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Càrn Na Marbh
Càrn na Marbh (meaning "mound" or "cairn of the dead") is a re-used Bronze Age tumulus, located in Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland. The mound was used in the 14th century for burying victims of the plague away from the church graveyard. A stone, known as Clach a' Phlàigh, "the Plague Stone" crowns the mound and may be an original standing stone and commemorates the plague victims who were buried here in the 14th century. A tablet on the stone is inscribed with the words: ''“Here lie the victims of the Great Plague of the 14th Century, taken here on a sledge drawn by a white horse led by an old woman.”'' Local legend says it was the focal point of an ancient Samhain (Halloween) festival. A great fire or ''Samhnag'' was lit on top of it each year. The whole community took hands when it was blazing and danced round the mound both sunwise and anti-sunwise. As the fire began to wane, some of the younger boys took burning embers from the flames and ran throughout the field ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cairn
A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, they were raised as markers, as memorials and as burial monuments (some of which Chambered cairn, contained chambers). In the modern era, cairns are often raised as landmarks, especially to mark the summits of mountains, and as Trail blazing, trail markers. They vary in size from small piles of stones to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose conical rock piles to elaborate megalithic structures. Cairns may be painted or otherwise decorated, whether for increased visibility or for religious reasons. History Europe The building of cairns for various purposes goes back into prehistory in Eurasia, ranging in size from small rock sculptures to substantial human-made hills of stone (some built on top of larger, natural hills). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Culture
The culture of Scotland includes Scots law, its distinct legal system, financial institutions, sports in Scotland, sports, literature of Scotland, literature, art of Scotland, art, music of Scotland, music, media of Scotland, media, cuisine of Scotland, cuisine, Scottish philosophy, philosophy, Scottish folklore, folklore, languages of Scotland, languages, and religion in Scotland, religious traditions. Scots law is separate from English law and remains an important part of Scotland’s identity. The country has its own banking and currency systems. Sports like golf, rugby, and shinty are widely played. Scotland has a significant literary tradition and contributions to art and music. The media landscape includes Scottish-focused outlets. Traditional and modern Scottish cuisine are notable. The country has made contributions to philosophy and has a strong tradition of folklore. Multiple languages and religious practices are present in Scottish society. Scots law Scotland retain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Perth And Kinross
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categorize history as a social science, while others see it as part of the humanities or consider it a hybrid discipline. Similar debates surround the purpose of history—for example, whether its main aim is theoretical, to uncover the truth, or practical, to learn lessons from the past. In a more general sense, the term ''history'' refers not to an academic field but to the past itself, times in the past, or to individual texts about the past. Historical research relies on primary and secondary sources to reconstruct past events and validate interpretations. Source criticism is used to evaluate these sources, assessing their authenticity, content, and reliability. Historians strive to integrate the perspectives of several sources to develop a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronze Age Sites In Scotland
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloids (such as arsenic or silicon). These additions produce a range of alloys some of which are harder than copper alone or have other useful properties, such as strength, ductility, or machinability. The archaeological period during which bronze was the hardest metal in widespread use is known as the Bronze Age. The beginning of the Bronze Age in western Eurasia is conventionally dated to the mid-4th millennium BCE (~3500 BCE), and to the early 2nd millennium BCE in China; elsewhere it gradually spread across regions. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age, which started about 1300 BCE and reaching most of Eurasia by about 500 BCE, although bronze continued to be much more widely used than it is in modern times. Because historical artworks we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progressing to protohistory (before written history). In this usage, it is preceded by the Stone Age (subdivided into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic) and Bronze Age. These concepts originated for describing Iron Age Europe and the ancient Near East. In the archaeology of the Americas, a five-period system is conventionally used instead; indigenous cultures there did not develop an iron economy in the pre-Columbian era, though some did work copper and bronze. Indigenous metalworking arrived in Australia with European contact. Although meteoric iron has been used for millennia in many regions, the beginning of the Iron Age is defined locally around the world by archaeological convention when the production of Smelting, smelted iron (espe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dark Ages (historiography)
The ''Dark Ages'' is a term for the Early Middle Ages (–10th centuries), or occasionally the entire Middle Ages (–15th centuries), in Western Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, which characterises it as marked by economic, intellectual, and cultural decline. The concept of a "Dark Age" as a historiographical periodization originated in the 1330s with the Italian scholar Petrarch, who regarded the post-Roman centuries as "dark" compared to the "light" of classical antiquity.. Reprinted from: The term employs traditional black-and-white dualism, light-versus-darkness imagery to contrast the era's supposed ''darkness'' (ignorance and error) with earlier and later periods of ''light'' (knowledge and understanding). The phrase ''Dark Age(s)'' itself derives from the Latin ''saeculum obscurum'', originally applied by Caesar Baronius in 1602 when he referred to a tumultuous period in the 10th and 11th centuries. The concept thus came to characterize the entire Middle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortingall Yew
The Fortingall Yew is an ancient European yew (''Taxus baccata'') in the churchyard of the village of Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland. Considered one of the oldest trees in Britain, modern estimates place its age at an average of 5,000 years. Age Some estimates put the tree's age at between 2,000 and 3,000 years; it may also be a remnant of a post-Roman Christian site and around 1,500 years old.Bevan-Jones (2004) pp. 38–39 Others have suggested an age as great as 5,000 to 9,000 years. Forestry and Land Scotland consider it to be 5,000 years old. This makes it one of the oldest known non-clonal trees in Europe. (The root system of the Norway spruce Old Tjikko in Sweden, which is a clonal tree, is at least 9,500 years old.) The Fortingall Yew is possibly the oldest tree in Britain. The tree The tree's once massive trunk ( in girth when it was first recorded in writing, in 1769) with a former head of unknown original height, is split into several separate stems, giving th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guising
Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in Halloween costume, costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The "treat" is some form of confectionery, usually candy/sweets, although in some cultures money is given instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the resident(s) or their property if no treat is given. Some people signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; houses may also leave their porch lights on as a universal indicator that they have candy; some simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely, on the honor system. The history of trick-or-treating traces back to Scotland and Ireland, where the tradition of guising, going house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beltane
Beltane () or ''Bealtaine'' () is the Gaels, Gaelic May Day festival, marking the beginning of summer. It is traditionally held on 1 May, or about midway between the March equinox, spring equinox and summer solstice. Historically, it was widely observed in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. In Ireland, the name for the festival in both Irish language, Irish and English is (). In Scottish Gaelic it is called (), and in Manx language, Manx Gaelic or . It is one of Quarter days, the four main Gaelic seasonal festivals—along with Samhain, Imbolc, and Lughnasadh—and is similar to the Welsh . Beltane is mentioned in the Early Irish literature, earliest Irish literature and is associated with important events in Irish mythology. Also known as ('first of summer'), it marked the beginning of summer and was when cattle were Transhumance, driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect cattle, people and crops, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of the three-age system, following the Stone Age and preceding the Iron Age. Conceived as a global era, the Bronze Age follows the Neolithic, with a transition period between the two known as the Chalcolithic. The final decades of the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean basin are often characterised as a period of widespread societal collapse known as the Late Bronze Age collapse (), although its severity and scope are debated among scholars. An ancient civilisation is deemed to be part of the Bronze Age if it either produced bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or traded other items for bronze from producing areas elsewhere. Bronze Age cultures were the first to History of writing, develop writin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year was into two parts, the summer half beginning at Bealtaine (May 1st) and the winter half at Samhain (November 1st) ... The festivals properly began at sunset on the day before the actual date, evincing the Celtic tendency to regard the night as preceding the day". It is also the Irish and Scottish Gaelic name for November. Celebrations begin on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, Celtic day began and ended at sunset. This is about halfway between the September equinox, autumnal equinox and winter solstice. It is one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standing Stone
A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found individually as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Menhirs' size can vary considerably, but they often taper toward the top. Menhirs are found across Europe, Africa, and Asia, with a concentration in Western Europe, notably in Ireland, Great Britain, and Brittany. Theories concerning their purpose remain speculative, with hypotheses ranging from Ancient Celtic religion, druidic rituals to territorial markers or elements of an ideological system. Some menhirs feature Engraving, engravings, including anthropomorphic figures and symbols, and are often associated with ancient religious ceremonies and Chamber tomb, burial chambers. Etymology The word ''menhir'' was adopted from F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
