The History and Significance of the god Lao Jun

Chinese mythology is full of mortals who, after their deaths, were deified due to the impact they had on Chinese society. We can see this in Guan Yin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy and compassion who was based on an ancient Chinese princess who became a nun. Guan Di, a mortal general was made the Daoist guardian of soldiers and policeman.

The religions that flourished in China helped give Chinese mythology a uniqueness of its own. For a long time, ancestral worship was the main religion, then Confucianism, Daoism (also spelt Taoism) and Buddhism was introduced. Each gave China a vast range of deified mortals to add to the pantheon.

Perhaps the most important mortal man to be elevated to the status of a god was Laozi who, after his death, became the god Lao Jun (or Lao Chun).

Laozi (or Lao-tzu) was said to have lived sometime from around 600 – 517 BCE and is the founder of Daoism, as well as being a key deity in it. His original name was Li Erh and he was deified under the name Lao Jun around the second century BCE. Then he was declared the god of alchemists and potters, and regarded as one of the three San Ch’ing, the Three Pure Ones.

Ancient writers state that his birth was unusual. “When Laozi was born, within three days his body underwent nine changes. It grew to a height of nine feet. He had gray eyebrows and white hair. On his forehead, he had the Sun Horn and the Moon Crescent. His nose had a double rim, and his ears three openings. His face was adorned with beautifully shaped eyebrows and a square mouth. He showed the sign of lordship on his feet and had the mark of the ruler on his palms. All in all, he possessed the seventy-two divine signs and eighty-one auspicious marks of the sage on his body”.

As the original and principle aspect of the Dao, he cannot be seen or touched. However, unlike the Dao itself, Lao Jun is a person, an entity, and can be seen as the humanized symbol of the Dao. Although he is a fully developed being, he remains within the void and at the root of all creation.

Another ancient writer, Xie Shouhao, claimed that when Lao Jun was resting, then his form took that of a man. However, he did not originally have a permanent body; he was pure energy.

Lao Jun was said to have two bodies – a teaching body and a true body. This distinction was derived from the Buddhist doctrine of the trikaya (three bodies) of the Buddha: the dharmakdya (body of the law), the true spiritual body of the deity that signifies the fundamental nature of his being, the complete and means of the universe; the sambhogakdya (reward body), the celestial materialization of the Buddha in which he enjoys heavenly ecstasy; and the nirmdnakaya (transformation body), the human appearance in which he takes shape on earth.

In this regard then, Lao Jun’s true body is “utterly complete and entirely still, never arising, never passing”. His true body is invisible and cannot be artistically represented. However, his teaching body, that in the form of a human man, can be depicted. Adepts use these man-made replicas as guides to visualization and, praying at the deity's altars, act as if they were facing his actual true body. Thus they learn to "observe with proper penetration" and eventually find that "his body is no longer a proper body”. The image of the deity becomes true and coincides with the void; adepts penetrate the true Tao, in which Laozi is shapeless. "The Tao cannot be seen-if you see it, it is not the Tao."

Bibliography:

Kohn, Livia (1996) The Looks of Laozi, Asian Folklore Studies, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.

Funeral Rites among the Lama Priests of the Monguor

In all cultures across the world, death and the traditions bound up in death are important aspects of one’s culture. Among the Monguor (also known as the Tu), one of the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups in China, there are certain funerary rites that must be adhered to in order to safeguard the community. In addition to this, deaths are categorised into different groups; those who have died a natural death, an unnatural death or the death of a lama.

A lama is a Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism (Tibetan Buddhism) and the death of one of these priests is of great concern among the Monguor. Death and the spirits are considered with great seriousness as if the proper rites are not performed correctly, then the spirit can raise havoc among the community.

If a lama is advanced in years or is clearly seriously ill, a coffin is built for him in advance. The coffin is constructed sloping at the top and is painted red with a sun and moon symbols. The box is built on a small scale, usually only big enough “accommodate the corpse, which is set in the box in a squatting position just prior to being carried to the cremation ground”.

As the lama dies, his clan and immediate family are invited to join in the ‘death watch’. As soon as the lama dies, his ajiu (important male maternal relative) is informed. The rest of his family and village are then told. On the first day of his death there are endless burning of symbolic paper money and flat pieces of fried bread (which are only used during the Spring Festival, the Day of Pure Brightness, and the anniversary of the death of the deceased, and are never eaten).

The body is then prepared. The body is generally tied in a squatting position, dressed in his finest clothes. His face is white-washed and covered in yellow silk. The head is crowned with a five-directional hat and then the body is placed in the centre of the north room facing the door. A table or chest is placed in front of him where offerings of fruit, money, large sugar crystals, a bowl of rice in which crossed chopsticks are inserted, bread, joss sticks, oil lamps, etc, are placed upon. The body will stay here until the third day of his death.

On the third day, the ajiu arrives to visit the deceased with a group of people. Several old women will walk behind him, singing loud laments. As soon as the ajiu arrives, family members rush out of the home and kneel outside on the ground, and, as the ajiu draws near, they kowtow, holding incense sticks. It is the older family members, and those who are closely related to the lama, that will kowtow and the entire family will wail before the ajiu enters the home.

After this, the body is then placed in his coffin. The windows are closed in order to prevent the curious looking in. As this happens, a retinue for wailing women set off for the cremation site, singling laments about the deceased. The woman going in front carries a wicker basket containing crumpled funeral bread and bits of "sacred paper" burned for the deceased. As she walks to the site, she will gradually throw out the contents of the basket. The women have effectively, “opened a road for the deceased to follow”.

The coffin is then brought to the site. The ajiu walks in front of the coffin and the rest of the family and community behind them. Once they reach the site, a screen of several blankets are placed around the oven before the corpse is placed seated upon it in privacy. “The coffin sedan is smashed to pieces and the pieces placed in the oven bottom, above a basin of liquefied butter and cypress needles”.

On one side, a group of lamas will assemble. Usually they number seven but any up to twenty will arrive. “After the lamas assemble and begin chanting, a lama hands the oldest xiaozi a long tree-branch, the end of which has been tied with cotton, dipped in butter, and set ablaze. The xiaozi accepts the torch, kowtows to the dead lama, then kneels and lights the fuel inside the cremation oven through the four small openings at the bottom”.

At this point the women leave and only the men remain. After an hour the rest of the villagers will leave as well so that only a few xiaozi (male relatives) and lamas remain. After the lamas have finished their chanting, they too depart.

The fire then burns out and after three days the oven is opened, and the bones are removed using red chopsticks, wrapped in yellow gold paper, and placed in a small container. This container may then be buried locally or sent to Kumbum (Taer Temple). The mourning period of the nephew of a lama lasts for 100 days. In this time they should not cut any facial hair or brush their hair. In addition to this, they are should not wash their faces until after the coffin is taken out.

The funerals and traditions surrounding the deaths of lamas among the Monguor are fascinating; it has been pondered by scholars as to the reasons why they are cremated and never buried in their ancestral burial grounds. It has been suggested that this is because they die childless and if they were buried in ancestral ground it could bring bad luck to the community – which future generations may not reproduce.

Bibliography:

Stuart, Kevin & Hu, Jun (1992) Death and Funerals among the Minhe Tu (Monguor), Asian Folklore Studies, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.

Examples of Religious Diversity in Roman Britain

The Romans conquered many civilizations during the Republic and once Rome became an Empire. However, most non-academics do not realize that although Rome imposed much of their culture on these people, religious tolerance was one of Rome’s strengths. It is my intention to explore religious tolerance in Roman Britain through the use of the archaeological record.

The first example I wish to present, is the goddess Senuna. Near Baldock in Hertfordshire in 2002, a metal detector found a hoard of artefacts. This hoard is now on display in the British Museum. One inscription is dedicated to the goddess, which states

D SENVNE FLAVIA CVNORIS V S L M

This translates as “To the goddess Senuna, Flavia Cunoris paid her vow, willingly, deservedly” (Burnham, Hunter, Fitzpatrick, Worrel, Hassell & Tomlin, p. 489). Until this discovery, this goddess was unknown and has been able to throw new light on the religious diversity between the Romans and the native population. The votive plaques of the goddess gives her similar characteristics similar to that of Sulis Minerva, the Romano-British goddess, worshipped at Bath in Somerset. Since there are springs near to where the hoard was found, it could be argued that the goddess was associated with “the south-British river whose name is transmitted by the Ravenna Cosmography as Senua” (, Hunter, Fitzpatrick, Worrel, Hassell & Tomlin, p. 489).

The offerings, which included coins, jewellery, votive plaques, a figurine and cloak clasps, are of importance. The jewellery was imported from different parts of the Roman Empire, and the name of Flavia Cunoris suggests that the dedication was from a Roman woman, rather than a local woman. So from this, we can clearly see that a native goddess was worshipped, respected and given offerings to not only from the local population, but also from the Romans.

The next example to explore the theme of religious diversity in Roman Britain is the archaeological finds of Abandinus in Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire. Excavations uncovered a bath-house and three temples or shrines. As with many Celtic gods, we only have one inscribed that records his existence in Celtic mythology. It reads,

DEO ABANDINO VATIAVCVS D S D

Which translates as “To the god Abandinus, Vatiacus gave this from his own resources” (Wilson, Wright & Hassall, p.325). This inscription was found on the bottom of a single bronze feather found in the disused aqueduct of the bath-house. Because of the evidence found, it can be argued that Abandinus was a local deity and was worshipped by the Romans. So here is another example of religious diversity between the native Celts and the Roman population.

One more example that I wish to put forward is the cult of Mithras. Mithras was the Persian god of truth and light, and evidence of his worship can be found throughout the Roman Empire, as this deity was very popular with the Roman soldiers. A stone relief depicting his divine birth was found in northern England, and temples dedicated to the god have been along Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. Excavations undertaken at a temple of Mithras in London uncovered a wealth of icons and treasures that were buried before the building was converted into a building for a different form of worship in the 4^th century CE (Perring, p.123).

From the evidence shown in the archaeological record show that religious diversity in Roman Britain was more fluid than fixed. The cultural differences between the native and the Roman population were not quite as negative as what some people still believe today. In fact, it is because of the belief and respect the Roman soldiers paid to these Celtic deities that we today can identify and learn more about them.

Bibliography:

Burnham, Barry., Hunter, F., Fitzpatrick, A.P., Worrel, S., Hassall, M.W.C. & Tomlin, R.S.O (2004) Roman Britain in 2004, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

Perring, Dominic (2003) ‘Gnosticism’ in Forth-century Britain: The Frampton Mosaics Reconsidered, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

Wilson, D.R., Wright, R.P. & Hassall, M.W.C. (1973) Roman Britain in 1972, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

A History of Ancestral Worship in Asia

Religions have shaped the lives of people for countless centuries; not only have they explained the natural occurrences that happened around us, but they have comforted us in our darkest times and given us hope. Religion has also played a dramatic role in art, literature and politics.

Throughout history, a vast array of religious beliefs have emerged to affect people and nations; some of these religions have disappeared entirely, some have disappeared only to be re-introduced with some variations, and some have stood the test of times. Today, the main religions are Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Paganism.

In Asia, a number of religions have emerged in her long history. One of the earliest belief systems was that of ancestral worship. In countries such as Korea, China and Japan, ritual services for ancestor worship have been practiced for centuries and still play an important role in traditional village life. It was not only in the family home that this belief system had influence; the reverence of one’s ancestors had considerable repercussions on political forms. Although ancestral worship was practiced throughout Asia, there were several differences on how each country worshipped.

In China, ancestor worship was modelled on Confucian ideals; the philosophy of Confucianism consists of an exceptionally organized, hierarchical establishment within the social order in which the family was the basis of social stability. The reverence for one’s ancestors and propitiation of their spirits had been practiced before the Shang Dynasty, although it was not believed that many ancestors were thought to survive into the spirit world. It was most likely thought that only the spirits of important people would be lucky enough to survive.

After the Warring States Period (475 – 221 BCE), Chinese society became more complex and there were distinct differences between how the common people was treated from the nobility. For instance, the nobility were not subject to punishments such as mutilation that were inflicted on commoners. In addition, it was only the nobly born that could participate in the cults which were the heart of the Chinese notion of kinship. Only the nobility belonged to a family, which meant that only they had ancestors.

The patriarchal heads of the families were considered to be the intermediaries between the mortal world and that of the spirit world as they held the authority over the household. A family was a ritually constructed social unit and was in itself a moral act, and the ability to do so successfully was a demonstration of the moral superiority of the family member. In time, these practices came to identify those people who were entitled to hold offices or possess land, especially those who led and ruled clans, as religious superiority was the heart of the ruling house’s claim to power.

We can see this when the Chou (otherwise known as Zhou) displaced the Shang – the idea was introduced that a god superior to the ancestral god of the dynasty and that from him there was derived a mandate to rule. Now, it was decreed by Chou, that the mandate was required to pass into other hands.

The Four Rituals (sili) of capping, marriage, funerals and ancestral sacrifice were the rituals that were practiced within the family. It was the last ritual that was of great importance. These sacrifices were made at the ancestral altar or temple (zongsi) at which these ancestral rites were conducted. As one scholar states, “Requiting one's progenitors for giving one birth is the first precondition for proper human conduct (rendao); collecting together as a lineage to worship one's founding ancestor is the usual and proper way to honour one's roots”.

However, since only the nobly born were considered to have ancestors, the common people turned to the worship of nature deities; the worship of the personifications of mountains and rivers were highly popular with commoners, although it should be stated that they received some attention from the nobility as well.

In Korea, ancestral worship had great influence on the lives of the everyday people and many performed rituals in order to pay respect to one’s ancestors. For example, a direct descendant must carry out such rituals eight times each year on the death remembrance days of all his ancestors from the fourth generation beyond that of his parents, as well as four other annually rituals performed on seasonal festivals and several rituals which are carried out at the graveyard.

In the Korean ancestral belief system, there are two types of spirits, namely the good or benign ancestor and the evil spirit or ghost. A spirit becomes either one of these spirits by the manner of their deaths. Evil spirits or ghosts are created when a person dies either by suicide or by an accident, usually outside the home, who then go on to haunt the world and perform malicious acts. A benevolent spirit was produced when someone died of natural causes in the home after a long life; the spirits of these individuals would then become the ancestor spirits who would protect their descendants and families.

Funerary rites are an important aspect in Korean ancestral worship. When a person is about to die in their homes, his family brings him to the warmer part of the home and placed on his deathbed. He is dressed in a clean cloth named ch'ongo chongch'im. The children of the person are required to watch their parents at the end and if they speak any last words, to write them down at the head of the deathbed.

Once the individual’s death is confirmed, all ornaments are removed from their heads and hands, then their hair is loosened and tears are shed. After this, a member of the family would take the cloth and go outside and climb onto the roof. Facing north, they call out the name of the deceased repeating the word ‘pok’ (which means ‘return’) and pulls up the garment onto the roof. This ritual is named kop ok, calling back the spirit of the dead.

Looking at the worship of one’s ancestors in Japan, there are some similarities and differences to that of China and Japan. In one village in Okinawa, it is believed that the patrilineal descent group (munchuu) should not die out or, if it does, that the house should not be demolished. If the house does fall down then the site should not be built upon by another family as it is taboo for anyone but patrilineal descendants to build a house on it.

Ancestor spirits (gwansu) who have no descendants to pay them homage are given extra ancestral tablets in the ancestral table often separated by a board from the tablets of the proper ancestors of the household. They are considered to be unhappy and restless spirits, known as the ‘cold ancestors’ (hijuru gwansu). An heir is often looked for them if possible as ancestors who lack a suitable heir are believed to be pitiful and dangerous, as well as abnormal and inappropriate.

For the Japanese, to revere one’s ancestors he is supposed to honour them by offering them prayers, incense, foods, etc. In return, his ancestors are expected to protect him. When an unmarried woman dies, she is worshipped by the patrilineal descendants of her family, but her ancestral status in her maternal household is nonessential. For a married woman, her bones are placed in the same urn as her husband’s, thus nearly obliterating her own identity. Her ancestral significance is totally dependent on that of her husband’s. After her thirty-third death anniversary is celebrated, she is only worshipped as the wife of her husband.

Ancestor worship has given Asia a religious belief system that has been individually adopted and adapted by each country and given it their own colourful stamp. When looking at this belief system in Asia, it is surprising to see the similarities between each country as well as the universal meaning and message behind the faith – that family is the most important thing in the world.

Bibliography:

Lee, Kwang Kyu (1984) The Concept of Ancestors and Ancestral worship in Korea, Asian Folklore Studies, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.

Masako, Tanaka (1977) Categories of Okinawan “Ancestors” and the Kinship System, Asian Folklore Studies, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.

Rowe, William T. (1998) Ancestral Rites and Political Authority in Late Imperial China: Chen Hongmou in Jiangxi, Modern China, Sage Publications Inc.

Examples of Religious Diversity in Roman Britain.

The Romans conquered many civilizations during the Republic and once Rome became an Empire. However, most non-academics do not realize that although Rome imposed much of their culture on these people, religious tolerance was one of Rome’s strengths. It is my intention to explore religious tolerance in Roman Britain through the use of the archaeological record.

The first example I wish to present, is the goddess Senuna. Near Baldock in Hertfordshire in 2002, a metal detector found a hoard of artefacts. This hoard is now on display in the British Museum. One inscription is dedicated to the goddess, which states

D SENVNE FLAVIA CVNORIS V S L M

This translates as “To the goddess Senuna, Flavia Cunoris paid her vow, willingly, deservedly” (Burnham, Hunter, Fitzpatrick, Worrel, Hassell & Tomlin, p. 489). Until this discovery, this goddess was unknown and has been able to throw new light on the religious diversity between the Romans and the native population. The votive plaques of the goddess gives her similar characteristics similar to that of Sulis Minerva, the Romano-British goddess, worshipped at Bath in Somerset. Since there are springs near to where the hoard was found, it could be argued that the goddess was associated with “the south-British river whose name is transmitted by the Ravenna Cosmography as Senua” (, Hunter, Fitzpatrick, Worrel, Hassell & Tomlin, p. 489). The offerings, which included coins, jewellery, votive plaques, a figurine and cloak clasps, are of importance. The jewellery was imported from different parts of the Roman Empire, and the name of Flavia Cunoris suggests that the dedication was from a Roman woman, rather than a local woman. So from this, we can clearly see that a native goddess was worshipped, respected and given offerings to not only from the local population, but also from the Romans.

The next example to explore the theme of religious diversity in Roman Britain is the archaeological finds of Abandinus in Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire. Excavations uncovered a bath-house and three temples or shrines. As with many Celtic gods, we only have one inscribed that records his existence in Celtic mythology. It reads,

DEO ABANDINO VATIAVCVS D S D

Which translates as “To the god Abandinus, Vatiacus gave this from his own resources” (Wilson, Wright & Hassall, p.325). This inscription was found on the bottom of a single bronze feather found in the disused aqueduct of the bath-house. Because of the evidence found, it can be argued that Abandinus was a local deity and was worshipped by the Romans. So here is another example of religious diversity between the native Celts and the Roman population.

One more example that I wish to put forward is the cult of Mithras. Mithras was the Persian god of truth and light, and evidence of his worship can be found throughout the Roman Empire, as this deity was very popular with the Roman soldiers. A stone relief depicting his divine birth was found in northern England, and temples dedicated to the god have been along Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. Excavations undertaken at a temple of Mithras in London uncovered a wealth of icons and treasures that were buried before the building was converted into a building for a different form of worship in the 4th century CE (Perring, p.123).

From the evidence shown in the archaeological record show that religious diversity in Roman Britain was more fluid than fixed. The cultural differences between the native and the Roman population were not quite as negative as what some people still believe today. In fact, it is because of the belief and respect the Roman soldiers paid to these Celtic deities that we today can identify and learn more about them.

Bibliography

Burnham, Barry., Hunter, F., Fitzpatrick, A.P., Worrel, S., Hassall, M.W.C. & Tomlin, R.S.O (2004) Roman Britain in 2004, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

Perring, Dominic (2003) ‘Gnosticism’ in Forth-century Britain: The Frampton Mosaics Reconsidered, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

Wilson, D.R., Wright, R.P. & Hassall, M.W.C. (1973) Roman Britain in 1972, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

The Mayan Religion

For the Mayan people, the universe was essentially chaotic yet predictable; living creatures subject to predetermined positions in the world and its people were thought to exist within an alternating pattern of life and death, each cycle lasting 5,200 years. It is this model, this pattern, which comes to identity Mayan religion.

According to sources available, the realm of heaven in Mayan cosmology was one of permanence. To ensure its constancy, colossal cosmic trees secure heaven in its place. It was then divided into thirteen distinct levels, which were each overruled by a god. Mayan society believed that a person had to have met a violent end if they were to enter heaven in the next world. Each stratum was meant for a specific type of violent death. This meant that sacrificial victims occupied a different realm to that of people who had been struck by lightning or drowned, for example.

The destination of the majority of the Mayan people was Xibalba, the “Place of Fright”. It had nine levels and its own collection of gods, who, for the main part, represented or resembled particular characteristics of deities of the Earth and sky. In Mayan society, as with other Mesoamerican cultures, there was no concept of human morality. The underworld was the ultimate destination for all people who had not met a violent end, and not reserved for sinners. The Temple I at Tikal and the Castillo at Chechen Itza in the Yucatan peninsula are nine-layered pyramids, where kings, priests and elite men were interred, symbolising the nine layers of Xibalba.

We can see the notion of a stratified cosmos among the Mayan in the construction of temples and shrines. These were predominantly built on top of the pyramids or the peaks of mountains, so that rituals could be performed as close to the heavenly realms of the sky as close as possible.

A broad pantheon of deities was worshipped by the Mayan. Some of these deities are hard to differentiate due to the fact that some deities possessed both male and female characteristics. Some had the ability to be both young and old, and assume either spiritual or corporeal form. Some possessed animal characteristics, or had combined human and divine attributes. However, in considering the nature of Maya gods, we may first rid ourselves of certain misconceptions by noting that in our field the term pantheon should not be taken in its strictly Greek sense.

According to such scholars as Morley and Brainerd, during the Classic Period the Maya were not worshippers of images. Most scholars relying on ethno-historic sources and archaeological information from Yucatan agree that 'idolatry' was introduced into Yucatan by the Nahua speakers of the Post-Classic era (950-1520 CE), who brought with them the practice of making idols.

The Maya had a full-time priesthood with an internal hierarchy, who performed important ceremonies in enduring temples of various kinds. The community temple was known as ‘ku’ or ‘kuna’. According to scholars there were differences between temple structure from the domestic structures, although rites, offerings, and prayers were made in both; “we see evidence for public religion and private religion, and communal rites versus household ritual” (Marcus, p.181). Priests controlled calendrical knowledge (such as the timing of festivals of the 260 day ritual calendar) as well as various methods for divination and prophecy. The ordinary priests were known as ‘ah kin’, and below them were religious functionaries with more focused functions.

The religion of the Mayan is a complicated knot of mythology and symbolism, but the study allows great insight into one of the most fascinating cultures of the world.

Bibliography:

Coe, Michael D. (1956) The Funerary Temple Among the Classic Maya, Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, University of New Mexico.

Marcus, Joyce (1978) Archaeology and Religion: A Comparison of the Zapotec and Maya, World archaeology, Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Welcome to The Archaeology Queen!

Welcome to everyone who has stumbled into The Archaeology Queen....

This is a site dedicated to archaeology, anthropolgy, history, art history, mythology, religion and everything else that has links to the past. It is intended to be a haven of information for all age ranges, for those pursuing a career in history and for those who are just interested in the subject.

Let me introduce myself; my name is Lian Slayford and I am an archaeology student as well as an editor and freelance writer. I am continuing to study at university in order to specialise in religious archaeology; more specifically, symbolism in ancient religions. Think of me as Dan Brown's character, Robert Langdon, in the Da Vinci Code - only blonde, female and a lovely English accent!

Archaeology has always fascinated me since I was a little girl and I have devoured books on mythology and history since then. Because of this, I know (for the most part) nearly all the myths and legends that have emerged from the Classical world. In recent years, however, I have found myself being drawn to the east, to the worlds of ancient China, Korea and Japan (and it's not just because of the gorgeous men!).

I currently live in Birmingham, UK, although I was born and raised in Woking, Surrey. I moved to the West Midlands last year and although I miss having the British Museum on my doorstep, I must admit I do live living in Birmingham. I have 2 dogs - Medea, a pure white Siberian husky girl (who was, yes, named after the Greek Medea - my favourite mythological character) and Thorne, a massive Northern Inuit, who, like most male dogs, is a big wimp!

I intend to post articles relating to the subjects that hold my heart; you will find many articles on the world's different deities, civilizations and specific incidents. You will also find that I will post places of interest to the subject of archaeology and sites where I believe offer interesting, insightful and reliable information.

You can find many of my articles on Helium.com where I am the sub-channel steward for the Asian, African and Middle Eastern History channels, as well as the Asian Languages channel due to my knowledge on these subjects. You can go straight to my profile there by here www.helium.com/users/508025

Well, that's all I think I should state at this moment in time. New articles will be posted regularly and I hope that you, the reader, will enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing them.

The Archaeology Queen.
aka Lian.