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Richard Pinhorn's avatar

Beautiful and evocative invitation to let our contemporary fingers trace the scars that the past has left in our landscapes and ourselves. Thank you

Lampen Stream's avatar

A captivating read, Peter — one we’ll no doubt return to. The wreckage of industry resonates deeply and remains all too prevalent. The kids and I often take a ‘trespassers’ pilgrimage’ to a local East Kent barrow hidden in private woodland. The mound contains burnt remains in upturned sepulchral urns (C. H. Woodruff). The trip has always carried that blend of excitement and exhilaration. But our last visit ended in devastation — logging machinery had gouged the mound and left the surroundings unrecognisable. We placed offerings. So much is lost to industrial farming and ignorance.

Peter Grey's avatar

So sorry to hear this, a tragedy that has been playing out for centuries as what is sacred is defiled by ignorance, greed and malice. Not sure if you have an organisation there you can report this too? I've seen the devastation that forestry wreaks time and again. We bear witness, we make our offerings and go on.

Lampen Stream's avatar

Yes, we did report it to our local archaeological society — good people giving so much of their time, underfunded and unsupported. There’s solidarity in connecting with those who care, and sadness in knowing that nothing will happen, because the bodies that once protected our ecologies and ancestral sites have been stripped of the power to act. Nevertheless, it drives us towards activism, which can only be a good thing in these times.

Moulten Steal's avatar

What dragons lie beyond thy paywall?

Peter Grey's avatar

I keep most of my dragons in the open. Some sequences are now hidden away, like the entire Cult of Tanit, and I put ritual pieces back there so that they don't perish to over exposure, as well as talks from paid events.

Mark Nemglan's avatar

Lovely, very evocative Peter. I’m currently writing something similar about a necropolis in the north

Peter Grey's avatar

I look forward to it. Been doing work with burial sites here, and they just keep emerging for me, this is a special one, but I will eventually write on many others.

Mark Nemglan's avatar

Music to my ears!