roseembolism (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
roseembolism) wrote2008-10-13 11:37 am
roseembolism) wrote2008-10-13 11:37 am
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Archaeologist finds evidence for Corwall Witchcraft...or does she?
Just in time for Halloween, we have an article at Archeology.org about how an English archaeologist Jacqui Wood has excavated a site in Cornwall that indicates a ritual magic tradition that may extend fro antiquity, up into modern times. According to Archeology.com and the archaeologist's own webpage, they excavated pits lined with the feathered skin of swans, and collections of stones, bird parts and nearly-hatched eggs. Wood reluctantly came to the conclusion that the pits were not merely ritual in nature, but were used for witchcraft!
Or so they say. I can't help being skeptical of this whole story, not so much because Jacqui Wood is self-taught (any number of important archaeological sites have been found by non-professionals), but because of the breathless, uncritical gee-whiz nature of the reporting. Add to that the newly uncovered "ritual pools" that are being reused by local pagans, and the unsubstantiated rumors of a local family engaging in this witchcraft up to the 1960s, and oh yes, "just in time for Halloween", and the whole thing starts to feel too good to be true.
Which may or may not be unfair to Ms. Wood, because the real problem is I haven't been able to find any corroborating articles for the claims. It would be nice to see what other archaeologists think about this find, but it's been too soon to see any reaction or criticism. That's really a problem with the field as a whole; there's so few archaeologists, so little funding, and so many sites of interest, that professionals are spread very thinly. It's going to be a while before any other archaeologist has a say on the find. So all we're left with is a couple of non-academic articles that sound suspiciously like an advertisement for Saveock Water Archeology, and some interesting pictures.
But what the hell, it IS almost Halloween. So for the next 18 days at least, it's nice to think about cold moonlight nights in Cornwall, and hushed rituals done by secretive people. Archeology has always been a romantic science, and it's images like this that help keep archaeologists going when they're sifting through muddy turf searching for bones and potsherds.
Or so they say. I can't help being skeptical of this whole story, not so much because Jacqui Wood is self-taught (any number of important archaeological sites have been found by non-professionals), but because of the breathless, uncritical gee-whiz nature of the reporting. Add to that the newly uncovered "ritual pools" that are being reused by local pagans, and the unsubstantiated rumors of a local family engaging in this witchcraft up to the 1960s, and oh yes, "just in time for Halloween", and the whole thing starts to feel too good to be true.
Which may or may not be unfair to Ms. Wood, because the real problem is I haven't been able to find any corroborating articles for the claims. It would be nice to see what other archaeologists think about this find, but it's been too soon to see any reaction or criticism. That's really a problem with the field as a whole; there's so few archaeologists, so little funding, and so many sites of interest, that professionals are spread very thinly. It's going to be a while before any other archaeologist has a say on the find. So all we're left with is a couple of non-academic articles that sound suspiciously like an advertisement for Saveock Water Archeology, and some interesting pictures.
But what the hell, it IS almost Halloween. So for the next 18 days at least, it's nice to think about cold moonlight nights in Cornwall, and hushed rituals done by secretive people. Archeology has always been a romantic science, and it's images like this that help keep archaeologists going when they're sifting through muddy turf searching for bones and potsherds.