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Friday Flora and Fauna

Well bloggers, Sunday is the 1st day of Spring, we’ve done it, survived another Irish winter. Doesn’t seem that long since the 21st of December and the depth of it. So things are stirring, birds are getting noisier in the morning and the daffodil shoots are well on the way in the garden. The grey seal pupping season is well underway now, with white coat pups arriving much earlier that in previous years reports the Irish Seal Sanctuary.


Photo owned by Shayne Kaye (cc)

There are two species of seal found in Irish waters, the Common or Harbour Seal Phoca vitulina and the Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus. Ironically the Common Seal is the rarer of the two. The most recent surveys have shown an increased national populations in both species.

The grey seal has her pup on secluded beaches and rocky coves. The pup is born with long white hair and does not go into the water, other than perhaps play on the edge, until it is weaned and lost the white coat at about 3 weeks.

Galway Bay is an excellent area to watch seal with both species frequenting the inner bay area. Seal pups are vulnerable at this time and if touched could be abandoned by the mother. More information can be found on the Irish Seal Sanctuary website.

The image of the seal was found using Jazz Biscuits excellent Creative Commons Image Search, available here.

4SH at A Very Remote Period Indeed

This session of the  Four Stone Hearth Blog Carnival is up today at at A very remote period indeed. Some very interesting stuff, including a link to a somewhat heated commentary pursuant to Afarensis’ post on the Odyssey people and their underwater archaeology credentials.

The Four Stone Hearth is a blog carnival that specializes in anthropology in the widest (American) sense of that word.

Our post on Obama Archaeology is included. The next will be at  Middle Savagery and then Moore Group on the 25th February.

Irish Woo – Teh stone of consciouness

Warning –  snark.

From ardnariclonmacnoise.com {located near Clonmacnoise, it’s described as a centre for ‘being and wholeness, a place where Spirit dwells and has it’s being. Being at ÁRD-NA-RÍ allows your spirit dance, a dance that dances the earth.’}:

Stone of Consciouness* (sic)

stoneofdestiny

This stone, dated 3,500BC. made its’ way to ÁRD-NA-RÍ in 2002. It was placed on the wall to the left as you ascend the stairs. The energy vortices, of the Tree of Consciousness, Leonardo’s Canon and the Great Pyramid were established after the arrival of the stone. These 3 energy vortices form an equilateral triangle. The Vesica Piscis shared by the Tree of Consciousness and Leonardo’s Canon runs from the centre of the Temple of Transfiguration, in the Great Pyramid through the centre of the Solar Cross and ends in the centre of the hole of the Stone of Consciousness. The centre of the Stone of Consciousness was made to hold the cerebellum, if you lay on it. This hole is the Mark of Cain. Surrounding the Mark of Cain is the Rosi-Crucis, a cross symbolizing enlightenment. The Mark of Cain is also the Ayin, the all seeing eye, attributed to blackness, nothingness, the cerebellum. The all-seeing aspect is that which perceives light out of blackness. Alchemy means Al (the) Cheme (blackness). Alchemy is the science, which overcomes blackness, or that which enlightens through intuitive perception.

My mistake – at first glance I thought it was just a regular rotary quern. Must have had a date stamp too….

And not forgetting:

Árd Na Rí is a creative space of infinite potentiality. In 2001 the lowest sound levels in Ireland were recorded here.

The photo title is ‘stoneofdestiny’ – but that must have been too easy to spell.


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Nuclear Archaeology in the USA


Photo owned by Foxtongue (cc)

Via New Scientist: During clean-up work at Hanford, Washington State, USA, on the site of a decommissioned Nuclear Production Complex, an old glass jar inside a beaten up old safe found at the bottom of a waste pit contained what has been described as ‘a pivotal piece of 20th century history’ – the first bulk batch of weapons-grade plutonium. Sloppy work by contractors on the site resulted in the burying of the artefact…..


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Four Stone Hearth Blog Carnival

four-stone-hearth So we’ve stepped up and will be hosting a session of the Four Stone Hearth Blog Carnival next month.

The Four Stone Hearth is a blog carnival that specializes in anthropology in the widest (American) sense of that word, focussing primarily on four lines of research:

  • archaeology
  • socio-cultural anthropology
  • bio-physical anthropology
  • linguistic anthropology

The current 4SH Carnival is up at Moneduloides, the next will be at A very remote period indeed, followed by Middle Savagery and then Moore Group on the 25th February.