Did the Romans invade Britain because they wanted to destroy the Druidic religion, the focus of Celtic religious and cultural resistance?
The extermination of the druids, as well as the great number of other soothsayers and herbalists, cannot be separated from the larger process of Romanization, in which older facets of Celtic culture were gradually abandoned to integrate the new peoples into the Greco-Roman sphere.
The Roman fort is believed to have had the name Nemetostatio, meaning "The road-station of the sacred groves", and may have been located on the site of an ancient druidic sanctuary. It covered an area of roughly 600 ft (185m) east-west by 390 ft (120m), and was located adjoining the Roman road between Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) and Okehampton.
Nemetostatio - 'The Outpost of the Sacred Grove(s)' The place-name seems to be an amalgamation of the Celtic word Nemeton 'sacred grove' and the Latin word Stationis 'road-station, outpost'. It would appear that the Romans built the Nanstallon fort close-by or perhaps directly upon the site of an ancient druidic sanctuary, and hoped by their presence to suppress the native Celtic religion, together with its reputed practice of human sacrifice.
... for many Stonehenge is a cornucopia of earth energy and has a whole network of ley lines running through which connect it to the plethora of ancient wonders that surround it in Wiltshire and beyond. For example, one such ley line connects Stonehenge, Old Sarum, Salisbury Cathedral and Clearbury Ring. Although the churches were not built at the same time, the ley lines suggest, some would say, that intense earth energies were always present in these positions – causing later societies to build their monuments there.
Old Sarum lies on one of the earliest recognised examples of leylines as determined by Sir N. Lockyer. It is connected to both Salisbury and Stonehenge, both sacred places on the Wiltshire landscape.
Sir Norman Lockyer - (1836-1920) - Lockyer made the first 'professional' observation of geometry in the lay-out of the ancient landscape. He realised that a geometric connection existed between Stonehenge, Grovely (Grove-ley) castle and Old Sarum. The three form an equilateral triangle with sides 6 miles long. (See Above)
Lockyer pioneered the field of archaeo-astronomy, and spent some a time in Egypt, where he investigated the alignments and orientations of many ancient structures. He was able to combine his astronomical knowledge with observations at certain temples, and produce dates that he confirmed through examples of temples with re-aligned axis. His researches led him to conclude dates of 4,000 BC for early dynastic structures (3).
Out of necessity and intent, the use of online learning apps surged during the pandemic. For ESL students and educators, that growth will likely continue.
Earlier in the year, Liz Granirer wrote on which countries were attractive for English language students:
According to the Emerging Futures research by IDP, an Australia-based leader in global education services, the most popular countries for international study are Canada, the USA and, sharing third place, the UK and Australia.
The reasons for these rankings are as follows: Canada is number one (with 26% of respondents giving it as their first choice) due to its post-study work policies and welfare. While the USA (which attracted 20% of respondents) and the UK (with 19% of respondents) were both perceived as offering the best education, the UK isn’t perceived as offering employment opportunities to its international graduates, particularly among Indian students.
“The results of this comprehensive research are clear,” says Simon Emmett, CEO of IDP Connect. “For competing destinations to remain competitive they must deliver a positive experience and positive outcomes for students, whilst improving the ways in which they communicate this with future students.”
The Russian parliament has passed a pair of bills ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the country. Tuesday’s move formalised the broken ties between Russia and the Council of Europe, the continent’s foremost human rights body.
Ministers are planning legislation to end the requirement of UK courts to follow human rights rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, making clear that the UK Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial decision maker. Under the bill, UK courts would not always have to follow case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) based in Strasbourg. The bill contains measures to strengthen free speech. It would also make it easier to deport foreign criminals by restricting their right to appeal using human rights arguments.
The ECHR is a Strasbourg-based human rights court that deals with compliance with the European convention on human rights. It can deliver legally binding judgments when the human rights of any person under the power of any of its member states are violated – including right to life, prohibition of torture, right to privacy and others. The court is not connected to the European Union, and after Brexit, the UK remains a member. The court usually deals with violations that happen on the territory of the member state, but with exceptions. Deportation is one such exception – the court can prevent deportation of a person who is under the risk of being tortured in the receiving country. This is a well-established principle of human rights law.
Here's an interesting case just brought before the court:
Six young activists and two environmental organisations are asking the European Court of Human Rights to secure their rights in the face of climate change by ceasing all new licences for exploration of oil and gas issued by the Norwegian State.
The convention was adopted within the context of the Council of Europe, and all of its 46 member states are contracting parties to the convention. Russia, having been expelled from the Council of Europe as of 16 March 2022,[2] ceases to be a party to the convention with effect from 16 September 2022 in accordance with article 58. Until then, the court has declared it "remains competent to deal with applications directed against the Russian Federation in relation to acts or omissions" occurring until that date.[3]
Some years ago, there was a very unusual exhibition at a gallery in London:
Parrots speak lost rainforest tongue
Artist revives the language of a vanished tribe after 2000 years
Only three brains in the world can understand the language of the Maypure people, and two of them belong to parrots.
This week visitors to London's Serpentine Gallery will be able to hear Maypure spoken for, as far as anyone knows, the first time in Britain - albeit in a limited way, as parrots tend to have a limited vocabulary.
It sounds like an enchanted story, made up to capture the attention of linguistics enthusiasts around the world, but it's all true. The story we are about to tell has as its protagonist a rainforest parrot and his heroic quest that led him to "resurrect" an extinct language.
Everything began in the 18th century, when geographer and naturalist Von Humboldt set out for an exploration of South America. During his mission, Von Humboldt had the responsibility to collect as many samples and data as possible about different aspects of that corner of the world: climate, territory, culture and tribes with which he tried to communicate thanks to his knowledge, albeit basic, of Spanish.
Everything was going well and Von Humboldt was thrilled by the amount of information he had been able to collect, so he thought that his mission had exceeded expectations and could not have gone better. Until one day, in the middle of the jungle, he met a talking parrot.
At that time, while exploring a land that we all know today as Venezuela, he stayed as a guest in the village of a local tribe. This tribe owned many parrots that were raised and trained as pets, yet, that talking parrot in front of him expressed himself in a completely different language than the one that his fellow parrots had been taught.
