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Lost Secrets - an adventure during Neolithic times

Singing Up the Country: The Songlines of Avebury and Beyond

Singing Up the Country: The Songlines of Avebury and Beyond

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Wayland's Smithy - Long Barrow in England in Oxfordshire

Submitted by Andy B on Monday, 12 August 2019  Page Views: 74451

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Wayland's Smithy Alternative Name: Waylands Smithy; Weyland's Smithy
Country: England County: Oxfordshire Type: Long Barrow
Nearest Town: Swindon  Nearest Village: Compton Beauchamp
Map Ref: SU28098539  Landranger Map Number: 174
Latitude: 51.566690N  Longitude: 1.596133W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

druid tlcearth Judy6 NickE070812 Bkidd9 43559959 whese001 burtvader would like to visit

Couplands visited on 12th Sep 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3

Hordernm visited on 30th Apr 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3

aolson visited on 24th Jun 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3 A must see on our day out from London to Avebury. When we got there there was a grade school outing having lunch on the barrow. It was fun to see the kids playing around on what to them must have just been another field trip, but for us was a (possibly) once in a lifetime visit.

NDM visited on 1st Jun 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

GemmaJ visited on 26th Jun 2020 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

fibo74 visited on 19th Jan 2020 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4

storm123 visited on 26th Oct 2017 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 3 A beautiful place, had seen it on the tv and wanted to visit it ever since, my dad wanted to come so thought make the day of it, there was a short walk for most people but for disabled was a rather tiring walk but well worth it. the Long barrow is stunning and the surrounding area is just as nice, so quite and peaceful. will definitely be going back when people are not there who allow their children to use it as a climbing frame, and dump rubbish (no respect for the nature or natural beauty of the place)

TwinFlamesKiss visited on 1st Nov 2016 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Easy access from car park along a flat firm smooth path. Awesome in the Autumn.

Jansold visited on 24th Oct 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Chrononaut1962 visited on 12th Sep 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3

Harmudge visited on 1st Jan 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

emerald visited on 22nd Dec 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 2 A very interesting burial camber. A long walk require from the National Trust car park (charges apply) , the sign post said 1 1/2 miles but l took a route near the Uffington Horse so it was nearly four miles there on very muddy paths. Great site though, reasonably well sign posted (although l did wonder when l was a mile down the track leading to it and qondered whether l had passed it!) Very clean area, atmospheric but isolated

LittleFaerie visited on 1st Sep 2013 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3

ModernExplorers visited on 1st Mar 2013 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Great long barrow built for hobbits

jeffrep visited on 26th May 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

custer visited on 22nd Apr 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Fantastic set in woodlands majical feel. Great place to rest and cool down out of the sun on the way to Uffington.

SolarMegalith visited on 26th Feb 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

TheWhiteRider visited on 22nd Jun 2010 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

SteveC visited on 20th Jun 2010 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

woodini254 visited on 27th Sep 2009 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 3 A superb site that can be visited via approx a mile walk along an easy footpath well signposted from Uffington White Horse Car Park. Well worth a visit.

graemefield visited on 20th Jul 2009 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

ChrisHealey visited on 20th Jun 2008 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Really special location, perfect setting amongst the trees.

Richard13 visited on 1st Jun 2004 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3 Wayland's Smithy is well preserved Severn-Cotswold long barrow which enjoys a delightful setting amidst a small plantation of trees. The approach along the ridgeway makes for a fine prelude and a visit can also be combined with a visit to Uffington Castle and White Horse. The large stones at the front of the barrow make for an impressive sight, and the chambers in the barrow are also accessible. Wayland's Smithy is well known site so can become busy, so it is worth visiting 'off-season'. However a visit is always rewarding whevener you go.

RedKite1985 visited on 1st Jan 1997 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

SandyG visited on 21st Jan 1991 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

Orcinus visited on 1st Jan 1989 - their rating: Amb: 4

fingland visited on 22nd Sep 1965 - their rating: Cond: 4 I think the date is close to when I first saw it and it was a lot more secluded then, in fact it was a bit more enclosed by trees and undergrowth as I remember gave it a bit of a spooky atmosphere . I used to visit it on my walks along the Ridgeway at late winter, early spring you never saw many people there in those days.

Jimwithnoname visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Twistytwirly visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

NickyD visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3

Lazulilou visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 4

Humbucker DrewParsons MAIGO Bladup coin rldixon nicoladidsbury TimPrevett myf Andy B PhilipT davidmorgan AngieLake TheCaptain JimChampion sirius_b sirius_b cazzyjane StoneLee AnnabelleStar Hengerunner Wazza12 have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 4.03 Ambience: 4.47 Access: 3.48

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by StoneLee : Wayland's Smithy (Vote or comment on this photo)
This long barrow lies in a plantation of trees on the famous Ridgeway, not far from the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire. Footpaths lead to the site from both the Uffington Castle carpark and the B4000 which crosses the Ridgeway around a kilometre away.

Excavations in the 1960s revealed the barrow was constructed in two phases - a wooden mortuary enclosure with stone floor was later covered by a trapezoidal mound of chalk. Inside there are three chambers, one main one and two to the sides. The long barrow was reconstructed after excavations - pieces of green plastic trellis can be seen protruding from the mound material near the entrance!

Its setting in the beech trees could be very atmospheric, but avoid visiting on a Bank Holiday!

Page originally by Vicky M

Note: Far-Right rituals at Wayland's Smithy and Avebury, more in the comments on our page
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Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by Jimwithnoname : Visited here in April. Our walk leading up to the site was made all the more pleasurable with the song of Bull Finches. What a lovely welcome to a peaceful site. Not dark and imposing as I thought it may be. (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by winnits : I'm not sure whether it's actually in Oxfordshire or Berkshire - but a chambered Long Barrow from the front on June 29th 2002. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by rldixon : Waylands Smithy taken 14-5-2004 colour wonderful place (Vote or comment on this photo)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by rldixon : waylands smithy taken 2004 sepia toned and softened a bit (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by SolarMegalith : Huge stone slabs in front part of the long barrow and the burial chamber. What we see nowdays is a construction from 3460 - 3400 BC, which replaced ealier, much smaller chambered tomb (photo taken on February 2011).

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by rldixon : waylands smithy taken 14-5-2004 sepia

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by steveco : Wayland's Smithy Chambered Long Barrow SU281854. Off of the Ridgeway track near Uffington White Horse & Castle. (1 comment)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by TimPrevett : Collage showing a remarkable encounter with a mouse at Wayland's Smithy at its entrance. This mouse and I had each others' eye contact for about a minute before it dove between the horizontal facing stones. One of those happenings on visiting ancient sites which on one level is mere fortune and synchronicity but on another feels very meaningful and profound. A little video of this on my instagr...

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by jeffrep : Close-Up of the front of Wayland's Smithy Long Barrow in Oxfordshire, England.

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by mikeaitch : Photo taken late evening June 2008.

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by custer : Fantastic place quiet full of charm.

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by croppy : Wayland's Smithy from the air

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by TimPrevett : Wayland's Smithy, last November 15th - I could not have wished for more perfect conditions for a first visit. Wall to wall blue sky, advanced copper toned beech tree leaves on the ground and above, sunlight across the facade, and 90 minutes of complete solitude up here.

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by Richard13 : View of Wayland's Smithy, seen at Easter 2021

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by DrewParsons : I visited Wayland's Smithy in 1960 so this was a wonderful trip back to see it some 55 years later!! April 2015

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by Blingo_von_Trumpenstein : Waylands Smithy long barrow. 720nm IR filter, ISO400, 1 min tripod exposure. Duotoned and level adjusted. A sacred site if ever there was one. Some of the reconstruction is perhaps a little dubious but a tremendously atmospheric place. Enjoy

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by Sunny100 : The entrance to the chambered long barrow of Wayland's Smithy, near Wantage in Oxfordshire, dating from the Neoloithic Age. Some of the menhirs standing around the barrow are 10 foot tall. The name Wayland the Smith is the legendary person associated with this site and who lived in the 10th century. It says that 'if a horse and a coin were left here overnight, Wayland would shoe the horse and keep...

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by dodomad : Wayland Smithy, Oxfordshire. A Neolithic chambered long barrow 2km from the Uffington White Horse. The remains of 14 people, three of whom were probably killed by arrowshots, were discovered in 1962-3, but precise dating is now able to narrow the date of their burials to within a decade or so, between 3590 and 3560BC. This opens up the possibility that these people could have died together as a re... (1 comment)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by mishkin : Wayland's Smithy. Autumn colours, shadows and stones. Category A. (2 comments)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by DavidRaven : We walked along the white dust of the Ridgeway, under the burning June sun, and found a welcome refuge in the dappled shade of the barrow. I'd wanted to visit this place for a long time. Magical. (1 comment)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by Horatio : A very fine example of an early neolithic chambered long barrow of the 'Cotswold-Severn Group'. I did a detour to visit this site on the way to Avebury from W Wales and boy I'm so glad I did. Excellent site and needs a re visit for sure.

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by Richard13 : Wayland's Smithy, seen at Easter 2021 (1 comment)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by TimPrevett : A remarkable encounter with a mouse at Wayland's Smithy at its entrance. This mouse and I had each others' eye contact for about a minute before it dove between the horizontal facing stones. One of those happenings on visiting ancient sites which on one level is mere fortune and synchronicity but on another feels very meaningful and profound. A little video of this on my instagram account here. 16... (2 comments)

Wayland's Smithy
Wayland's Smithy submitted by Bladup : Wayland's smithy. This Original Artwork in a glass frame is £44.99 + Postage (Just whatever it costs), and is 23 cm x 19 and a half cm. A limited (to a 100) edition print in a 8" x 10" glass frame would be £19.99 + £2.90 postage, E-mail me at paul.blades@rocketmail.com if interested.

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"Wayland's Smithy" | Login/Create an Account | 30 News and Comments
  
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Re: Wayland's Smithy by Zooks777 on Monday, 16 August 2021
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No Environment Agency lidar coverage as yet
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Wayland’s Smithy and neo-Nazis by Andy B on Wednesday, 14 August 2019
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Prof Howard MR Williams writes: I’ve just read an invaluable reflection by archaeologist Dr Jonathan Last on the recent Telegraph story reporting that neo-Nazi groups have been holding religious ceremonies at Avebury and Wayland’s Smithy.
https://prehistorian.postach.io/post/et-in-avebury-ego

Dr Last points to the way British prehistory has been portrayed in the media as part of the problem. But he identifies a wider problem that, for all the sophisticated interpretations by academics, the public are fed a ‘conservative, nostalgic narrative of a lost rural England.’ This, Dr Last argues, chimes with the ‘blood and soil’ ideology of extremists. The 20th-century recreations of prehistoric monuments at Avebury and Wayland’s Smithy afford a sense of timelessness that takes these monuments out of history: they are instead mysterious and never-changing. He advocates a shift in the way heritage organisations should be explaining monuments and their landscapes. Also, he advocates that we should emphasise that prehistoric remains ‘belong to everyone and are found everywhere, not just in ‘idyllic’ places of rural England. He concludes: ‘Vile nationalism has infected too many areas of public life in Britain in the last few years; let’s not allow our shared prehistoric heritage to go the same way.’

I cannot but wholeheartedly agree. And yet my immediate response was to add a further point:

Archaeologists cannot spend a century treating these sites as prehistoric and be surprised that ignoring their biographies of use and reuse creates a yawning space for extremist fantasies. It’s not the press, but ‘prehistorians’ and ‘prehistory’ that create this problem

Now this is perhaps unfair for Avebury, but even here, there exists only one book ever published attempting to coherently and systematically place the henge monument in long-term context by charting the archaeology of Avebury and its environs from prehistory to more recent times: by Josh Pollard and Andrew Reynolds.

Avebury’s National Trust have worked long and hard to accommodate and retain good relations with neo-Pagan communities, however, and so it seems unfair to castigate this site’s management because of this unfortunate incident(s). However, I do wonder whether a more detailed and informed engagement with the medieval archaeology of Avebury might have served, and going forward might serve, to counter those extremists who take their inspiration from German heathenry and apply them to megalithic monuments. It is important however, to state that most neo-Pagans have no association or interest in these presumably ‘Heathen’ groups and their race-hate, and we must also counter any simply or exclusive connection between white supremacism and Heathenry. Many followers who attach spiritual associations to Avebury will be furious at this news story and worried over whether it will affect their respectful access to the monument. The same applies to Wayland’s Smithy. Yet when it comes to Wayland’s Smithy, a site I’ve been researching, I find we have sleep-walked into this problem.

More at
https://howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/2019/08/13/waylands-smithy-and-neo-nazis/
[ Reply to This ]
    Et in Avebury ego… by Andy B on Wednesday, 14 August 2019
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    Dr Jonathan Last writes: Like many of us, if reaction on Twitter is anything to go by, I was shocked by the revelations in the Daily Telegraph that neo-Nazi groups were holding rallies and rituals at prehistoric sites in the care of the National Trust. Even though ‘Woden’s Folk’ sound like they should be the paramilitary wing of the Woodcraft Folk this is really no laughing matter. Part of the problem must be down to the way British prehistory has been portrayed in the media in recent years, with journalists content to trot out the simplistic interpretations of migrations and ethnicity produced by some genetic studies, mirroring the invasion theories and culture history of the mid-20th century - indeed it is ironic that the Telegraph broke the neo-Nazi story when, as Kenny Brophy has pointed out, their own headline about Late Neolithic feasting at Stonehenge pandered to exactly the same nationalist tropes espoused by these groups. But actually I think there is a bigger and older issue here, reflecting the way that prehistoric monuments and the rural historic environment, with which they are usually associated, have been presented.

    More at
    https://prehistorian.postach.io/post/et-in-avebury-ego
    [ Reply to This ]

Neo-Nazis at the NT: How far-right groups are trying to 'take back' ancient sites by Andy B on Monday, 12 August 2019
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Neo-Nazis at the National Trust: How far-right groups are trying to 'take back' ancient sites
Hayley Dixon, Special Correspondent
9 August 2019 • 8:30pm

The National Trust is to step up security after an investigation by the Telegraph has revealed that neo-Nazis are conducting rituals at their historic sites.

It can be revealed that a far-right group which promises its followers reward in the afterlife if they die in the “struggle for the freedom” has vowed to “take back” ancient locations across England.

The National Trust admitted that they were aware that far-right groups had been using Avebury, a World Heritage Site, to carry out rituals and said that they had reported all concerns to the authorities.

They vowed to step up security at Wayland Smithy, a Neolithic burial chamber which they manage on behalf of English Heritage, where fanatics have carved swastikas into trees.

The Telegraph has identified that a group calling themselves Woden’s Folk who have carried out masked torchlight rituals and boasted about launching a “English resistance” at the two sites.

One of their rituals held at the ancient landmarks was attended by members of violent neo-Nazi organisations Combat 18 and now banned terror organisation National Action.

Garron Helm, the former National Action member who was jailed for sending anti-Semitic hate messages to MP Luciana Berger, he appears masked and holding their flag on their website.

The group, which was infiltrated by an undercover reporter, are planning to hold a nationwide meet or "blot" at the Wayland Smithy, which sits near the White Horse at Uffington, in November.

The group are Odinist, the same Norse religion worshipped by Anders Brevik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011, and Brenton Tarrant, who gunned down 51 people in the Christchurch massacre earlier this year.

A spokesman for the National Trust said that whilst they have been aware of some far-right activity at Avebury, a pagan site older than Stone Henge, they had had no knowledge of the rituals being held at the burial chamber.

They said that whilst they “want everyone to feel welcome” they “don’t condone, support or encourage any non-peaceful, anti-social or illegal activities at any of our places”.

But a spokesperson admitted that little could be done to improve safety at Avebury where there is a village and a road inside of the circle, pointing out that it would “not be feasible to fence the stones off”.

There will be increased patrols at Wayland Smithy, they said.

More here
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/09/neo-nazis-national-trust-far-right-groups-trying-takeback-ancient/
and
https://antifascist45.wordpress.com/2019/08/10/neo-nazis-at-the-national-trust-how-far-right-groups-are-trying-to-take-back-ancient-sites/
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    Neo-Nazi Appropriation of Archaeology by Andy B on Monday, 12 August 2019
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    Neil Ackerman added: Twisting the past to try and legitimise fascism is nothing new. Archaeology was used as a part of Nazi nationalist propaganda to prove the origin of a master race that was German. Indeed, it played such an important role that during World War II the Nazis had archaeologists coming behind the front lines, even taking over and continuing ongoing excavations in countries they occupied.

    Archaeology in Britain is poor at countering this. Of 837 archaeologists surveyed by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) in 2013, seven described themselves as non-white. With a community that narrow, however well-intentioned many of us are we are failing to be a voice against white supremacists. Statistically I imagine we are up there in what a white supremacist would wish for in terms of diversity.

    We are also bad at tackling it head on. Many will have concerns about becoming a target or feel it is not their place to get involved. When publishing little if any thought is given to how the material will be consumed and used for various political ends. When things do get political there is also a tendency for archaeologists to either hide away or state that once it is out of their hands then they are unable to control how it is used.

    https://ackermanarchaeology.wordpress.com/2019/08/10/neo-nazi-appropriation-of-archaeology/
    [ Reply to This ]
      Neo-Nazi Appropriation of Archaeology should not be confused with culture by Anonymous on Saturday, 07 March 2020
      Are you not confusing the evil associated with ideology and the democratic legitimacy of nationalism?

      It is ideology which is at the foundations of all conflicts - Communism, Marxism, Socialism, Fascism, and wars of religion - which typically crossed nation states freely.

      The nation states have historically protected civil rights. Its why Hitler's first steps were to destroy the national institutions of Germany, or why ISIS destroys the archaeological symbols of the Nation of Iraq.

      The Scottish Nationalist Party, may fundamentally rooted in the belief in Scotland becoming a independent nation, but that does not support a belief that they support the same agenda as the Nazi. The Nazi were not nationalist.
      [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Neo-Nazis at the NT: How far-right groups are trying to 'take back' ancient site by Andy B on Monday, 12 August 2019
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    More on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tess_Machling/status/1160101134880690176
    and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prehistoricsociety/
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Neo-Nazis at the NT: How far-right groups are trying to 'take back' ancient site by Andy B on Monday, 12 August 2019
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    Asatru UK and The Pagan Federation
    are categorically opposed to fascist movements using symbols of our faith for hate...
    https://twitter.com/asatru_uk/status/1160325958936813569
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Wayland's Smithy by Anne T on Tuesday, 05 February 2019
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The Journal of Antiquities includes an article on 'Weyland the Smith' by David McGrory (1995), which gives some interesting background information/legend. See the JoA's entry for Weyland The Smith – An Article by David McGrory, which delves into the naming of the barrow from the Teutonic demi-god, Weyland the Smith, also called Volund. An extract from the article reads: "... the first Saxons to see the mound thought it had been constructed by a god or giant … Because the ‘smithy’ lay on the boundary of two Saxon estates it is the only ancient monument to be named on an Anglo-Saxon charter; dating to before the Norman Conquest, the conveyance charter refers to the barrow as ‘Welandes Smiththan'".
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Video Talk: Prof. Howard Williams: Smiths, Myths, and Viking Age Stones by Andy B on Friday, 28 July 2017
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Lecture by Prof. Howard Williams from the University of Chester for the History & Heritage Public Lecture series at the Isle of Man College on 4 May 2016.



https://vimeo.com/166872749

In this lecture, Professor Williams will be examining depictions of smiths from Norse mythology on Viking Age stones in the British Isles, as well as on rune-stones and picture-stones from Scandinavia.

In northern England and southern Scotland, archaeologists have long been fascinated by scenes depicting the mythological smiths, Regin and Weland, which have been found on a number of Viking Age stones. In many cases, the scenes include the image of the smith alongside a range of associated items.

By exploring these scenes, Professor Williams will examine the complex identity of the mythological smith, and the role of the smith in early medieval life and society. He will also suggest that by viewing the figure of the smith as a part-human and part-mechanical ‘cyborg’, we can more easily understand the smiths’ role in Norse mythology as transformers of both people and things.

Howard Williams is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Chester. His research focuses particularly on death, burial, and commemoration. You can find out more about research on his blog, Archaeodeath: Archaeology, Death and Material Culture, including his latest research about Weland the smith. http://howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/?s=weland
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A scale model of Wayland's Smithy Neolithic Chambered Tomb made in the 1860s by Andy B on Thursday, 16 January 2014
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Dan Hicks writes: When it was founded in 1884, the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum comprised some 26,000 archaeological and ethnographic objects: a number that over the course of the twentieth century grew to over 300,000. Within the founding collection are a number of artefacts that relate directly to Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers’ own interests in the archaeology of Britain. These include a set of thirteen models of prehistoric monuments, one of which is illustrated above (Accession Number 1884.140.97). Like the other twelve, this model was made by Alfred Lionel Lewis, a chartered accountant and amateur anthropologist, in the late 1860s, acquired by Pitt-Rivers soon afterwards, and displayed at his exhibitions in Bethnal Green and South Kensington before being brought to Oxford.

The model depicts Wayland’s Smithy, a Neolithic chambered tomb, which lies a short distance along the Ridgeway from Uffington White Horse in south-west Oxfordshire. The site consists of a trapezoidal mound with a stone-lined trancepted chamber, and was constructed some 6,500 years ago in the middle of the fourth millennium BC. It was little explored in the 1880s, but was the focus of excavations conducted in the early 1960s by Richard Atkinson and Stuart Piggott, at the invitation of the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments of the Ministry of Public Building and Works, after which the site was restored.

The stones, rendered in cork, are surrounded by undergrowth and small trees, depicted by moss. The model’s focus is the sarsen stones of the chamber and the kerb, while the mound is suggested under the vegetation. The cork and the moss are mounted on a square wooden block covered with painted paper.

You can read more about Dan Hicks' work on Pitt-Rivers' collections in the blog Excavating Pitt-Rivers.
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    Re: A scale model of Wayland's Smithy Neolithic Chambered Tomb made in the 1860s by davidmorgan on Thursday, 16 January 2014
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    Interesting to see how much restoration was done on it.
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Re: Wayland's Smithy by 4clydesdale7 on Monday, 10 June 2013
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I have considered the very many prior contributions to MP about this magnificent (if somewhat over-manicured) Ancient Site - many contributors seem disheartened by 'the longer walk' - yes it is easy to be seduced by the Uffington White Horse, the NT car park with its Information point and ubiquitous Ice Cream van - but as reported by davidmorgan there is another way -

Do please consider OS Pathfinder 1154 SU28/38 Lambourn Downs - should you be travelling along the B4507 between Wanborough and Wantage try to ignore the 'Brown Signs' which tempt you further uphill towards the NT car park - instead try the better route up via Knighton Hill (South from the Knighton Cross Roads aka Compton Beauchamp Cross Roads) - as you crest the scarp the road becomes a farm track just before it crosses the Ridgeway (and provided not too many people have read this note) you can park within 400m of Waylands Smithy - this site is quite spectacular and certainly worth the effort - not too far away several notable hillforts/camps and groups of Round Barrows can be found if you would like to extend your visit
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Radiocarbon dating of Wayland's Smithy by Andy B on Thursday, 05 July 2012
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Recent radiocarbon dating of Wayland's Smithy was carried out alongside dating of other long barrows in southern England, as part of a ground-breaking project led by English Heritage in association with Cardiff University and University of Central Lancashire.

The project has revolutionised the way we think about the Neolithic, allowing us to write more precise and detailed histories of the distant past. Long-held views of the chronology of long barrows in England, and the duration of their use, have been overturned.

Radiocarbon dating has been available to archaeologists for more than 50 years, with high-precision calibration based on wood dated by dendrochronology available for the Neolithic period in England for the last 20 years. On its own, this method provides reliable yet broad ranges for the dates of individual samples, usually spanning 250 years or more. But when combined with Bayesian statistics, a method in which samples are studied and interpreted in their archaeological context (their appearance in different layers in the soil, for example), the span can be narrowed sometimes to within a few decades.

This technique has been used to re-assess the archaeological evidence from Wayland’s Smithy. More precise dating of the bones previously discovered there has revealed that the Neolithic Age was marked by more violence than traditionally imagined. It has dispelled the traditional view that the barrow was used over centuries. Instead, the use is now revealed to be short lived and intensive, probably for under a decade in the case of Wayland’s Smithy I. Such short timescales support the impression of small communities keeping alive memories of their immediate kin and people they know, rather than some tribal ancestors or past heroes.

Prehistorians until now have only been able to assign the people whom they study to imprecise times. As a result, prehistory is often seen as a timeless stretch in which nothing changes for long periods. With this research, we can now think about the Neolithic period in terms of individuals and communities and make useful and revealing comparisons between their choices and behaviour in the remote past.

The dating programme demands a revolution in our thinking about prehistory, and not just that of early Neolithic burial monuments in southern Britain. Finally, we can now think about Neolithic history - ideas, events and people at specific times over 5,000 years ago.
Disclaimer

The text and pictures on this page are derived from the 'Heritage Unlocked' series of guidebooks published in 2004. We intend to review, update and enhance the content in the near future as part of the Portico project, whose objective is to provide information on the history, significance, research background and sources for all English Heritage properties.

Source:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/waylands-smithy/history-and-research/radiocarbon-dating/

See the Bayesian dates here:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/content/imported-docs/p-t/image1.pdf
(PDF file)

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Re: Wayland's Smithy by Judy6 on Sunday, 18 April 2010
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I set off to visit this historical site with my husband in April 2010 and parked in the recommended car park - indicated by the brown road signs. Motor vehicles are totally banned from The Ridgeway, which meant that we had to walk a mile-and-a-half in search of the site, still following the markers. In the end we had to turn back - it was just too far for my husband to walk with his mobility problems. Can I suggest that the 'Access' rating be down-graded.
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    Access to Wayland's Smithy by davidmorgan on Thursday, 15 July 2010
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    When I visited Wayland's Smithy I turned south off the B4507 at Compton Beauchamp and parked here and then it's 500 metres to the site.
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Re: Wayland's Smithy by coldrum on Saturday, 02 January 2010
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Same goes for studies of the environment and ancient man. Archeologists are tring to lay the blame at the feet of our ancient ancestors. Modern civilisations has done the most destruction to it's environment. Way more than ancient man ever did.
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Re: Wayland's Smithy by coldrum on Saturday, 02 January 2010
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I always wonder weather archeologists are trying to justfy our societies violent behaviour by claiming that humans have always been violent. It has been noted that at times of conflict archeologists try and find cases of ancient violence. And guess what they find a few battered skulls and then come to the conclusion that we've been killing each other since Homo Sapiens first walked the Earth. Unfortunatly violence makes the news. The best way for an archeologist to get more grant money is to find so called massacre sites. Cannabilism a good one too. Nice and gory, just right for the currant blood thirsty public.
I'm not saying there was no violence in the past but I do wonder how much the evidence has been exaggerated to get a good headline and more grant money.
Lets be honest a story about the peaceful existance of ancient people wouldn't make headline news. It has to be spiced up so even if the evidence is sparse who cares. Most of the general public are not going to check it out after all.
The shame of it all is that the public will not getting a balanced picture.
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Re: Wayland's Smithy by ChrisPoole on Tuesday, 13 March 2007
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What gets me is that the academics sound surprised that the Neolithic era was a time of human turmoil and upheaval.

I have never subscribed to the notion that our ancestors were peaceful people that lived in harmony with their environment and each other. We are talking about human beings here and they would have used what they found around them without a second thought for the preservation of nature and the level suspicion between families and larger groups of people would be just the same as we see today.
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Re: Wayland's Smithy Massacre by coldrum on Monday, 12 March 2007
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One body with an arrowhead in it and two that have been scavenged is hardly a massacre.
But then I suppose you have to have an eye catching headline.
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    Re: Wayland's Smithy Massacre by Anonymous on Thursday, 15 March 2007
    Hi coldrum, That's about the sanest posting I've seen on these "less than accurate" reportings. I just wish these "experts" would attempt to "back up these rediculous claims" with more actual facts, than supposition-perhaps their motivation is to produce "comic books" for the mindless set.
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Wayland's Smithy Massacre by TimPrevett on Monday, 12 March 2007
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Bones found at a prehistoric burial site indicate they belonged to victims of an ancient massacre, say scientists.

Remains of 14 people were discovered at Wayland's Smithy, near Uffington White Horse, Oxfordshire, in the 1960s.

Latest techniques date the bones at between 3590 BC and 3560 BC, and have led experts to believe the people may have died in a Neolithic Age massacre.

More here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/6439401.stm
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Re: Wayland's Smithy by JimChampion on Sunday, 02 January 2005
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From the English Heritage information board at the site:
About 5500 years ago a tomb was built on this hill-top. The oval mound ws made of chalk dug from two side ditches and was edged with stone slabs. It covered a wooden chamber containing the remains of about fifteen people. The tomb may have served as a focus for ceremonies that linked the living and the dead: it may also have marked the community's ownership of the surrounding land.

Around 3300 BC a new tomb was built on top of the earlier one, completely hiding it. The new mound was four times as long and much more regular in shape. At one end were three stone-lined burial chambers. The new tomb may have been used for several hundred years before being sealed. When the chambers were examined in 1920 they had already been ransacked, but they still contained the jumbled remains of at least eight people.

Wayland's Smithy got its name some four thousand years later, when Saxon settlers came across the tomb. Not knowing who had built it, they imagined it was the work of one of their gods, Wayland the Smith. Later, a legend grew that Wayland would re-shoe the horse of any passing traveller who left a silver penny beside the tomb.

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Re: Wayland's Smithy by Anonymous on Monday, 06 September 2004
Waylands Smithy is a lovely little site, although i was a bit dissappointed it only had two chambers. Outside though, its exterior was much better than West Kennet that i visited in Feb. I is a really atmospheric place. Go there!
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Re: Wayland's Smithy by Pandora on Wednesday, 17 July 2002
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I have visited Wayland's Smithy. Lucky for me I had a 4x4 to get me up there. it would have been a long walk otherwise!!....really, really worth making the effort though, this is an impressive site, steeped in atmosphere and in a fantastic location.
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    Re: Wayland's Smithy by Derek on Wednesday, 04 September 2002
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    Yes, it's a fairly stiff walk in places, not helped by the ruts left by 4x4 vehicles which IMHO should be banned from the area. Sorry Pandora but this is the Ridgeway ffs.... The longer route from Uffington WH car park is less arduous though it takes a while - allow two hours to get there and back.

    But whatever route you go Waylands Smithy is well worth it and has a strong ambience. The trees are lovely too!

    The afternoon we visited there were a lot of people visiting including a number of unrestrained kids clambering around. On the one hand that's a shame and may pose risks to the monument though I guess people interact with sites like these in their own ways and I don't believe any harm was done. But a simple DOs and DON'ts board might help at such sites, no matter how obvious they might seem.

    I would think that early on a cold frosty morning Waylands Smithy would be superb.
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    Re: Wayland's Smithy by Anonymous on Saturday, 20 March 2004
    4*4's should be banned from the Ridgeway.
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      Re: Wayland's Smithy by Nick- on Friday, 22 July 2005
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      4x4's should be banned completely ( except for the emergency services and farmers...)
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        Re: Wayland's Smithy by Anonymous on Thursday, 15 July 2010
        Your view is a little over the top in my opinion. How am I going to get my caravan off a sloping, wet field without my 4x4 in low ratio? This is the only reason I have one. Furthermore, some people need a 4x4 to access their home when it snows up here in the north. I concur with the view regarding 4x4 illegal usage of bridleways/tracks and footpaths but would defend the right of their owners to use them legally on by-ways open to all traffic. Thanks for the info regarding access, I'm looking forwards to visiting the white horse, & Wayland's Smithy etc in a fortnight. And I'll be lugging my camera gear by shanks' pony!
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