Jonathan Last

@johnnythin.bsky.social

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Prehistory & landscape Also on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnythinsta/

A painted collage with landscape and wildlife elements juxtaposed to reflect the complexity of change through time at Knepp
Benjamin Harrison (from E.R. Harrison, 1928. 'Harrison of Ightham: a Book about Benjamin Harrison, of Ightham, Kent, made up principally of extracts from his notebooks and correspondence'. Oxford University Press.
Cutting from the same article: "COLDRUM STONE CIRCLE. In the afternoon at Trottiscliffe, the Coldrum Stone Circle, the scene of some of Benjamin Harrison's most notable geological discoveries, was dedicated to the public use and handed over to the care of the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty. The principal feature of the Coldrum Stone Circle is a fallen dolmen, to which it appears to have been attached. The two side stones and back stones of the dolmen are still in position, but the huge capstone has fallen. The circle runs round a slight mound, 50ft. in diameter, and the stones in the circle are of large size, weighing several tons. Lord Avebury, Chairman of the Memorial Committee, presided over the ceremony, and amongst those present were Sir Edgar Bonham-Carter (representing the National Trust), Sir Arthur Keith, F.S.A., and Lady Keith, Sir Josiah Stamp, Sir Edward Harrison. Mr. and Mrs. Fertell (son-in-law and daughter of the late Mr. Harrison) and Master Geoffrey Fertell (only grandson), Prof. P. E. Newberry. O.B.E., Mr. H. J. E. Peake (President of the Royal Anthropological Institute), Dr. Frank Corner, Dr. de Trafford, Mr. E. W. Filkins (who excavated the tomb for Sir Arthur Keith), Mr. Bowra, Mr. R. de Barri Crawshay, Miss Sills, Mr. S. H. Hamer (Secretary, National Trust), Mr. John Schwartz, Miss Evans Gordon, the Rev. Morgan Gilbert, the Rectors of Trottiscliffe and Ightham, Mr. Arthur Mee and others."
Cutting from the Kent & Sussex Courier, July 16 1926: "BENJAMIN HARRISON, OF IGHTHAM. MEMORIAL TABLET UNVEILED. COLDRUM CASTLE CONVEYED TO NATIONAL TRUST. Two memorials to the late Mr. Benjamin Harrison, of Ightham, were dedicated on Saturday, as the result of the sum of £250 subscribed to the Harrison Memorial Fund. The shop and house occupied for over half a century by the grocer-archaeologist no longer remain, but on the wall of the new residence erected there by Sir Edward Harrison (Mr. Harrison's son) is a tablet stating 'Benjamin Harrison lived here'."
Cutting from the Daily Chronicle, July 6, 1926: "BASKET OF 12,000 YEARS AGO. Woman Finds Earliest Known Granary. A PRE-HISTORIC SICKLE. Basket work at least 12,000 years old. The first bread-wheat of prehistoric days ever found. The earliest known sickle. These are among the treasures found by Miss Caton-Thompson while digging on the Fayum prehistoric settlements, 60 miles south of Cairo. These relics are lying on a table at University College, Gower-street, where grey-haired professors and keen young students pore over them and seek to understand the early civilisation they represent. The basket work is chiefly remnants of granaries. In removing sand, pits were disclosed lined with coiled straw, or a species of reed, and in some were wheat and barley grains stored there by prehistoric farmers."
Wembley Stadium, Shania Twain on stage
From the Illustrated London News, June 26, 1926: "Prehistoric relics from the Lower Columbia River. Photographs and descriptions by Major O. S. McCleary, U.S. Army (retired). Unsurpassed in artistry by anything found in the same region: obsidian and agate arrow-heads discovered in the Lower Columbia River valley. Ornamented with an owl-face: a beautifully finished stone pestle of prehistoric make."
From the South London Press, Sat June 24th 1876: "The sudden hot weather is trying to all; but it is unnecessarily so to the large class who in these times have to wear uniforms and liveries. These are all adapted to winter, with no idea apparently that during at least some months of the year we have to endure the heat of the summer solstice. It is absolutely painful to encounter the soldier in his blazing red in the blazing sunshine; the policeman buttoned up in heat-absorbing blue suggests sunstroke and apoplexy; but the more painful displays are those of the postmen and telegraph boys, who have to move about quickly, and the railway porters, whose occupation implies activity. They manage these matters better in France. There the blue frock, set off with the broad red belt, is adopted, and is light, airy, and picturesque. Something of this sort ought to be provided for those who are expected to exert themselves. But we are merciless to the classes who wait on the public convenience. It would cause a social revolution if a waiter discharged his functions in a holland jacket and white trousers, instead of an evening suit redolent of the grease of untold dinners; or if shop assistants, during the sweltering heat of the autumnal months, sat while serving behind counters."
The Fred Hoyle quote given in the post, from ‘Motives and aims of the scientist’ in ‘Of Men and Galaxies’ (1964)
Plan and section of Hut DB2 from the excavation report
A postcard of an Iron Age roundhouse from Maiden Castle, captioned "Floor of circular hut with chalk walls, 1st century B.C."
A framed poster for ‘Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf’
Cutting from the Western Daily Press, June 22 1926, headlined "Druids Service at Stanton Drew." above a photo of a line of men in front of two of the stones, captioned "The service in progress".
The Salisbury Times, June 25 1926: "STONEHENGE SUN RISING. CLOUDS SPOIL THE SPECTACLE. Those who went out to Stonehenge to see the sun rise early on Monday morning were disappointed. The prospects were not very bright. and may have kept down the numbers..."
Cutting from the Sunday Mercury and Sunday News, 20 June 1926: "AT DAWN TO-MORROW. Druids Flocking To Stonehenge. At sunrise tomorrow morning the ancient stones on Salisbury Plain which are redolent of the Druids will stir again with life. Every year on the longest day the descendants of this order of primitive priests meet in the circle of Stonehenge for celebration, having made pilgrimages from far and near for these rites in the open-air temple. To Salisbury Plain this annual ritual attracts many more sightseers-particularly from the Midland counties-than participants, for there is something weird and fascinating about Stonehenge that few travellers in that direction can resist."
Screenshot from BBC 'News from Surrey' section with headline about 'heatwave forecast in Surrey' below a photo of lobster pots, shingle beach and blue sea
Cutting from the Devizes & Wiltshire Advertiser, 18 June 1896, advertising a "moonlight excursion to Stonehenge" and for cyclists a "midnight excursion to Stonehenge" on the night of Saturday June 20th
Animal footprints in ditches on Shaugh Moor (from K. Smith et al. 1981, The Shaugh Moor Project: Third Report - Settlement and Environmental Investigations. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 47, pp. 205-273) By K. SMITH,
"A closer winter tunnel, February-March" (2006); oil on canvas, 6 panels; looking along a rural trackway flanked by arable fields and bare trees. https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/239.2007.a-f/
Black and white photo of a square mosaic with geometric design and central roundel, the latter largely destroyed by a trench associated with Sir John Soane's 19th-century buildings (Bank of England Museum)
View of the grass-covered ramparts at Maiden Castle
A replica of part of a rock ceiling with red and black painted animal figures
Gronvold's lithograph of a white-tailed eagle on a cliff, next to text that begins: "The White-tailed or Sea Eagle became extinct in the British Isles in 1918. It last bred in our country about ten years before that date, and for those ten years a solitary widowed female bird represented a race once far more common in north Britain than the Golden Eagle."
Title page of 'Rare, Vanishing and Lost British Birds: compiled from notes by W. H. Hudson' by Linda Gardiner (1923), with H. Gronvold's colour lithograph of an osprey
Cutting from the Salisbury & Wilton Times, 14 Jun 1901: "I am informed that so far, the financial result of wiring in Stonehenge has been rather over £20. At a bob a nob this means that at least 400 have passed the barrier in three weeks [sic], including the man who wanted to see the sight at half price, sixpence, because he had only one eye. The officials, however, like the afflicted possessor could see through that one eye."
A view of the fence, turnstile and custodian's hut at Stonehenge in the early 20th century (detail from a postcard)
Pen, ink and wash drawing of a construction site surrounded by buildings and cranes
Two stems of purple flowers at the base of a tree
Cutting from The Daily Chronicle, 10 Mar 1925: "ROMAN LONDON UNDER THE BANK. Hope of Discoveries During Excavation. AN ANCIENT STREAM. New light may be thrown upon the plan of Roman London by the excavation of the foundation of the Bank of England. Trial pits were being sunk yesterday in one corner of the courtyard. The new vaults will be bigger and deeper than the present ones, and there will be three storeys below the street level, the depth going down to 40ft. It was across this site that the ancient Walbrook stream ran. Such high hopes are entertained of the discovery of early remains that the Society of Antiquaries, by arrangement with the Bank, have formed a sort of guard of inspection, and from time to time [one?] of their experts will examine the excavations."
A cup or beaker with dark brown slip and relief of a hound giving chase (Bank of England Museum)
Black and white postcard showing the giant on his hillside (by C & S Keston of Weymouth; unposted and undated)
A calf with two yellow tags
A Baroque church with north and south aisles and a clerestoried nave, roofed with fan vaulting around circular saucer domes (see John Betjeman, 'The City of London Churches')
Cutting from The Sun, 9 Aug 1911, headlined: "HEAT RECORDS BROKEN. 95 Degrees in the Shade at 1 o'Clock. 131 IN THE SUN."
95 DEGREES IN THE SHADE. HEAD GARDENER: "You'd better mow the tennis courts now, then you can roll 'em both ways; it won't do 'em no 'urt. After that, you can dig up that path I want alterin', and take and make a fire of all that rubbish that's lyin' by the frames. If that don't carry you to tea-time, come and look fer me and I'll give you another job. You'll find me busy with the goldfish, very likely, or cleanin' the tap o' the fountain. You don't seem to feel the 'eat so much if you keep on workin'."
Extract from RSPB map of persecution incidents (2015-2024) involving red kites
A red kite on top of a tree with blue sky behind
A display case with clay pipes, glass bottles and the objects mentioned
A sign on a wall with an arrow pointing to ‘Archaeology Timeline’ and ‘Toilets’
“I never expect to see anything better than those rejoicing hills with their flanks dipped into that celestial light, no - not even the sun-steeped isles of the Agean whence came the voyagers to live in Dorset. For on nearly every one of them… the descendants of the men who built the Palace of Minos plied their industries and buried their dead.”
Three terraces rising up the side of a low hill, with horses grazing on and around them
A bird in a tree, partly hidden by foliage
A large altar of white stone, once described as looking like a giant camembert, centrally placed in a Baroque church
Programmes from the 1948-9, 1960-1, 1961-2 and 1968-9 seasons
Iron Age gold coin with abstract crossed wreath design on one side and naturalistic horse with wheel and spiral on the other © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.
Postcard of the site as first marked out in the 1940s: "Thanks to the generosity of local residents, it was possible to employ further labour to level the site, and mark out the plan of the cella and surrounding portico with concrete strips, capped with stones which had been found in the 'ghost-walls' during the course of the excavation."
John Aubrey's manuscript with his drawing of the temple showing a circle of 8 paces diameter inside a square [Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Aubrey 4: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/c97e3af7-bd41-4c83-8855-dc2d30d018d4/]
The position of the cella and ambulatory walls at Farley Heath Roman temple, marked out in concrete in an open grassy area with trees behind
A lowland river with trees on one side and meadows on the other
A map of the council area, above an announcement that the Lib Dems have won the new West Surrey Council (from BBC News)
Cutting from The Sunday Mirror, 7 Apr 1968, which begins: "And now, live from the Bronze Age.. HAVE you ever heard of King Zell? He may lie buried in barbaric splendour wearing a cape of gold, surrounded by bronze-age weapons. and pottery packed with prehistoric lunch, under Silbury Hill beside the A4 from London to Bath. Wiltshire legend has it that under the 130ft. high mound dated from 1600 BС which covers 5 acres. lies a solid gold horse with its rider- King Zell. Some historians think he may have given rise to the Round Table legend. Fact or fiction ? No one knows, but I take my hat BBC2 for gambling £10,000 or more on a dig to solve the mystery. If there are archeological treasures lying about in Britain, we ought to do something about it. Executive Producer Paul Johnstone, who initiated the two-year excavation, tells me that it has long been his ambition to probe the hill-the largest man-made mound in Europe. The first programme is tonight at 9.15 He says: 'It all began in the days when we were doing the Animal, Vegetable or Mineral programme from which we branched into archaeology. I put my hunch to David Attenborough, who was then my personal assistant [and is now Controller of BBC-2] because Silbury is unique. 'It is so large that the odds against it having been despoiled by tomb robbers are small. For the same reason it must have been built for the most important chap—a very powerful king.' Now the quest begins."
From Television Today, 4 May 1967: "BBC-2 does not try to please everyone all the time, says its Controller, David Attenborough. 'Instead, our ambition is that everyone, no matter what his tastes, will find on BBC-2, several times each week, programmes that match his enthusiasms more closely than any other programmes elsewhere.' In a report issued on the third anniversary of BBC-2, he says that BBC-2 equals something different in television. It tackles subjects which are neglected by other networks, such as golf and archaeology, Rugby League and continental films, musical criticism and motoring, science and science fiction."