posted by sooyup
on
Daily trivia
I think it would be nice to see a naked Emma as a sacrificial virgin on the altar-stone at the centre of this miniature Stonehenge, but it will have to be a collage. Not every stone circle in Wales dates back to prehistoric times, by the way. In fact by now the majority do not. This one, for example, can be dated precisely to August, 1948. Every year, a festival and celebration of Welsh culture known as the National Eisteddfod takes place. The location of the Eisteddfod alternates between North and South Wales. The year before it arrives, a stone circle is erected in the designated town (unless it already has one) and the Archdruid invites all the Welsh Bards to assemble there in a year and a day. It’s surprising how many visitors think that these circles date back to antiquity. The fact is that the Eisteddfod and all its neo-Druidic trappings is a relatively modern invention, inaugurated by the eccentric scholar (and literary con-artist) Iolo Margannwg in 1819, and not established on a firm footing until 1860 - which is not to deny that there was an ancient tradition of poetic competitions before then.
I think it would be nice to see a naked Emma as a sacrificial virgin on the altar-stone at the centre of this miniature Stonehenge, but it will have to be a collage. Not every stone circle in Wales dates back to prehistoric times, by the way. In fact by now the majority do not. This one, for example, can be dated precisely to August, 1948. Every year, a festival and celebration of Welsh culture known as the National Eisteddfod takes place. The location of the Eisteddfod alternates between North and South Wales. The year before it arrives, a stone circle is erected in the designated town (unless it already has one) and the Archdruid invites all the Welsh Bards to assemble there in a year and a day. It’s surprising how many visitors think that these circles date back to antiquity. The fact is that the Eisteddfod and all its neo-Druidic trappings is a relatively modern invention, inaugurated by the eccentric scholar (and literary con-artist) Iolo Margannwg in 1819, and not established on a firm footing until 1860 - which is not to deny that there was an ancient tradition of poetic competitions before then. 
