Tolkien and the Romans Part Two

 

 

This odd looking thing is the Ring of Silvianus.  It was found by a farmer in 1785.  The front has a recessed portrait and the letters NVS and VE.  This is a signet ring, designed to be rolled onto hot wax and leaving a raised "signature".  Around the band is the inscription SENICIANAE VIVAS IN DEO.

Although this contains a typo and some sketchy grammar it essentially says:  "Seniciane lives in God".  It is the sort of saying that was current in early Christian communities in the 4th century AD, which is the presumed date of the ring.  

There is no actual documentation that Tolkien ever saw the ring or knew about it, but he was both very erudite and a bit closed mouth about his work, so....maybe.  But he does factor into the story.

In the early 19th century, and about a hundred miles from where the ring turned up, a "Curse Tablet" was found.  These are folded up bits of lead with an inscription on them.  Usually you'd hire someone to fashion it, dedicate it to a god, and leave it in a sacred place.  This one reads:

For the god Nodens. Silvianus has lost a ring and has donated one half [its worth] to Nodens. Among those named Senicianus permit no good health until it is returned to the temple of Nodens

Here's a sketch of the tablet.  

Note the name Senicianus.   Silvianus sure thought he'd swiped a ring, and for it to be a matter of importance it sure would not have been a bronze trinket.  The inscription on the band would be new, but the rest would probably be original.  

Tolkien was consulted on the collection of artifacts that included this tablet, and wrote a detailed report, particularly with regards to what sort of deity Nodens was.  He did not mention the ring, but the man who commissioned the study was aware of it and I think would have mentioned it.

It's an interesting theory.  Is this where JRR got the idea of a ring that would be a curse to those who stole it?  And of course from the perspective of Sauron, all future possessors of The Ring would have been thieves.

As theories go it is nice and neat.  Too neat.  Senicianus apparently was a fairly common name in 3rd century Brittania.  It even turns up on other curse tablets!  And Tolkien - remember he was not a particular fan of Roman stuff - was said to be more influenced by Nordic sagas in which cursed, magical rings - occur.  And perhaps by The Ring of Gyges, as mentioned by Plato.  It was also magical and gave its owner the power of invisibility.  I don't think the Silvianus ring does that, but I do note that there do not seem to be any photos of museum curators trying it on!

For a more scholarly look at the tablet and ring question I refer you to one of my erudite excavation colleagues who runs a site on the Roman Inscriptions of Britain.  He thinks there is no link. 

One final thought.  The Ring of Silvianus is unusual in that it is too large to wear on a normal finger.  It seems to have been designed to wear over a gloved hand.  Odd.....and if Peter Jackson's writing and research people knew about this artifact and worked it into the movie, well, I salute them.

Tolkien and the Romans Part One

As of this writing I am in limbo regards excavating in the UK next year.  We'll see if it works out.  I confess, my mind does wander back frequently to the stone ruins of Roman forts.  It's very thought provoking.  

Of course I'm not the first person to feel this way.  One of the earliest descriptions of the ghostly ruins of Roman Britain is called "The Ruin".  Written in the 8th or 9th century and included in a later compilation of works, it sums things up nicely.  Here's the first couple of lines:

"These wall-stones are wondrous —
calamities crumpled them, these city-sites crashed, the work of giants
corrupted. The roofs have rushed to earth, towers in ruins."

Of course it was written in Old English:

Wrætlic is þes wealstan, wyrde gebræcon;
burgstede burston, brosnað enta geweorc.
Hrofas sind gehrorene, hreorge torras,

If you pay very close attention a few of the archaic words make sense.  "Wyrde" has become Weird, a word for Fate that Shakespeare dredged up for his "Weird Sisters".  "Gebraecon" evolved into "broken", and "Torras" for towers.  But what about that word "Enta"?

If it seems a bit familiar its because J.R.R. Tolkien borrowed this word for Giants for his Lord of the Rings "Ents".  Later in the poem the word of "Orthanc" also appears, and became the name of Saruman's tower.  

By some accounts JRR Tolkien was not a big fan of the Roman Empire.  That being said, he certainly baked elements of Rome into The Lord of the Rings.  The kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor being split and one conquered, basically reflect the Eastern and Western parts of the Roman Empire.  Even Gondor (ok nerds, Minas Tirith)  as a city with Seven levels of Walls has a bit of the "Seven Hills of Rome" in it.

And what about The One Ring?  It is after all the central plot device for the entire trilogy, and is what links it to the earlier Hobbit.  We shall cover that next time...

Walking along the River

My dog Hank is an endearing simpleton.  He knows what he likes.  He likes these things a great deal.  Most everything else gets ignored.

One thing he likes a lot is: Walks.  With the delightful fall weather, and lack of rain, I've been able to take him along the rocky shore of our local river.  As there is nobody else around I can even let him off leash.  I'm looking for things I like.  Artifacts for instance.

But sometimes when I wander in new places I encounter the unexpected.  Check out this short video clip....

Huh.  So why would there be a bubbling fountain of water just showing up 30 feet off shore?  Perhaps a great Kracken is about to rise out of the water?

Well, no.  Turns out we were walking along the steep bank atop which stands the city's water treatment plant.  There must be an outlet pipe extending out into the river.  Not as unpleasant as a sea monster.  Why, there were not even odors I could detect.  Maybe Hank could.  Smells are another of the things he likes a lot.

Homesteading Home Stretch

The Homesteaders have had marvelous weather here in the home stretch.  The project was delayed a bit by the rains of June, but to have weather like this in the second half of October is a blessing.  

Fall colors with off grid power, solar panels and neatly stacked fire wood.

Or if you prefer, fall colors and ongoing work...

Much of the current work does not photograph well.  Drywall finishing for instance.  But my assignment was not inside.  It was necessary to add a layer of insulation under the floor.  The house sits off the ground - but not very darn far - so one person could crawl under while the other fed rolls of insulation in to be secured.  Hot, tedious work while lying on uneven, hard ground.

It's always fun to work hard alongside your children.  Unexpected conversation topics are frequent.  Such as...why are rolls of insulation called bats?  Well, it is a delightfully obsolete word that refers vaguely to rolls of cotton that had been pounded with bats, or batons if you prefer.  The name just stuck around for rolls of insulation.

OK, then what about brickbats?  A brickbat is a partial brick.  Here a little "Stonehenge" of brick leftovers has been set up on the picnic table.

Brickbat means a partial brick.  It comes from a middle English word meaning a lump or piece.  Perhaps related to the sense of things being hit or knocked with a stick.  In more recent years it has acquired another meaning.  Severe criticism, as in things like theatrical reviews.  Evidently brickbats were popular things to throw during riots and protests.  In more recent times they have turned up in the imaginative comic strip Krazy Kat, a personal favorite of mine.

I must admit feeling a greater kinship with Ignatz than with Krazy.

Robot Fun

Robot School machine is coming along well.  The criteria for the whiffle ball collector were:  sturdy, safe, actually works, and amusing.  I think they've nailed it.

We will convert the wooden parts of the prototype to metal in the next couple of sessions, and add the control systems and drive motor.

Here's something else fun.  The high school team has a new cnc router.  The learning curve has involved starting with easy stuff...and working on up.  Plywood to soft plastic to 1/8 inch aluminum and now the big challenge....making a part out of quarter inch aluminum.  

Noisy, and you have to work with a degree of caution, but this is "in house" capacity we've never had before.

Projected Images

There is so much politics in the air that my saying anything on the topic is akin to having a thoughtful chat while watching a chainsaw carving competition.  

I'd actually like to see some of the people now running for office turn up at such an event and try their hand....it might show their levels of talent and prudence!  This of course is the sort of Image that both Presidential campaigns are trying to project at the moment, and with variable levels of success.  

What follows is long, and perhaps only of interest to my overseas friends trying to understand the politics of the US.  But here goes....

Having earlier given my opinions of the "on paper" qualifications of the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz tickets I guess its fair to also give my personal opinions of them.  Before doing so - and hold your fire Indignant Internet - I should state two sincere beliefs.

1. I believe that a healthy society needs the interchange between Progressive and Conservative philosophies.  I would not censor either.  Lopsided world views lead to stagnation or to launching off into poorly conceived nonsense.

2. Although I'm personally on the Conservative side of the political spectrum I have friends and family to the "left and right" of me.  None of them are Hateful.  We each see the world based on the places we come from and the paths we've followed.  Sometimes the view from the beginning, middle and latter parts of the path look different......

OK, now to it.  My opinions, or if you prefer, feelings, about the five figures in the Presidential race.  I'll run them from Most Favorable to, well, Least.  

J.D. Vance

A political newcomer but articulate, father of young children and somebody who absolutely beat the odds and made success out of a life that should have ended badly.  I read Hillbilly Elegy and found it authentic.  And probably not ghost written.  You actually want somebody who will care about those left behind by society?  How 'bout somebody who was, but rose above it.

Kamala Harris 

This might surprise you, but in second place for my "likeability" score.  True, it is primarily sympathy for somebody who is in way over her head.  In our system a Vice President is supposed to take a fair amount of criticism....its our way of expressing dissatisfaction with The Boss while not damaging the office of the Presidency in a troubled and hostile world.  Yes, Harris is a Diversity Hire.  But she did not create the times in which this is a possibility.  I'll save my more pointed criticism for a later and lower entrant on the list...

Donald Trump 

I've never liked the man.  He represents many things I find grating or even repellant.  Some of them are more a reflection on me.  I'm not fond of real estate developers, philanderers or frankly, boisterous New Yorkers.  The guy is a jerk.  After almost a decade of obsessive scrutiny it is unlikely that anything new - good or bad - will be revealed about him in the next few weeks.  He is a known quantity.  Bonus questions.  How many good men have been poor presidents?  How many bad men have been effective ones?

Tim Walz

We near the bottom of the barrel.  You may think I'm unfairly dumping on a guy whose entree to the national stage was just a few weeks ago.  But remember, I'm from Minnesota and live adjacent to it.  So I follow Minnesota politics closely.  In my opinion he's as bad a jerk as Trump.  His management of Covid and of the George Floyd riots was heavy handed in the first case and "What, me worry?" in the second.  He lies about all manner of things, which you can get away with when you have the local media in the bag for you.  My wife was puzzled when I mentioned his mug shot photo.  I don't respect a guy who makes political hay out of being "Coach" when he had to step down from that role when he was caught driving under the influence.  And then got the charges negotiated down to lesser ones.  Somehow.

I understand that people make mistakes and learn from them.  Evidently he has quit drinking in the wake of this, and good for him.  But the greatest sin in American Politics has always been hypocrisy.  And to be touted as "Coach Walz" and "America's Dad" just does not cut it with me.  He's a small time politician who has been allowed to skate by in his small time job.  Dad shouldn't drive drunk at 95 miles per hour.  And then make excuses.

Joe Biden

Well, here's what happens when a small time politician gets the Big Chair.  In our system when you are say, a Senator from Delaware, it is expected that you will reward your friends and punish your enemies.  It's how you get elected to seven 6 year terms as US Senator.  Usually, and this is very true in a single party state, your friends remember the favors and reciprocate.  And most of your enemies eventually shut up or sue for peace.  These learned habits do not serve you well when you are supposed to be the President of a polarized nation, nor when you have to deal with foreign leaders who don't give a damn.

Basically laughed off the political stage when he ran for President in 1988, he ran again in 2008 and dropped out early.  So he was probably as surprised as anyone when Barack Obama tapped him for the VP role.  But as per above, part of your job is to take the heat for The Boss and make him or her look good in the process.

Late in his tenure as Veep he probably figured his political life was done and that he and his family/friends might as well make a bit of cash.  Various dubious business arrangements later, Biden bank accounts prospered.

The 2020 election was one weird affair.  The shadow of Covid was over the land and campaigning from your basement was considered prudent and patriotic.  I think everyone was again surprised when Biden threw his hat in the ring; less surprised when he had a mediocre primary campaign.

Until....he announced that he'd only select a black woman as his VP choice.  And coincidentally, most of his rivals dropped out and he got critical endorsements that handed him the nomination.  

All this is just the "sausage making" of American politics.  But there was a huge problem nobody was supposed to talk about.  Biden was ageing rapidly.  It happens to us all in the end, and the Presidency ages people at an advanced rate.

I spent a career in medicine and was a darned good diagnostician.  I've also had two parents with dementia and physical ailments.  Biden's cognitive and physical decline during the course of his administration has been dramatic enough that desperate efforts to conceal it were to no avail.

That's sad for an individual, but more importantly means that jerks on the international level are emboldened to act with impunity.

He should have stepped aside mid term.  His party did well in the mid term elections and it would have given Harris a chance to show what she could do.  Or to let other Democrats step up and challenge.  But Biden hung on.  He presumably approved or allowed to happen, things that we have never seen in our political life.  An armed raid on the home of his chief rival.  Prosecutions of same by Federal and allied State offices, often on highly "creative" grounds and in front of very friendly juries.  There were even measures proposed to keep Trump off ballots, or to strip him of Secret Service protection.  

These are either the actions of a desperate regime clinging to power, or of a political party that truly believes what they say, that Donald Trump is a unique, singular existential threat to our nation such that anything is justified in stopping him.

The first option warrants rejection.  The second?  Well, once you normalize such measures you would have to have deep faith in the Democrats (or the Republicans ) that there would not be a similar hue and cry for whoever is brave enough to run next.  Do I have such faith in our politicians?

I do not.

I don't know what will happen, but what should happen is this.  Trump has a win large enough that we don't have to be scrutinizing ballots for a month.  Biden says: "I'm done", resigns and makes Harris President for a few months.  Let's get that Historic First stuff out of our system.  She and Trump sit down and make a list of people they feel were prosecuted/convicted on political grounds.  They make it public then split it up, Harris pardons the Republicans the day before she leaves, Trump the Democrats on his first day in office.  Our system is strengthened and Harris elevates her chances to become a serious contender next time around, instead of a political joke.

Hey,  all the rancor aside, it could happen.

Fifty Years in the Dirt

 Recently I changed my facebook photo to this:

I rather like the image....as several have pointed out there is clearly something interesting going on off camera to the right!  But it did prompt some old friends to point out just how long I've been messing around in the dirt, digging things up.

One sent this gem, purporting to be me and in 1985.

Uh, the guy in front, not the guy in back.

I've been digging around looking for things for a long time, probably going back not 50 years but 60, to when as a kid I would dig holes in the back yard of our house and find odd things.  Broken plates, marbles, that sort of stuff.

Still digging.  Guess I'll keep throwing the dirt out of the hole until somebody decides I'm Done and shovels it back in on me.

Robot School 2024

Robot School time again.  We've roughly doubled the class size and had kids sign up for either software or build/design.  So far so good.  We are only taking 7th and 8th graders so the maturity level is - by the standards of middle school - fairly reasonable.  And I have good help.  FIRST team alumni coming back to train up the next generation.

So, what do we do?

Oh, learn how to use tools.  Many of them have never worked with metal at all.

Measure mark, drill.....learning by doing it wrong a few times....

Everyone on build has to at least try CAD for a session or two.  Several really enjoy it.

The drive base is now complete, and the winch mechanism to raise and lower the whiffle ball collector is in place.  Of course foam based bumpers are needed....these are newbie drivers after all.

Here's a couple of the students who have been developing the intake design.  We expect to get it attached and powered up later this week.  Look out, there will be whiffle balls flying everywhere until we get things dialed in properly!

CCC Camp Globe Revisited

My earlier post on CCC Camp Globe had too many loose ends.  I had gone there looking for remains of the place, particularly of the impressive gate posts that once held giant globes.  Instead I found scattered remains, and these big hunks of stone work.  Which seem to be too close together for gate posts.

And there were other problems.  Usually the signs marking the location of CCC camps were put pretty close to the main entrances of same.  This "stuff" was a couple hundred yards in.  So, it was time for a repeat visit.  Actually it took two, as on one occasion there were some rather unfriendly guys scouting hunting locations right there.  

With a few more leaves gone I was able to see more.  Down the road from the above photo was:

More stone, cement, even a cellar hole.  So at least I'd found a few more remains.  But what about the gate posts?

The cover of the CCC Camp Globe newspaper is helpful.  I've generally found such images to be reasonably accurate.

You can see my point about the spacing between the gate posts.  Also, see how the road is coming off what I suspect is the existing county road at a 90 degree angle, and then starts to curve to the right.  Same view today:

Alas, I think the gate posts are long gone.  Probably they were destroyed when the county road was widened and ditches added at some point.  

CCC camps are a real test of my archaeological "eye".  Most were only occupied for a few years, and most have subsequently seen logging activity.  This tends to create many ambiguous lumps and bumps, and to either re-use or destroy the roads of the original camp.  While of course adding new roads specific to the logging operation.  As CCC camps were laid out rather loosely on military principles the position of roads is critical to understanding them.  So Globe is a tough nut to crack, although I think the road seen above - now used only by hunters - was probably the main road of the camp.

I had a flicker of hope when I learned that there was a geocache hidden here, supposedly at an old building foundation.  Alas, it was a few yards from the mystery pillars, which I suspect were part of a gigantic fire place.  Cool cache container though....

Karma of the Caterpillar

What a remarkable summer.  It started early, and just kept on going. We are still enjoying warm days even as the October shadows lengthen.  The deer are grow plump, and alas, clever.  And wooly bear caterpillars are everywhere, crawling hither and yon on their enigmatic missions.

I write something about the woolies every fall, as they are said to be a harbinger; an oracle.  Their color pattern allegedly predicts the severity of the upcoming winter.  

A few days ago while out at The Homestead I saw my son's lunatic dog jumping about and snapping at something on the ground.  She's a bit like a malicious cat in this respect, she'll capture baby bunnies and such and toy with them.  I do not approve.

So I went over and found that the object of her taunting was a curled up wooly bear caterpillar.  Well, I rescued the little guy, took him off to a safe location and said: "Hey, how 'bout a mild winter?"

I knew this was a big ask from a little guy, but it is rather their forte, so what the heck.

An hour later I went for a stroll down their dirt road.  Just enjoying the day and getting some fresh air after an afternoon breathing through a respirator while installing insulation.  And right there on the road I found something extremely implausible.  This:

It's a box of ammunition.  Now you might think this is not totally implausible as there is a rifle range down the road a bit and yes, things do bounce out of pickup trucks.  But I've never found ammo laying around - other than my archaeology experience at Ypres - and to have this appear just when I'm getting discouraged about hunting prospects.....and to have it be in the somewhat atypical caliber that I actually hunt with????

Thanks Wooly.  I know one small bug does not have the power to change the climate for a continent.  But hey, a box of ammo that retails for around $37?  You've out done yourself.

Bowhunting - October 2024

Bow hunting, specifically with a crossbow, is a different breed of cat.  It's a quieter, more solitary undertaking.  No compressed 9 day season as with firearms.  No traditional "hunting camp" gatherings.  You pick a time, go out to the woods and sit.  Quietly.  Very quietly.

Many consider it more true hunting.  The deer have almost every advantage.  A rifle can do the job at 100 yards.  A bow, especially with a novice hunter....30 or 40 yards tops.  The one advantage hunters do have is that this is the time of year when the deer go crazy and chase each other around.  Sort of like a gang of distractible middle schoolers.

Here's the view from the tree stand:

Another difference between this a gun hunting is that for the latter you need to wear blaze orange garb....so you won't get shot by other hunters.  Not much risk of that with short range weapons, so the priority is on camo.  Here's the annual tree stand selfie.

Because I'm hunting on my youngest son's Homestead I have a bit of a drive in the pre-dawn hours.  I'll often stop in at a convenience store for coffee on this trip.  I guess I'd better not do this while so attired!

Warmer weather means once you - hypothetically - get a deer you need a plan.  In November just hang them up in a cold garage for a few days and process them when you have time and hands to do so.  Warm weather and without a large hunting crew.  Hmmmmm.

There is a place down the road that does this work.  They'll take it in the field dressed state and turn it into nicely packaged venison.  I stopped by the other day to ask what the procedure was.  A very pleasant young man said:  "Well, first of all you stop at the bar down the road, they'll have the paperwork".

Best Step One Ever!

My second day of hunting I did a better job of time management and was up in the stand before first light.  It was a wild, windy morning.  Plus side:  No way the deer would smell or hear me.  Negative side, if I had a shot I'd have to make some serious accommodation for windage.  

If.  I saw no deer.  So, time to change uniforms do a bit of Homestead work.  Specifically, help install insulation.  Honestly, silly costumes, doing things with modest at best results.....feels more like cosplay than serious hunting and honest labor....

 As my scamp of a grandson got the family "on the board" during today's special youth hunt weekend I can't let up.  Back in the stand tomorrow, weather permitting.

So What Was the First Brewery in Chippewa Falls???

I gave a talk recently on the breweries of 19th century Chippewa Falls.  Most people around here know Leinenkugels.  A fair number knew there was another early brewery run by a scoundrel named F.X. Schmidmeyer.  But while doing research for the program I was able to finally piece together some pesky bits of information and nail down a date for another early brewery.  Was it the first one?  Hard to say, as the Schmidmeyer brewery has sketchy documentation.  But if you define the question as "what is the first brewery for which there is a solid date?" Well, that date is 1858.

An "old settler" named Thomas McBean had a series of stories of the early days that he published in the local paper around the turn of the century.  In two of them he mentions a brewery built in 1858 by a man variously named Hubert or Herbert Massen or Mannsen.  

Initially constructed as a brewery it was later to become a hotel, The Wisconsin House.  It seems probable that the brewing continued, think of it as an early brew pub for the patrons.  Here's the Wisconsin house as it existed in 1874.  It is marked 18 on this map.

There is a nice convenient hillside where a small beer cave could have been excavated.  Perhaps behind the little building across the street?  Sadly the landscape has been completely altered.

Massen shows up in the 1860 census of Chippewa Falls, being listed as a "Brewer".  He is in fact the only person so listed, so it is likely that the 200 barrels of beer on which tax was paid for that year came from this establishment.  

Hubert died in 1866, his wife also dying soon after.  His 14 year old son August seems to have inherited a stake in the hotel, as the next year this ad was running.  Note that the name Massen has now been anglicized to Mason.

 .

 August Mason seems to have been a bright lad.  Spending his formative years seeing lumber jacks roll into town to blow their paychecks persuaded him that going off to the cold, lonely woods to make a living was a bad option.  Why not just sell things to the lumber jacks?  He started a company that made work boots.  And Mason Shoe is not only going strong to this very day, it is still doing business along Duncan creek, just a couple hundred yards away!

Here's the site of the Mason brewery in 2024.  The decommissioned Lutheran church occupies essentially the same foot print.  There's probably some really interesting stuff in that back yard!

Although the Mason brewery is the first one I can nail a date to it is probable that the Schmidmeyer brewery did get going on a small scale just a bit earlier.  But records from this era are hard to come by and so I can only surmise.

Walk like an Egyptian....

I'm not a very "musical" person.  My assorted relatives a couple generations down were amazed that I don't own ear buds, don't have a music streaming service...heck, I don't even listen to music when I'm driving.  Meh.

But every now and then a song, or in this case a music video, captures a moment in time and I take a liking to it.  For instance....The Bangles, and Walk like an Egyptian.....

Here's the full video.....it brings back the 80's every time....

1986.  Women mostly had hair like that.  It was a silly era.  So what was the actual story behind this nonsense?

I assumed it was a call back to the famous Steve Martin appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1978.  And I bet there is some indirect influence.  He was very much, and very over the top, dancing like an Egyptian.

But the actual story is odd.  Apparently the song writer, a certain Liam Sterberg, was crossing the English Channel in a ferry during rough seas.  As the boat swayed side to side the passengers had to do a sort of "Egyptian" dance move to stay steady.  I've crossed the Channel back in the days before the hover ferry and the Chunnel.  I can relate.  The first few lines of the song seem to reflect this story when they mention "..if you move too quick...you're falling down like a domino.."

I was new in medical practice and a first time father when Walk Like an Egyptian came out in 1986.  So I probably did not notice it at the time or even know who The Bangles were.  But as they are my age contemporaries its nice to find on a bit of searching that they are all alive and seem to have had mostly successful lives.  

Not all the people appearing in the video did.  Princess Diana would die in a traffic accident 11 years later.  Muammar Quadaffi had a few brushes with mortality before meeting an unfortunate but not undeserved end in 2011.  And the fire fighters of Ladder Company 100, well, some of them would have a date with destiny on September 11th, 2001.  Which makes this image from the end of the video especially poignant.  The Lady who is doing various Egyptian moves has her torch directly above the Twin Towers.