicket. All your people here?"

"I'm not sure," I said.

"What are those three in the middle doing?"

"A routine pitch inspection," I said.

"They seem to have their rods and pendulums and doo-dahs with them."

"Well, Michael and Mary are not very far away, and may be causing some interesting currents within the ground, tributary spirals... which may help the seamers," I said.

He laughed openly. "You and your Michael and Mary," he said scornfully. "Where's the evidence?"

"The temple complex is the evidence," I said.

"Romancing the landscape, that's all that is," he said. "New Age mythology in league with the England and Wales Tourist Board."

"Some form of worship has been going on here from time immemorial." I said, "to the present day."

"Vague, Stoutey, all very vague. Ritual activity on prehistoric sites. Don't like it. Don't trust it. Covers a multitude."

Church bells began to ring in the village.

"It's all around us, Sarge.

"Faith without evidence is just superstition."

"I notice that you've got one boot laced cross-wise and one boot laced in parallel," I said.

"Have I now?" he said fiercely.

"And one red sock and one purple.

"Must have got dressed in the dark."

"And some really foul trousers that haven't been washed all season. You're not on a winning streak or anything, are you?"

"No, I keep forgetting to take them home," he said.

"Help yourself to a new pair, if you want;" I said. "I brought a ton of gear."

"Swanky bastard."

He handed over his batting order without further ado. The Time Team were:

W.R. "Sergeant" Hartnell

P. L. "'Trouty" Troughton

J. "Larky" Pertwee

T.E. "Loafy" Baker

P.F. "Demon" Davison

C.T. "Butcher" Baker

S.P. "The Real" McCoy

P.A. "Holiday" McGann

C.E. "Cakey" Ecclestone

D.P. "Housey" Tennant

C.L.R. . “Jamesy" James

12th Man: H. G. "Whoreson" Wells

Why is your second Baker going by the name of Butcher?" I asked.

"Because he's a butcher."

"Oh, right. Not a candlestick-maker... "

“He helps us with animal bone identification. Runs a stall on the market near you. Talks about you a lot. Says you go down there and muck him about nattering on like a great big girlie. Says he's looking forward to the game so that he can pound the A Levels out of you."

I hadn't done nearly enough work with my squad on nick-names, I could see that; apart from The Twister of Tamil Nadu, which, in the circumstances, was beginning to seem a bit florid.

"Where's your team details?" demanded W.R.H.

“I'll let you have the order when I've written it out," I said. "It's a bit ad hoc at the moment."

"How many girlies have you got on your team?”

"Depends what you mean by girlies."

"Women."

"A couple," I said.

“Well, there are no separate facilities for them."

"I'm sure we'll find a way," I said. "As the contortionist said to the map¬reader."

Sarge bristled off and Dave came over. The Yorkshire sage Brian "Headingley" String had kindly sent us a letter conveying his regrets at being otherwise engaged and enclosing a few words of encouragement.

"Lily-livered, nancy-boy Southern trash," it began, "you'll be needing some pointers from the manual. One: invoke the Ancestors. Contact the spirit of bygone cricketing greats and let them guide you. Two: play for the session. Three: avoid Brylcreem, it weakens morale. Four: always imagine you've lost two more wickets than you actually have... "

"Not now, Dave," I said.

"Shall I read it out to the squad as a pep-talk?" he said.

"Have we got a squad? How many have we got? I can't see anyone who looks like he might be The Twister of Tamil Nadu."

But then I could. He was coming in through the rec gate with Cyril. Both were covered from head to foot in mud.

"Blimey," said Dave. "Washing the Unwashed of Village Wiltshire."

Grey Wolf

February field Trip.

February’s outing was to the Roman Amphitheatre at Cirencester and also to the church at Duntisbourne Rous.

A surprisingly large crowd turned up, considering that it was a very cold day, and the hour before lunch was spent dowsing the remains of the Roman amphitheatre on the outskirts of Cirencester.

No stonework remains of the structure, but the grassed-over mounds are sufficiently large to give a fair idea of what the place must have been like in it’s heyday.  Those members who had dowsed the site on other occasions found that it was slightly less “energetically active” on this occasion.  Of course, that may have been due to the bitter winds putting us off our stroke.  I worked out that we were dowsing at almost exactly halfway between Candlemas [Feb. 2^nd], and the spring equinox [March 21^st.]  This half-way mark may be a naturally low point in the energy cycle of the site.  Several members dowsed for possible uses for various parts of the site, and some got a strong feeling of a bear-baiting ring in one particular spot.

Despite the fact that much of the entertainment on offer would not be acceptable today, most members found it to be quite a pleasant place to spend time at.

Next to the amphitheatre is a long-barrow, known as The Querns Long-barrow.  It was excavated halfway through the nineteenth century and two skeletons were discovered.  At the time, these were dated to the Roman period, but no modern dating techniques have so far been tried on them, so they may well be much older.

After a pub lunch, everyone went up to nearby Duntisbourne Rous to see the attractive church of St. Michael.

It is believed that the church is of Saxon origin, due to the Herring-bone pattern of some of the brickwork on the north wall, although this is not certain. 

The chancel and crypt are Norman. A Saxon chief called Dunt lived here, giving his name to the stream from which the name Duntisboune arose.  The Rous part of the name came from a Breton Knight called Le Rous, or the Redhead.  He was one of the local landowners.

Dowsing in the church indicated that there is a strong power-point just behind the lectern.  Some members felt uncomfortable at this spot, and the whole area at this end of the church is very energetic, with a heavy atmosphere.  Oddly enough, if you go into the crypt below this area, the feeling is completely different, with no feeling of heaviness.

The church is on the edge of a ridge, with a lovely view over a stream in the field next door.  Just beyond the stream is the site of an old holy well, which we did not investigate due to the marshy conditions underfoot. A good excuse for another trip in the drier part of the year.

There are three barrows in nearby College Plantation, one a long-barrow, and the other two being round.  Bones and a flint scraper were found in these, showing early signs of occupation, and there are a couple of large earthworks nearby, in the Pinbury area.  S.C.

February Meeting.

A welcome return visit from Michael Glickman, who was the speaker for February.  He is very well known in the crop circle investigation world, both here and in the USA, and the talk he gave to the WDS was based on number sequences that frequently occur in crop circle formations.  The talk was illustrated with a selection of slides demonstrating the number sequences, including the Golden Mean and Fibonacci sequence.  He also showed how some of these sequences can be applied to the human body, and managed to make the mathematics fairly easy for most of us to understand.  Michael is quite a good raconteur and also entertained the audience with a few of his views on politicians, television doctors and scientists who refuse to believe in the obvious.

One of the things that he commented on was the recent three-part television series on “alternative medicine”, presented by Professor Kathy Sykes.  Despite seeing a patient undergoing open heart surgery without an anaesthetic, talking to the surgeon, while pain prevention was provided by the use of acupuncture, Prof. Sykes needed “proof” that acupuncture worked.

At vast expense, using the most up-to-date equipment, the “proof” was obtained.  Only then did the Prof. concede that there was evidence that acupuncture might be of use as pain control in some applications.

Conventional scientists refusal to believe in evidence in front of their eyes was cited by Michael as one of the reasons it is difficult to have a sensible discussion with them about crop formations or any other esoteric subject.  Thanks to Michael for another entertaining and interesting talk.

Incidentally, a few days after this talk, the “Daily Telegraph” published a small article about a German investigation into the use of acupuncture for pain relief in severe migraine attacks.  They conducted rigorous tests on 600 migraine sufferers and found that acupuncture was as effective for this condition as any of the usually prescribed drugs, without of course, the possibility of side effects or incompatibility with other medicines that the patients might be taking.

Fibonacci Series resolving to the ratio 1.618034 or the ‘Golden Mean’

Flower Power.

While looking around a garden centre recently, looking for something to grow sweet-peas up, I realised that obelisks, hurdles, screens and other garden structures made of willow and other woven woods are now extremely popular.  I wonder how many of these were used in olden times for this purpose but for other reasons than because they are attractive and cheap.

A quick look through one or two books told me that willow twigs were often pushed into the earth around vegetables in gardens and animals in the fields to protect them from harm and to bring good luck.  Sometimes they were placed around the hearth indoors for protection.  Although cutting willow was said to be unlucky, a ritual overturning of the taboo on Easter Sunday made it safe, so presumably this is when willows were usually harvested.  A blessing of the wood in church was an added protection against disease, thunder and lightening.

At this time of year the Hellebore is in flower, so I looked this up in the plant folklore book as well.  Apparently the Black Hellebore was eaten by some goats belonging to the Greek shepherd, Melampus, and noted the effect of the plants on his goats  He gave milk from the goats to the daughters of Proteus, King of Argos, which cured them of mental afflictions.  While lifting the roots of the plant, it is necessary to observe a complex ritual.  Firstly, the root gatherers use a sword point to draw a circle around the plant, then they ate garlic and offered prayers to Apollo and Aesculapius while the roots were lifted.

The herbalist, Gerard, suggested using Black Hellebore for “those molested by melancholy”, and for “mad and furious men”, confirming Melampus’ findings.

The Gauls hunted game with arrows dipped in hellebore juice as this had the effect of tenderising the game.

White Hellebore is jolly useful for the gardener, as a decoction of 4 quarts of water and an ounce of powdered white hellebore rhizome would destroy the caterpillars on 150 gooseberry bushes, or the powdered root could be mixed with flour to make an insect dusting powder, [presumably to get rid of them.]  S.C.

Much of the information for this article came from an excellent little book by Shire Publications Ltd. – “Discovering the power of Plants” by Margaret Baker.  ISBN 0-7478-0178-9.

Abbot Mermet.

During the lunch-break at last month’s field trip, I sat by a member who showed me a beautiful pendulum of a very unusual shape.  I admired this pendulum and was invited to try it for myself, when I found it to be extremely “user-friendly”.  The owner of the pendulum explained to me that it was made to a shape based on a design by the late Abbot Mermet, a well-known dowser from France.

Like a number of other Roman Catholic priests of the time, Abbot Mermet had some medical training, and used his dowsing skills in this field, on occasion being used by surgeons to diagnose the position of lesions in a patient before an operation took place.  He was not alone in this, several other priests from French monasteries became noted medical dowsers.  It may be that a certain amount of medical study was part of a priest’s training, and that dowsing skills were passed on as a matter of routine, to be used as a diagnostic tool.

Abbot Mermet held his pendulum away from the patient and used the first finger of his other hand as a pointer.  Gradually moving his finger over the patient’s body, he found that the pendulum would gyrate over a healthy organ, but would oscillate over unhealthy organs.  Other priests used slightly different methods, for example, Abbot Bouly used “samples” such as a microbe culture held in a small bottle in one hand, while moving a dowsing rod over the patient with the other.  He held the point of the rod close to the patient’s body, and the rod tip would move upwards as it arrived over the seat of the trouble.

Abbot Mermet worked at several Spas and would use the sample-method when looking for sources of mineral water which contained properties which he thought would be of benefit to the patient.  He would dowse while carrying a small bottle of the particular water that he was seeking. 

He also had some success at diagnostic dowsing when he worked from photographs of a sick person.  He explained the method in his book “Comment J’Opere”.  One explanation that I have read is that a photograph is a light ray from a subject, which has been trapped on paper, and the rays may contain information which a dowser can pick up on.  Apparently this does not work with a painting or drawing.  Dowsers in an early experiment, who tried working from paintings, found that they were getting information about the artist, instead of from the subject, although they did not have this problem with photographs.  S.C.

 The pendulum referred to earlier had a saucer shaped base like an upside-down mushroom, with disc-shaped plates at the top, just below where the cord was attached.  There was obviously a reason for this shape, it would be interesting to know more about it.  Of course, any reasonably sized object dangling from a string can be used as a dowsing tool, but there is a lot of pleasure in using an object that is pleasing to the eye and that works so easily in practise. S.C.

Myths and Legends

We’ve had several gory stories recently so here is a straight forward financial one.  This was told to me many years ago when I worked at Plessey who were a major employer in Swindon at the time.  The story so well fits the then Managing Director of Plessey that I believed this story for 30 years until I saw the same story applied to someone else in the USA and realised that it was a myth.  The Story –

One day the Managing Director was visiting one of the Plessey Factories in Swindon.  Passing along the passage way behind the loading bays the party (managing directors never visit on their own) came across a worker leaning against the wall enjoying a cigarette.  This was very much against the MD’s work ethic (workers should slave for the good of the company).  The MD approached the worker and ask what he was doing and the reply was “nothin’”.  This annoyed the MD who pulled out his wallet and asked the worker how much he was paid a week.  When the worker replied “twenty quid” the MD gave him £40 and told him he was fired and to collect is cards from the pay office. 

The MD and his party then resumed their progress and the worker stared after them somewhat bemused.  He counted the money put it in his pocket and returned to his truck.  He was not an employee of Plessey just a visiting driver making a delivery.