Willie Auldwinkle

On cold winter nights you'll find me in graveyards happily reading weathered headstones, surrounded by history and people who are unlikely to disturb my peace.

[Willie Auldwinkle @auldwinkle]

🙄

[English Churches @EngChurchPics]

The famous grave of Thomas Thetcher at Winchester Cathedral. A timely warning!

[The National @ScotNational]

Archaeologists have discovered the shattered remains of a 6000-year-old human that could be the oldest person from Stirling https://t.co/lyOIJnmsUK

[Daily Mail @DailyMail]

Medieval missile: Skeleton found at Scottish castle is first confirmed victim of a trebuchet attack https://t.co/UrGcEXqwDL

[Dr. M.F. Khan @Dr_TheHistories]

Workers expanding a quarry in the Scottish Highlands uncovered a ring of stone.

Inside it, archaeologists found a woman who had apparently been lying there for roughly 2,000 years.

The discovery at Evelix, near Dornoch, was strange from the beginning. The structure was so carefully constructed that archaeologists initially wondered whether it might be modern.

It wasn’t.

The sunken pit measures about 10 feet long and 6.5 feet wide, with fitted stone walls, a slabbed floor and steps descending into it. Clay had been packed into parts of the structure, apparently helping it hold liquid.

Then, tucked into one section, they found the skeleton.

She appears to be an adult woman. Nearby were animal bones, charcoal and part of a soapstone vessel. Around the site are traces of possible Iron Age roundhouses. (Jacaranda FM)

But nobody can yet say exactly what this structure was.

One archaeologist jokingly suggested an “Iron Age hot tub,” an irresistible headline, but emphasized that the idea was speculative. The official archaeological record offers another possibility: some kind of ritualized well. (Need To Know)

And the way the structure was abandoned may be the strangest part.

The woman appears to have been laid at the bottom. Animal bones were deposited above her, followed by charcoal-rich material. The steps into the pit seem to have been deliberately blocked.

Archaeologists cautiously suggest this could represent a ceremonial closing of the structure. (Highland Historic Environment Record)

No Iron Age princess has been discovered. No sacrifice has been proven.

We don’t even know how this woman died.

Her remains are now being studied for clues about her age, health and death.

For now, the most fascinating answer is the one archaeology doesn’t often get to give:

We found her.

We still don’t know why she was there.

#drthehistories

[Jake Holliday @J_O_Holliday]

The extremely worn memorial stone to Lieutenant Robert Cordon of the 12th Regiment of Foot, who fell in the Battle of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815. The stone is located in the now ruined church of St Peter in Duffus, Scotland.

[Katy McCreadie @KatyMcCreadie]

This is heartbreaking !
#cartoon #meme #dancing #partner
#rhyme #wordplay #strictly #wallflower

[Willie Auldwinkle @auldwinkle]

A skull and crossbones on a tombstone such as this, serve as a universal language for people to contemplate the brevity of life.
#graveyard #tombstone #skull #crossbones

[S O M E D A Y M A N 🍸 @i__poet]

Tombstone burying beetle 📷

[Willie Auldwinkle @auldwinkle]

The Faichney monument carved by mason John Faichney in 1707 after the death of his wife.
Individual carvings of ten of their children flank a coat of arms, which is located below a large depiction of the couple.
https://t.co/D3BGIbcdVa

[RONALD SMITH @APRILANTIQUES]

Check out #Antique #Frog #Mug with spotted orange Frog in residence ~ Great display ! https://t.co/hMowi537c4 #eBay via @eBay_UK

[Bo'ness Pottery Figures @bonesspottery]

A horse-drawn float prepared by the Bridgeness Pottery of C.W. McNay & Sons for one of the annual Bo’ness Children’s Fairs in the 1920s.
The mantel dog, bottom left, is very probably an example of the model shown in the second image.
#boness #pottery #ceramic #figure #wally #dog

[Katy McCreadie @KatyMcCreadie]

This formidable chap is inspired by the snuff-taking 19th Staffordshire Toby Jugs you might come across online or in antique shops.
The noticeable difference is of course his spout, which has turned him into a teapot. He measures 9 inches.
#staffordshire #tobyjug #teapot #antique

[Sky News @SkyNews]

BREAKING: Sir Keir Starmer has announced a timetable for his resignation as prime minister.

Live updates: https://t.co/0NZcBgSmUq

[Willie Auldwinkle @auldwinkle]

Happy Days !

[Historyland @HistorylandHQ]

The equipment of a British soldier at the Battle of the Somme. (1916)

[Dave Dykes @PaMemorial]

@WFASouthScot Really enjoyed the talk, a fascinating topic and an interesting comparison which stimulated so many questions. Had a quick walk along to Dalry Cemetery to visit some @CWGC casualties before catching the train back across the bridge to the Kingdom of Fife. A lovely afternoon.

[graveyarddetective @gravedetective]

Richard and Margaret White reunited with their infant son- Anfield Cemetery Liverpool

[Glasgow Live @Glasgow_Live]

First Glasgow to offer free travel for veterans and armed forces this weekend.
https://t.co/wCYgE1rK0i

[Scottish Graveyards @ScottishGraves]

The table tombs are neatly executed, many replete with #mementomori symbols, giving testimony to the wealthy parishioners who once regularly attended this lost rural church.

[Scottish Graveyards @ScottishGraves]

"As your Time doth fly,
Remember thou must dy..."

Ironically, moments after spotting this INCREDIBLE #MementoMori laden headstone in Portmoak Kirkyard today, I went flying over a nearby Victorian lair marker and almost tested my own mortality!

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