Thursday 13 January 2022, 11am
If you are unable to attend the live session, do not worry - all those who register will automatically be sent copies of the lecture to view in your own time (from around four hours after it takes place).
A Monumental Midwinter Solstice: Shining a Light on Neolithic Life
The Midwinter Solstice was celebrated at many of the great monuments of the Neolithic, 5,000 years ago. Stonehenge, Maes Howe in Orkney and Newgrange in Ireland continue to be breath-taking sites but, for a few weeks of the year, they were particularly special and spectacular. As the midwinter sun sets, shafts of light illuminate the deep darkness in the carefully aligned tombs; experiencing this is still a very moving moment, even today. We explore what it was all about for the early farmers and what midwinter celebrations may have meant for their life-bringing farming, for their beliefs and their approach to death.
This lecture is about a very human celebration of light in the dark midwinter and an exploration into how great monuments we can still visit can take us back in time to the dawn of our settled lives in society.
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Gillian Hovell Gillian, professionally known as 'The Muddy Archaeologist', is an award-winning writer, author, ancient historian, archaeologist and Latin expert. Her hands-on excavations on archaeological sites range from Pompei and Hadrian's Wall from the Roman period to prehistoric sites such as the stunning Neolithic Ness of Brodgar in Orkney. Gillian is now using her expertise to communicate ancient history to wider audiences not only on cruises and tours - including CICERONI's travels - but in courses, lectures and events in person nationally and internationally, online (including Neolithic Orkney) and in the media, most recently on Radio 4 and BBC World Service). Please go to www.muddyarchaeologist.co.uk to find more details. |
Format for Lecture
Gillian will give a one-hour illustrated lecture for £12.
You will not need to download any software and the lecture will work in any browser. For the best experience use a desktop or laptop - but it will also work on an iPad or similar tablet.
We hope you enjoy the recording.
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