Archeologists Uncover Evidence of Pagan Rites in Cornwall

Over the past four years or so, archeologists in Cornwall, England, have been quietly digging up pits that date back to the middle of the sixteenth century. The pits appear to contain ritually buried birds, eggs, pebbles, and human debris such as hair and fingernails. Dig leader Jacqui Wood said that the rural village of Saveock Water consisted about five homes during the time when the pits were originally created.

In addition to fingernails and human hair, the 35 shallow pits were found to contain swan pelts, unhatched eggs, and the bodies of magpies. A nearby spring was lined with stone, much in the fashion of many holy wells of the area, and was found to contain a number of offerings that dated from the same period. The well and the nearby pits were apparently filled in an effort to hide them from local authorities -- the 1600s were a tumultuous time in Englaind's history, and anyone suspected of Pagan activity would quickly have been in a heap of trouble. In addition, swans were considered the property of the crown, so killing them could have been a highly punishable offense.

Wood said, "A lot of the paganism of the Celts was wiped out by the Romans, but not in Cornwall... Swan feathers had a connection with fertility. It's possible these offerings were being left. Then, if there was a conception, nine months later the person would return to empty the pit."