The Midwinter
Remember the dense fog which kept many airports closed for three days? Only 6 people set out through this fog on December 22nd but one lesson of Astronomy is never stop hoping. The fog was only 600 feet deep and in line with the Standing Stones at 800 feet the rising sun was easily visible.
This remarkable site on Gray Hill has been strangely neglected in the academic world. It was listed by Prof Alexander Thom in the 1960s as one of 6 alignment sites in Wales (as against 4 in England and 40 on Scotland) and was reported by Fred Hando in the South Wales Argus around the same time. Yet no mention of this alignment is made in the recent County History of Gwent.
Caruth – Bard of Dinham
During
the Dark Ages the hamlet of Dinham, now ruined, seems to have been quite a
centre of culture. The poems of Caruth
are an insight into the thinking of that time.
He tells us that the castle was magnificent, though no doubt if he told
otherwise he would have gone hungry. He
reports that Dinham was the burial place of the hero Caractacus, leader of
Celtic resistance to the Romans, though unfortunately we can’t find any
evidence of it today. Caruth provides
some stirring patriotic poetry full of invective against the Romans, which may
indicate that he composed it before the Saxons had become a problem. A little light relief is afforded by a poem
from a later author:
I sought my love ’mid smiling herbs and
flowers
I found her where the murmuring streamlet
glides
I gave her of the holy mistletoe
and led her to the cromlech.
We knelt together while the incense flamed .
. . .
The
girl’s name was Tina, by the way! The
works of Caruth and a couple of other local bards were assembled to make a
short book by John Hardwick in 1909.
Translation from the original Welsh had been done by a lady a hundred
years before and he added a short preface giving an account of Dinham as he
knew it. Mr Hardwick was the Headmaster
of Caerwent school and a prominent figure in the Caerwent community whilst the
excavations of the Roman site were in progress.
Only 200 copies of the book were printed, one of which we have recently
been able to purchase. We have made a
few copies via computer scan which are available for £5.
The
Geology of Caerwent
Saturday
17th or 24th February 2.00pm
The
area around Caerwent doesn’t have the spectacular scenery of the Wye Valley but
many features in our landscape are similar, they’re just on a smaller
scale. This isn’t just a drive or a
talk, more a mobile seminar where any of us who are interested can enquire and
hopefully explain to some extent why a stream is there or why the place looks
like it does. Geological maps will be
provided. Meet at the Cadw car park
Caerwent.
* * *
HAPPY NEW YEAR * * *
Secretary John Nettleship
01291
420745
mob 07752 157813 john@rose-cottage.freeserve.co.uk