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Home » A Short Story for You and Archaeology News about Tin and Stone

A Short Story for You and Archaeology News about Tin and Stone

image of cover of Sheltering a Sorcerer

From My Fantasy Writing Desk:

Sorcery in Alpara Arrives 10/14

This is the best moment to place your preorder for Sorcery in Alpara. It’s priced for a short time (along with all my other books) at only $2.99.

Last week in my blog I told you about the short story you can ONLY get by preordering Sorcery in Alpara. Sometimes news is worth repeating. Follow these easy steps:

1. Before Oct 14, preorder Sorcery in Alpara 

2. Email me at offers@JudithStarkston.com and attach a copy of your Amazon preorder receipt (or screenshot) before October 14th. The story will be emailed to you on or before 10/14.

Here’s the handy page on my website for this preorder special.

cover image Sheltering a Sorcerer

Sheltering a Sorcerer

In the Hitolian Empire, sorcerers, and all who protect them, are marked for death by the Great King. Sheltering a magical child is lethally dangerous. That doesn’t stop Anna.

Archaeology I Enjoyed:

From Cornish Mines

Cornwall with modern Botallack mine

Last week I commented on how much archaeology has revealed the far-flung international trade routes that surpass anything we used to think. Here’s an article about analysis of tin ingots found in Bronze Age shipwrecks off Israel. Previously the assumption was that tin in the lands of the eastern Mediterranean came from central Asia. Guess where it really came from? The mines of Cornwall. The Romans may have viewed Britain as the back of beyond, but apparently the trade of the Late Bronze Age—far earlier—made it that far and from a more distant starting point. Click here for Times of Israel “Groundbreaking study: Ancient tin ingots found in Israel were mined in England”

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Tomb of Eleanor of Aquitaine at Fontevraud 

They’ve revealed a stone carving of Eleanor of Aquitaine’s head. It came to light during conservation work on Bradwell Abbey in Milton Keynes, England. She’s lost the tip of her nose (as happens to aged statuary) but otherwise she’s looking quite impressive, even for someone already known as one of the most influential people of the Middle Ages. Click here for Milton Keyes “Ancient Queen’s Head is Discovered in Milton Keyes”

Dolmen of Guadalperal

Spanish Standing Stones, photo by Pleonr Wiki

Drought has revealed standing stones in Spain dating to around 2,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE. A reservoir built under Franco in the 1960s flooded the Dolmen of Guadalperal. Like Stonehenge the stones form a circle. Some have serpents carved into them. There’s interest in moving the stones to higher ground for study and tourism. The function of the stones is up for hypotheses—gathering place for religious rites, trade or ? What are your ideas? Click here for Gizmodo “Submerged for Decades Spanish Stonehenge reemerges”