I am not even sure how we saw them hidden there in the shadows beneath the altar. I do know we would never have seen them had we not been looking at the unusual cross-fleury on the floor. The mosaic had already intrigued us with its scattering of roses and fleur de lys, before we realised that the altar table had been moved from its original position against the east wall of the church. It now stood a few feet away from the wall, effectively hiding the vine-wreathed cross.
Now, we may have been known to lift the skirts of the altar from time to time, but we draw the line at moving the altars themselves, just to get a better shot. So we did the best we could… and it was then that we saw the stones.
I have no idea who they belong to…apart from the church itself… nor who the artist may be, but I fell in love with them there and then.
We see faces in standing stones and the great boulders that strew the prehistoric landscape and have written often enough of our conviction that what we can see through modern eyes, our ancestors, closer to the land than we, would have seen even more readily. Whoever worked with these two small stones can obviously see the life in the stone too.
The stones in question are just two bits of rough local sandstone. The contours and natural colouration of the stones have been carefully enhanced… partly by scratching the surface and partly …well, I’m not even sure how they’ve done it. One is a work in progress, the other is a work of art.
It shows the Nativity, complete with a watchful sheep. So carefully has the worn stone been worked that it is almost impossible to say what is the handiwork of the craftsman and what is the work of the Artist. Holding that stone in my hand, I was reminded of the kinship of the act of loving creation that brings man and divinity very close.
Wow they’re amazing…
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I thoughts so too, Michael.
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Thanks for sharing Jaye x
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What a stunning discovery, Sue!
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They are gorgeous, aren’t they?
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I would love to know why they were hiding under the alter…
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So would I…
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Wow, they’re beautiful! I particularly like the one in the first photo, which I assume you referred to as being ‘work in progress’ – the art and the stone’s natural form are so deeply intermingled. Indeed – loving creation, particularly when using natural materials I think, is a potential bridge, a threshold to divinity. Thanks for sharing, and so glad you found them! Blessings, Harula x
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I felt privileged to glimpse them, Harula.
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How wonderful.
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Aren’t they?
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Oh my, what an amazing find. I just love these stones and to think they were hidden from most people´s view. They are meant for the inquisitive I believe.
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I would love to know the story behind their making.
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They are amazing, Sue. Really beautiful. Is there someone connected to the church who might know the history of them? And why they are hidden away?
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I wouldn’t know where to begin..other than emailing the vicar…and he might not care for folk looking under the altar !)
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thank you!
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WordPress needs a “love” button. These are beautiful.
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I thought so too, Staci.
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Wow, they are lovely.
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Aren’t they 🙂
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Really beautiful, why hidden though? 💜
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I’d love to know…perhaps just waiting to be finished.
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Yes maybe 🌹
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Pingback: Under the altar… – The Militant Negro™
Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Those artefacts look amazing.
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They are, Tom. I’d love to know more about them.
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They’ve ‘come out’ really well…
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They did… I really do like these.
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So which one is Jesus then, if any? …
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The Child, surely?
Or the Lamb…
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Is it a lamb, or a goat…
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Definitely a lamb… it’s way too early for heresy 😉
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That nativity in the stone is amazing, Sue.
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I love it.
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Lovely stone. You held it? I held the moon rock on display at the Smithsonian back in the early 70’s. I returned a few years ago with my grandchildren to see the rock. Sadly, it was no more than a small stone, a mere sliver of its former self. I do hope your sandstone carved stone survives intact.
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Yes… I sort of had to bring it out into the light to see if what I thought I saw was really there…and it was.
It must be quite something to hold a stone that grew up on another planet.
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It was a powerful feeling. Much like your realizing. I wish the astronauts had brought back two, one to see and one to touch.
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I can only imagine, Jennie.
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🙂
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Reblogged this on Stuart France.
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