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1. Wales celebrating find of 6,000-year-old decorative wood carving
In a recent article here at The ToolPost (http://www.toolpost.co.uk), we gave a brief summary of
the history of woodturning, encompassing thousands of years from the ancient Egyptians and
Romans, through to the Industrial Revolution and this wonderful art's present widespread
applications. But physical examples of that history don't come much more authentic or
fascinating than a 6,000-year-old decorative wood carving recently unearthed on a mountainside
in Wales.
It has attracted plenty of attention since being exposed by workmen constructing Maerdy Wind
Farm in the Rhondda Valley, and it is believed by archaeologists to be one of the oldest
decorative wood carvings in Europe - likely dating back 6,270 years to the Late Mesolithic/Early
Neolithic period, according to Heritage Recording Services Wales archaeologist Richard Scott
Jones.
The piece of wood, described as "priceless" and "in archaeological circles ... the equivalent to
winning the lottery" by Scott Jones, is set for a public unveiling at the National History Museum in
St Fagans in 2014.
The archaeologist added: "Finding a piece of decorative art like this is incredibly rare in this area
of Wales, especially on uplands. And in terms of timber, this is truly unique. It gives us an idea of
the sophistication in terms of artwork around at that time."
It was while a substation for the wind farm was being built last September that workmen
discovered around 12 lengths of timber in waterlogged peat deposits, with one elaborately
carved piece being subsequently removed off-site and cleaned so that it could be inspected.
The timber is around 1.7m long and features an oval motif at one end, with one side also
sporting an intricate pattern. It is thought that the timber was formerly a tribal marker post
indicating a hunting ground, sacred site or tribal boundary.
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2. On the discovery of the significance of the timber, it was sent to Newport Ship Centre so that it
could be temporarily preserved in a water holding tank and scanned with a 3D laser. The find
was also examined by various paleo-entomologists and experts from the Glamorgan-Gwent
Archaeological Trust and University of Wales Trinity St David.
The woodcarving is now undergoing a wax-glycol conservation treatment at the York
Archaeological Trust in York, before it is hoped to be transferred to Cardiff next year.
In the words of Alan Baker of 2020 Renewables, "It’s very exciting that this discovery has proved
to be of such international significance and fully justifies our company policy of protecting sites of
historic interest" - and here at the specialists in the finest wood turning equipment, The ToolPost,
we couldn't agree more.
The ToolPost (http://www.toolpost.co.uk) will certainly be following the news about one of
Europe's oldest examples of decorative wood carving with interest, and we hope that many of
our customers will be in St Fagans to see it on its museum appearance next year! In the
meantime, customers can trust us with the sale of timbers, turning tools, woodturning lathes and
more to meet their specific amateur or professional needs.
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© Jumping Spider Media 2013: All Rights Reserved