pebblesfromheaven
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Re: Rock Art Mystery
Oct 10, 2003, 08:22
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Ah
A bit of lateral thought here
What about bits of ground-up acid-treated conker dust, shot at the stone through a pea-shooter?
That would give the desired pickings
surely sorry
.o0O0o.
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BlueGloves
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Re: Rock Art Mystery
Oct 10, 2003, 08:23
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Coal seemed to have been used for black - ochre in various forms for reds and browns.
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pebblesfromheaven
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colours
Oct 10, 2003, 08:32
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Trouble is, stones often have these inorganic traces anyway. Which is why they would be easily obtainable.
Eg iron oxides etc
Then there's the erosion. Top layer has long gone.
.o0O0o.
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AtomicMutton
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Re: colours
Oct 10, 2003, 09:18
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Blackstone I think was a niche stone. That's just speculation and is how I've set it up now. I go and look at it once or twice a day and then try and figure it out. There are bits that have broken off so it's easy to tell the original carved surface from later fractures. Many times blackness on rocks is attributed to lamp black - soot - from smoking torches. Coal makes a shiny black - soot is very much matt black. The Blackstone's been preserved by being used as a capstone in a drystone wall - that's kept it out of mud and away from the lighter frosts. There are deep clear carvings in the stone - the cupmarks - but on top of that - all over - is a pattern of tiny scratches. Little lines and small pits. http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/img_small/20179.jpg It certainly beats a ballista !
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Jane
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Re: Jimmy Somerville says ...
Oct 10, 2003, 09:21
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A Gershwin 'purist' speaks:
I believe it was Ira Gershwin (brother of George) who wrote 'It Ain't Necessarily So' (from Porgy and Bess)
:-)
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AtomicMutton
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Full Moon link !
Oct 10, 2003, 09:23
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http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/20179 And there are plenty of 'Blackstone' placenames around so I suppose it must have been *the* thing to paint the stones. It also explains why they are so 'plain'. These 'dobbie' stones are interesting but ...
Maybe
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Kozmik_Ken
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Re: Rock Art Mystery
Oct 10, 2003, 09:36
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They must have looked pretty impressive! I'm not sure is the colours would have been very strong - would depend on what medium was used to suspend the pigments. Imagine somewhere like Knowth with all those amazing carvings coloured up... different colours would most likely have had symbolic uses too, relating to the elements.
Carvings in the open air woud have needed to have been re-painted quite frequently, but there are still rocks in Yorkshire that are painted white every year. Would be nice to think of this as a distant echo of past rituals.
Much of my own art is based on British rock art. I'll try n' get round to posting some on here sometime.
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Kozmik_Ken
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Re: colours
Oct 10, 2003, 09:45
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Yes - if wind and rain can erode rock art to the extent it has, then pigments don't stand much of a chance... even in burial chambers, water will filter through over 4/5000 years.
In reply to:
colours (pebblesfromheaven) |
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FourWinds
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Re: Rock Art Mystery
Oct 10, 2003, 09:45
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"... but there are still rocks in Yorkshire that are painted white every year. Would be nice to think of this as a distant echo of past rituals."
This is common (although dying out slowly) in Ireland too. "The White Wife" and "The Dagdas Dick" are two great examples that spring to mind.
It has been suggested that this could echo one of two fertility rites:
1) poor milk over the stone
2) all the priests wank over it
Some Iberian tombs still bear the original paint. They were done in black and red. Very, very beautiful!
The Irish weather is too wet for any of it to have lasted.
I don't think anyone has really looked for traces of pigment, but any erosion or lichen action would have removed most of it anyway I would think.
Knowth painted red and black? WOW! That would be one big trip!
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FourWinds
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Re: Jimmy Somerville says ...
Oct 10, 2003, 09:47
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Yes, but Jimmy Somerville still says it, well sings it extremely highly actually if you want purism :-)
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