Introduction
In this post we continue the time travel series. We have landed in the Iron Age village of Glastonbury Lake Village, and have been welcomed by the leader of the village. Being practical and prepared, we have learned a few words and phrases so we are able to converse with our hosts. We have informed them we are only here to visit for the day. Our hosts have made us welcomed and are starting to show us about the village. You can read about our arrival here.
Come with us for the further exploration of a visit to the Glastonbury Lake Village.
Preparations for an important festival
We seem to have landed at Glastonbury Lake Village right at the beginning of an important festival. Our host tells it is a harvest festival, and that they are preparing for a large feast and celebration. It marks the first harvest of the season—the first cutting of grain. The grain was not grown at the village itself. But in the countryside in the area around the village, grain was grown, and the Glastonbury Lake Village wanted to join in the celebrations. Our host explained that emmer and spelt were two kinds of grain that were grown in the area, and for which the villagers which to offer their thanks and gratitude in the harvest celebrations.
Our host explains that the festival is Lughnasadh, a harvest festival that also commemorates that god Lugh. He notes that it is a widespread and popular celebration. The Glastonbury Lake Village community feels keen to join in.
Cosmology of the villagers
As we walk through the village, it is apparent that the world view and spirituality of the villagers is deeply embedded in all that they do. Although there is a special celebration being observed,they do not limit the expression of their spirituality to only formal celebrations and occassions.
The celebration is not only a chance to revel in the first cutting of grain and a wish for a successful harvest, but a chance to have sports and games.
Our host explains that Lugh, the god, is a smith .
Supernatural smiths
We know from our preparation for this visit that smiths occupy a special place in many spiritual belief systems. Many gods are gifted with the powers and the knowledge of the smith. The ability to change rock into a useable metal is seen as a special, divine power. We think about Wayland’s Smithy and the legends associated with it. These have much to tell us about the supernatural powers and reverence attached to smithing.
We make a note that in our time travels we will want to visit Wayland’s Smith and its surrounding landscape when the opportunity arises.
And so to give a special honour to us, visiting on this day, we are offered a chance to visit the village smith.
At the heart of the Iron age
Our host assures us that after the visit to the smith and his forge, we will get the chance to take part in the Lughnasadh celebrations. Indeed, we are to be honoured as special guests, arriving as we are for a visit for one day only on this particular day.
Visiting the bloomery
In the way to see the smith and his forge, we are first taken to a place that our host tells us is a most important one in the making of iron. This is where the magic begins, he tells us. It is a bloomery, and it is where smelting occurs. Smelting is the process of extracting the iron from the rock in which it is found. In this instance, a rock known as iron ore is being used in the smelting process.
The bloomery is on the edge of the village. It has nothing to do with flowers, and we joke among ourselves that we are not quite sure what to expect to see. The bloomery indeed is a deceptively ordinary looking structure. It is a clay squat structure that looks something like a pizza oven that might be found in some 21st century eateries.
Iron ore is heated in the structure. It is this process that frees the iron content from the rocks. We watch in open mouthed wonder as we are shown the process by which the iron ore rock is heated and transformed
Once the iron ore has reached the desired form, it then goes to the smith and his forge to work on.
Being EarthWise in the Iron Age
Already the brief visit to the village reveals specific insights into what it means to be EarthWise in this Iron Age. The act of retrieving iron from rock through a smelting process is a very specific way of being EarthWise. It is perhaps one that in the modern world we take for granted or simply do not think about. But in a very practical sense, the act of smelting is very EarthWise. Retrieving molten material from specific kinds of rocks, and THEN being able to utilize that molten material to form useful iron utensils, tools and weapons is indeed an act of being EarthWise.
It might not be what we associate with being EarthWise in the modern era. But a closer look shows it has a spiritual as well as a practical function. Not only that, the knowledge to identify iron ore rock and process it from smelting to smithing requires precise knowledge and skill that are certainly EarthWise in their nature.
And in keeping with the observation we learned about before setting off on this visit we can see how closely intertwined the spiritual and the practical are in the worldview of the villagers, when we consider smithing and the making of iron. In this way, learning more about the smelting of iron and its being formed into useful tools, utensils and weapons by the smith offers us an indepth and unique feature of time travelling. It is a snapshot of these values, and how they are lived. Being offered this glimpse is one of the real benefits of our time travelling adventures–something more easily understood by being experienced.
Conclusion
The next place we are headed is to the smith and his forge, where we will continue to learn about the art, magic, and skill of turning rock into iron. We will watch the smith at work. Then, we will take part in the harvest celebration and festival. All of this is part of our time travel journey and adventure, and all of this teaches us more about the rich experiences in becoming EarthWise.