Good thought. But the numbers seem somewhat overwhelming. 24 canine skulls in one little cairn. On Monday, December 15, 2003, at 07:52 PM, Juliet Marillier wrote: > <Why would one in those days, when excavations and stonework involved > so > much backache and sweat, would someone choose to bury their canine > comrades in a fashion that mimics an Egyptian royal?> > > Interring the skulls of various animals most likely had a ritual > purpose. I realise these are Neolithic remains, but if you think > forward > to the Picts, their symbol stones feature all manner of creatures along > with the more obscure symbols, in keeping with their close relationship > with the natural environment. And there's one theory that says the > Orcadian Picts were actually descended from the Neolithic inhabitants > of > the islands. It's highly likely the Neolithic people of Orkney had a > faith and ritual observance closely tied the elements, the seasons, > heavenly phenomena etc, so a representative sample of animal skulls is > perhaps not so surprising. > > Juliet > > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the > word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >