[MR] Ancient Origins: Stone King's Head Found At Shaftesbury Abbey Dig

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Recently Ancient Origins reported on the discovery of a carved stone head
representing a king during a dig on the site of Shaftesbury Abbey. For some
reason, the finders speculate it could represent Edward II (ruled
1307-1327). Why him is a good question, since he is generally thought to be
a total loser.

For some reason the researchers did not consider the head might just have
been a generic  "garden-variety" king (now there's an interesting idea for
you). Shaftesbury Abbey also held the relics of the Anglo-Saxon king Edward
the Martyr (lived 962-978) who was offed at Corfe Castle during a civil war
against his half-brother Æthelred the Unready.

No matter whom the piece represents, it is an interesting find
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/king-edward-ii-0014348
.

Wikipedia has a nice piece on Shaftesbury Abbey:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaftesbury_Abbey .

And just for fun, Shaftesbury is the site of Gold Hill, possibly the most
photographed street in all of Britain (and one of the steepest!). Not
really period, but charming enough to knock your socks off:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaftesbury#/media/File:Gold_Hill,_Shaftsbury,_Dorset,_England.JPG
.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆