As we encounter the rare celestial event of a ‘Super Extreme Moon’ on 19 March, volunteers will be heading to ten hillforts across Cheshire and north Wales for a communication experiment at dusk, using light. Local residents are encouraged to keep their eyes on the hills as well as the sky.
This weekend, the moon’s distance will be in its nearest position to earth, the phenomenon only happing once every 18 years. At the same time, volunteers will be participating in the Hillfort Glow event, when communication is attempted between ten ancient hillforts.
At dusk, north east Wales’ Heather and Hillforts Project and Cheshire West and Chester’s Habitats and Hillforts Project will involve local volunteers on ten hillforts on the Sandstone Ridge, the Clwydian Range, Mynydd-y-Gaer Corwen, Halkyn Mountain and the Wirral, trying to communicate between the hillforts using torch light.
Flares will be launched from the hillforts followed by torch light at Maiden Castle, Beeston Castle, Kelsborrow, Helsby, Burton Point, Moel y Gaer Rhosesmor, Penycloddiau, Moel Arthur, Moel Fenlli and Caer Drewyn.
Late Prehistoric settlements can be found on many of the summits of the Sandstone Ridge, Clwydian Range and surrounding hills, dating back around 2,500 years. Most of the hillforts across the surrounding landscape can be seen from each other. The experiment, originally scheduled for December 2010 but postponed due to heavy snow, aims to see if the glowing fires could have been seen across the hills, making the many hillforts in the area part of a larger community.
Erin Robinson, Community Participation Officer for the Heather and Hillforts Project, said “We have chosen the evening in March because of the full moon and this rare celestial event. Not only will the moon hopefully provide us with extra light in the evening, but also because it will create even more ambiance for the experiment, where we are trying to recreate something that may not have been done for around 2,500 years, since the Iron Age.
“Circles, such as the full moon, are very important features of Celtic Art; fluid and concentric images being favoured by our prehistoric ancestors, perhaps seen as a symbol of continuity of birth, life and death or the seasons. The moon would have helped to define seasons and to mark festivals, both very important as the Iron Age people would have been farmers, growing grain such as Spelt and Emmer.
As well as occurring during the Super Moon, the experiment takes part on the day before the March equinox, marking the beginning of Spring in the northern hemisphere.
Further details about the Hillfort Glow can be found at the Heather and Hillforts Project website www.heatherandhillforts.co.uk and also at the newly launched Habitats and Hillforts Project website – www.habitatsandhillforts.co.uk
Heather & Hillforts and Habitats and Hillforts are Landscape Partnership Schemes funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
