Many believe that the popular Halloween holiday originates from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, brought to the United States and Canada by Irish immigrants. Perhaps, but according to David Xavier Kenney, President of Roman Officer, Inc., a couple of Stone Age artifacts indicate the Halloween tradition may be far older.
Roman Officer (www.RomanOfficer.com) is a Miami-based company that creates unique jewelry based on ancient Roman legionary artifacts. It features an online store, and hosts an online museum collection of ancient Roman Officer equipment. Analysis and research of some of these artifacts including legionary rings led Kenney to the discovery of miniature art engraved in the objects by ancient metalsmiths and amorers. As Kenney began examining artifacts from more ancient cultures of European and Anatolian origin, he was amazed to find that some of the stone objects also featured miniature engravings. The European examples actually hail back to the Stone Age.
Two artifacts found in Denmark are from old European collections. Kenney, who feels the objects are important enough from a historical perspective to deserve their own titles, named a 6,000 year old borer tool "The Nordic Rock" (shown here) and a 6,000 to 4,500 year old flint axe "The Nordic Royal Stone." The borer and an area on the remnants of the axe show what appears to be a Halloween theme. The art on the borer is very clear as it has been preserved with a resin coating. The art gives the effect of a picture show; move the stone and the images will move or transform. The most obvious image is what appears to be the face of a hooded warlock/wizard, ogre, giant, or god, depending on the angle from which it is viewed. Although Kenney has only studied and photographed one area of the borer, it appears to have two themes. One is of the ancient Nordic Winter Blot ritual. The other is of the Autumn Blot, the ancient Nordic version of Halloween. The Autumn Blot was a pagan Northern European type of ancestor worship ritual that took place around the end of October and beginning of November, known only due to the writings of medieval authors. There appears to be a story behind this manual animation. Kenney says that it is apparent that it was meant to scare children into respecting, but also fearing, their ancestors. Considering that some of the northern European traditions are still with us, apparently it worked. One area of the axe artifact depicts the same Halloween theme, but in a more serious tone; on this object the work is done in miniature art that is even more minute in scale. Both objects show what could be called, "A Stone Age Rocky Halloween Picture Show." Images include some surprising ones not traditionally associated with Halloween, as well as the more familiar moons, witches and scary faces, among others. To view more of the "Nordic Rock" and the "Nordic Royal Stone," visit www.RomanOfficer.com and click on the section for Ancient Miniature Art. Click on the featured photographs for additional images.
The oldest artifact in the Roman Officer museum is a stone scraper tool from an old German collection. It was found along the Danube in Bavaria and is approximately 30,000 years old. This object originates from the first modern humans, Cro-Magnon man of the Upper Paleolithic era (40,000 to 10,000 BC). The Cro-Magnon Aurignacian culture is believed to be the first to create art and decorate themselves; in essence, they were the inventors of fashion. Kenney named this stone "The Danube Cameo." Extraordinarily, it was crafted in the style of a cameo, at least 25,000 years before the first examples of cameos appeared in ancient Sumeria.
The next item to be published on RomanOfficer.com will show The Nordic Rock's Winter Blot theme, which may depict a 6,000 year old type of Christmas, complete with a Santa Claus type figure, and maybe a few Elves.
