Pictish Stone Puzzle

Gamers and interested parties are being asked by Scotland’s national museum to utilise their technical skills to piece together over 3,000 fragments depicting the Cross on a Pictish slab.

The the first of its kind in the archaeological world, project sees participants using a 3D programme developed by a Scottish technology firm to try to solve the mystery of the Hilton of Cadboll Stone.  Experts believe people who play computer games are more adept at manipulating objects on screen.

The stone, which stood on a chapel site in Tain in Easter Ross was carved around 800AD, after the Picts converted to Christianity, in order to celebrate their new religion.  Over time the stone endured a number of accidents, until it was knocked over and broken, and the bottom portion was lost.   It is also believed to have been vandalised more than once during the time of the Reformation in the 16th century.

Excavations of the chapel site uncovered the upright base in the ground and more than 3,000 scattered fragments of the face of a cross. 

The hope is that gamers, and interested parties will be able to piece together the jigsaw to give experts a chance to interpret and decipher the stone’s elaborate symbols and carvings.

Maxwell said: “We need techy-savvy people who have the mindset and understanding of how to work with 3D objects which are a form of virtual reality in space. It’s that puzzle-solving mind we need.”

She said there had been one previous attempt to piece all the fragments together but that it soon became obvious that such a task needed manpower and specialist skills – now possible due to new computer technology.

You can read more of the article at The Scotsman, and take part in solving the puzzle.

If you want to participate in finding the solution, you can do so at the Pictish Puzzle website.

Another Book Giveaway

The Pagan Writers’ Community are giving away another book: "Energy Work" by Robert Bruce.

This step-by-step approach to physical and emotional health shows how to use the body’s energy centers to speed healing.

In Energy Work, Robert Bruce offers a simple, easy-to-learn approach to self-healing based on his breakthrough system of Body Awareness Tactile Imaging energy work. Bruce explains how to use tactile imaging, based on one’s sense of touch rather than visualization, to stimulate the flow of vital energy throughout the body. This is a system that anyone can use, regardless of age, health, or previous experience. Readers learn how to awaken the body’s energy centers and move healing, vital energy throughout the body.

Energy Work offers exercises to:

• Improve immune system function
• Enhance vitality and self-healing ability
• Increase psychic and spiritual abilities
• Develop stronger and more intimate relationships

Bruce provides easy-to-follow illustrations along with a series of exercises that encourage safe, rapid results. This is a valuable guide for anyone seeking to take charge of his or her health.

The winner of this drawing will receive one (1) copy of “Energy Work” by Robert Bruce.

The drawing for this giveaway will occur on Friday, November 25th around noon CST. Entries (comments on this blog post) must be dated before then to be counted.

So, go to the Pagan Writers’ Community website, quickly, to enter.

More Book Giveaways

The Pagan Writers Community are giving away a copy each of two books:

Coventry Magick with Candles, Oil and Herbs by Jacki Smith;

The Herbal Alchemist's Handbook: A Grimoire of Philtres. Elixirs, Oils, Incense, and Formulas for Ritual Use by Karen Harrison;

The Secrets of Dr. Taverner by Dion Fortune; and

Who are you in the Tarot? by Mary K. Greer.

Go to the website of Pagan Writers Community for details. Both giveaways close on 2 December 2011.

"Away with the Fairies" - BBC Broadcast

Dominic Arkwright asks why fairies, once threatening and scary meddlers in human affairs, have become innocent, pink and fluffy.

He’s joined by Irish storyteller Eddie Lenihan, fairy illustrator and writer Faye Durston, and folklorist Juliette Wood. We hear how Eddie successfully campaigned to save an ancient hawthorn near Shannon Airport which was threatened by a new bypass. It was, he argued, the portal to the other world of the fairies of Munster. The tree still stands, though surrounded by cars on three sides.

Listen here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016wx2p

It is available on iPlayer worldwide, but only for the next few days, and a worthwhile listen it is, too.