M.J. Rose

I bet you haven’t heard of the Senegambian stone circles.

So, what are they?

The Senegambian Stone Circles are various stone circles that are spread over thousands of miles in both Senegal and the Gambia.

It seems that every continent has its ancient secrets. No one is sure exactly how old these things are…

Senegambian stone circles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“The stones were erected around the eighth century on top of earlier graves. The ten to twenty-four stones in each circle vary in size up to ten-ton stones, from 1 to 2.5 metres high and are generally of laterite. The stones mark burials and were erected before the twelfth century. There are around 1,000 stone circles, the biggest concentration being more than 1,000 stones in fifty-two circles at Djalloumbéré and those around the village of Wassu, which has a museum devoted to them. One notable circle is actually a V formation. Traditionally, for unknown reasons, people leave small rocks on the stones. The use to which the stones were put is not clear but recent excavation work (2006), reported by the National Geographic Society, suggests a funerary purpose given the large number of human remains found at the sites. Archaeologists at the site are pursuing the theory that different parts of a body were buried at different sites and at different times…” (The rest is here.)

For more info on these mysterious circles, click here.

What was it like before we had single serving receptacles at our disposal as simple as the common paper cup? Such objects are taken for granted to the point where they seem invisible, and yet the significance of such objects is legion…

The Unnatural History of the Dixie Cup

If only it were possible to step into a time machine and land ourselves in the the Curtain theatre (or the Globe itself!) with a mug of ale and a raucous tale for the evening…

Museum unearths pre-Globe Shakespeare theatre in London 

BY PHILIP BAILLIE, REUTERS JUNE 7, 2012

Archeologists in London have discovered the remains of an early playhouse used by William Shakespeare’s company where Romeo and Juliet and Henry V were first performed.

Predating the riverside Globe, the Curtain theatre, north of the river Thames in Shoreditch, was home to Shakespeare’s company – the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.

Remains of walls forming the gallery and the yard within the venue have been discovered by archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA).

“This is a fantastic site which gives us unique insight into early Shakespearean theatres,”…

Read more here.