Friday 27 September 2013 Avebury, England
West Kennet Long Barrowconstruction is believed to have been begun 5,600 years ago. |
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Silbury Hillbeginning of construction is carbon-dated to approximately 4,400 years ago. |
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I went to the onsite museum, and there was a little outdoor cafe. Troy and I sat to have tea and became enthralled with the process of thatching, an old skill in a modern world. In this first recording, you can hear repeating sounds at 1.5, 4, 8, and 10 seconds. The thatcher has just placed a thick armful of rye straw in place and is shoving large wooden U-shaped pins into the straw to hold it in place in two motions, shove/hammer, shove/hammer, etc. You can see the size of the bundle he places in the photo. Starting with one lone strike at 13.5 seconds, and then followed by a whole series of metallic-sounding smacking and brushing, hes tapping the ends of the place straw bundle even with the rest, with a tool like a large metal spatula. You can also hear a flock of busy blackbirds chorusing nearby, and the sound of dishes being washed in the cafes dish pit through their open door. Also, you can hear the thatchers radio, tied to his ladder, and hear him whistle along near the end. |
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He finished at the roof top and climbed down his ladder to the large messy waiting bundles, but on the way down his ladder, he used a long switch to rake along the surface of the thatching to pull loose any untidy straws that remained. Then down a few more steps and sweep sweep sweep . |
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The thatcher moved the ladder over about 3 feet to make room to begin the next row of thatching. He went to the big bundles and prepped them: he grabs a bundle, then drops it firmly on the deck at his feet to even the cut ends a bit. You can hear him grab the bundle and drop it at 2, 6, 10 and 13 seconds. He lets the bundle fall to its side between his legs so he can steady it, grabs large hedge-trimmer shears, and chops away at the remaining unevenness. In the photo, you can see four tidied bundles and one being snipped. Then he starts over at the bottom of the ladder, the lowest edge of the roof placing bundles, pinning them, tapping them even and so on. |
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After tea, and thatching Troy and I began to walk the Avebury Monument, including several stone circles, and a henge. The oldest stone placements are younger by a few hundred years than the West Kennet Long Barrow, but mostly older than Silbury Hill. Some of the stones are big! |
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They cant isolate it and fence it off the way they have Stonehenge, because there is a village there, right there in the circles, and has been for centuries. |
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The whole monument is huge. Troy and I walked through and around the whole place, feeling its vastness. It is so significant that it is designated a World Heritage Site, and yet we walked by ourselves most of the time. Folks were scattered around, and sheep grazed throughout the fields. |
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At the end of the day, as Troy and I waited for the bus back to Swindon, the sun came out, lighting the stones. |
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