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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Greensleeves on Wednesday 21 August 13 21:19 BST (UK)
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I'd appreciate the ideas of RCers on a stone which was pulled out of the river in our Welsh village this evening. Photo below, nothing known about it but what a lovely, mysterious thing! Would love to have any suggestions/opinions etc regarding its origin.
Regards
GS
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Hi, I have not got a clue, but as you say, what a mysterious thing, wouldn't you just love to own it.
Frank.
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How true, Frank. I was helping to clear out the river not more than a meter away when it was found! Wish I had been the discoverer....
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At the risk of being wildly off-based, I'm going to guess these are devanagari letters, so some kind of Sanskrit or Hindi term perhaps? In the photograph, the letters are oriented "upside down." Any Hindi-speakers in the village who might help you out? As you say, it is a lovely object indeed.
Regina
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Interestingly, Regina you are the second person to suggest a devangari origin and that the pic was upside-down. As I couldn't actually tell which way up it should be, I did photograph it from both ways, and post the other view below.
The strange thing is that we live in a small village at the foot of the Black Mountains in mid Wales, so anything which arrives in the village via the river must have come from up in the wilds of the mountains ..... we are the first port of call after that wilderness.
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When I saw it thought it looked like a Mayan or Aztec carved stone but I did not think about a devangari connection.
It must have been thrown in the river at some time, but why----?
How interesting.
Viktoria
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I would take it to the nearest museum. They should have an idea, or at least know who to ask. Doesn't look Welsh does it. Intriguing.
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Amazing find, could it be something to do with Hindu funeral rites and therefore not in the river that long?
Skoosh.
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We are not terribly multi-cultural here in the Black Mountains which is why it is so surprising to find a stone such as this in the river. Our village is the first settlement that the river meets after it comes down off the mountain (shown below) so not as though there are any connurbations upstream - only wild hills, red kites, buzzards and ravens.... and being Wales, an awful lot of sheep!
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Looking at the photos I don't think it can have been in the river for that long as the carving is very clear and there are no signs of erosion or scratches. If it had been tumbled along the river bed from the mountains, I would have thought it would have shown more signs of wear.
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How fascinating GS! I am unable to even hazard a guess as to what it might be, but can I ask what size it is, is the carving only on one side and, what kind of stone is it? (Wondering if it is a local stone and if it is easy to carve)
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My guess is that it is modern and was stolen from someone's garden or a holistic healing centre or similar. A photo in the local paper may find an owner, or someone may have reported a break in to the police.
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Hi,
I've seen the below symbol before many times - that symbol is really , really familiar to me, I'm kicking myself here trying to remember where on earth I have seen it and see it.
The stone/pebble does look new to me too, no erosion (like mentioned), there is also no moss, or any life on it.
Kind regards
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I have asked an Indian friend, who although she can't read Devanagari script, knows people who can. She said she will ask them and get back to me.
GS said that it is about 10 inches long and not local stone.
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Looks very similar if not the same to this.
http://www.hitherandyononline.com/Stone_mantras/stonemantras.htm
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Wow! Great find.
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Looks very similar if not the same to this.
http://www.hitherandyononline.com/Stone_mantras/stonemantras.htm
Wow! Great find.
Frank.
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I think we have the answer. Modern Buddhist. Probably not so unusual in Wales.
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Looks very similar if not the same to this.
http://www.hitherandyononline.com/Stone_mantras/stonemantras.htm
Definitely the same symbol , well done ;D - It's probably why it is so familiar to me .
It also comes back to the garden idea that alpinecottage suggested .
Perhaps it was nicked from someone's garden by kids and thrown in the river for fun.
Kind regards
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What an intriguing object. - makes you want to hold it.
Are there any Buddist retreats nearby, GS? Perhaps it was intentionally placed in the river.
Maggie
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Look at this - is it a mani stone? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mani_stone
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Thanks everyone, I think you've cracked it, as they say. I think it must be a 'mani' stone. There are gurhkas in this area so it might be that one of them has put such a stone in the river. It is a beautiful thing and must have taken hours of work to create.
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There are gurhkas in this area so it might be that one of them has put such a stone in the river.
Hi greensleeves, That said, will it be returned to the river? or perhaps be kept by the finder?
Frank.
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I was just going to ask the same question!
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How very interesting.
if this is a mani stone, as seems likely, perhaps it ought to be returned to the river. Would that be possible GS, or would the finder prefer to keep it?
Maggie
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It was found by a child who was helping to clear the river. She is staying with her grandparents and they were going to take it to a local museum. Other than that, I don't know where it will end up, but it certainly is a beautiful piece. I agree that it should be returned to the river but I suspect that it will be taken back to Birmingham.
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It was found by a child who was helping to clear the river. She is staying with her grandparents and they were going to take it to a local museum. Other than that, I don't know where it will end up, but it certainly is a beautiful piece. I agree that it should be returned to the river but I suspect that it will be taken back to Birmingham.
Oh well! C'est la vie, The child will probably treasure it for a long time.
Frank.
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Now that you know what it is, and that it isn't an ancient Celtic relic, the museum probably wont be interested. I doubt if the child will be persuaded to return it to the river, but perhaps if they do, it should be done in a more peaceful spot so that it doesn't get disturbed again.