On the night of Wednesday, 1st of April, I was thinking…..it’ll all be kicking off around Callanish, as I believe that the ancient sites of the Western Isles are more focused on the Moon, while those of Orkney are more focused on the Sun
https://theorkneynews.scot/…/our-trip-to-the-isle-of…
I’m sorry to say that Margaret Curtis passed from this life some years ago, and I don’t know what happened to her wonderful collection of information and images.
Lady Luna on Wednesday night.
I posted the above on the ‘Ancient Stone Bothering‘ site https://www.facebook.com/groups/2003881253140331
Someone responded that he bowed to Margaret’s memory – hadn’t known that she had passed. I put the following pieces together as a response to him, then thought I’d post them here too
“I’m going to post some bits & pieces I have referencing Margaret Curtis, who was an exceptional person. Seems fitting to do so, at this time.
First….I wrote the following to a friend – in fact, to Euan Mackie – archaeo-astronomer extra-ordinaire….
‘I’m writing this, mainly to tell you about a wonderful meeting we had with a woman called Margaret Curtis.
We were driving along when we saw a sign which says “Sun, Standing Stones and Sacred Landscape. Exhibition.” We couldn’t pass that by, so we stopped and met Margaret Curtis. Before I go any further, she says she has met you at various conferences and asked us to give you her best regards.
You’ll be well aware of the work which Margaret, and both her husbands, have done. Also, she’s a great admirer of Prof. Thom and his son’s work. Did you know that she set out to dis-prove Alexander Thom’s megalithic yard theory, only to find that everything she did just proved it, instead? Maybe that’s Grandma sucking eggs time, again!
Anyway, you will be aware of her work, but I think you would very much like to see her exhibition. She has produced a wonderful exhibition in her garden shed. It’s a bit ramshackle, for which she kept apologizing but I pointed out that anyone who is genuinely interested won’t care about the situation, it’s the information that counts. It’s the knowledge that counts.
She and her husbands have also produced some booklets about the Lewis sites, mainly Callanish. It’s quite a small exhibition, but with so much information, and so many ideas, which can lead on, to further information. She says she has a loft full of data and notes. I mentioned my concern about what would happen to this work when she’s gone, as, well, Euan, you’ll see that it would be such a shame, for such work to disappear. All too often families ‘clear out’ when someone dies and, if they don’t have the same interest in what they’ve done, simply throw away or burn their work! Margaret says she’s approached Historic Scotland about archiving the work – not interested.
She gave some of their papers to the local library, who stored the material under a leaky window!!!!! I’m going to contact Margaret, and suggest she tries local, or even national, museums. Especially as there’s going to be a new museum in the renovated Lews Castle. It’s material which really should be conserved, in fact, archived and be accessible for research.
I’ve rambled on a bit, there. Nothing new! Mainly, I just think you would really like to see Margaret’s exhibition, and talk to her at more length than is possible at a conference. We were there for a couple of hours, talking and looking. She had to go, as she needed to be somewhere at 1 o’clock, and, we didn’t have a lot of time. And, yes, she showed us that the Lewis sites, are mostly more ‘moony’ than ‘sunny’. With the moon, dancing over the landscape and stones. I think the stones look like they’re moving, too. Unlike Brodgar and Stenness, which just stand still and are very solid and dependable, the Callanish stones, look like they’re moving, slightly, all the time. The ‘waves’ in the Gneiss help to produce that effect. It’s a mad, wild, kind of place.’
And, to another friend….
‘Have you ever come across Margaret Curtis? She lives on Lewis and we met her a couple of years ago, when we were there. Margaret demonstrates how the ancient builders, planned and plotted the shapes of the stone circles, and ellipses etc, by using a stick, and a piece of string. Maybe you have met her, and even visited her exhibition? It’s wonderful, the work which she and her husband did. I’m concerned that all that work, will be lost, when Margaret passes. I would hope that the new museum in Lews castle, might give her work a space to itself. That’s a different matter – I’m mentioning Margaret, because she used a similar method, to demonstrate how to make clear, precise geometric shapes, just with a stick and a bit of string….and some maths! She’s a fascinating woman, and also a very pleasant and friendly woman.’
We have since visited the new museum in Lews Castle, and no, they didn’t make a place for Margaret’s work. Maybe not ‘touristy’ enough for them?”
Plus
I wonder where Margaret is now?
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