Medieval Knight Found Under Parking Lot in Scotland

[artificer]

I heard of people being found IN a car park after a long night out on the town...


but this is the first time I've seen a knight found after a long time under a car park in town.







*I'm so sorry, I couldn't help myself*




It is fascinating, and I can't wait to hear more of what develops after more study.

ith:

[tulloch]

Wow! That is amazing.

Jock, I remember thinking, back in my teenage years, that Britain had been fully occupied over a thousand years ago and we here in the States were still giving land to people willing to 'homestead' during my father's formative years. It is a lot to get people used to the idea of conserving what we have when they think in terms of consumption and moving on.

[JonathanB]

The thing that struck me on my brief trip to the States (California) wasn't the history, it was the space! There is space to homestead in the USA. There isn't any in the cultivated parts of the UK. The population density of the UK is some ten times that of the USA.

Which is why Americans seem to drive everywhere as soon as they are old enough, but I go everywhere on my own in London by public transport.

(In view of the Highland clearances, I realise there might well be a different perspective on this between Scotland and England. That's probably an area that was more deeply populated before 1745 than it is now.)

[artificer]

The thing that struck me on my brief trip to the States (California) wasn't the history, it was the space! There is space to homestead in the USA. There isn't any in the cultivated parts of the UK. The population density of the UK is some ten times that of the USA.

Which is why Americans seem to drive everywhere as soon as they are old enough, but I go everywhere on my own in London by public transport.

(In view of the Highland clearances, I realise there might well be a different perspective on this between Scotland and England. That's probably an area that was more deeply populated before 1745 than it is now.)

It's really difficult for Brits and Europeans who haven't been here to grasp just how damned big it is.

from the blog here (which is actually talking about wildlife and apex predators).

I've met people who talked about 'driving to Disneyworld and then around to the Grand Canyon', in the 2 weeks they were here. AND they were starting from the upper mid-west.

It's doable, but only if you felt like spending all your time on the road.

There's a joke my father tells-
In American 100 years is a long time, in Europe 100 miles is a long distance.

ith:

[Singlemalt]

And the USA is only the second biggest country in North America

[madmacs]

And the USA is only the second biggest country in North America

The biggest is Texas?

[TheOfficialBren]

Phil, I totally overlooked that! I was looking at your profile a while back and now recall that you are into Ancient Egypt.
Fascinating stuff!
The the chap who raised the original topic about Egypt and copper trade with the Americas, I must apologise if I seemed to be badgering. That was not my intention. I have a huge problem with unmerited historical revision and I tend to get my dander up from time-to-time.

Speaking of "out-there" history, here's a classic that has been mulled over a lot over the years. I haven't ever visited but it looks intriguing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport...(Rhode_Island)

One theory suggests that it was built by Scottish Templars in the 1300s led by Henry Sinclair. I dunno...I'm not convincd but some people are.

[EagleJCS]

I recall that when I was at the 2007 World Scout Jamboree in England, I was telling the Irish Scouts camped 'next door' about how far things were (time-wise) from where I lived. Our nearest Scout camp is about a 40-minute drive south. From downtown Louisville, other cities (population of 75,000 or more) are at least a 1-hour drive in each direction. The BIG cities are even further. They just couldn't fathom that it takes nearly a day to drive from Louisville to (nothern) Florida and almost 2 days (30 hours by the fastest route) to drive to Los Angeles, CA from Louisville, KY (driving the legal speed limits, etc.).

As you can see from the super-imposed image artificer put up, Ireland is about as long north-to-south as Kentucky is east-to-west (Kentucky's just a wee bit longer). Louisville is just about where Luxembourg appears.


Regarding the OP, I wonder why the churchyard/cemetery was paved over in the first place. I'm also curious about current burial practices in Europe, with land being at a premium. With the space we have here in the States, most cities have large cemeteries (100+ acres) and only 'back East' (in the original colonies) are they running into issues with not having any more room to bury people in thier own, previously unused plots. The cemetery (actually cemeteries) my grandparents are buried in still have unused plots (and have recently cleared land to make/sell more burial plots). Some cemeteries here in town have started to create mausoleums (not family mausoleums as they have down in Louisiana, but large buildings) for interment.

[TheOfficialBren]

Thank you for sharing this article. I found it most fascinating.

Yes, for our overseas friends, the USA is FRICKIN' HUGE!!! California is the third largest state by landmass (#1 is Alaska, #2 is Texas) and the largest by population (#50 is Alaska) and economy. At one point in the last twenty years CALIFORNIA (by itself) was in the top twenty global economies.

Canada is MASSIVE!! Just huge!! It's a gull-dern giant behemoth of a country.
Does anyone have an overlay of the US and Canada?

[Downunder Kilt]

Thank you for sharing this article. I found it most fascinating.

Yes, for our overseas friends, the USA is FRICKIN' HUGE!!! California is the third largest state by landmass (#1 is Alaska, #2 is Texas) and the largest by population (#50 is Alaska) and economy. At one point in the last twenty years CALIFORNIA (by itself) was in the top twenty global economies.

Canada is MASSIVE!! Just huge!! It's a gull-dern giant behemoth of a country.
Does anyone have an overlay of the US and Canada?

You think Alsaka is big in area at 1,717,854 sq km, then what would you call the state of Western Australia at 2,529,875 sq km, bloody huge?