11th July 2012, 08:02 PM
Dinosaur Wrote:In situ burning extremely unusual in the ones I've seen, meaning maybe one or two out of hundreds, same applies to all the northern England site reports I've waded through, suggested once in a while
So could it be then that they are there to dispose of the remains of a fire, used for either cooking or warmth? I think I read earlier (14 pages and I'm naturally lazy so no check) that they do concentrate around monumental structures, could it be that they represent the campsites of diverse gatherings of people come to celebrate some occasion and that the form for these ocassions is that the community only converge at a particular moment in time? Sorry to return to my original post, I just think that our ancestors were a very pragmatic people, how they transmitted that pragmatism in the form of 'ritual' is, well, unknowable. Up here in the frozen north a lot of gaelic tales from all around the Highlands relate the story of the 'each usige' (waterhorse, who shapeshifts and drags his victims of to a watery grave) who seduces a young woman at the sheilings. They always emphasise just how good looking the young man is and how he will lay his head on her lap. If she is smart she will comb his hair and should sand or shells appear on the comb she will know her danger. Now given that the sheiling time was one of great joy for the youth of the communities, away from mum and dad, uncles and aunties and various prying eyes and the very obvious opportunities afforded to them, could such tales be an example of the first attempt at contraception? Afterall the high pastures of different communities are interconnected by the passes. Could similar stories have been told about the reason for disposing of a fire in a pit? I suppose what I'm trying to say is that do we all too often attribute ritual activity to acts that are mundane and thoroughly pragmatic activities? Thanks for making me think!