tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post6666711902732030371..comments2024-03-01T19:21:45.981+00:00Comments on ancient malt and ale : The land of milk and honey Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06815653967372313451noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-66176006097620465902021-02-15T10:23:46.634+00:002021-02-15T10:23:46.634+00:00Thank you for that comment. I agree that part of t...Thank you for that comment. I agree that part of the problem is the unquestioning acceptance of a luminary's opinion over common sense, i.e. Merryn suggested that the caried pig teeth at Durrington Walls was because they were fed on brewers "spent grain", which was rejected with the comment "They were fed on honey." Honey does not induce caries. Or how about eating 400 cows at a feast ( with no beer) on Orkney on the basis of a pile of bones.<br />I prefer to think the marrow bones are left over from a paint factory : https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21046-oldest-artists-workshop-in-the-world-discovered/ .Graham Dineleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-87937834128520878162021-02-14T17:16:40.755+00:002021-02-14T17:16:40.755+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Graham Dineleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-74172881569589146512021-02-14T14:16:56.095+00:002021-02-14T14:16:56.095+00:00It is sad that you have been treated in this way, ...It is sad that you have been treated in this way, but while I feel angry, I am not surprised. For many years I struggled to explain that some Romano-British "grain dryers" might in fact be maltkilns. Now that seems to be accepted as possible. Vernacular archaeologists insisted for years that there were no malt drying ovens beside the domestic fireplace - they were all described as smoke chambers, and used to smoke bacon, etc. While this may be true in many cases, I pointed out those with circular ledges only to be told they must have had some use for the bacon. (When there were 2 of these ovens on the same fireplace, I was told they must be of different dates, but both for the smoking of bacon) Fortunately now there is grudging acceptance that grain-drying may be the case, but not specifically for malt. <br /><br />Part of the problem is the unquestioning acceptance of "what I have been told", rather than looking at the evidence and thinking about what it might mean - which I thought was what archaeology was all about! There is also a denial of the importance of ale/beer. Bread is accepted in a way that it's counterpart is not. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15460395420408910937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-84624127864846851622020-11-02T10:51:09.478+00:002020-11-02T10:51:09.478+00:00Pity "Anonymous" doesn't have the co...Pity "Anonymous" doesn't have the courage to give her/his name …Martyn Cornellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16843357962176591317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-73702969406298912312020-08-18T17:36:35.835+01:002020-08-18T17:36:35.835+01:00Hello Anonymous.
It is obvious that you think you...Hello Anonymous.<br /><br />It is obvious that you think you know what malt is and how to brew. I bet that you think malt is roasted, toasted sprouted barley, and that one can ferment almost anything into some sort of alcohol, that it is little more skilful than cooking. I can see you have never done it.<br /><br />I am a STEMmer, that is, I have a scientific background and it is a different way of thinking to the Arts and Humanities. In Science ideas are moderated by facts and practicalities. The Arts and Humanities are moderated by consensus views and luminaries.<br /><br />I was not complaining about our treatment by the academic world; that is how they are. I was merely trying to point out how resistant it can be to new ideas that disagree with the received wisdom and that there is an endemic culture of bullying in British archaeology.<br /><br />The Viking Bathhouse research: https://exarc.net/issue-2013-2/ea/where-were-viking-brew-houses : is a peer reviewed academic paper. The blog is a personal analysis of the origins of the fallacy. Curl's misinterpretation of Freswick is an honest mistake. His use of "Ruins of the Saga time" to corroborate his Jarlshof excavation is wrong. The problem is that so many have embellished his fallacy that it is embarrassing, e.g. Brough of Birsay.<br /><br />My father rose to be a senior lecturer, but he never made it to professor. He upset too many people with his opinions, truthful but not diplomatic e.g. "The font of all wisdom does not reside entirely within the professoriat". He trod on too many toes.<br /><br />He told us that the problem with our work was that the academics did not understand it. It was both useless and challenging to them. They could only disregard, deny, discredit or deride it. That is much easier than trying to learn and understand something new, something that disagrees with their received wisdom.<br />Graham Dineleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-1008264844627335692020-08-17T08:42:21.081+01:002020-08-17T08:42:21.081+01:00It certainly is. Graham brews between 8 and 10 gal...It certainly is. Graham brews between 8 and 10 gallons (imp) at a time. Merryn Dineleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-1410763386624946282020-08-17T08:41:18.847+01:002020-08-17T08:41:18.847+01:00Yes, that's exactly what ale wives did. I agre...Yes, that's exactly what ale wives did. I agree.Merryn Dineleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-58895449860536604102020-08-17T08:40:16.000+01:002020-08-17T08:40:16.000+01:00Dear Anonymous, thanks for your comments. I don...Dear Anonymous, thanks for your comments. I don't think that I have 'aggressively' pursued my research into malt, malting and beer brewing technologies. I have, however, been persistent, assertive and at times enthusiastic. I submitted my M.Phil thesis 'Barley Malt and Ale in the Neolithic' in 1998. It was published as BAR S1213, by invitation, in 2004. BAR stands for British Archaeological Reports by the way. Between 1998 and 2010 I presented papers at archaeology conferences and published in conference proceedings. Some were peer reviewed. There have been two Journal papers: one for the IBD (Institute for Brewing and Distilling) about the archaeological evidence for malting floors and another on the archaeological evidence for Viking brew houses. It was peer reviewed and published in the EXARC online journal (the experimental archaeology and ancient technology group). There is also a poster, available to view online: Where were the Viking Brewhouses? <br /><br />I've had a mixed response to my presentations and papers – some positive but mostly negative. I've been told “you can't go around saying things like that!” and was once told to “shut up and go away, they were drinking sacred river water!” This last comment was made to me by a professor in 2010 as I walked down the hill at Durham University to present a paper at a conference. So I took his advice and went away. I put my thesis and published papers on Academia.edu later that year. More recently I joined Researchgate. <br /><br />I would appreciate knowing how this approach to presenting and sharing my research is to 'skip steps in academia' as you have accused me of doing. You tell me that I 'did not gain accountability before making broad, generalised interpretations about a number of different sites.' Can you please elaborate on this? I look forward to your response. Merryn Dineleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-65010429364046925062020-08-16T17:07:20.701+01:002020-08-16T17:07:20.701+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Graham Dineleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-64647029532221527882020-08-10T13:49:38.255+01:002020-08-10T13:49:38.255+01:0016 liters of ale fermenting at this very moment ne...16 liters of ale fermenting at this very moment next to me, and I'm in the kitchen: isn't that brewing on a domestic scale?Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01929711192517739277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-40558871095466222692020-08-10T09:21:33.808+01:002020-08-10T09:21:33.808+01:00Okay...in this blog you spend more time complainin...Okay...in this blog you spend more time complaining about how people do not take you seriously rather than discussing the significance of beer or any of the previous research carried out in the region you are discussing. <br /><br />The problem is most of your posts and comments aggressively treat malt as some mysterious product which people have forgotten exists or are unwilling to acknowledge. <br /><br />This could have been an interesting post but you present no real evidence and by evidence I do not mean proof. I simply mean providing a broader discussion than 'growing sweet things could be referring to wort'. There was nothing convincing about this post (also boza is made from malt that is why it has a low alcohol percentage). <br /><br />I imagine this critique could be attributed to your other posts as well. As you mention previous ideas about Skara Brae and other Scottish sites, the problem is evidence for brewing is the same as evidence for cooking. However cooking requires less steps meaning it is a more logical interpretation. Evidence for beer needs the malt or rather germinated cereal grains. The same critique can be said for the Viking bathhouse paper and the fulacht fiadh (burnt mounds) carried out by the Moore group. Heating water is not hard, rather it is a very basic activity for many different peoples. Brewing beer does not require a lot of equipment and therefore archaeologically there needs to be more evidence provided or more discussion given. <br /><br />All this blog post provided was a alternative translation, followed by calling archaeologists ignorant then yourselves correct while pointing out how badly you have been treated. Well I am sorry for how you have been treated, but also you tried to skip steps in academia. You did not gain accountability before making broad, generalised interpretations about a number of different sites.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-56212798665213145082020-08-09T22:47:43.188+01:002020-08-09T22:47:43.188+01:00If "it's not possible to brew on a domest...If "it's not possible to brew on a domestic scale", what is it that alewives do?FoundOnWebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249781417115287190noreply@blogger.com