Green treasures from the magic mountains: Neolithic axe-heads of jadeitite and other Alpine rocks

19 Aug
5.30pm. Approximately 1 hour
FREE
www.eca.ac.uk

Edinburgh College of Art, Main Building, Studios C26-C28 (first right off Sculpture Court)
Talks will take place in the Milestone exhibition space, with seating provided.

Green treasures from the magic mountains: Neolithic axe-heads of jadeitite and other Alpine rocks – Dr Alison Sheridan, Head of Early Prehistory Archaeology Department, National Museums Scotland, In Association with VARIE

It is tempting to view these beautiful objects as the ancient treasured possessions of incoming communities. The axe-heads would have been replete with the mythology and symbolism of the inconceivably-distant magic green mountains whence they had originated: powerful talismans in stories of how the world began. Such was the belief in their innate power and extreme value that, occasionally, individual specimens would be deliberately broken and shared around. And by laying them down in the realms of the spirits and ancestors, their owners were hoping for continued benefit to the living.  Dr Alison Sheridan will discuss some of these ancient rocks and pre-historic tools showing stones relevance since time began.