=
×

Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

Head To Head
Log In
Register
The Modern Antiquarian Forum »
Sense of Place
Log In to post a reply
92 messages
Topic View: Flat | Threaded
GLADMAN
950 posts

Re: Sense of Place
May 12, 2012, 10:51
The Eternal wrote:
Hi Gladders,
I know I posted on this topic, but I did so without reading your post (number 3 I think). What resonated with me personally were these words of yours, which encapsulate my thoughts perfectly:-

"......But for me Stoney Littleton represents the little Wellow river with trailing water plants floating in the current and a rich wild planting of flowers lining its banks in summer, also the stoniness of the field you walk through as you approach the long barrow, probably evidence of its' creation.

Many of our prehistoric stones, barrows, etc remain in the wild places of the moors and high mountains, the last remaining bits of 'wildness' in this small country, perhaps that is what draws people to seek prehistory out."

Beautifully put.
TE.


Credit where it's due TE. For the record that little jewel was actually Moss.

Actually, regarding the point of 'wildness' I just happened to come across my notes from Arenig Fach last October....very basic, sure you've have many similar instances.

"Sure, the wind is severe, the lowland drizzle transformed into horizontal, lashing rain. But, hey.... this is Wales. So I'm not expecting to be picked up and dumped unceremoniously on my back as I attempt to venture towards the trig! Point taken, mam."

I'm transformed from a (hopefully) reasonably educated 21st centuty man into more or less simply a creature struggling to cope with the way the world is up here. This is a living planet, constantly changing, so for me debating whether the people who built the monuments 'felt' the same as us about them is very much an (albeit interesting) aside. Seeing as I'm very much trending toward atheism, I very much doubt it. That is not the point, I think. Did the Bronze Age people 'feel' the same about the Neolithic monuments they inherited as did their builders. Impossible to be certain, but again, I very much doubt it or else they wouldn't have amended their habits. But they certainly felt 'something' very powerful had to be attributed to them or else they wouldn't have treated them with the apparent recerence they did.

No, for me the major point is how we relate to these monuments TODAY. Do we feel the landscape they represent is 'special' now, somewhere which invokes emotion in us merely through the act of being there? In other words, do they possess a 'sense of place'? Or do they just represent something to 'collect'.... in much the same way many hillwalkers 'tick off' tops without appearing to actually experience any emotional response. I sit upon summits, within stone circles, upon long barrows etc for hours because doing so releases 'something' inside me, something that makes me feel 'right', allows me to interact with the weather, wildlife etc. I'll always recall an elderly Indian gentlemen responding to a young woman exclaiming that 'these are just a bunch of old stones' with 'ah, but they represent the dawn of civilisation, everything we are'. Couldn't have put it better myself.
In reply to:
Re: Sense of Place (The Eternal)		 Replies:
Re: Sense of Place (BuckyE)
Re: Sense of Place (The Eternal)
Topic Outline:
The Modern Antiquarian Forum Index