Hell-Fire Club interviews with BBC

I've been away with work and research, but still super enthused about the Hell-Fire Clubs! The media types quite like the story as there are lots of spooky myths relating to the club sites.

Read all about it here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-37609835

Hear all about it here:
https://soundcloud.com/tierneae/hell-fire-club-interview

Patronising Poet

Those eighteenth-century dudes really knew how to make a lady feel special. Paul Whitehead, famed for his associations with the Hell-Fire Clubs was no exception. He cared so much for the fairer sex that he wrote a song, literally addressed to the ladies. *player*

My favourite bits are from the first and last stanzas:

Bright eyes were intended to languish, not stare,
And softness the test of your sex...

But, if Amazon-like, you attack your Gallants,
And put us in fear of our lives,
You may do very well for Sisters and Aunts,
But, believe me, you'll never be Wives, Poor Girls...

Read the full poem here. If you aren't familiar with old type formatting, just imagine most of the "f"s are actually "s".

Look at him, pointing out how to be a "lady"

Quote of the day: on the men and women of Ireland

Looks mattered in the past. Quoting from Thomas Dineley's tour of Ireland in 1797, this paragraph details the look of men and women in Ireland:

He paid more attention to the women...well-bottomed, ever growing, strangely proportion and with enormous legs... Thanks Dineley!

Quote of the day: on the value of the past and on different cultures

From Speech of Mr. Gladstone at Mold, 1873:

There is no greater folly circulating upon the earth at this moment, or at any other time, than the disposition to undervalue the Past, and to break those links which unite human beings of the present day with the generations that have passed away and been called to their account.

The above is taken from Selections from Old Kerry Records 1874 (Hickson, M. 2nd ed.), which contains a dedication poem by Thomas Davis:

What matter that at different shrines
We pray unto one God,
What matter that at different times
Our fathers won the sod,
In fortune and in name we're bound
By stronger links than steel,
And neither can be safe nor sound
But in the other's weal.

Science or supernatural possession? The case of the moving statue

Archaeologists tend not to believe in ghosts or superstitions on the whole, but now and then eyebrows and questions are raised when the inexplicable presents itself. The case of the independently moving Egyptian statue is a case in point. And this story comes with time-lapse video proof!

The greatest book of all time?

As far as fabulous books go, this one is high on the list. It's title summons visions of Bette Midler as a wicked witch. It draws you in with promises of how to get rich quick, how to play with the animals (including cats). For the adventurous types, it dazzles with promises of balancing two knives on the brim of a glass (useful as a new parlour trick). Even parents get a look in as they can teach their children to read by using dice. You can become immune to the rascalous pick pockets, make fireworks and booze, and fix up the house with some plastering.

How is this not the greatest selling book of all time? Well, it's free. Download it now!

Whimsical challenge from the early 19th century

Searching through some catalogues today, I found a wonderful mention of something silly:

Whimsical anecdote relative to a challenge posed by actress Mrs. Humby, defying Theodore [Edward] Hook to make a rhyme to her name.

So, this is the challenge - think of a rhyme to Mrs. Humby's name. In the spirit of the early 19th century, keep it witty!

Later in July, I'll be visiting the Royal Irish Archives and will check out Mr. Hook's original response and post it. Let's see how today's witty minds compare!

Source

Old school dating

Posted in Aris's Birmingham Gazette, 7 March 1785:

TO THE FAIR SEX

A PERSON of Character, 26 Years of Age, of a genteel profession, and of moderate fortune, wishes to engage in the Hymenial State, with an agreeable, good-tempered LADY, in AGE inferior to himself, in FORTUNE equal, or nearly so; but, in GOODNESS, as superior as Emulation CAN excite. - One having no Objection to enter a Public Line or Shop-Keeping, would be preferred; And it would be no Object of Denial, if she happens to have a fortune of MORE Capital than required. - Any Lady this may suit, may depend on a punctual Answer by addressing (Post paid) for T. H. to be left at the Printers till called for.

It's such a pity we will never know if T.H. found his perfect woman!

Why bother studying the past?

So that stupid things like this are never taken as true. ha!

The Notebook... of Isaac Newton

Cambridge have recently digitised the Trinity College Notebook of Isaac Newton, check it out here.

Used from about 1661 to 1665, the notebook was used by Newton while he was an undergraduate at Trinity College. Prolific in many fields, the notes contain his insights into a range of subjects, including maths, physics and metaphysics. Well worth a look for anyone who wants to see inside one of the greatest minds of the 17th century.

Hell-Fire Club Chapter Meeting, West Wycombe

On my recent trip to the Hell-Fire Caves, I was lucky enough to attend and present at a private Chapter event. One of the organisers gave insight into the clubs views, see the video here:

Google announces Dead Sea Scrolls online

Locked away in Jerusalem since 1965, getting close to these 3rd - 1st Century BC documents was once extraordinarily difficult.

The images posted online are not just simple scans, they are incredibly high definition (1,200 megapixel) shots. You can zoom in, highlight sections and really interact with the material. Translations are clickable and searchable on general internet searches, just like everything else! Access to primary sources is always of paramount importance, and Google is really ahead of the curve in intuitive easy access to this amazing material.

You can check out Google's full blog post here. Or watch their features clip here:

Ireland's utter stupidity when it comes to its heritage

Prepare for sarcasm and rage.

Some genius has come up with an idea to get rid of that pesky need to protect historic buildings by removing them from a protected register. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht want all structures from 1700 taken off the Record of Monuments and Places. Just a blanket removal - you know, because nothing interesting or important was built after 1700 (grrrrrr) (canals, industrialisation, Georgian-era architecture, etc.). The Department made some hazy comment about not all counties being consistent in their recording of such buildings, is that meant to be an excuse for this ridiculous planned change? This type of "standardisation" will not, as they posit, "ensure that all elements of the built heritage continue to be adequately protected". The whole thing smacks of budget cuts and sneaky back door planning deals.

I'm sure a rage comic could be made of this fiasco

I am so full of rage about all this! It is utterly disgraceful. Compare this, like another archaeologist quoted in the original article did, to American or Australian heritage and how they treasure the last 300 years. They have heritage from much farther back than that, but they also understand that the past few hundred years shaped the modern world they live in. Every aspect of the past should be treated with the same regard, whether 10,000 years ago, 1,000 years ago or 100 years ago. Setting such a cut off point is arbitrary and destructive. It states, in effect, that history and archaeology from the last 300 years is less important than what came before.

In my own experience, many archaeologists excavating sites tend to disregard the 18th century in their reports, preferring to focus on the medieval, bronze age, etc. (based on my reading of archaeological reports from Limerick city). This proposal justifies that bias.

As an example of this bias even before such a proposal has been sanctioned:

In Askeaton, Co. Limerick, the Office of Public Works (OPW) was instructed to repair the unstable quay walls of the 18th century Hell-Fire Club (one of only two such clubs in Ireland), in addition to repairs to the castle (13th-16th century) on the same site. This year when I went to visit the site for some recording work, one of the wonderful men working there informed me that budget cuts were now in force. All the repairs to the 18th century building were cancelled, while work still continued on the castle. The men on site, fearing for the club house thoughtfully left some scaffolding lattice over the brickwork which had been partially cleaned and destabilised. Preference was given to protecting the castle. When I asked for any reports on this, any evidence of discussion and justification for the work, it seemed that that doesn't really exist in the public domain (I'm going to try to track it down with gusto soon). I'm not annoyed that they are repairing the castle, it needs and deserves it. It is just terribly worrying that such an unusual building as the Hell-Fire Club is left to crumble because it is from a later time period.

I don't want to just focus on my own studies, so here is an unbiased Wikipedia recounting of some important things that happened in the last 300 years, unedited:

I'm under the impression that some of these events took place in "buildings" and that the "structures" may be deemed important by some people

I could rant some more, but I think it's best if I stop now. Still fuming. May return to this topic in the future.

EDIT: Loads more useful information on the issue here http://irisharchaeology.ie/2011/09/proposal-to-de-list-archaeological-and-historical-sites-that-post-date-1700/

How to fool the art world

Easily the best story of the day....

Trolling the artworld: In 1924 Paul Jordan-Smith submitted an ugly painting he put together under a false name and an invented artistic movement called Disumbrationism. The painting received great acclaim from art circles which later learned of the ruse.

Historian tackles more than the past

TV Presenter Dan Snow tackled a looter outside his home in London. Hearing the windows of his local pub smashed in, Snow rushed out onto the street. A youth ran past him, preoccupied with carrying looted shoes. The historian told BBC 5 live Breakfast how he seized the opportunity to tackle him to the ground and then sat on the looter until police arrived.

On a complete side note, while looking up a picture of him on the internets, I found lots of people have taken a strong fancy to his face, while another had this snarly piece to say:

He presents history documentaries on the BBC. He's unbeleivably wooden in front of the camera, almost unbearably posh - and more than just a little bit geeky. 

He's only 31, but his hair and fashion sense make him look more like a 45 year-old dentist. Whenever he's on TV, droning on about King Henry VIII or something, I just sit there staring at him, thinking of ways to corrupt him.

Rome: A trip down memory lane

It appears I didn't just fall accidentally into archaeology. When I was a kid, my parents brought my cousins and I to Rome and we visited every archaeological site it had to offer. Here are some ridiculous photos of me back in 1991 in either the hideous yellow tartan outfit or the pink and blue shell suit, early 90s fashion at its best...

In the catacombs. We were locked in here for 5 hours while our guide went out for lunch and got drunk...

Temples, temples everywhere

More archaeological sites!

On the Spanish steps, I was not impressed

Chilling, 90s -style, at the Roman Forum

Chasing pigeons at the Vatican

At the Colosseum

Making the Statue of Liberty

There is something incredibly appealing about seeing the various stages of construction of iconic builds, this is definitely up there! Check out this link to see the whole series of amazing images: LINK

Quote of the day!

It is no raising sedition, or breaking the peace, to take a blaspheming Hell-Fire Club man by the throat, and swinge him in the next horse-pond, or cool his brains at the next pump...

Theologian proposes God had a wife in earlier versions of the Bible

As reported by Dean Praetorius ,The Huffington Post:

God's Wife, Asherah, May Have Been Edited Out Of The Bible Says Theologian

This might not exactly be the version of the Bible you remember from Sunday school.

Early versions of the Bible apparently featured a fertility godess, Asherah, who may have been God's wife, at least according to one British theologian. Back in 1967, historian Raphael Patai mentioned ancient Israelites worshiped both Yahweh and Asherah, according to Discovery.

Francesca Stavrakopoulou, who began her work at Oxford and is now a senior lecturer in the department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter, is shedding new light on the theory. However, even if she's right, the Bible's editors may very well have wiped her almost clean from the document, reports TIME.

What remains of God's purported other half are clues in ancient texts, amulets and figurines unearthed primarily in an ancient Canaanite coastal city, now in modern-day Syria. Inscriptions on pottery found in the Sinai desert also show Yahweh and Asherah were worshipped as a pair, and a passage in the Book of Kings mentions the goddess as being housed in the temple of Yahweh.

J. Edward Wright, president of The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and The Albright Institute for Archaeological Research, backs Stavrakopoulou's findings, saying several Hebrew inscriptions mention "Yahweh and his Asherah."

It's all a bit Dan Brown-ish, but apparently there are still a few signs of her in the Bible.

Also significant, Stavrakopoulou believes, "is the Bible's admission that the goddess Asherah was worshiped in Yahweh's Temple in Jerusalem. In the Book of Kings, we're told that a statue of Asherah was housed in the temple and that female temple personnel wove ritual textiles for her."

Whether the goddess was actually edited out of the document is debatable, but Aaron Brody, director of the Bade Museum and an associate professor of Bible and archaeology at the Pacific School of Religion, told TIME the ancient Isrealites were, in fact, polytheists.

Stavrakopoulou's books and papers have become the basis for a documentary series in Europe where she discusses the Yahweh-Asherah connection.

Battle Practice, Blaise Castle

I was really lucky to tag along and make this little video! The gang had a crazy day, with very few injuries.