Heavy is the head...

We found it!

I can’t believe it, really. In our last post, I posted images of the Beltane raiment we’d found - the mask and smock, and said that there was mention of a crown in the notes of the group that lived here before. But the crown wasn’t there.

A week later and it is sitting in front of me! The cook, who out of all of the staff here is the only one I would claim to have any relationship with, heard me speaking to the rest of the group (who are still on the mainland) on the phone. He said that he had seen the crown, and that he could take me to it. Well of course, I was ecstatic. I was even happier when he brought out two old photos of the crown in use at some point.

He took me to the small shed that butts up to the side of the hall, on the lawn that leads to the mausoleum. It’s granite, like most buildings here, and full of junk. And there, on an old chest, is the crown.

It’s heavy - really heavy. Which is no surprise, as it seems to be made out of lead - folded back on itself, and punch printed with an eel and a leopard. I think it must have been processional - it’s far to heavy to wear (we weighed it in the kitchen, its almost 4kg!)

I’m so pleased to have found it, to have been able to document it. We found it a home, the cook and I (his name is Caden, by the way) and a velvet pillow. It glows gold and green in the sunlight, like gorse. I’ll be back in the shed tomorrow, I’m sure there are more things to uncover…

The Eythin Crown in all its glory.