Descend into the Dark in Amplify Archaeology Podcast Episode 23 with Dr. Marion Dowd
Descend into the Dark in Amplify Archaeology Podcast Episode 23 with Dr. Marion Dowd
This episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast features a fascinating discussion with Dr. Marion Dowd. Marion is a Lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology at IT Sligo, and Ireland’s foremost expert on cave archaeology. The dark depths of caves have loomed large in the human psyche since we evolved as a species. They have been places of shelter, inspiration, ritual and repository. They are places that unnerve us, and places that inspire us. In Europe, from at least the Upper Palaeolithic Period onwards, people ventured to the deepest and darkest parts of caves, far beyond the light of the entrance, as a place of ritual and ceremony. That’s where, in the likes of Lascaux, they created the incredible art, that utilises the contours and features of the cave to make the depictions of animals seem to come alive in the firelight.
Caves evoke our imaginations. Some of our earliest stories, like the Epic of Gilgamesh from around 1800 BC, tells the story of the hero who escaped the underworld. They feature strongly in Greek, Roman, Finnish, Inuit, Aztec and Hindu mythology. They also feature as a lair of wild beasts, or bandits like in the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Archaeology also shows that caves have a very practical aspect, they offer shelter and a constant temperature, making them ideal for storage.
In this episode of the Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Marion tells us about the practice and practicalities of cave archaeology, and how caves have been used for different purposes through time in Ireland. From ongoing tradition in the Mesolithic, places of excarnation in the Neolithic, ritual in the Bronze Age and mass burial by the Vikings, by venturing into the dark depths of caves we can shine a light on Ireland’s past.
To go into the dark with a light, is to know the light
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
And find the dark, too, blooms and sings,
And is travelled by dark feet, and dark wings.
AMPLIFY ARCHAEOLOGY PODCAST
AMPLIFY ARCHAEOLOGY PODCAST
Title: Cave Archaeology
Duration: 1 hour 03 mins.
Summary:
Descend into the Dark as we discuss Cave Archaeology in Amplify Archaeology Podcast Episode 23 with Dr. Marion Dowd
Into the underland we have long placed
that which we fear and wish to lose,
and that which we love and wish to save…
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The post Cave Archaeology – Amplify Archaeology Podcast – Episode 23 appeared first on Abarta Heritage Home.
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