Celtic Rings Are Traditional Favourites
White gold bangles were much loved by medieval men and women, as were Celtic rings, brooches and torcs. A stunning brooch showing the Maeshowe Dragon, a creative piece of Viking graffiti, will likely be the first piece which Orkney jewellery designers designed around Fifty years ago. And Maeshowe is very closely associated with today’s date. White gold bangles along with other arm jewelry were well-known options in Viking periods.
Today will be the shortest day of 2011 – named the winter solstice – a vital date in the diary within these northern climes. For soon after December 21st the days begin to extend as the wheel of time turns. This transition in the days, hours of daylight and dark indicate a time period of revival, fertility and in addition the turtle-like creep towards Spring and brand new life.
But this afternoon, the sun will set shortly after 3pm, when a vigil is likely to be kept within the 5000 year old Neolithic chambered cairn of Maeshowe. In years gone by, people from throughout the world watched the last rays of the dying winter on a webcam to view the midwinter solstice from inside the burial place.
Three weeks each side of the solstice on December 21, travelers and tourists and locals take pleasure in the near magical experience of watching the dying sun set between the 2 great hills of Hoy from within the tomb. The reason being that light floods down the tomb’s passageway and strikes the back wall.
The Barnhouse Standing Stone that’s situated close by, is likewise in the alignment developed by Neolithic people. The reasons why and just how the ancient people managed to get the alignment right are lost now in the mists of time. While in the six-week period of the phenomenon, often cloud obscures sunshine and denies the experience. There is something mystical and enchanting about waiting in the chamber and watching the sunlight travelling gradually along the passage.
Jingling And Jangling – White Gold Bangles
The chambered cairn also contains the best illustrations of Viking runic writing in the UK, left behind by 12th century marauders who broke in attempting to find jewels. The Norsemen – descendants of the Vikings – did break into the cairn. But happily for us they left behind one thing we treasure today. The young men scrawled their graffiti all over the walls throughout the tomb – these days we’d refer to this as an act of wanton damage. However their marks are the very best instances of runic writing to endure in the united kingdom. And the exquisite Maeshowe dragon was snared by Orkney jewellery designers in a good many of their beautiful ranges.
So, amid the jingle of white gold bangles and other jewellery making, Orkney jewelers can celebrate the rebirth of the New Year by creating more Maeshowe dragon pieces for future generations.