Category Archives: Documentary
Wauluds Bank
A Dazzling Relic of Luton’s Prehistoric Past
Wauluds Bank: Early Enclosure and ritual Henge Monument
Wauluds Bank is an ancient enclosure that possibly has Mesolithic origins and later became a ritual Henge Monument before becoming a settlement during the Iron Age and during the Romano British period. With some use during the Medieval Period. It is a “D” shaped enclosure with the River Lea making the straight side of the “D” shape. In the past Leagrave Marsh the area to the west of the river would have been largely impenetratable and the fact our ancestors built the enclosure around the source of the Lea probably means that it was a significantly important feature. The name “Lea” may be derived from the name of the Celtic god of light, Lugus.
Surrounding Landscape
There are further features within the Landscape in the Sundon Park playing field to the north as well as a ploughed out Neolithic Long Barrow. The linear features that are seen in the lidar images could be a continuation of the heritage recorded linear features, or they could be something like a Cursus feature.
History
Wauluds Bank is the very beginnings of the town of Luton with the earliest activity perhaps pushing back to 8 to 10 thousand years before present to a time when Britain was still joined to the continent of Europe via Doggerland. The nearby Icknield Way is possibly one of the oldest routeways there is crossing Britain from deep within East Anglia to the heart of Wessex an ancient trading route where our ancestors lived on the higher grounds of the Chiltern and Chalk escarpments. Just two miles to the North West at Linmere 8000 year old Mesolithic Pits have been recently discovered which are nationally significant. There is so much more within the surrounding landscape nearby to Wauluds Bank. There certainly is plenty of Roman evidence with a Pottery Kiln nearby to the Nissen Hut and possibly a large Roman House or Villa situated in front and to the south of the monument.
Other Information
The Marsh Farm House (ex Marsh Farm) is now a Youth Hub containing offices for community groups, Marsh House Recording Studio and Fidel Gastro Social Club. For the last 40 odd years it has been used for youth oriented activities. The Nissen Hut from WW2 was used as rehearsal rooms for bands and as a venue for live punk rock gigs, famously in 1979 Crass, Poison Girls and Luton’s UK Decay performed there to a packed crowd. But was has happened to it today? It seems to be fenced off. Note: the council fenced it off to prevent the danger of vandalism. There is ongoing efforts to get this space back up and running as an education facility. Apparently it was set for funding, the covid lockdowns kicked in and funding was then withdrawn. But work to get this back ontrack is ongoing (thanks Jane G) Music by Nostramus “Rise Up Wauluds” a remix of sorts with samples taken from Nostramus’s 1990s album Earthlights. Samples are from local musicians Curtis, MC 13, and Federal (Prince Malachite) all local to the area.
Conclusion
Wauluds Bank is a fascinating and important archaeological site with a rich history dating back thousands of years. It is clear that the area was inhabited and used by people for a variety of purposes throughout the prehistoric, Roman, and medieval periods. There is still much to learn about Wauluds Bank and its surrounding landscape. Further research and excavation would undoubtedly reveal more about the people who lived and worked in the area, and the role that Wauluds Bank played in their lives.
Finally, Why Dazzling?
Lugh, the Celtic god of light, is often referred to as the “Shining One” because he is associated with the sun and its light. The name “Lea” is thought to be derived from his name, which means that the River Lea is also associated with light. Another possible explanation for the name “Dazzling” is that the monument itself is very impressive and beautiful. It is a large, earthwork enclosure that is surrounded by a ditch and bank. The monument is also located on a hill, which gives it a commanding view of the surrounding landscape. Overall, the name “Dazzling” is a fitting description for Wauluds Bank. It is a monument that is associated with light, both in terms of its location and its potential purpose. It is also a monument that is very impressive and beautiful in its own right.
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Scenery shot by drone in 4k Ultra HD with ambiosonic immersive sound. Best experienced on a large screen with Dolby Atmos.
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The Derry Ormond Tower
Drone Footage of the Derry Ormond Tower and Beautiful Surrounding Landscape nr Lampeter Ceredigion
Built in the early 1800’s by a benefactor businessman Derry Ormond to provide employment for locals during a recession. Sadly today the tower is in a state of dissrepair and is offlimits owing to danger of collapse to the public. The crows and other birds have it to themselves as the tower still stands proud in the magnificent landscape near Lampeter in west Wales.
“The Derry Ormond Tower is a Grade II listed folly situated above Betws Bledrws, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Lampeter in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. It was built in the early nineteenth century as an unemployment relief project”. “The 127-foot-high (38.7 m) tower, which is based on an upturned cannon, was built on common land near Derry Ormond.[6] The pedestal of the column is built of coursed square rubble stone, 8.3 metres (27 ft) high and 4.3 metres (14 ft) wide. The column itself is 31.4 metres (103 ft) high and has a square plinth and a rounded base 3.8 metres (12 ft) in diameter. The column swells in the middle and has a neck ring and a now-eroded band of corbels at its top. Apparently it was surmounted by a viewing platform, but is now covered by slate slabs and consolidated in concrete. The stairway to the top had narrow loops to admit light through the shafts.” Wikipedia.
The music is an interpretation of a waltz in the form of a bollero, a rare piece written by me in the murky noughties. There was something in the mood which to my mind seemed to suit perfectly the forgotton grace of this social and historical icon within the landscape. “The Bollero of Derry Ormond”
Llangrannog – Cilborth Beach, Carreg Bica.
Drone Footage of Llangrannog – Cilborth Beach in the Sun featuring Carreg Bica a Cinematic Shamble.
A short movie of Cinematic 4K footage of spectacular scenery, involving fly rounds and other neat cinematic moves. Not necessarily in this case Hillforts or Cairns, Stone Circles etc but features within the landscape that exude a sense of ‘Genus Loci’ ~ the spirit of place. In other words very special locations that mean things to aeons of humanity and somehow give off a vibe to those sensitive enough to feel it.
Today we are flying down, down from high above from a cliff top path, I had to remind myself not to step backwards here. The tide was halfway which was enough to separate the conjoined beaches of Llangrannog and Cilborth which are joined at low tide. This is one of West Wales most iconic holiday locations, a secret best kept that is not known to many. A gem of a location with a village straddled from high down to the beach with gushing waterfalls. On The headland promontory behind is Lochtyn with an Island that again is joined to the mainland at low tide. The flat top of the headland belies an ancient Hillfort , in my opinion the summit looks flattened by our ancestors and they then built up massive banks and ditches to protect themselves from Sea and land based invaders. It’s some 500 feet above the waves. From here there occasionally can be seen Seals Dolphins and Porpoises and kind of exotic Sea bird life.
Please correct me if I am wrong but as we descend down the cliff in the earlier scenes, we can witness Sand Martins ducking in and out of their nests on the cliff side. The first beaches we visit are empty the tide is coming in and folk are urged to be mindful of the tides as they can get cut off at high tide. There are footprints that betray recent human activity. I guess the New Quay Lifeboat must occasionally get called out here to rescue folk that didn’t make the tide. As we round Cilborth beach where we witness human and canine activity, there is a rock formation called ‘Carreg Bica’ which has connotations with a local legend.
“The rock is the source of a legend that says that a giant once suffered from toothache and ripped out the offending tooth and tossed it on the ground. The rock is said to be the result of the tooth, calcified over the ages. “
The soundtrack is ‘Transversal’ by Nostramus which is an early shorter mix before the arrival of the great horned god ~ Pan, of a EP released named “Pan ~ Transversal” recently by Nostramus at Bandcamp https://nostramus.bandcamp.com/track/…
New Youtube Channel!
On this channel I will be sharing some of the fantastic hidden gems that inhabit one of the remotest and least populated areas of all England and Wales. I will be using my DJI Mini 2 UAV orv ‘drone’ to reveal fabulous birds eye views of some of these ancient kingdoms historical and mythical Hillforts, Cairns, Stone Circles, Chambered Tombs, Standing Stones and other ancient artefacts.
The DJI Mini 2 is a fantastic beginners drone, there are plenty other channels that explain how it works, the remit of this channel is to get out there and get some wonderful footage. For me, the Mini 2 is a cinematic eye in the sky with the ability to record crystal sharp images and 4k video footage. I have been developing my drone flying and cinematographic techniques, it’s one thing to fly high and take pictures but it is another to entice, add drama and expectation, to tantalize, to thrill with a beautifully cinematic drone footage, revealing hidden Hillforts in all their glory.
All music by Steve Spon and Nostramus.
DJI Mini 2 Drone Cinematic footage of Teifi Valley Hillforts Part One Caer Gwytheryn
Welcome to “Dronescaping “Ynys Prydein” for those of you who are not familiar this translates from old British or Welsh into English as “The Isle of Britain” PILOT MINISERIES Part One : “Caer Gwytheryn” Hillfort WA2192 This is a pilot two part series, looking at three Iron Age Hillforts overlooking The Teifi Valley in Wales. This is part one of my series pilot investigating and revealing private, hidden and secret Iron Age Hillforts, most yet to be investigated by Archaeologists. Not much is known about these forts, communities and settlements , there is no doubt our ancestors in this part of the world utilized high promontories, atop deep cwms (narrow coombes or valleys) to either protect themselves or to show off to their neighbours or other would be adversary’s.
We are set in the kingdoms of West Wales, Ceredigion, Carmarthen, Pembrokeshire all counties in the former kingdom of Dyfed in Cymru in Ynys Prydien. Or sometimes this is spelt Prydian. There are literally hundreds of these hillforts scattered around this part of the world. Many are lost, sometimes they crumble into the Sea or sometimes they simply get ploughed out and forgotten. These are where the ancestors of these lands once lived, in this rugged and Atlantic affected part of the world where the ancient mountains, once high and sharp have been eroded by the eons and ground down by the glaciers, to form a rugged terrain of solid hills reaching up to 350 metres, with deep gullies or cwms to quickly dispose of the water dumped by the Atlantic Ocean. Farmers have mostly tamed the land today and Cows and Sheep are what provides for the current look of the landscape, but you are never far from a bit of rough ‘Gors’ (Marshland)or Waun (Moorland)
This is the land of the Welsh Annals of Arthur, Merlin and as written in the ‘Mabinogion’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabinogion Some of these Castells, Caers or Dinas are mentioned in the tales of the Welsh Annals and one such is “Craig Gwrtheyrn” situated on a dominating strategic outcrop, high above the Afon Teifi (River Teifi). This castell or fort was formerly know as “Caer Gwrtheyrn” (Vortigerns Castle) and written about by 9th century scholar Nennius quoting Saint Germinus.
The quote is read out in this video by Ella Jo , the performance is delivered in appropriate and usual dexterity adding to the mystical and mythical atmosphere as we peacefully drift over sheep chomping like there is no tomorrow, blissfully unaware of the human history , both mythical and real just meters below their feet.
DJI Mini 2 Drone Cinematic footage of Teifi Valley Hillforts Part Two Hen Castell and Pen Coed Foel
#DJI Mini 2, #Cinematic Footage, #Ancient Landscapes, #Arial Photography
Welcome to “Dronescaping “Ynys Prydein” for those of you who are not familiar this translates from old British or Welsh into English as “The Isle of Britain”
PILOT MINISERIES Part Two : “Hen Castell” Hillfort WA2193 and “Pen Coed Y Foel Camp” Hillfort WA2302
This is a pilot two part series, looking at three Iron Age Hillforts overlooking The Teifi Valley in Wales.
This is part two of my series pilot investigating and revealing private, hidden and secret Iron Age Hillforts, most yet to be investigated by Archaeologists.
Not much is known about these forts, communities and settlements , there is no doubt our ancestors in this part of the world utilized high promontories, atop deep cwms (narrow coombes or valleys) to either protect themselves or to show off to their neighbors or other would be adversary’s.
We are set in the kingdoms of West Wales, Ceredigion, Carmarthen, Pembrokeshire all counties in the former kingdom of Dyfed in Cymru in Ynys Prydien. Or sometimes this is spelt Prydian. There are literally hundreds of these hillforts scattered around this part of the world. Many are lost, sometimes they crumble into the Sea or sometimes they simply get ploughed out and forgotten. These are where the ancestors of these lands once lived, in this rugged and Atlantic affected part of the world where the ancient mountains, once high and sharp have been eroded by the eons and ground down by the glaciers, to form a rugged terrain of solid hills reaching up to 350 metres, with deep gullies or cwms to quickly dispose of the water dumped by the Atlantic Ocean. Farmers have mostly tamed the land today and Cows and Sheep are what provides for the current look of the landscape, but you are never far from a bit of rough ‘Gors’ (Marshland)or Waun (Moorland)
This is the land of the Welsh Annals of Arthur, Merlin and as written in the ‘Mabinogion’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabinogion Some of these Castells, Caers or Dinas are mentioned in the tales of the Welsh Annals and one such is “Craig Gwrtheyrn” situated on a dominating strategic outcrop, high above the Afon Teifi (River Teifi), we focused on this on part one . This episode focusses firstly on ‘Hen Castell’ in Carmarthen which rises on a promontory overlooking the Afon or River Teifi across from Llandysul which is on the Ceredigion side.’ Hen’ in Welsh means old so could be the early settlement predating Llandysul. It is interestingly opposite the ‘old’ church dedicated to the Welsh Saint Tysul who was related to the Welsh Patron Saint St David. There is no dating evidence for this Castell. It is situated on a promontory, jutting into the would be straight course of the River an it is about 80 to 100 feet higher than the surrounding topography, today it is forgotten by humans and is grazed by Horses and Sheep. Pen Coed Y Foel Camp is situated a mile to the north on a large dome shaped hill rising high above the Teifi as it rounds a bend. It has a flat top and is crowned by two solitary trees which distinguishes it for those with a trained eye within the surrounding landscape.
On the foot of the hill which I missed on the production of this two part-er, is another small fortress and a solitary standing stone. There have been artifacts found on Pen Coed Foel which places the dating around the classic La Tene stage pottery period (500 to 1BC~) The period more commonly known as The Iron Age. All three Hillforts visited are within a mile or two of each other and dare I say must have been related to one another in some way. It is said that in the time of the post Roman period with incursions from the Anglo Saxons in the East and with from the west from the Irish, The Picts and a plethora of other Mediterranean privateers, that the former Romanized Britons (Prydeins)~ once again refortified these hillforts and formed new mini kingdoms in a time of transition culminating in remembered history merging mythological and Christian meanderings to create the fabulous tales of the Mabinogion, put to pen many years later.
Adding to the mystical and mythical atmosphere, we peacefully drift over sheep chomping like there is no tomorrow, blissfully unaware of the human history , both mythical and real just meters below their feet.
The link to the Atlas of Hillforts https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/ “Hen Castell” Hillfort WA2193 and “Pen Coed Y Foel Camp” Hillfort WA2302 , Craig Gwytheryn” Hillfort WA2192
“On this channel I will be sharing some of the fantastic hidden gems that inhabit one of the remotest and least populated areas of all England and Wales. I will be using my DJI Mini 2 drone to reveal fabulous birds eye views of some of these ancient Kingdoms historical and mythical Hillforts, Cairns, Stone Circles, Chambered Tombs, Standing Stones and other ancient artefacts.”
All music by Steve Spon.
Witches And Halloween :
Find out more about witches and what they mean.
Of Late I have taken to creating Youtube Movies, utilising my audio and music productions with film.
Steve Spon
Reckless Relic Halloween Podcast.
THIS VIDEO IS A MUST FOR HALLOWEEN!
Why are Witches associated with Halloween?
Ancient and pagan wisdom from the heart and soul In this podcast Ella Jo from Reckless Relic talks about Halloween during the time of Covid and how deeper meanings can be learned.
Spoken Covering perspectives from folklore and lessons we can learn from our own times, content is distinctively spooky for mature viewing.
Produced by Diamond Seeds Media, featuring adaptive sound sculpture by Steve Spon for Nostramus. Spon’s musical presentation here finds him at his hellish best! Spon is a member of UK Decay famous for their early gothic sound and in particular the Black Cat EPO and The early gothic noire “Werewolf” on the Rising From The Dread EP. Spon is in good form at the moment , he is using his covid time to create fantastic sounds and video. Please check back for further Lockdown presentations.
Witches Halloween T Shirts are on sale all year round at…. https://recklessrelic.com/
Scythian Art
A Reckless Relic film, giving a brief history and some examples of Scythian art.
A warm welcome and thanks for visiting my media website.
Of Late I have taken to creating Youtube Movies, utilising my audio and music productions with film.
Steve Spon
A Reckless Relic film, giving a brief history and some examples of Scythian art. Surviving relics portray a fascinating culture that had no writing, but produced extraordinary art. Note – pictures are for illustration and not necessarily linked to any specific examples being discussed in the film, unless otherwise stated. Also, this film features mummies and human remains that may not be suitable for the young or the squeamish. Written and narrated by Ella Jo, produced and filmed by Diamond Seeds Media with music by Steve Spon’s Nostramus. Scythian Article Transcript: https://recklessrelic.com/cleaning-up…
Look out for our Reckless Relic Scythian T Shirt Design : https://recklessrelic.com/