Bob Trubshaw
An overview of Landscapes, monuments and society by John C. Barrett, Richard Bradley and Martin Green (Cambridge UP 1991) and Altering the Earth by Richard Bradley (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 1993).
Tag: monuments
Abstracts
complied by Bob Trubshaw
Prehistoric rock art – sacred knowledge?
Richard Bradley’s extensive surveys of British prehistoric rock art lead him to conclude that the abstract motifs used may have been chosen ‘because their meanings were never meant to be disclosed to the casual observer’. He notes ‘that they were the work of a society in which sacred knowledge was important’. Above all, such rocks are re-used in later megalithic monuments, clearly indicating sustained importance.
Richard Bradley, ‘Making sense of prehistoric rock art’, British Archaeology No.9 Nov 1995, p8-9
Valknut
This is an extract from an article called KNOTS OF DEATH by Alby Stone,
which appears in WEB OF WYRD #7.
A number of Viking monuments feature a curious design known as the valknut, the “knot of the slain” or, more loosely, “the knot of death”. On an 8th century CE picture stone from Hammers in Larbro, Gotland, it consists of three interlocking triangles. This stone, now in Stockholm’s National Historical Museum, is divided into several panels; one of the central panels, in which the valknut occurs, depicts several motifs that suggest some sort of connection with the cult of Odin – an eagle, a flying figure – possibly a valkyrie – holding a ring, a man being hanged from a tree and a group of three warriors – with shields and upraised swords – led by a fourth man who seems to be holding a large bird of some kind.
Witch's Well 