#Dolmen Gate

[thenwothm]

Festival incoming! Helicon Metal Festival V

Date: March 21-22, 2025Time: Starting at 17:00 each dayVenue: Odessa Club, Kolejowa 8/10, Warsaw, PolandTickets: Purchase Now Prepare for an earth-shaking weekend as 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗢𝗡 𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟 V storms back to Warsaw! The 5th edition of Poland’s most electrifying underground traditional heavy metal festival promises two days of unparalleled power, passion, and pure metal. Gather with 300 die-hard…

[mysteriis-moon666]

DOLMEN GATE - Gateways of Eternity

Forgé à partir des braises de Ravensire à partir de Nuno (basse) et Alex (batterie), DOLMEN GATE s'est formé en 2021 avec l’apport des twin guitares de Kiko et Artur (guitare solo) et du chant envoûtant d'Ana. Ce premier album complet dispose de 9 titres qui s'épanouissent d’incandescents, mélodiques et accrocheurs.

Une guitare acoustique introduit le portail à pénétrer dans le monde fantastique de Dolmen Gate, puis le heavy metal épique fait fondre le récit mystique dans la fonderie de Birmingham du Sabbat Noir. La force motrice narrative se trouve propulser par un riffing dense et profond que la partie rythmique saupoudre de ce feu intense mid-tempo. Le bassiste fait un excellent travail en fournissant un travail mélodique et une densité de basse profonde. Les mélodies sont épiques et hantées par d’étranges royaumes d’obscurité qui caractérise les véritables légendes de triomphe et tragédie de ce Heavy Metal mystique et épique, avec comme filiation Manilla Road, Omen, Wishbone Ash, Iron Griffin.

Le mois d’octobre étale ses spores dans une mousse automnale de douceur mélancolique, ce disque aussi. Le chant d’ana est entre la sainte prophétie vocale de Jessica Toth (Jex Thoth) et Christine Davis (Christian Mistress), en une armure lustrée avec du velours.

« Gateways of Eternity » via No Remorse Records,a été enregistré aux Imperial Studios en mai 2023, produit par Dolmen Gate et Paulo 'Paulão' Vieira qui a enregistré, mixé et masterisé.

No hipster bullshit, franchissez la porte du dolmen et pénétrez la puissance du songwriting Heavy Metal éternel.

[altamontpt]

Massacre Metal Fest || Á-dos-Loucos: Metal up your ears!

Estamos no ano 4 depois de Corona. Todo o Planeta está ocupado por festivais mainstream patrocinados por megamarcas … Todo? Não! Várias aldeias povoadas por irredutíveis melómanos resistem ainda e sempre ao invasor. Felizmente, Á-dos-Loucos é mais uma delas e recebeu, pela oitava vez, o Massacre Metal Fest, organizado pela banda Speedemon e pela UDCA Adoslouquense.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Estamos no ano 4 depois de Corona. Todo o Planeta está ocupado por festivais mainstream patrocinados por megamarcas … Todo? Não! Várias aldeias povoadas por irredutíveis melómanos resistem ainda e sempre ao invasor. Felizmente, Á-dos-Loucos é mais uma delas e recebeu, pela oitava vez, o Massacre Metal Fest, organizado pela banda Speedemon e pela UDCA…

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Reference: 5 Symbols

for your next poem/story (pt. 4)

CROW’S FOOT

The crow’s foot is also known as the Witch’s Foot, and was feared as an indicator of death, used in casting spells against enemies.

Crows, like ravens, were associated with the witches and warlocks who were believed to be able to transform themselves into these black birds so that they could travel unnoticed to their sabbats.

The name “crow’s feet” is also given to the lines that radiate around the outer corners of the eyes with the coming of age and the inevitable approach of death.

CRUX DISSIMULATA

In 3rd century Rome, early Christians were persecuted to such a degree that their lives were threatened and the symbols of their faith had to be disguised.

One of the ways they recognized one another was by the sign of the fish or ichthus; another way was to disguise the Cross cleverly as something else.

The meaning of Crux Dissimulata is “disguised” or “dissimilar” cross.

One of the more ingenious forms of this secret symbol, shown here, was the anchor. The top of the anchor is formed like a cross and, in addition, the anchor is plainly a symbol of stability. Because anchors are associated with the sea, too, the fish symbol could easily be incorporated into it.

The Crux Dissimulata was used as a secret symbol and a rallying call for adherents to the new and dangerous faith.

CRYSTAL BALL

Combining the sphere’s perfection and totality with the clarity and brilliance of crystal, the crystal ball is a part of the toolkit of the professional clairvoyant or seer.

The clarity of the crystal matches the “clear sight” of the psychic.

When used for scrying, the crystal ball acts as a focus for meditation, enabling the adept to access a place that is out of time in order to be able to see into the future.

This practice of scrying is carried out in various ways:

Instead of an expensive crystal, cheaper methods are apparently just as effective for the talented psychic.

A bowl of water, a mirror, a drop of blood, or a pool of ink can be used.

However, the glamor of the genuine crystal ball is hard to beat.

DOORWAY

The simple doorway—an everyday object that goes unnoticed most of the time—is symbolic of a transition between one world and the next.

Such a doorway may take different forms, as a dolmen, a torii, a gateway, but the meaning remains the same.

In C. S. Lewis’s Narnia novels, the wardrobe into which the children step to enter the magical world of Narnia is a good example of this symbol.

Both Heaven and Hell lie beyond gates or doorways, and the threshold of such a place is seen as the place where two worlds meet and sometimes collide.

Many rituals involve the initiate stepping through a doorway of some kind.

The vesica piscis represents a doorway where the world of spirit enters the world of matter.

DREAMCATCHER

The forerunner of the Dreamcatcher was a Native American spider’s web of feathers and beads, a simple little charm made from a small hoop of flexible wood, such as willow, with an interlacement of plant fibers designed to look like a cobweb.

Used particularly as a protection for babies and small children.

Hung over their cradles and beds, it was thought to entrap any negative spirits that came in the form of nightmares.

These malevolent entities, entangled in the web, were sizzled in the heat from the rising Sun.

The spider’s-web shape gave homage to Asibikaasi, the mythical Spider Woman, whose magical webs could catch anything.

The elaborate Dreamcatchers of today, an essential part of the kit for any self-respecting New Ager, were invented in the 1960s and ’70s as part of the resurgence in Native American culture and belief.

Source ⚜ More: On Symbols

[pigeonwitchery]

"This is the first public appearance the Psijic has made in some time, and true to the nature of the order, his chosen outfit comes with both a proper aldmeri adherence to theme, and a warning. The chain, tattered garb, Anchor, and Dolmen gate do well to pay omage to the planemeld crisis of the 2nd era that the Altmer played a pivitol role in ending, with the red staining on the front of his gown symbolising the heart that was torn from him when he was sacrificed to molag bal.

Overall, the outfit serves as a dramatic reminder that, though the daedric princes are a subject of fascination and awe, that their schemes often have terrifying impact on the lives and souls of mortals who never asked to be involved in their plots. In conversation with Sondwyn, he noted that the names embroidered on the train of the gown are those of people he met while imprisoned in Molag Bal's realm of coldharbor- many of which remain trapped there still."

So I love Met gala dresses with some kind of message, so I just had to make one for my Vestige, Sondwyn. As much as he would Hate this outfit, I'd imagine the message of caution and remembrance intended with it would be one that he'd approve of.

[Image ID: Image shows a blonde high elf wearing a tattered gown and cloth bandages. Through holes in the cloth, one can see glowing psijic tattoos, and on the train of the gown, one can see names embroidered, though they are not legible. The front of the gown is bloodstained surrounding the elf's heart, and around the altmer's neck and wrists are dark shackles with glowing runes, with chains connecting them. Around the elf's head is a glowing blue portal surrounded by iron, and in his hand is an anchor to that portal. He is wearing dark makeup around his eyes that seems to run as if he'd been weeping, and white glitter along his cheeks and lips to give the appearance of being paler or more lifeless than he is at present. End ID]

[thepythakorean]

parallels between the boy and the heron and this painting, plus general analysis

Arnold Bocklin, Island of the Dead. 1880

i want to preface this by saying i am by no means an art history nerd, i just happen to know some stuff about the background of this painting in particular.

as soon as mahito is sucked into the tower floor he is standing at the shore of an island surrounded by an endless ocean. he is dwarfed by a large set of golden gates that say something like "those who seek my knowledge shall perish" and an even taller forest of cypress trees. these features all frame a white dolmen (primitive tomb usually made of giant rocks stacked like below) that beckons to him.

this scene immediately struck me since it has so many of the visual elements of the painting. mahito is even framed in the foreground to be so very small approaching these giant, daunting structures just like the boat heading for the island in the painting. besides the tombs, the cypress trees are also traditionally associated with mourning and death at least in europe/the mediterranean. other ghibli movies have lavish european aesthetics tied to characters (howl, yubaba, etc.) but it feels particularly intimate here given that mahito's great granduncle, the creator and ruler of this world, is apparently european and can only pass on his role to a direct descendant. (btw not saying the gaudy european decor signature of howl and yubaba aren't important to their characterization, it def is! i'm just saying it stood out to me in this movie especially.) the cliffs full of stone entrance passageways are prominent later in the movie as himi takes mahito through the parakeet's domain, and interestingly, in the delivery room where natsuko is, there is another dolmen behind her (can't find pics since the movie hasn't been uploaded yet urgh).

the backstory to the painting continues to parallel to the events of the story! so there's 5 versions of this painting. the first three versions were painted in a cemetery close to bocklin's residence which was also full of white headstones and sculptures, and cypress trees. one of his infant children, one of many children he lost, was buried there. the one i posted above is the first/second-- while bocklin was working on the first, a the soon-to-be wife of a politician visited his studio, saw the wip, and commissioned her own version with the added white figure and coffin to commemorate her first husband who had just died of diphtheria. already somewhat similar to how mahito's mother died in the hospital fire (well. she died from the fire but presumably she was there because she was sick) and when his father shortly remarried. these were also added to the initial wip and stuck in later versions of the painting. bocklin later wrote to her, "you will be able to dream yourself into the world of dark shadows". the movie is also very dreamlike-- it's a fantasy world filled with strange creatures, alternate versions of people he knows, and passages that seem to alter the fabric of time and space. people also seem to forget about it as soon as they leave even after spending long periods of time in it like a dream. the painting is also very dreamlike, but why? the warm lighting, maybe not in the version i posted but in a couple others, may explain it, but the island itself resembles the curtains and stage of a theater (referencing the audio clip below the description). even if it doesn't look EXACTLY like that to you, it's definitely a too-perfect little scene in a nebulous expanse of space. this theatrical quality is also shown in the movie by the parakeet uprising side plot as well as the scene when himi and mahito collapse in front of the delivery room-- the curtain falls directly in front of the viewer over them as though a stageplay just ended. oh and a friend mentioned to me how this is a classic hero's journey plot and mirrors orpheus in the underworld. island of the dead has also directly inspired NUMEROUS other works of art, including other paintings, stage productions, and symphonic poems. apparently the painting was so popular many people in berlin hung prints of it in their homes (i do too)! as i stated above though, a lot of the visual elements in the painting were already traditional symbols relating to death so i don't want to 100% conclude that miyazaki was directly inspired by this painting, he may have just also resonated with those symbols independent of bocklin which i still think is awesome.

the first time we see himi also reminded me of the painting. she's wearing a white dress and standing at the bow of a small wooden boat, and though her intentions are to save the warawara from the pelicans, she inevitably kills some of them too. visually and thematically she's like the white figure at the front of the rowboat in the painting. she acts as a guide for mahito (analogous to the rower? he traveled to this world of his own volition but needed a guide) for a good part of the movie and is a collage of life and death. she is a younger but kind of omniscient version of his dead mother; she's known all along she is mahito's mother but is about to be born into the world by the end of the movie and accepts her fate happily. she can control fire which envelops her like how she died in the real world, but is harmless to the touch unless she directs it as a weapon, and as we see with the warawara and pelicans it helps creation but also destroys much like fire's role in the natural world. natsuko, though a separate person from himi, is still connected as a sibling, and we see her wandering into the forest at the beginning of the movie while wearing white like himi, back turned to mahito, and that is what prompts him to first enter the tower. the strange nature of her character that doesn't adhere to a proper time or space parallels the way the white figure completely stands out in the painting, at least the ones with darker lighting. another crazy parallel surrounding fire and wwii between the painting and the movie is that the fourth version of this painting was destroyed during wwii due to bombing, again like how mahito's mother's hospital was presumably set on fire by bombing during the war.

the looming effects of war alluded to throughout the movie eventually tie into its resolution, when mahito accepts his new family that he initially rejected, his own imperfect being, and the fact that one must seek out love to be happy in this bitch of a world. his great granduncle is confused as to why mahito wouldn't want to recreate his own world like him. why would you want to return to the world that killed your mother and rejects you as a person? the world that forces your people to die in war and will eventually drop the deadliest weapon mankind has ever seen even a century from now onto your home? you can make everything perfect here! he's created something of a "paradise" himself, full of lush tropical plants, parakeets, and strange insects (some of them looked like the bugs from nausicaa, another fantastical world of lush nature which is also threatened by war. interesting), almost like a garden of eden, and it so happens to be at the very top of the tower. funnily enough, bocklin also painted this several years later:

Arnold Bocklin, Island of Life. 1888

i don't know much about this one so idk if it's an explicit companion piece to the island of the dead but it certainly looks like it. the similarities are now less apparent to the movie if there are any, it's much less lush but there are exotic plants and uh birds and stuff. this is definitely more likely a case of shared inspiration from the symbols themselves rather than movie directly looking at the painting. anyway clearly the promise of a perfect paradise isn't real, as this is interrupted by a war of his own unwitting creation, the uprising of the parakeets he wanted to breed in a paradise that literally bring about the end of the world. no world will ever be perfect when left long enough to its own devices. life finds a way! plus, this world was created through so much death (the construction workers in hazardous conditions, the way the tower keeps spiriting people away. btw in the english sub mahito's dad calls the whole ordeal a "disappearance" but he says "kamikakushi" in japanese which means "hidden by god" in reference to people who mysteriously disappeared as if from supernatural circumstances and yes that's the word they used in the japanese title of spirited away!!!) and is on the verge of collapsing from reality every three days just because of some building blocks?? the real world may be on fire but it'll go out/burn less badly someday, and at least it won't completely disappear in a snap, not in an easily imagined timescale for a human anyway. it's up to you to make the best of it, and this is what mahito decides. there are also visual allusions to other ghibli movies about the constantly present threat or consequences of war. the only other landmark aside from the island mahito lands on is a line of ships which kiriko later tells him are all fake. it immediately reminded me of the stream of planes in porco rosso which were the souls of dead fighter pilots moving on. the shadow people in the swamp were also reminiscent of those in the train in spirited away, which are never explained to my knowledge but the given that spirited away's characters are largely spirits and the way souls are so similarly designed in this movie makes me feel that they were also souls of people in spirited away.

through this imagined otherworld, there is also the blurring of lines between life and death, reality and imagination. himi plus her dyad with natsuko (they're sisters AND they look exactly the same AND both are mother figures to mahito) are great examples of this. mahito's mother is gone, he knew this and set foot into the world anyway. he rejected natsuko as his new mother but in going through the struggles of the tower he comes to accept familial love for her and even keeps confusing "natsuko" and "mom" while reaching out to her in the delivery room. a family is made up of different people but inevitably you will see each other in each person. in the delivery room scene we see the paper hanging from the ceiling lash out to attack and stick to mahito like tape, it even leaves red marks on him. this is one of the best scenes in the movie to me because of its visual contrast to him rushing to save his mother in the fire. in the fire scene, the real world around him is blurred and distorted and at times so is mahito and especially his mother. the fire doesn't seem to burn him or his clothes (i could be remembering that wrong tho) and the scene cuts off before it shows him possibly going in further. in the delivery room, everything is drawn with clean lineart, no stylization. there is no mistaking the reality of this situation even though this world is conjured, the dawning realization upon mahito that this person is his mother is so visceral that he actively fights through the paper literally snapping its jaws and natsuko spitting her hatred towards him. when mahito is ready to leave the tower, himi leaves through a separate door to be born as his mother sometime in the past though she is not a warawara and knows what has happened/will happen, an exception that further demonstrates the nonlinear nature of time and space in the movie.

after coming out of the tower, the heron tells mahito he should forget everything that happened in there. even his grandmother seemed to have forgotten the whole year she spent in there (it seems like tower time reflects irl time judging by the events of the movie). anything that comes out doesn't just disappear, it transforms into a real-life counterpart as we saw with the pelicans leaving as they were (presumably minus the ability to speak) and the parakeets going from big bloodthirsty things to regular parakeets. so mahito can't just forget, especially because he comes out changed from his experiences in there, not just himself personally but also his changed relationships with natsuko and the heron, and also his little souvenirs. then the movie abruptly ends with mahito narrating that they left for tokyo again shortly after the war ended. i like to think that this was a hopeful ending where mahito maintained that character development and was able to welcome natsuko and his new sibling into his family while being able to seek more friends and family in the future. i've seen other analyses talking about how this movie was semi-autobiographical for miyazaki and i can see it, how events early in his life shaped his personality and how he had to fight to find beauty in a world that otherwise treated him poorly, so i'm glad he ended the movie on that note, although in less words. pretty similar to how spirited away ended, although there was arguably more loss involved, but still hopeful, and that's what i find so powerful about this movie. and like this movie, spirited away involves a dyad between yubaba and zeniba as a device for the hardships and beauty of life, how they're not so discreet at times. as a last kindasorta tie-in to bocklin's work, i'll point again to the island of life which was created after the island of the dead, plus a composition directly inspired by the island of the dead, a symphonic poem with the same title written by sergei rachmaninoff. the last time i listened to this was in high school and it's like. 20 minutes long so i'm too impatient to give it a relisten now but from my vague recollection plus some quick searches it's a very somber piece that escalates into emotional climaxes yet still contains warmer tones, and goes back to the same "rowing" motif at the end. it weaves together evocations of life and death in one piece, also illustrating how the two really are so closely connected.

tl;dr, this was me the entire movie because miyazaki SEEMS to be heavily inspired by this one symbolist painting i happen to like a lot:

also also here's a self portrait of bocklin:

yes, all of his paintings are that cool.

[lostinhistory]

Heritage News of the Week

Discoveries!

In one of the most significant discoveries related to Ancient Greek literature over the past half century, archaeologists have uncovered around 100 lines from two otherwise lost plays by the 5th-century B.C.E. playwright Euripides.

Unique Iron & Viking-Age mortuary houses found in Norway

While building a road in the village of Vinjeøra in central Norway, three ancient mortuary houses dating back to the Iron and Viking Ages were discovered.

Ancient submerged bridge in Spain reveals that humans inhabited Mediterranean island nearly 6,000 years ago

After analyzing a submerged bridge found in a Spanish cave, researchers have determined that humans inhabited the area earlier than previously thought.

Bronze ship’s ram recovered near Sicily

An ancient Roman relic from the almost 2,300-year-old naval battle in which Rome defeated its archenemy Carthage has been recovered from waters off western Sicily

Humans were living near West Papua at least 55,000 years ago, study finds

For the first time, new research provides direct evidence that seafarers travelled along the equator to reach islands off the coast of West Papua more than 50 millennia ago.

Maya palace dedicated to the “Stinking One” unearthed near Balamkú

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have unearthed a palace complex associated with the Maya city of Balamkú.

Builders of massive 6000-year-old Menga dolmen likely understood geometry and other “early science” concepts

The results, which were released in the journal Science Advances, suggest that the Menga dolmen builders in southern Spain had more sophisticated engineering knowledge than was previously thought.

Door guardian sculpture discovered at Angkor Archaeological Park

A sandstone door guardian statue, or Dvarapala, has been uncovered near the second gate at the Banteay Prei temple in northwestern Cambodia’s Angkor Archaeological Park by researchers from the Apsara National Authority (ANA).

Detectorist finds 2,500-year-old unique bronze brooch

A metal detectorist uncovered three artifacts, including a massive fibula, i.e. a bronze brooch dating back 2,500 years, while searching a site near the village of Śniatycze in the Lublin Voivodeship in south-eastern Poland.

Archaeologists in Virginia unearth colonial-era garden with clues about its enslaved gardeners

Archaeologists in Virginia are uncovering one of colonial America’s most lavish displays of opulence: An ornamental garden where a wealthy politician and enslaved gardeners grew exotic plants from around the world.

Genetic study reveals isolation of medieval Spanish village

According to a statement released by Stockholm University, the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm analyzed the remains of 39 individuals buried at Las Gobas, a village site in northern Spain that was occupied from the mid-sixth century to the eleventh century A.D. Genetic study of the remains found low levels of mixing with peoples of North African and Middle Eastern ancestry when compared to other medieval inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula.

Preserved murals from Roman era revealed to public

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority, working in collaboration with the Ashkelon Municipality, have revealed two preserved Roman tombs in Ashkelon, Israel.

7,000-year-old animal-figured seals found in Arslantepe, Anatolia’s first city-state

Archaeologists working at the Arslantepe Mound (Turkish: Arslantepe Höyük), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Türkiye’s eastern Malatya province and thought to be the first city-state in Anatolia, have found two 7,000-year-old animal-figured seals.

Rare First Temple Period seal discovered in Jerusalem

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have discovered a rare stone seal from the First Temple period during excavations of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Roman military camp found on Swiss mountain

Archaeologists from the University of Basel, in collaboration with the Archaeological Service of Graubünden, have discovered a roman military camp in the Colm la Runga corridor.

A 3,600-year-old bronze Minoan dagger discovered in Antalya underwater excavation

A bronze dagger with silver rivets that dates to the Minoan civilization approximately 3,600 years ago was discovered during an underwater excavation off the coast of Kumluca, Antalya.

Xianbei tombs discovered in Kazakhstan

Archaeologists from the Margulan Institute of Archaeology, a department of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, have discovered 13 pit tombs in the East Kazakhstan region.

Ancient Egyptians used so much copper, they polluted the harbor near the pyramids, study finds

New geoarchaeological research shows that metalworking in ancient Egypt led to significant contamination in a nearby port.

Ancient DNA study provides insight on genetic diversity of post-Roman elites

The research team combined paleogenomic, archaeological and isotopic data to shed light on the community that used a cemetery in Collegno, Italy, as a burial site during the 6th to 8th centuries CE. Researchers sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 28 individuals from the cemetery and incorporated data from 24 previously published genomes. They also studied individuals’ patterns of social mobility, burial patterns and diet.

1,700-year-old Roman ringstone depicting goddess Athena discovered at Assos

A Roman Imperial Period ringstone depicting Athena, the mother goddess of the Assos ancient city, has been discovered in the Ksenedochion structure (hostelry buildings) in the Assos Ruins in the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale.

Intact Thracian temple found in Bulgaria

An intact Thracian temple dated to the third century B.C. has been discovered in a mound in south-central Bulgaria, on the outskirts of the city of Plovdiv. The structure was built with stones and a mortar made of clay and sand when the city was known as Philippopolis.

Alemannic chamber grave discovered in Gerstetten

Within the burial are funerary offerings of ceramic and glass vessels, a small decorated comb, and a high status glass cup that likely originates from the nearby late Roman fort of Guntia (Günzbug).

First Americans impaled and killed mammoths with pikes, not spears, study suggests

Ancient hunters may have mounted Clovis points on sophisticated pikes that fractured inside large mammals like woolly mammoths to inflict fatal injuries, archaeologists say.

Donkey depiction discovered at Karahan Tepe

In a recent press statement by Mehmet Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism of The Republic of Türkiye, archaeologists have discovered a depiction of a wild donkey on the floor of an ancient dwelling at Karahan Tepe.

Museums

In 2023, demolition workers discovered a secret letter written by John Sainsbury buried deep inside one of the two false columns. Typed in block capitals on Sainsbury’s-headed stationary, the letter is dated to 26 July, 1990, and makes the supermarket magnate’s displeasure plain. “If you have found this note you must be engaged in demolishing one of the false columns that have been placed in the foyer of the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery,” the note, typed in all caps, began. “I believe that the false columns are a mistake of the architect and that we would live to regret our accepting this detail of his design. Let it be known that one of the donors of this building is absolutely delighted that your generation has decided to dispense with the unnecessary columns.”

This is deeply funny.

Change urged for British Museum's anti-slavery work

A group of racially diverse artists invited to reinterpret a touring British Museum collection with links to slavery have raised issues around payment, representation and emotional support. The group said while they were pleased to take part in the "important" work on show at Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth, there were "challenges".

Oops! Ancient 3,500-year-old Bronze Age jar shattered by young boy at Israeli Museum

A precious 3,500-year-old jar was accidentally shattered by a four-year-old boy during a visit to the Hecht Museum in northern Israel. In response to the accident, the museum has invited the family back for a guided tour to "sweeten" their mortifying experience.

The little museum that refused to close for good

A small visitor attraction in the village of Ruthwell in the south of Scotland has been open again this summer for the first time in five years. The pandemic and then plans to transfer its most precious contents to Edinburgh risked closing the doors at the Savings Bank Museum for good. Instead, the converted cottage which celebrates the story of Rev Henry Duncan has opened again, with plans to expand its offering.

Repatriation

An artwork by the German landscape painter Carl Blechen that was confiscated by the Nazis in 1942 has been returned to the heirs of its rightful owners.

Three looted objects from ancient Egyptian graves returned by the Netherlands

The Netherlands’ information and heritage inspectorate announced this week that it had signed over ownership of a faience shabti, or grave statue, for Ipethemetes from Thebes—understood to date from the 26th dynasty (664 to 525 BC). It did the same for a painting of the goddess Isis from a sarcophagus, dated from the Roman period of 30BC to 642AD. A mummified head dating from around 170-45BC, meanwhile, has also been restituted.

Museum to relinquish Cranach painting sold as owner fled Nazis

The Allentown Art Museum in Pennsylvania is set to auction a portrait of the Duke of Saxony attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop after reaching a settlement with the heirs of the painting’s German Jewish owners, who sold the painting under duress while escaping Nazi Germany,

Portrait of Rubens and Van Dyck returned after being stolen 40 years ago

The work, an oil on wood painting by another Flemish artist, Erasmus Quellinus II, was reportedly stolen in 1979 while on loan at the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne, in southeast England.

Heritage at risk

A new study has listed the 50 UNESCO World Heritage sites most at risk from climate change, and emphasized the urgent need for the cultural sector to take action. The site most vulnerable to climate change is Indonesia’s ninth-century Subak irrigation system, threatened by drought, extreme heat, and flooding. Other significant sites on the list include France’s decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc, home to some of the most well-preserved figurative drawings in the world, which is at risk from flooding and landslides, and the Sydney Opera House.

Heritage under attack: Ukrainians revive interest in culture

The destruction of so much of their culture has not just pushed Ukrainians farther away from the Russian-dominated cultural space they shared for decades under Soviet rule. It has also awakened a hunger for their own culture, described by one daily newspaper as a “Ukrainian cultural boom”.

California man receives three-month sentence for smuggling ancient mosaic looted from Syria

“It is unusual for smugglers of antiquities from the Middle East to be caught and prosecutions of such smugglers are rare,” United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles spokesman Ciaran McEvoy told ARTnews in an email statement. “We hope today’s sentence will show antiquities dealers, smugglers, the museum community, and the general public that there are consequences—including prison time—for these crimes.”

Appeal after 13th century pillar destroyed at historic abbey

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is appealing to the public for information after a "very serious incident of heritage crime" took place at a historic abbey in Ayrshire. The damage was done to the 13th century pier of Kilwinning Abbey, which supports the arched entrance into what used to be the abbey’s south-west tower. One of the lower courses of the pier has been completely destroyed, with the stone still lying on the scene of the crime, HES said.

Odds and ends

Contemporary paintings celebrate the brave women who fought fiercely alongside the men in the Haitian revolution of the 18th Century. How did they contribute, and why have their stories been buried for so long?

by Francois Cauvin, and it is cool as hell

Italy's EU recovery funded construction boom sparks high demand for archaeologists

EU COVID recovery funds have poured billions into the construction sector, increasing the need for preventive archaeology to check for historical treasures.

EU archaeologists, if you're looking for work, Italy is the place to go!

Missing WWII USAF airman recovered from crash site in Sicily

The Cranfield Forensic Institute, working in collaboration with the POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), has assisted in the identification and recovery of a missing USAF airman near Caltagirone, Sicily.

American archaeologist drowns after boat capsizes on Viking voyage

An American archaeologist has died after the boat she was sailing in capsized in rough seas during a Viking voyage expedition from the Faroe Islands to Norway.

Ink drawing of the Bastille gifted to George Washington goes on sale

An ink-wash drawing of the Bastille gifted to George Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette and made just weeks after the Bastille fell during the French Revolution, is set to be auctioned on September 10, with an estimated value of $500,000 to $800,000

Historian hails Trinidad plan to remove Columbus ships from coat of arms

The government of Trinidad and Tobago wants to remove a depiction of three ships used by Christopher Columbus from its coat of arms, in a move hailed by a historian as important in addressing historical inaccuracies and shrugging off colonial identities.

A new AI project involving 12 major institutions aims to transform art preservation with colour reconstruction

But for the 12 organizations involved in the European Union–backed PERCEIVE project, a solution has never appeared more attainable: authentic color reconstruction with the aid of rapidly evolving artificial intelligence tools.

The hunt: How the ancient city of Troy was found (and nearly destroyed)

Over a few short months in 1871, Heinrich Schliemann achieved a task that had eluded literature’s fiercest ensemble of warriors: he breached the supposedly impregnable walls of Troy. To do so, the Prussian entrepreneur used the full toolkit of 19th-century industry, hiring a railway engineer to dig a 45-foot trench and then deploying TNT. Take that, Agamemnon.

A reminder that Heinrich Schliemann sucked

Scotland's enormous, unknown treasure trove

Forgotten for centuries, Kilmartin Glen in Argyll is one of Britain's most important archaeological landscapes – but most people have never heard of it.

[skunts-own-truth]

My buddy, Nick, the one who’s been reading the Horus Heresy all the way through for the very first time, has gotten so into it he made his own Ultramarine OC- that’s not news. What is news is that he wanted to write Fanfic so bad! He’s never written fic before, so me and D are now doing a PbP of Wrath & Glory where he can play his Ultramarine and get more used to writing. :)

Ain’t that great? Nick’s OC is an Assault Intercessor, D’s playing a White Scar Techmarine, and there is a Salamander Apothecary NPC in their Deathwatch Kill-Team. They’re currently in the Pariah Nexus trying to fuck up a Dolmen Gate on a mining world that’s being evacuated while Necrons do what they do.

They just drove some bikes up on a group of warriors and a Cryptek and had a blast blowing them to bits. Wrath & Glory is just so damn fun, y’all. I love the slow investigative games like Dark Heresy and Imperium Maledictum, but sometimes it’s just great to ride up and blow apart a Cryptek with an Attack Bike’s Heavy Bolter. Good for them, and yay for Nick for wanting to get into writing!

[chloristoflora]

"Every Hold, Finadd. Chaos. I have witnessed a transformation. Here, see for yourself. The tile of the Fulcra, the Dolmen. Do you see? A figure huddled at its base. Bound to the menhir with chains. All obscured by smoke, a smoke that numbs my mind. The Dolmen has been usurped."

Brys stared down at the tile. The figure was ghostly, and his vision blurred the longer he stared at it. "By whom?"

"A stranger. An outsider."

"A god?"

Kuru Qan massaged his lined brow with his fingers as he continued pacing. "Yes. No. We hold no value in the notion of gods. Upstarts who are as nothing compared to the Holds. Most of them aren't even real, simply projections of a people's desires, hopes. Fears. Of course," he added, "sometimes that's all that's needed."

"What do you mean?"

Kuru Qan shook his head. "And the Azath Hold, this troubles me greatly. The centre tile, the Heartstone, can you sense it? The Azath Heartstone, my friend, has died. The other tiles clustered together around it, at the end, drawing tight as blood gathers in a wounded body. The Tomb is breached. Portal stands unguarded. You must make a journey for me to the square tower, Finadd. And go armed."

"What am I to look for?"

"Anything untoward. Broken ground. But be careful – the dwellers within those tombs are not dead."

"Very well." Brys scanned the nearest tiles. "Is there more?"

Kuru Qan halted, brows lifting. "More? Dragon Hold has awakened. Wyval. Blood-Drinker. Gate. Consort. Among the Fulcra, the Errant is now positioned in the centre of things. The Pack draws nearer, and Shapefinder has become a chimera. Ice Hold's Huntress walks frozen paths. Child and Seed stir to life. The Empty Hold – you can well see – has become obscured. Every tile. A shadow stands behind the Empty Throne. And look, Saviour and Betrayer, they have coalesced. They are one and the same. How is this possible? Wanderer, Mistress, Watcher and Walker, all hidden, blurred by mysterious motion. I am frightened, Finadd."

Midnight Tides, by Steven Erikson (Malazan Book of the Fallen #5)

[adleryoung]

As we entered the dolmen, it occurred to me that I should probably warn Zandar what was about to happen. She had, as far as I knew, never been to Faerie before. That was the reason I had tweaked the Gate (using my hard-earned mastery of it) to send us into the magickal scry-space instead of into the base of the tower. Couldn't have a potentially dangerous Changeling running loose until I had assessed the risk!

Did I forget to mention that? Well, it was something I did as part of my preparations. But to get back to the story…

"Nothing from that world may pass this portal," I warned her, an instant before all of her clothing disappeared. I turned to look, and saw that Zandar was very upset. I needed to let her know that I didn't do it on purpose! It wasn't a cheap trick just to see her naked, like Estvan would have pulled! "Oh my!" I exclaimed, in what I hoped was a convincing tone of surprise and regret. I also tried to make a face which indicated that, although this is not what I wanted to happen, I did still appreciate her beauty.

She was quite beautiful. I gazed a little longer, just to make my point (and to steady myself, since turning around had made my head spin.)

"BASTARD!!!" Zandar shrieked. "You made them put those horrible clothes on me!" She took a swing at me with some blunt object in her hand.

I blocked her attack easily, almost reflexively, thanks to Adoyret Sam's training. One concussion was enough for today! I had to admit to myself though, that this meeting was not going well. "Tut tut, temper, my sweet," I clucked in a soothing and reassuring tone.

Hold on a second; an object in her hand?? I had to keep reminding myself not to underestimate this femme! "What's this you've got?" I asked, peering at the item she had smuggled in. "No, this shouldn't have come through."

I took it from her and turned around to examine it in a better light. It was smooth and cold, fairly lightweight. What was it? "Ooh, no way! It's a.. That's.. WOW!" I muttered as I turned it around in my hands. In the state I was in, it took me more than a few seconds to recognize the item as a glass bottle.

"GIVE IT BACK!" Zandar yelled behind me.

I was raptly examining the bottle. How had it gotten through the Gate? Holy Fuma! Through my brain haze I could see some EXTREMELY dark magicks attached to this thing! What in the Netherhells had Zandar been doing?? "You must have been very VERY naughty to have gotten this, my sweet," I declared. "I'm somewhat impressed, though- OW!"

WHACK! She hit me in the back of the head! Why are femmes so quick to resort to violence? It was all I could do to keep from crying out in agony and falling over. I struggled to maintain my composure as the pain in my head rattled around like broken glass and rusty nails inside my skull.

"Okay, here… Jeez," I grumbled, holding the bottle out in the general direction of the five Zandars I could see, hoping that one of them would take it and be satisfied. "I guess that explains how it was that you managed to survive." I was disappointed to note that I had probably been giving her too much credit when I thought she had mastered preservation magic.

"Why did you bring me here?" Zandar demanded.

"Heh heh," I chuckled, changing tactics. If trying to soothe her with a calm and fatherly demeanor didn't work, then I would have to resort to Wiles. "Come closer and ask again."

"What do you want from me?" she asked, stepping closer.

I chuckled merrily so as not to seem creepy. It was working! She wasn't trying to hit me again! Her lack of murderousness meant she was primed for the coup de grace! I grasped her shoulders, cast a charming glamer over myself, and gave her a Smoldering Look.

"Oh Zandar, you and I are going to shake the pillars of the earth and set the halls of heaven ablaze," I breathed huskily. Pretty good stuff, just off the top of my head! She was surely becoming completely smitten!

"Um… We are?" she replied, in a way that revealed the true extent to which she remained unsmitten.

She seemed to have a high Wiles resistance. I would have to increase the dosage! I reminded myself that I wasn't dealing with Angela Weakflit here. It was time to take the gloves off! I leaned in close and gazed into her eyes. That's when I noticed… What WAS that on her forehead? It was hard to tell through my watery, blurred vision, but it looked like - IT COULDN'T BE - she was growing a third eye!!!

"GREAT FUMA'S WHISKERS!" I exclaimed as I backed away in horror and shielded my mouth so it couldn't suck out my soul. "Answer me plainly, woman, and do not dissemble- What in all the nine Netherhells is THAT?"

"Tis the mark of my sin," she answered glumly.

"I can see that already!" I hissed. What misbegotten demon-pacts had she made to turn her into such a freak of nature?? "FURTHER DETAILS!"

"Made with a silver dagger."

So it wasn't a third eye after all, but just a scar. Still, that was really bad! "HELSBEGONDI!" I gasped, horrified and dizzy. "By whom?"

"By one whom I had wronged."

What did that mean? Did someone try to murder her? Was that why she was late? Was there some deranged elf-hating serial killer going around tracking down and slaughtering Changelings?! I would need to warn Rebecca!

"What stupid, what knave, what miserable doomed cur would dare to do such a thing to you?" I bellowed, in spite of a headache that threatened to split my skull in half. "To one of US?"

I paused to catch my breath, and it suddenly sank in. Someone she had wronged? "Wait. You did what?"

I am well aware that this part of the story has already been told - and although the published version does not present me in a very flattering light, I cannot deny that it is an accurate record of events as they happened. Rather than rehash what you already know, how about you ask me questions and I'll fill in the missing parts.

[mothmiso]

Lieux de l'Ardèche (2) (3) (4) by Isabelle Blanchemain

Via Flickr:

(1) A une heure proche du coucher du soleil, surgissent à l'horizon, les portes des Gorges de l'Ardèche. At an hour close to sunset, the gates of the Gorges de l'Ardèche appear on the horizon. (2) Un des nombreux dolmens du Sud de l'Ardèche. One of the many dolmens in southern Ardèche. (3) Jazz la Maine Coon. (4) Le jardin minéral, sous de sombres nuages de fin de journée. The mineral garden, under dark clouds at the end of the day.     

[1881111013]

Elegua - Etsy

Elegant with his Elegba/Elegbara/Dolmen

[horademagic]

Portão Dólmen/ Dolmen Gate

Artefato de Prevenção

Custo de mana: 2 incolores e/ou de quaisquer cores

Por que ela é interessante? Com esse artefato em campo você irá prevenir todo o dano de combate que seria causado às criaturas atacantes que você controlar. Pense que você ataca livremente sem nenhum medo envolvido.

Preço da carta: em torno de 33,00 até 90,00

Disponível em Português

"Essa carta tem algumas edições disponíveis, o preço pode variar a depender da edição que escolher adquirir"

Link: https://www.ligamagic.com.br/?view=cards%2Fsearch&card=Dolmen+gate&tipo=1

Até a próxima postagem, Ulli e Thiago

[ricmlm]

Dolmen Gate - Gateways Of Eternity (2024)

[musicshooterspt]

Massacre Metal Fest é já no dia 4 de Maio!

O Massacre Metal Fest está de regresso para a sua 8º edição já este sábado, 4 de Maio.

Com vários nomes de peso na cena nacional, não vão querer perder esta edição!

Para quem ainda não conhece, o Massacre Metal Fest é um festival de heavy metal organizado pela banda SPEEDEMON e pela UDCA “ OS Adoslouquenses” uma Associação Cultural e Desportiva de À dos Loucos, Freguesia do Concelho de Vila Franca de Xira.

O cartaz desta edição conta com: Holocausto Canibal, Toxikull, Fili Nigrantium Infernaliumm, Warout, Nagasaki Sunrise, Speedemon, Dolmen Gate e Legacy of Payne.

Nós vamos lá estar, e tu?

Deixamos os horários para não perderes nenhum concerto:

Bilhete: 16 massacres

Promo-pack, Bilhete+T-shirt: 27 massacres

Reserva de packs através do Facebook ou e-mail.

Todas as informações atualizadas nas redes sociais do Festival.