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Across
7 Portico or vestibule at the western entrance of an early Christian church (7)
8 Green semi-precious mineral (7)
10 US state, location of the Jeffers Petroglyphs archaeological site (9)
11 Covered colonnade in ancient Greece (4)
12 Father of Aeneas in Greek mythology (8)
13 Legendary island where King Arthur was taken after his final battle (6)
15 Member of an ancient people of southern Italy (7)
17 Iron Age tribe of south-west Wales (7)
20 Roman gold coin (6)
22 Half-human creatures of Greek mythology (8)
24 Site in Meath of the seat of the Irish kings (4)
26 Ancient Greek playwright whose works include Electra and Trojan Women (9)
27 Roman lawyer and satirist (7)
28 King of Thebes in Greek mythology (7)
Down
1 Australian state, location of the Warragarra rock shelter (8)
2 Famous megalithic monument in Wiltshire, England (10)
3 Mythical hero of Troy (6)
4 US state, location of the Wolfe’s Neck archaeological site (8)
5 The penultimate Pleistocene glaciation in the Alps (4)
6 Extravagantly ornamental architectural style of the 18th century (6)
9 A ditch or moat (5)
14 Hellenistic city replacing Memphis as Egypt’s capital (10)
16 Small pieces of stone used in mosaics (8)
18 King of Argos in Greek mythology (8)
19 African city, location of Christiansborg (Osu) Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (5)
21 Father of the Titans in Greek mythology (6)
23 Italian city, whose cathedral holds a relic of the city’s patron saint Januarius (6)
25 Egyptian goddess, the mother of Osiris (4)
For answers to #130, see next issue.
Answers to Crossword #129
Across: 8 Strabo, 9 Irenaeus, 10 El Dorado, 11 Rio Bec, 12 Cuidadela, 14 Apse, 16 Ionian, 17 Rabbit, 20 Hera, 22 Alexander, 23 Cayonu, 25 Assyrian, 27 Missouri, 28 Alaric.
Down: 1 Stalactite, 2 Laconian, 3 Cosa, 4 Limoges, 5 Terra Amata, 6 Dakota, 7 Jute, 13 Alaca Huyuk, 15 Saturnalia, 18 Badarian, 19 Denarii, 21 Atossa, 24 Apis, 26 Shaw.
1,000 years ago…
Work is believed to have begun on the Viking ship known as Roskilde 6. The vessel was discovered in 1997 in Roskilde Fjord, Denmark, alongside eight other Viking Age and medieval shipwrecks unearthed during the extension of the country’s Viking Ship Museum. Only the lower part of Roskilde 6 survives, but the keel is almost intact and measures a massive 32m. It is believed that the ship was probably originally 36-37m long and around 3.7m wide, making it the largest Viking ship ever discovered. Researchers estimate that it would have had 39 or 40 pairs of oars, manned by c.78 oarsmen. Anything over 30 pairs of oars was large for the Viking Age, so this impressive ship probably belonging to a king or high-status noble. Analysis of Roskilde 6’s timbers has revealed that they originated in southern Norway, and dendrochronology indicates that they were felled in AD 1025. This places the ship’s construction around the time when King Cnut the Great of Denmark was annexing Norway. It has therefore been proposed that Roskilde 6 may have been intended as a display of his control of the region’s timber resources.
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