Witches’ Well

Did you know there is a water fountain just outside Edinburgh Castle dedicated to those executed as witches in the 16th and 17th centuries? The “Witchcraft Acts” codified witchcraft as a criminal offense. In 1541, The Act against Conjurations, Witchcraft, Sorcery and Enchantments defined witchcraft as a felony, punishable by death and forfeiture of property to the state. The 1563 Act further defined not just the practice of witchcraft, but the consultation of a witch, as punishable by death. King James VI (later James I of England) demonstrated a particular obsession with witches, even publishing a book, Daemonologie, and participating in the interrogation of accused witches. He took that interest with him when he assumed the English throne. In 1604, another law was passed that further bolstered prosecution of witches: An Act against Conjuration, Witchcraft and dealing with evil and wicked spirits, and hundreds of witches would be tried and executed.

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Roman tombstones

Roman tombstone base, 2nd century CE, Lincoln, British Museum

The British Museum had a few Roman tombstones when I visited in 2017. It’s hard, when viewing them, not to think about how many more there must have been that were lost to history. Seeing them in a museum, protected and preserved, allows us a glimpse into history, but also removes them from the area of the graves they were created to mark.

Tombstone for Gaius Saufeius, 1st century CE, Lincoln, British Museum

Tombstone, 1st century CE, Lincoln, British Museum

Tombstone, 3rd century CE, Lincoln, British Museum

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William Temple Wordless Wednesday

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Galway Bay Tragedy

I tried to find more information about the tragic drowning of 8 men on Galway Bay on 1902.  I found a lot of websites that included no more information than what is carved on this memorial.  The only additional detail I located was that the men were sailing back from a wedding.

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The Irish Brigade at Antietam

I’ve written before about the Irish Brigade in the American Civil War. At Antietam, I found their monument.

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Greek stele

Continuing our visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, I photographed this stele – gravestone. The museum identifies the origin of the stele as the Kerameikos, tombs that sat just outside of the city of Athens. Like the Roman box in my last post, this is also marble, dated to the 5th century B.C.

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Roman cinerary box

This Roman marble box is used to hold cremated remains. The Minneapolis Institute of Art dates the box to the 1st century and states that the inscriptions indicate the remains are that of a man and woman who were freed slaves.

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A Roman Funerary Relief

I’m probably going to get back into this slowly, especially since my previous attempt to resurrect the blog didn’t take off.

Last year, I had the opportunity to attend an SCA event in Minneapolis, and I turned it into a long weekend including a trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, where I found this.

It’s a funerary relief from Palmyra, and the informational text specifically mentions that this type of art is the primary form of sculpture we have from Roman Palmyra.

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54th Massachusetts

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A Place Called Vietnam

When you mention the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington, D.C., most people think of the Wall. There was a lot of controversy concerning that memorial, so let me state that while I’m not showing it here, it is not because I dislike it. The Wall is powerful. But I’ve always been drawn to more literal depictions of things, rather than abstracts, so I wanted to take a moment to look at a second portion of the memorial – the statues of the three solders that stand near the etched roll of names.

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