Sites, sacredness, and stories: Interactions of archaeology and contemporary Paganism

Folklore has, until very recently, been at the fringes of archaeological research. Post-processual archaeology has promoted plurality in interpretation, however, and archaeology more widely is required to make itself relevant to contemporary society; so, contemporary folkloric practices vis-à-vis archaeological remains are once again receiving attention. In this paper we examine contemporary Pagan understandings of and engagements with ‘sacred sites’ in England. Specifically, we explore how Pagan meanings are inscribed and constituted, how they draw on 'traditional' understandings of sites and landscapes, and instances in which they challenge or reify the 'preservation ethic' of heritage management. From active interactions with sites, such as votive offerings and instances of fire and graffiti damage, to unconventional (contrasted with academic) interpretations of sites involving wights and spirit beings, Neolithic shamans, or goddesses, there are diverse areas of contest. We argue archaeology must not reject Pagan and other folklores as 'fringe', but, in an era of community archaeology, transparency and collaboration, respond to them, preferably dialogically.</p

Sacred, secular, or sacrilegious? prehistoric sites, pagans and the Sacred Sites project in Britain

This paper explores issues and tensions developing within today's Britain around prehistoric 'sacred sites' and their appropriation by a wide range of interested or concerned groups. In examining and theorising competing constructions of 'sacredness' and its inscription today, we will draw on examples from well-known and less well-know British prehistoric places, to illustrate how claims and appropriations emerge from spiritual and political processes, and to question how places are themselves agents in the demarcation of their own sacredness. We focus on contemporary pagans as ‘new-indigenes’ and their engagements with the past and performances of spirituality on the stage of the heritage of Britain, as examined in our ‘Sacred Sites, Contested Rites/Rights Project’ (www.sacredsites.or.uk), now in its fifth year. From the deposition of votive offerings at West Kennet long barrow and long-running disputes over access to Stonehenge as a ‘sacred site’, to the display of ritual paraphernalia derived from archaeological contexts (a Thor’s hammer pendant, for instance), pagans perform their worldviews and engage with heritage in diverse ways. Pagan re-enchantment of the past not only re-places heritage, myth, artefacts, ‘cultures’ in/out of time, highlighting (im)permanence as a linking theme in our analysis, but also disrupts the fixed and unchanging ‘past’ imposed onto heritage by much heritage discourse – challenging the permanent to yield, bend and accommodate.</p

Sacred sites, contested rites/rights: contemporary pagan engagements with the past

Our Sacred Sites, Contested Rites/Rights project (www.sacredsites.org.uk) examines physical, spiritual and interpretative engagements of today’s Pagans with sacred sites, theorises ‘sacredness’, and explores the implications of pagan engagements with sites for heritage management and archaeology more generally, in terms of ‘preservation ethic’ vis a vis active engagement. In this paper, we explore ways in which ‘sacred sites’ --- both the term and the sites --- are negotiated by different interest groups, foregrounding our locations, as an archaeologist/art historian (Wallis) and anthropologist (Blain), and active pagan engagers with sites. Examples of pagan actions at such sites, including at Avebury and Stonehenge, demonstrate not only that their engagements with sacred sites are diverse and that identities --- such as that of ‘new indigenes’ --- arising therefrom are complex, but also that heritage management has not entirely neglected the issues: in addition to managed open access solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, a climate of inclusivity and multivocality has resulted in fruitful negotiations at the Rollright Stones.</p

Studies of high latitude current systems using MAGSAT vector data

The magnetic disturbance fields caused by global external current systems are considered with particular emphasis on improving the understanding of the physical processes which control high latitude current systems. Following processing the MAGSAT data were routinely plotted in the Universal Time (UT) format as well as in a polar plot format. The H'D'U' coordinate system, was adopted as the standard for representing the MAGSAT residual magnetic field vectors. A data file was generated and the TPOLAR computer code was developed to determine from the orbital elements, the time, latitude, and MLT of the extremum latitude of each transpolar segment of orbit. The precision of the vector data set from MAGSAT prompted an extended exploratory phase for data analysis procedures, modeling techniques and phenomenology

Studies of high latitude current systems using Magsat vector data

Disturbance fields caused by global external current systems are analyzed in order to gain an improved understanding of the phydical processes which control high latitude current systems and to increase the confidence level in the identification of internal field levels. The basic approach is to: (1) categorize the vector data by those physical parameters important for investigation of external current systems; (2) map the disturbances for appropriate conditions; (3) model the currents which might cause the mapped disturbances; and (4) correlate results with data from other sources. It is concluded that the Magsat data set appears to have remarkably high precision and quality and should permit major advances to be made in modeling current distribution at high latitudes in the ionosphere and magnetosphere

Probing the reactivity of a 2,2′-bipyridyl-3,3′-bis-imine ligand by X-ray crystallography

The reactivity of a Schiff-base bis-imine ligand 3 is probed by X-ray diffraction studies. Its susceptibility to hydrolysis, oxidation and nucleophilic addition reactions is demonstrated by the isolation of the methanol adduct 4 and two diazapene heterocycles 5 and 6. This reactivity is also reflected in the molecular structures of two coordination complexes isolated by the reaction of 3 with MIJhfac)2 salts, to afford [Cu(5)-(hfac)(tfa)] (8) and [Zn(6)(hfac)2] (9)

Rotational predissociation of extremely weakly bound atom-molecule complexes produced by Feshbach resonance association

We study the rotational predissociation of atom - molecule complexes with very small binding energy. Such complexes can be produced by Feshbach resonance association of ultracold molecules with ultracold atoms. Numerical calculations of the predissociation lifetimes based on the computation of the energy dependence of the scattering matrix elements become inaccurate when the binding energy is smaller than the energy width of the predissociating state. We derive expressions that represent accurately the predissociation lifetimes in terms of the real and imaginary parts of the scattering length and effective range for molecules in an excited rotational state. Our results show that the predissociation lifetimes are the longest when the binding energy is positive, i.e. when the predissociating state is just above the excited state threshold.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

Electrical Control of Dynamic Spin Splitting Induced by Exchange Interaction as Revealed by Time Resolved Kerr Rotation in a Degenerate Spin-Polarized Electron Gas

The manipulation of spin degree of freedom have been demonstrated in spin polarized electron plasma in a heterostructure by using exchange-interaction induced dynamic spin splitting rather than the Rashba and Dresselhaus types, as revealed by time resolved Kerr rotation. The measured spin splitting increases from 0.256meV to 0.559meV as the bias varies from -0.3V to -0.6V. Both the sign switch of Kerr signal and the phase reversal of Larmor precessions have been observed with biases, which all fit into the framework of exchange-interaction-induced spin splitting. The electrical control of it may provide a new effective scheme for manipulating spin-selected transport in spin FET-like devices.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures ; added some discussion

The food safety impact of salt and sodium reduction initiatives

Excessive or high salt or sodium intake is known to cause hypertension and other diseases. Within the United Kingdom voluntary targets for salt reduction have been set and laid out in the Secretary of State responsibility deal. This review considers the options available to food manufacturers to enable them to reduce salt and the potential food safety risks associated with those options. Gaps in research and knowledge within the areas of information supplied to food manufacturers, alternative solutions for salt replacement and the food safety impact of salt reduction are discussed

Narrow-line magneto-optical cooling and trapping of strongly magnetic atoms

Laser cooling on weak transitions is a useful technique for reaching ultracold temperatures in atoms with multiple valence electrons. However, for strongly magnetic atoms a conventional narrow-line magneto-optical trap (MOT) is destabilized by competition between optical and magnetic forces. We overcome this difficulty in Er by developing an unusual narrow-line MOT that balances optical and magnetic forces using laser light tuned to the blue side of a narrow (8 kHz) transition. The trap population is spin-polarized with temperatures reaching below 2 microkelvin. Our results constitute an alternative method for laser cooling on weak transitions, applicable to rare-earth-metal and metastable alkaline earth elements.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. 4 pages, 5 figure