The Hare #5 [July 2025]
Neolithic and Bronze Age uncoverings, Mayan marvels… and a UFO on the map?
News from Northern Earth
Issue 180 (Summer 2025) of Northern Earth is still available to new subscribers, although stock is running low! Inside, we have holy wells, H.G Wells, Oliver Cromwell… and plenty more besides. Click the button below to grab a subscription now (only £12pa UK, £20pa overseas):
Single copies of NE are available in various retailers – the list is steadily growing (and next month we’ll have news about a wonderful US stockist).
Season’s gleanings: 10 recent news stories
(Other recent news can be found in the printed magazine.)
Remains of Mayan city nearly 3,000 years old unearthed in Guatemala [Guardian]
Over 100 prehistoric structures discovered in Spanish cave {Southampton University]
Hidden Neolithic stone circle set to be unearthed in Cornwall [BBC]
Bronze Age Preseli Hills stone circle damaged in digging [Western Telegraph]
Archaeology volunteers uncover Bronze Age burial site in Cardiff park [Cardiff University]
New light on the stone alignments in Carnac region – earliest megalithic region in Europe [EurekAlert]
Maiden Castle burials in Dorset are re-dated [The Past]
Newly discovered South American ruins reveal secrets of mysterious community [Independent]
Sizewell archaeologists at Sizewell C site uncover items from 6,000 years ago [East Anglian Daily Times] – see picture below!
And finally… Mysterious ‘flying saucer’ in the Sahara Desert is discovered on Google Maps [Daily Mail]
Events on in July
July 1 Flying Saucery: How UFOs Landed in the British Isles (online talk). The Folklore Society.
July 2 James Wright - Burn Marks in Historic Buildings: Accidental or Ritual? (online talk). The Folklore Centre.
July 5 Walking with Witchcraft: In the footsteps of Mary Bateman (two walks from Kirkgate). Part of Leeds Festival of Gothica.
July 5-6 Dartmoor Mindscapes Weekend (1) – West Dartmoor.
July 15 Marina Warner: how to create sanctuary now? (online talk) The Folklore Society.
July 18 & 19 Well Dressed X Stone Club. Lally MacBeth, Matthew Shaw and others. The Wardwick, Derby, and Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield.
July 19 Guided tour of Bryn Celli Ddu chambered tomb, Anglesey, by Cadw.
July 19 & 20 Guided tour of Barclodiad passage tomb, Anglesey, by Cadw.
July 23 The History of Witchcraft in Popular Culture. The Wardrobe, Leeds.
July 26 Archaeological Finds Day. Penrith and Eden Museum.
July 26 Albanian Soft Power: When Teddies fight back (apotropaic soft toys!). The Folklore Centre, Todmorden.
July 26 Leeds Pagan and Folklore Fayre. Archive Leeds.
July 27 London Witches Walking Tour with Maria Beadell. Organised by Treadwells.
July 28 What lies beneath Max Gate? (The archaeology of Flagstones, Dorchester.) Online talk, Wessex Museums.
July 28 Stone Club – usual eclectic mix of talks/performance on ancient sites and folklore. The Social, London.
Selected exhibitions
Until July 5 Folklore of Rushen. Rushen Heritage Centre, Isle of Man.
Until 13 July Life at an Iron Age hillfort. University of Nottingham Museum.
July 19 until Aug 3 Council for British Archaeology 2025 Festival of Archaeology, theme Archaelogy and Wellbeing. Multiple events across Ceredigion, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Until Aug 30 Widdershins 3: mythical and fantasy artists whose works evoke the mystery of Dartmoor. Green Hill Arts, Moretonhampstead.
Until Aug 31 A Trail of Inspiration: Celebrating 60 years of the Pennine Way. Bowlees Visitor Centre, Newbiggin.
Until Sep 6 Un/Common People: Folk Culture in Wessex. Wiltshire Museum, Devizes.
Until Sep 7 Echoes: Stone Circles, Community and Heritage – exhibition of three photographers. Stonehenge Visitor Centre, Wiltshire.
Until Sep 14 Ice Age Art Now. Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighley.
Until Oct 19 Edward Burra – Ithell Colquhoun. Tate Britain, London.
Until Oct 26 Monsters of the Deep: Science Fact or Fiction? Aberdeen Art Gallery
Until Nov 2 FOREST: the myth and magic of arboreal art. Nottingham Castle.
Until Mar 1 2026 Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s lost treasures. London Museum Docklands.
July 11 until 2027 Viking North, showcase of best collection of finds outside London. Yorkshire Museum, York.
(See our printed issue for more events later in the year)
July in the traditional calendar
Throughout Parish rush-bearing ceremonies (e.g. in Cumbria); well dressings (e.g. Derbyshire); village scarecrow festivals.
July 11 St Benedict’s Day – patron of difficult paths.
July 15 St Swithun’s Day
July 17 St Kenelm’s Day – patron of prophetic dreams.
July 25 St Christopher’s Day (travellers) and St James the Great (pilgrims).
5 things to read, watch, listen to…
[Publication] Issue 9 of Fiddler’s Green Peculiar Parish Magazine – a unique celebration of art, magic and community – is now available to pre-order!
[Article] Medieval French monks used seal-skins to bind their books, revealing unexpected Viking trade [Cambridge Archaeology]
[Article] Research summary: Neanderthals could have crossed Eurasia in just 2,000 years [Ancient Origins]
[Article] The former coal mine which became a work of art: Crawick Multiverse – now 10 years old [BBC]
[Podcast] After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal looks into Welsh myths and legends [BBC Sounds]
Thanks to various readers for the tipoffs! Do reply to this newsletter or email Northern Earth if you have useful links to share. (If your suggestion hasn’t appeared yet, it may well next time!)