Sites, sacredness, and stories: Interactions of archaeology and contemporary paganism

Wallis, Robert J.; Blain, Jenny

doi:10.1080/0015587032000145351

Cited by 39 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…National heritage authorities usually do not share the beliefs of Pagan groups and are concerned about preserving the site rather than keeping the place alive. A wellknown case is Stonehenge, where English Heritage banned solstice parties because partying was perceived as secular and non-spiritual and therefore not appropriate for a sacred place (Wallis & Blain 2003). Members of the Estonian Maavalla Koda have published multiple articles in local newspapers to emphasise the unfitness of inorganic materials as deposits, and it currently seems that the amount of plastic objects is decreasing at most sites.…”

Section: Cleaning Of the Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contemporary Deposits at Sacred Places: Reflections on Contemporary Paganism in Estonia and Finland

Jonuks¹,

Äikäs²

2019

FEJF

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This paper is based on fieldwork documenting contemporary deposits at sacred places in Estonia and Finland. We studied variations in these deposits in both countries and interpreted them on the basis of the known traditions of contemporary Paganism. Contemporary offerings bear evidence of the creative use of the past as well as international influences. The contemporary practices at sacred places, as demonstrated by material evidence, can be grouped under the following concepts: perceived continuity, revitalising traditions, syncretism, and ritual creativity. In Estonia, sacred places have been used more actively and more extensive deposits have accumulated than is the case in Finland. We also emphasise that sacred places are used by a broader variety of people than only members of Pagan communities, although other types of users are often ignored in research. The activities of the general public become visible particularly in the context of material culture studies, when all deposits are examined comprehensively.

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Section: Cleaning Of the Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contemporary Deposits at Sacred Places: Reflections on Contemporary Paganism in Estonia and Finland

Jonuks¹,

Äikäs²

2019

FEJF

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“…. (2002, 19) St Nectan's Glen has evidently become a contested site, entering the 'ritual litter' debate that has become relatively common at places of historical or spiritual significance (Houlbrook 2015a;Rountree 2006;Wallis and Blain 2003). Whether the coins, ribbons, candles, and rubber duck are classified as offerings or 'hideous rubbish', to use Gary's phrase, is entirely dependent upon the personal or professional perspective of the observer.…”

Section: St Nectan's Glen Todaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Saints, Poets, and Rubber Ducks: Crafting the Sacred at St Nectan’s Glen

Houlbrook

2016

Folklore

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This paper focuses on St Nectan's Glen, Cornwall, where layers of ritual deposition imply a long history of spiritual significancean implication that is debunked by a diachronic examination of the site, which reveals a relatively recent, and conscious, crafting of the sacred. St Nectan's Glen: The Deposits The rubber duck is just one of many deposits at St Nectan's Kieve, Cornwall. 1 Here the River Trevillet, having run tranquilly through the woodland of St Nectan's Glen, becomes a sixtyfoot waterfall. This cascades down into a surprisingly placid pool below, enveloped by granite cliffs and a rocky shore, which are bedecked with a myriad of deposits, of which the rubber duck is only one example (Figure 1). Candles, some bearing Christian imagery, sit amidst scattered coins, beaded bracelets, hair accessories, and various unique deposits: an owl-shaped purse, a pair of wooden mushrooms, a water flask, and a miniature model of a Mayan pyramid, to name only some (Figure 2). Pieces of slatehundreds of themlean up against the cliff faces, their surfaces adorned with scratched initials, names, messages, Celtic symbols, even painted pictures. Others have been piled on top of each other, in or throughout the water, forming what are known in Cornwall as 'fairy stacks'. The surrounding trees and foliage are festooned with brightly-coloured ribbons, frayed strips of cloth, hair bobbles, jewellery, shoelaces, key-rings, pendants, a prism, and a smiley-faced car air-freshener. One branch is tied with a lock of somebody's hair; another has a Polo mint slipped onto it; while another is affixed with a laminated photograph of a man, the words 'well, hello there' written beneath. A plastic wallet hangs from another, containing the photograph of a dog named 'Ollie', accompanied by the words 'I miss u sooo much. .. '. Propped up against one cliff-face, sloping at a narrow gradient down into the water of the pool, is a coin-tree (Figure 3): a hardwood log, 850 cm in length, embedded with over four thousand coins. 2 The majority of the coins, which run in neat longitudinal lines with the grain of the bark, are one penny and two pence pieces, but there are some higher denominations, including four fifty pence pieces and two one pound coins. Along with the coins, the log has also been embedded with three plastic tokens (one from the Sealife Centre), a Hobgoblin beer bottle cap, a key-ring, a piece of green aventurine, and a couple of ribbons, held in place by coins. 3 St Nectan's Glen is clearly a melting pot of various depositional practices, some boasting long historiesthe deposition of coins, candles, hair, ragsand others entirely novel, such as the rubber duck and the Polo mint. Not only was the diversity of deposits noteworthy, so too were their quantities. Unfortunately, while the author recorded every item embedded into the coin-tree, no systematic attempt was made to catalogue each deposit at the site, but their numbers certainly reached the thousands. If each individual deposit signifies an individual depositor, more or less, t...

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“…The poetic form of knowledge that he celebrates is not based on academic skills of analysis and observation. Others make still grander claims that they can ‘see’ the landscape in the same manner as a Neolithic shaman, with ‘Western rational and linear perspectives… set aside’ (Wallis and Blain : 311). Such attitudes reflect the solecism inherent in almost all New Age thinking, with its stress on ‘the spirituality which lies within the person’, rather than on the external influences on the person (Heelas : 2).…”

Section: Towards a Political Reading Of The New Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Visions of Albion: ancient landscapes, Glastonbury and alternative forms of nationalism

Gemie

2016

Nations and Nationalism

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Nationalist visions are often connected with a cult of the land. This article considers some of the cultural‐nationalist ideas linked to the Somerset town of Glastonbury, a prominent New Age centre. It discusses the legacy of British pastoralism as shown in the work of H. V. Morton and Cecil Sharp. It considers the evolution of an English–Celtic tradition, drawing on the legacy of the Arthurian legend, but being re‐formulated in the late twentieth century as a vehicle for New Age conceptions of British society. The article concludes by evaluating the political values inherent in the New Age.

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Sites, sacredness, and stories: Interactions of archaeology and contemporary paganism

Cited by 39 publications

References 11 publications

Contemporary Deposits at Sacred Places: Reflections on Contemporary Paganism in Estonia and Finland

Contemporary Deposits at Sacred Places: Reflections on Contemporary Paganism in Estonia and Finland

Saints, Poets, and Rubber Ducks: Crafting the Sacred at St Nectan’s Glen

Visions of Albion: ancient landscapes, Glastonbury and alternative forms of nationalism

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