Crossroads Roundup: a Map of Demons, a Big Roman Mosaic and a Cherry Tree, and a Winter Art Gallery
The latest news in art, archaeology, culture, and more.
Tracking down folkloric demons in Poland (and a gorgeous map)!
Folklore lovers, this one’s for you. A team of researchers at the Polish Academy of Sciences have put together one of the coolest projects I’ve come across in a while—a map of historic Pomerania and Mecklenberg, which charts the settings of various folktales. The study, “Supernatural beings of Pomerania: postmodern mapping of folkloristic sources,” covers over 1,200 accounts of demons, elves, house spirits, werewolves, dragons and more, all documented by folklorists in the 19th and 20th centuries.
According to ethnologist Dr. Robert Piortrowski, a member of the Interdisciplinary Anthropocene Research Team at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Organisation of the Polish Academy of Sciences:
We were mainly interested in local stories about uncanny events associated with a specific place. For example, religious legends in which it was imagined that witches met on this particular mountain, this boulder was once thrown by a giant, the devil built a dam on the lake or will-o’-the-wisp appeared in this swamp.
The map itself is stunning—the team found inspiration in maps of the Italian Renaissance, which often included images of monsters to mark unfamiliar territory, especially over bodies of water. Readers can download the map as well as a PDF of the study here.
While planting cherry trees, a Turkish farmer uncovered an enormous Roman mosaic.
Mehmet Emin Sualp, a farmer from the village of Salkaya in Elazığ province, was planting cherry trees when he made an incredible discovery: hidden beneath just 50 centimeters (roughly 20 inches) of topsoil was a 3rd-century Roman mosaic, with its design largely intact.
The mosaic stretches 1,000 square feet, or about 93 square meters, and features several hunting scenes with greyhounds, a lion, an ostrich, game birds, a rare depiction of an Anatolian leopard, and more. “It is the first of its kind to have survived to the present day as a whole and in its portrayal of animals, all of which were once found here,” Emre Çayır, the lead archaeologist at the excavation, told ARTnews. “There may be larger mosaics elsewhere in Turkey, but those consist of geometric patterns or mythological subjects.”
I know what you’re thinking: if there’s a Roman mosaic, there are probably Roman ruins in the vicinity. Excavations are still underway, but so far, the archaeologists have found an irrigation channel, a basalt road, and (possibly) a calcatorium for winemaking. They believe that this could have been the site of a bathhouse and a house of worship. Now, the only question is what to do about the mosaic; depending on what else the team excavates, they may leave the mosaic in situ. It is fitting that this particular design was found on a farm—as Çayır noted, the scenes of animals convey “an expression of the eternal cycle of nature.”
“The color green”
Each Roundup, I share the work of another Substack writer that caught my eye. I really enjoyed this essay all about the color green, written by Melody Hansen of PRETEND IT EXISTS. Melody’s publication focuses on art, cinema, and visual culture, and her analysis of this year’s most popular shade includes the fascinating history of green in folklore. Green was everywhere this year, from Charli XCX’s brat album to the movie adaptation of Wicked. But as Melody reveals, green skin can be found much earlier than The Wizard of Oz:
Sometime during the 12th century, the legend of the green children of Woolpit emerges. The legend speaks of a brother and a sister with green skin who reportedly appeared in the village of Woolpit in Suffolk, England around 1100s, presumably during the reign of King Stephen. They spoke in an unknown language and ate only raw broad beans. Eventually, they learned to eat other food and lost their green color, but the boy became sick and died. The sister was left to navigate this new life alone, considered to be “very wanton and impudent” by the village. You can find this legend mentioned in William of Newburgh’s Historia rerum Anglicarum and Ralph of Coggeshall’s Chronicum Anglicanum, written in about 1189 and 1220. Later, the green children are mentioned in William Camden’s Britannia in 1586, and in two works from the early 17th century, Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy and Bishop Francis Godwin’s The Man in the Moone.
A few more discoveries that caught my eye…
Archaeologists may have found the oldest evidence of Christianity north of the Alps. A silver foil amulet discovered in a Roman settlement on the outskirts of Frankfurt was analyzed using computer tomography to decipher its inscription, which included a Christian prayer. The amulet was found in a grave that dates between 230 and 270 A.D., predating other Christian artifacts in the region by at least 50 years.
The fabric used to create a medieval silk bag now on display at Westminster Abbey turns out to be a perfect match for the fabric in Charlemagne’s burial shroud.
Louis Vuitton will relaunch its collaboration with contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, whose vivid, colorful bags grew famous in the early 2000s.
And finally, my dream gallery of winter art:
I hate winter. I try to convince myself that this isn’t the case—that this season is all part of the magical turning of the wheel, that freezes are necessary to keep mosquito populations under control, that the bare branches allow me to spot the previous year’s birds’ nests, that spring ephemerals are really just around the corner. And I know that I shouldn’t complain. I went to school in the Chicago area, and I remember how winter—real winter—lasted for five to six months of the year. Here in Nashville, it’ll all be over by the beginning of March.
Nevertheless, it looks like this year’s winter will be colder than usual. (Is it La Niña? What’s happening?) I will actually need a scarf, gloves, and a beanie in order to go for walks this month. I’m outraged. If it wasn’t for my endless supply of tea, I’d be in big trouble. To my readers in the Midwest and New England, I salute you.
Anyway, lots of artists have found inspiration in snowfall and icy winds. I’ve written about this subject before; below, you’ll find a few more favorites:
Thank you for the mention Nicole, your support always means so much ❤️ and what a great roundup