SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: Ancient Sacred Sites

The young missionary – a peregrini, meaning one on a life-pilgrimage – wore two crosses; but not around his neck nor on his simple, woven robe. The Celtic designs were tattooed onto his eyelids so that, when he slept, the original Cross of Christ was projected from both his sleeping eyes into the world… Truth never sleeps. A Christ that he had reached out … Read More The Mysterious Road to Tain (4): a simple man

May 27, 2021 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness

The Mysterious Road to Tain (3): the protectors

by Steve Tanham

“Saints don’t just disappear!” Bernie was getting a little exasperated with my poor attempt at stringing together a viable theory to account for the cultural disappearance of St Duthac. “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation… we just have to find it.” I’d already found it, But I wasn’t letting on. It’s not that I’m cleverer than she is, but one of the sources I’d been … Read More The Mysterious Road to Tain (3): the protectors

May 20, 2021 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness

The Mysterious Road to Tain (2): the demi-god of Ross

by Steve Tanham

“You’d have thought they would have looked after it, better!’ Bernie can be highly critical on these occasions. Mind you, we had trudged all the way around the small town of Tain to find it. The original chapel of St Duthac. The priest to whose church three Scottish kings travelled to pay their respects, sits as an unmarked ruin in the middle of the … Read More The Mysterious Road to Tain (2): the demi-god of Ross

March 11, 2021 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Stone Circles

The Shifting Stones of Stonehenge…

by Steve Tanham

Not to be outdone by the recent discoveries on Orkney, Stonehenge – one of the world’s most famous stone circles – has thrown up a whole new story about its origins… and its original face. (1100 words, a ten-minute read) It was the end of the archeology ‘dig season’ of 2018. Strong winds and heavy rain had blown for weeks across the exposed face … Read More The Shifting Stones of Stonehenge…

March 4, 2021 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Stone Circles

The City and the Stars – revisited – Britain’s oldest stone circle…

by Steve Tanham

New evidence from the past two years’ work on Orkney has revealed breathtaking perspectives on the nature and importance of the finds at the Ness of Brodgar… (1000 words, a ten-minute read) (Above: technical reconstruction of Structure 10 and its dramatic ‘pyramid’ roof on the Ness of Brodgar by Kenny Arne Lang Antonsen and Jimmy John Antonsen) Staring, breathless, at the TV, desperately trying … Read More The City and the Stars – revisited – Britain’s oldest stone circle…

December 10, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Consciousness

The City and the Stars (9-end) : the most peaceful place in the world

by Steve Tanham

The conclusion of the Silent Eye’s extended workshop to Orkney. A visit to the neighbouring island of Rousay. A sad disappointment and a wonderful surprise. (1500 words, a twelve-minute read) (Above: a modern reconstruction of a Neolithic farmer felling a tree with a hand-made stone axe) For our final day, we were off to the Island of Rousay.. I’ve written, elsewhere, about what it’s … Read More The City and the Stars (9-end) : the most peaceful place in the world

December 8, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Consciousness

The City and the Stars (8) : Longships

by Steve Tanham

The traditional picture of the Vikings – looting, marauding, raping invaders – may not be entirely true of their time on Orkney, though they did rule this gentle archipelago with an iron fist for five hundred years… (1300 words, a ten-minute read) (Above: the glory of St Magnus (Viking) Cathedral, Kirkwall) History can be complex. Patterns of events that fit in one situation may … Read More The City and the Stars (8) : Longships

December 3, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (7) : the Standing Stones of Stenness

by Steve Tanham

The Standing Stones of Stenness are reduced in importance compared with their former status. But 5,000 years ago, they were the stone circle for the Ness of Brodgar spiritual city. Only later, in the period culminating in the deliberate act of self-destruction of the Ness of Brodgar structures, were these stones eclipsed as the ‘guide to the heavens’… (1300 words, a twelve-minute read) The … Read More The City and the Stars (7) : the Standing Stones of Stenness

December 1, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (6) : the twice-chosen

by Steve Tanham

To build something so sophisticated, so designed, as the Maeshowe Chambered ‘tomb’, would have required enormous dedication from the people of Orkney. Seen alongside the emerging splendour of the Ness of Brodgar ‘spiritual city’, you get a flavour of the total commitment of these ancient people to their task… (1500 words, a ten-minute read) (Above: The long passageway that leads into and out of … Read More The City and the Stars (6) : the twice-chosen

November 26, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (5) : ‘Structure 10’ Pyramid

by Steve Tanham

The more the Orkney archeologists uncover, the more it is certain that the settlement on the Ness of Brodgar was the hub of a dynamically influential and spiritual society, 5000 years ago… For example, what’s this pyramid…. yes, that’s right, pyramid? (1700 words, a fifteen-minute read) (Above: Illustration of Structure 10 by Kenny Arne Lang Antonsen and Jimmy John Antonsen) That can’t be right, … Read More The City and the Stars (5) : ‘Structure 10’ Pyramid

November 24, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (4) : The Ring of Brodgar

by Steve Tanham

You look at the landscape around you… This magnificent place, where the natural features are as spectacular as the Neolithic discoveries, lies between two lochs surrounded by a natural amphitheatre. You are encircled on all sides by the hills and the monuments that make up the heart of Orkney’s Neolithic World Heritage Site. Welcome to the Ring of Brodgar, in the valley of the … Read More The City and the Stars (4) : The Ring of Brodgar

November 19, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (3) : The City on the Ness

by Steve Tanham

A ten-minute journey from Stromness, on Orkney, lies an ‘isthmus’ which recent excavations have shown to contain one of the richest archeological concentrations in the world… It is nothing less than an ancient spiritual city, lost to time until the early years of this century. (1200 words, a ten-minute read) An ‘isthmus’ is defined as ‘a narrow strip of land with sea on either … Read More The City and the Stars (3) : The City on the Ness