A while ago, I had a little bit of internet rage about a BBC program on the Celts - here, about the suggestion that some gold 'spoons' were used for divination (followed by a demonstration based on made-upness). The section with that part of the program in it can be seen on youtube now, it starts about three minutes in: hopefully around 1:43:35 in this video (or see the comments for an alternative).
I suppose that we can use "Druid Spoon Divination" to mean stuff that scholars make up (as opposed to "Druid Bottlecap Divination", which was inspired by one of Erynn Laurie's rants on why people need to cite sources, and referred to what people made up in their basement from whole cloth and called "Celtic").
I think the spoons might be replicas of these, from the British museum. Made of bronze, found in a peat bog at Crosby Ravensworth, Westmorland, apparently given as offerings.
That page and the link at the side to another one found in the Thames in London has a list of further references; this book here describes the circumstances of the find. Unfortunately it looks like they weren't recovered under archaeological dig conditions.
Actually, it looks like you can buy replicas on etsy...
I agree Faoladh; there's certainly plenty of room for speculation in all of this, but this goes a little too far for me.
And it's a shame, because if the spoons had been excavated and examined properly in modern circumstances, we might have been able to see if any residues were left on them that could give us a more accurate idea of how they were used.
I'd love to see the bit about the divination spoons but the link appears to be broken. Are you able to help direct me to the video or to provide more information on where I might find it. Than you.
There have been 26 found during the past 200 years and they are all Copper-Alloy (what used to be called Bronze) not gold. The one with the hole would be held in the right hand above the one with the cross and either a viscous liquid or tiny granules would be dripped through the hole onto the cross probably for divination purposes.
Hehe, thanks for the link. It looks like this channel has all the episodes.
ReplyDeleteI suppose that we can use "Druid Spoon Divination" to mean stuff that scholars make up (as opposed to "Druid Bottlecap Divination", which was inspired by one of Erynn Laurie's rants on why people need to cite sources, and referred to what people made up in their basement from whole cloth and called "Celtic").
ReplyDeleteInteresting... Do you have any more information on what those "spoons" might be? Where were they found?
ReplyDeleteI think the spoons might be replicas of these, from the British museum. Made of bronze, found in a peat bog at Crosby Ravensworth, Westmorland, apparently given as offerings.
ReplyDeleteThat page and the link at the side to another one found in the Thames in London has a list of further references; this book here describes the circumstances of the find. Unfortunately it looks like they weren't recovered under archaeological dig conditions.
Actually, it looks like you can buy replicas on etsy...
I agree Faoladh; there's certainly plenty of room for speculation in all of this, but this goes a little too far for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's a shame, because if the spoons had been excavated and examined properly in modern circumstances, we might have been able to see if any residues were left on them that could give us a more accurate idea of how they were used.
I'd love to see the bit about the divination spoons but the link appears to be broken. Are you able to help direct me to the video or to provide more information on where I might find it. Than you.
ReplyDeleteHi Cathy, you should be able to view it at this video. I've jumped to just before the section with Professor Green starts:
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/6iAsdc6egfg?t=2m53s
Hopefully this works!
There have been 26 found during the past 200 years and they are all Copper-Alloy (what used to be called Bronze) not gold. The one with the hole would be held in the right hand above the one with the cross and either a viscous liquid or tiny granules would be dripped through the hole onto the cross probably for divination purposes.
ReplyDelete