Day 33: Tackling the British Museum

Today Ethan and I spent our entire day at the British Museum.  In the morning I made a list of galleries I wanted to see.  The list was 44 galleries long.  Not exactly realistic, but I separated out the rooms that may contain research related items and we headed to the museum.  Five hours later and 1,220 pictures later, we headed out.  I had only seen a fraction of the things I had wanted to and it had been an exhausting day of fighting through crowds, but also a wonderful and exciting day.

As I took so many photos, it was impossible to go through them all before this post so I decided to do my highlights from the Roman Britain gallery.

Below is a rare gold body-chain from the Hoxne Hoard.  The Hoxne Hoard is a collection of 15,000 coins and precious pieces of jewelry and other items found in Hoxne, Suffolk.  The body-chain centers around an amethyst, with garnet decoration and what is believed to have been pearl decorations as well.

This 4th century wall painting with Christian imagery comes from a Roman villa in Lullingstone, Kent.  Shown here is a large ΧΡ, or chi-rho, symbol, which represent Jesus Christ with the first two letters of Christ in Greek.  There is also an alpha and omega, an appellation of Jesus in the Book of Revelation.  Other painted walls from the villa depict early Christian priests preaching and giving benediction.

This head of Jupiter would have had much more decoration in Roman times.  Where there seems to be a seem or an indented band would have been a separate wreath or diadem.  The eyes would have been filled with enamel to give a more lifelike appearance to the king of gods.

I'm surprised in such coin based societies, I haven't seen more piggy banks.  An example was found in England though, with a simple pot cut for coins to be put in and a few coins still inside.

This is thought to be the earliest depiction of Jesus Christ in Britain.  The mosaic was found in a complex at a villa in Hinton St. Mary, Dorset.  The images shown in the larger mosaics were not just Christian, but pull from Greek mythology as well.  The mosaics in the front room show Bellerophon fighting the Chimera, while the depictions around Jesus resemble the four wind gods.  However, it is theorized that the figures around Jesus are actually depicting four of the apostles and were executed by an artist unaware of the symbolism.  Either way it shows Christianity being depicted in mosaic in Britain by the mid-4th century CE.

Hercules was a popularly depicted deity in Britain.  The one below was found near Hadrian's Wall and may have been commissioned by soldiers.  If the sculpture was complete it would depict Hercules with a bow, shooting down the Stymphalian birds.

I've been really fascinated by any sort of everyday items I've come across, especially perishable ones like textiles or this bucket binding.  Made of twisted willow, this binding would have held oak pieces together to form a bucket.  It was thought to be used for a well.

The Ribchester Helmet was found in 1796 by a clog-maker's son as part of the Ribchester Hoard.  The hoard contained military paraphernalia, including pieces from cavalry sporting events, or hippika gymnasia.  The helmet below would have been used in such events and is a wonderful decorative piece.  The figures depicted show infantrymen and cavalrymen fighting.

This iron ingot, known as a pig, was found in Hints Common, Straffordshire, but originated from lead mines in north-eastern Wales (indicated by the DECEANG).  An inscription on top of the ingot declares it the property of emperor, Vespasian.

These two gold fibulae show how the upper echelons designed their brooches.  They follow the traditional crossbow design, but are done in higher quality gold.  Both date from the 4th century.

This collection of silver snake rings comes from a jeweler's hoard found in Norfolk and dating from the mid-2nd century CE.  The rings show how certain popular styles of jewelry were being mass produced in Roman Britain.  They jeweler also had a similar collection of gem-set rings and even more gems cut and ready to be put into new rings.  Other items included tools for carving and finishing jewelry and older silver coins that were being used as scrap metal.

This is a very early example of a letterhead.  The 2nd or 3rd century wooden writing tablet from London has the official stamp of the imperial procurators in Britain.  These officials represented the imperial interests in the province, including tax management and government expenditure.

Possibly the most exciting thing I saw all day was a selection of the Vidolanda Tablets.  The tablets, originating from a Roman fort just south of Hadrian's Wall, contain discussions of military matters, personal messages, communications between families, and other bits and pieces of everyday life in the northern most parts of Roman Britain.  The tablet is a letter between brothers discussing business ventures.  There's a theory that the author was left-handed.

I saw probably thousands of other objects today and it wasn't enough.  I ensured to go to all my research related rooms today, but missed many other sections that I wanted to see.  I'm headed back to the British Museum to explore more tomorrow while Ethan does some research at Lambeth Palace.  I think tomorrow still won't be enough, but at some point I'll be come oversaturated with their amazing collection!

Fun Fact #33: Before the discovery of the Vindolanda Tablets scholars were not sure how the Romans in Britain referred to native peoples.  The tablets give Brittunculi, meaning little Britons, as a derogatory and patronizing term for native peoples.  However, this may have been particular to the Romans in the northern part of Britain or for the tribes in the northern area.

Day 23: Venturing Out of the City

This morning Ethan and I both had our separate plans: Ethan was headed to the abbey for Mass and I was going to be busy finally doing my laundry.  However, when our hotel owner heard my plans for the morning, he insisted that I borrow their laundry machine.  I can't describe how thankful I was.  I haven't had clean clothes in such a long time.

Ethan had already headed to church and there was no chance I could catch up or make it to the service.  I decided to wander around Bath while I waited for Ethan.  As I was coming to Pulteney Bridge, I noticed a fake window painted on one of the buildings.  It's below a faded advertisement for a bookstore.  I liked the artificial view of a man enjoying his books as part of the ad.

I found a staircase down to the river walk along the Avon.  The path gave beautiful views of the weir. If any have seen the 2012 film version of Les Miserables, the weir makes an appearance in the scene of Javert's death.

The Pulteney Bridge was inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.  I immediately noticed the similarities and think both are beautiful for different reasons.  The Ponte Vecchio looks a bit more haphazard but has amazing history and beautiful stores.  The Pulteney Bridge has a more random collection of shops, but the facade is well designed and gorgeous.  Both fantastic bridges!

Just off the river walk is a small meditation maze.  The maze was put in during the 1970s and has beautiful mosaic work in the center.  The main image is of the "Gorgon" from the Roman temple complex (neither Ethan nor I think it is depicting a Gorgon; it seems more like the depiction of a river deity).  Running through the image is a golden thread (they call it Ariadne's thread, referencing the thread the Cretan princess gave to Theseus to help fight the minotaur), which adds a second maze...for your eyes!  The images surrounding the central portrait are from Roman myth, including the Orpheus and Proserpina.

I headed back over the river and waited for service to end in the abbey.  As I stood outside the building, I noticed many details I hadn't seen before.  There were scrolls on the towers, a flock of angels surrounding a saint, and two depictions of Jacob's ladder.  They run up each tower, showing angels climbing up to heaven.

Once Ethan came out of service, we decided to head out of the city center and head to the Prior Park Landscape Garden.  The park was about a mile outside of the city center and up a pretty large hill.  We weren't sure what we were headed to see and were a bit disappointed that we had to pay to enter, but after the walk, we weren't turning back empty-handed.

Prior Park was the estate of a wealthy local businessman, Ralph Allen, in the 18th century.  He had mad a great deal of money reforming the British postal system and then again in quarrying the local Bath stone.  He decided to build a beautiful, Palladian manor house as an advertisement for the wonders of Bath stone.  Now the manor house is a private school.

The house sits at the top of a small valley looking over the city of Bath.  The center of the valley is empty of trees, creating a grassy field down towards the most notable feature of the landscape garden, the Palladian bridge.  The rest of the park is covered with trees, a mixture of mostly elms, oaks, and various evergreens.

We made our way down the valley and to the Palladian bridge.  This bridge, a copy of the Palladian bridge at Wilton House in Wiltshire, is one of four surviving Palladian bridges in the world.  Three of the bridges are in the United Kingdom and one is in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The bridge was built in the 1750s and soon attracted vandals.  The first piece of graffiti on the bridge dates from 1799, although Ethan and I did not find it.  The earliest carving we found was from 1809.  Though I can't and won't condone this sort of damage to beautiful architecture, it is interesting how graffiti becomes a little piece of history.  This is constantly relevant in the study of classics (i.e. the graffiti found in cities like Pompeii).  I'm not sure what we can read into the graffiti found on the bridge, but there may be something there.  It was interesting even just to see how much more detailed and more deeply carved the older inscriptions were.  They looked like they had been chiseled in.

Fun Fact #23: Ralph Allen had a pretty prolific career in the 18th century.  At the age of 19 he was named Postmaster General of Bath.  Thirty years later, he became the mayor of Bath.  He then served as a representative in Parliament for Bath.  He also helped put Bath on the map with his quarrying of Bath stone, the stone that came to define the city.  This honey colored rock is found in Prior Park, Bath Abbey, The Circus, the Royal Crescent, and many other beautiful buildings in Bath.

Day 21: Reuniting with Ethan

Today was all about travel and reuniting.  I left my hotel in Cardiff after a lovely stay and headed to the train station.  I had misread and thought I was aiming to be on a train at 11:00, but it was actually at 11:30.  This was no problem, as I knew I would beat Ethan to Bath.  But I was excited to hear that he had landed safely and we texted as he made it through immigration, to Paddington Station, and on the train to Bath.

At around 1:30 we were finally back together in Bath, after a long month apart.  We headed to our hotel, which is on a quite residential street a few blocks away from the historic center of Bath.  We took a short break before venturing back out to find some food.

We headed towards the center, where the cathedral is visible from most every street.  The cathedral was closed for the day, as it was being used for some graduation events for the University of Bath.  I think this is for the best, allowing us to visit the cathedral when we are both better rested.

Just next door to the cathedral are the Roman baths, which I cannot wait to see.  I got a few peaks of the building surrounding the Roman site and it is gorgeous.  I'm very excited to see how the baths are preserved in this 19th century center.  I think it will be a fascinating mixture of Roman ruins and Victorian re-imagination of the past. 

As we had missed lunch, we decided to go for a proper afternoon tea.  We shared a pot of Earl Grey tea and many delicious treats.  These included scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, a lemon meringue tart, a lemon poppyseed cake, a strawberry and cream tart, a brownie, and an assortment of finger sandwiches.

Even though we were both quite hungry, we couldn't finish the tray of delights.  It was a lovely way to spend an hour or so, though.  We were right in the middle of Bath and were able to catch up over good food and good tea.

We wandered around the center a bit more, stumbling upon some odd sights.  A man, some sort of street performer, was putting pigeons on to people.  Both Ethan and I were extremely confused by this.  Why would you want pigeons on you?  Doesn't that just seem like a recipe to be covered in bird poop?  And why would you trust this man to put crazy birds on you?  Just so many questions.

We walked by the Victoria Art Gallery,  an art museum dedicated to Queen Victoria in honor of her diamond jubilee.  The museum is known for its collection of British oil paintings from the 17th century to present.  We may stop in and see them for ourselves in the coming days!

We then headed back to our hotel, exploring Henrietta Park on the way back to our hotel.  I had noticed the ruins of a chapel from our hotel window so we crossed the street and went to St. Mary's Churchyard.  The churchyard dates from the 1800s as a parish church and graveyard.  The graveyard quickly filled to capacity and the parish church was torn down and a new church, St. John's, was built.  A mortuary chapel, used for funerals and baptisms, was built in the churchyard, but also fell out of activity.

The site was left in neglect for many years, and only really begun to be preserved in the early 2000s.  Now it is a quiet place to walk through.  They have put out little signs of graves that are of interest, although Ethan and I didn't understand the significance of any of these.  The on pictured labeled a slab of stone as "A mystery!"  I think they might have been stretching at some points.

We had another little break in the hotel (Ethan took an accidental nap) before heading out to dinner.  After investigating some of Bath's culinary scene, we settled on an Italian restaurant just off the Pulteney Bridge.  I feel like maybe I shouldn't have taken Ethan to an Italian restaurant on his first night in England, but too late now!  Now, we're back in the hotel, getting ready for bed.  Have to say I'm awfully impressed Ethan is still up at 11:20 pm!  Time for sleep now though!

Fun Fact #21: Bath has been known for it's natural hot springs for over 2,000 years.  The hot springs were used both as curative and religious places by native peoples, utilized by the Roman invaders, and by basically all those who have lived in Bath.  The spa had a major heyday in the Georgian era, influencing the design and architecture of the city.  Today, you can still have a relaxing day in the baths, but sadly not the Roman ones.

Day 19: Turning to the Sylvan Wye

Today I went on tour of some amazing sites outside of Cardiff.  When doing research for this trip, my mother stumbled upon a company called See Wales Tours that runs trips from Cardiff, including one title Romans and Ruins.  The itinerary was a visit to the Roman amphitheater, baths, and museum in Caerleon, the Roman town in Caerwent, Tintern Abbey in Wye Valley, and Raglan Castle.

I met the group outside the National Museum Cardiff at 9:00 and we were soon heading out of Cardiff.  Our first stop was the the amphitheater at Caerleon.  Unlike the two other amphitheaters I've seen on this trip, the whole circumference of the Caerleon theater is excavated.  This made it a really striking sight.  The ground level is about twelve to fifteen feet higher than in Roman times, so though the theater looks very low today, it would have been a very imposing fixture on the banks of the River Usk.  

One of the amphitheater's main features was a shrine to Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution.  There was a very similar shrine in the amphitheater at Chester, as Nemesis was closely connected to gladiatorial competitions.  The amphitheater at Caerleon is slightly smaller than the one in Chester, seating around 6,000 people.

From the amphitheater, we headed to the bath complex.  The complex was much larger than what is shown today.  Today, platforms take you around the full extent of the natatio (an open air swimming pool), part of the apodyteria (warmed changing rooms), and a small portion of the frigidarium (the cold room).

The lightly in the museum hosting the bath remains was not particularly conducive to photography, so I haven't included any photos.  That being said, the lighting did some very cool effects.  A project played videos of swimmers doing laps in the natatio, accompanied with the sounds of splashing and cannonballs, and red light played over the hypocaust that would have heated the apodyteria.  It was a sort of lovely effect, breathing some life into the ruins.  I think it's especially great with the large number of school trips we saw visiting the site.

The museum at Caerleon had a lot of great items, but I was surprised that it might not have been quite as extensive as the museum in Newport.  Still, I got see lovely collections of local and imported pottery, large inscribed stones, coins from throughout the occupation of Britain, and, of course, Roman military paraphernalia.

Caerleon was home to a Roman fort, built by the Legio II Augusta.  The first fort was built around the mid-70s CE and was occupied until the Legio II Augusta left Britain in around 290 CE.  Evidence left behind by the army included spearheads, like the bronze one seen above, arrow heads, a helmet, axe heads, and everything else needed to wage war and house an army.  It was also nice to see some artifacts from the Roman cavalry, which are not very commonly seen in Britain.  These artifacts probably came from a cavalry attachment to the legion.  One piece that they had seems to have been a nailed on horse shoe, but I've heard conflicting stories about when these were invented and came into use.  I'll have to investigate more!

The museum also had plenty of artifacts from the everyday life in a Roman town.  A great detail the exhibit included was a model of a Roman loaf of bread.  It's wonderful because it shows how Roman bakers marketed themselves.  With a stamp bearing his name, the baker imprinted the loaves of bread, so every bite reminded the buyer who had baked the delicious bread and maybe tipped off a few passersby as well!

The museum had a fair number of Roman inscriptions, ranging from commemorations of temple renovation to funerary markers for Roman veterans.  Now I have to feel bad for Julia Senica (maybe Seneca) and whomever paid for her tombstone to be engraved.  I don't think they did a very good job.  But it probably suggests that Julia Senica was from a rather poor family who could not afford one of the better engravers, and instead ended up with something that looks like my handwriting.

To my disappointment, we missed the barracks in Caerleon and headed out.  This disappointment continued as our next destination was announced as Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley, rather than Caerwent, the other Roman site I was planning on visiting.  But I had planned an extra day in the Cardiff area if something like this occurred, and I was soon distracted by the beauty of the Wye Valley.

I think I quite literally lost my breath when I first saw Tintern Abbey from the van.  Huge, open stone arches in the middle of the beautiful valley landscape.  I was struck by the immense scale of the ruins and the haunting skeleton of the buildings.

Wandering through the abbey, I was pretty overwhelmed; I wanted to capture everything, but almost didn't know how to start.  Though the ruins are extensive, the most beautiful portion (in my opinion, and I suspect many others) is the ruined church.  The building in ruins today dates from the 13th century, although the abbey was founded in the 12th century.

Tintern Abbey was home to Cistercian Monks, who are also known as White Monks because of the color of their cucculas, robes worn over a habit.  Cistercians, like most monks it seems, rejected opulence and lived austere lives, so they did not dye their robes, leaving them the off-white color of a sheep.  Our tour guide, Adrian, did have a great point though: how could you live in such a magnificent, beautiful place, and not find it opulent?

Responding to a request from my mother, I had Adrian and some fellow travelers take photos of me throughout the day.

Like almost all abbeys and monasteries in the British Isles, the Dissolution destroyed any chance of Tintern's survival.  The abbeys valuables were sent to the crown, the about and monks were paid and sent off, and the lead from the abbey roof was sold, leading to the quick demise of the buildings.  Over the centuries, the abbey lay vacant and was slowly reused to building homes and farms around the area.

Tintern Abbey has inspired a great deal of amazing art, from painting to poetry.  J.M.W. Turner painted the ruins in 1795 and writers, such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Allen Ginsberg were inspired by visits.  Perhaps most notably, and the inspiration of this post's title, was William Wordsworth's poem "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey."  I recommend rereading it, as it is a beautiful, classic English Romantic poem.

Also, if, for any reason, you are traveling to Wales, make sure you go to Tintern Abbey.  I can't express, and I don't think my photos can either, how beautiful and fascinating it was.

After having lunch at the Tintern Abbey Mill Craft Center, we headed out of the Wye Valley and towards Raglan Castle.  Raglan Castle is one of the youngest castles in Wales, being built in the mid-1400s.  The castle has a wonderful main gateway, called the White Gate.  It would have been a dominating sight from throughout the countryside.

I've also been struck by the Welsh countryside throughout my trip.  It often reminds me of the Tuscan hills, especially the farmland around Raglan Castle.  I feel like this view from a window in the castle could easily be looking at the Italian countryside.

There is also a Norman style motte and keep built next to the castle.  Apparently I was feeling a bit masochistic, and decided to climb to the top of the keep.  It gave great views of the main castle and the countryside.  I have lots of great facts about the castle, but to be completely honest I'm too tired right now decide which to share.  So ask me another time!

After our Raglan Castle, we made our way back to Cardiff, fighting through some traffic, but getting back to Cardiff Castle in about forty-five minutes.  I then had a quiet evening, dominated by processing and editing my 500+ photos from the day!  A pretty amazing day, especially for one of my final ones in Wales!

Fun Fact #19: Did you know that both garderobes and wardrobes are derived from medieval toilets?  A garderobe was a small hole, providing an exit for detritus from the castle.  This detritus included human waste, as castle residents would go to the bathroom by these holes and then it would be washed out.  Now, you would be very right to ask how clothes got combined with toilets.  Folks in medieval times theorized that the garderobes smelled so badly that it would pretty much scare off anything.  So, if they hung there clothes near the garderobes, all the fleas and lice that bothered them would scurry out of their garments.  I wonder how this worked.  It seems like all the smell might just attract more bugs...  Either way, I'm sure we're all very happy that garderobes and wardrobes are sonly for clothes now!

Day 18: Getting a Cuppa

Today my plan was to explore more of Cardiff center and visit the National Museum Cardiff.  I walked into the center of the city and headed over the civic areas.

The 194 foot clock tower of City Hall looks out over the whole city center.  Each clock face on the tower is 12 feet in diameter.

I had heard that there was a beautiful hall, open to the public in the City Hall so I went in to investigate.  I had to fight my way through a sea of Cardiff graduates and their families.  It seemed that the building was used to pick up caps, gowns, and hoods (and then later dropping them off).  It is also gorgeous, inside and out, so everyone wanted to take a picture next to some marble fixture.  I went up to the second floor and into the Marble Hall.  Here there are statues of famous figures from Welsh history.  The first one I walked up to happened to be the only woman, and the one that would interest me the most.  The statue depicts Boudica, a British tribal leader who lead a successful revolt against the Romans in 60 or 61 CE.  Although not actually Welsh, she is a representative of the British spirit and independence.

The National Museum is right next-door to City Hall, so I went in, hoping to find some Roman artifacts from around Wales.  Instead, I found a single piece of Roman art, which I understood to be from Rome herself.  That being said the Jenkins Vase is a gorgeous piece, depicting the story of Paris and Helen.  Other figures on the vase include Muses, like Polyhymnia show in thought above.

Though disappointed by the lack of research related pieces in the museum, I wandered through the other exhibits.  The museum has a great collection of art from around Europe, but with a lovely focus on Welsh and Welsh-inspired art.  A large portion of the museum is dedicated to Welsh ceramic arts.

It was very fun for me to see artistic depictions of some of the places I've been since coming to Wales.  Unsurprisingly, Caernarfon Castle is an extremely popular subject.  Can't say I saw that sort of Tuscan sky over the Castle while I was there though.  Other highlights to see were a depiction of South Stack on Holy Island and a view of the entrance of Cardiff Bay in the 1800s.

The art collection spans all eras of art since the 16th century, including French Impressionism.  I was excited to see La Parisienne by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  It's such a beautiful painting, depicting French actress Henriette Henriot.  I was surprised to see it Wales, having no idea I would find such a famous French painting here!

The other portion of the National Museum is dedicated to natural history.  I (perhaps sadly) have much less patience for exhibits about rocks, minerals, and animals.  I think it has something to do with the language being designed to be accessible for young children.  I strolled rather quickly through the exhibits, just stopping to more closely examining things that caught my eye, like this beautiful piece of malachite.

This picture is mostly for my boyfriend, who adores foxes.  But they are truly beautiful animals and it was great to be able to see one in detail, especially since it could not run away!

Another image I had to include was this photo of an aye-aye's hand.  If you've never seen (or don't remember) what an aye-aye looks like, go Google it now.  The long middle fingers of this lemur are specially adapted for reaching into tunnels dug by bugs in trees and pulling out the insects.  Pretty terrifying, if you ask me.

After the museum visit, I explored the parish church of St. John the Baptist and then decided to have my first afternoon tea since coming to the U.K.  I went to Pettigrew Tea Rooms, a spot I had heard on a Buzzfeed list titled "16 Places All Tea Lovers Must Visit Before They Die."  I didn't get the full afternoon tea (which is quite a lot of food), but instead went for a classic cream tea.  This provided me with a lovely lavender tea, two schools, strawberry preserve, and clotted cream.  I was joined at my table by a French woman, who I assume now lives in Wales, and her Welsh friend, as the place had very limited seating.  We shared pleasant small talk about my research and travels and their experiences traveling Wales and abroad.

After finishing my tea, and waiting for a light rain to stop, I headed back to my hotel to have a relaxing evening.

Fun Fact #18: According to my tour on the sightseeing bus, the National Museum Cardiff has the largest collection of Impressionist (maybe French Impressionist) art outside of Paris, with works by Renoir, Monet, Manet, Rodin, Cezanne, Morisot, Degas, and others.