An unusual discovery made by a local historian at the site of what could be a wizard’s grave in Watten may be the evidence needed to prove the story behind his death.
The village is believed to be the only known location outside of the Scottish Borders which is home to such a mystical burial place.
It is believed Murdo Rivach was beheaded by locals and buried in the village in the 14th century. London-based historian and television presenter Ashley Cowie, who is originally from Wick, discovered a carved stone head at the east end of Loch Watten which is likely to be a stele, CORRECT a stone used to ward off or sometimes attract evil spirits.
He said the stone was the closest link to ever proving the wizard was buried in a circular grave in the village.
“The stele is an extremely rare find,” he said. “Very often in Victorian times, witches were found coming to these sites and performed rituals where they would leave these carved stones.
“I have analysed the stone with the help of an engineer and have discovered it has two faces which was a very common practice in witchcraft.
“Each face signified the polar opposites such as the good and the bad and these stones were used in rituals to either protect from evil or summon up a curse to bring upon evil.
“The significance of this find is that nothing has ever been recovered from that field like this.”
There are a number of accounts about how Rivach came to his end in around 1360.
But the one theory which has proved most popular among historians is that Rivach was sent to Caithness by Hugh Ross, of Sutherland, to collect rent from those who lived on his land.
But locals did not take kindly to the presence of the wizard and reacted to Rivach’s demands by slicing off his head and dumping his body in a circular grave.
There are only eight other recorded wizard burial sites in Scotland and they are all located in the Scottish Borders, which makes the Rivach story even more intriguing to historians.
Mr Cowie is planning to make his discovery known to the archaeological community and said when it was made public, there would be a massive amount of interest in the area.
“If we discover a grave under the site, it would be a magic flag for Caithness,” he said.
“Whether it’s a wizard’s grave, a neolithic grave or a Viking grave, it will be an unusual find.
Mr Cowie is planning to visit the grave site in August and is inviting people to meet him there and find out more about the story. - johnogroat-journal
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Sparkling 'Angelic' UFO
A strange cluster of bright objects flying in formation has been caught on video over Milan.
The Italian skies were the scene of an unusual spectacle earlier this month when a resident recorded a peculiar series of twinkling lights hovering high above the houses.
The footage lasts around nine minutes and shows the lights slowly moving and switching positions while glowing angelically in the air. The formation appears to change frequently throughout the sighting and nobody present at the time seemed to have any idea what it was that they had just witnessed.
Click for video - Angelic UFO or cut / paste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V49L8cLxq0A
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The Grand Canyon Is Doomed
The National Park Service has called new developments proposed for the Grand Canyon the "most serious threat the park has faced in its 95-year history."
A mesa visible from the South Rim, which belongs to the Navajo Indian Reservation, could soon become a construction site as restaurants, hotels, and shops are erected in an attempt to spur local tourism, according to the Los Angeles Times. The same developers are also planning to install a gondola that will transport visitors from the rim to the canyon floor, currently only accessible by foot or mule.
R. Lamar Whitmer, one of the developers, justified the plans by saying that the NPS offers most visitors only a "drive-by wilderness experience." He claims that the Grand Canyon Escalade gondola would give less-mobile individuals a chance to see more of this 2 billion-year-old geological wonder. "The average person can't ride a mule to the bottom of the canyon," Whitmer said. "We want them to feel the canyon from the bottom."
The developers are also planning to add 2,200 homes and 3 million square feet of commercial space just south of the canyon. NPS worries those new developments will jeopardize some of the park's most iconic vistas and push already-strained resources to the brink.
"They are serious threats to the future of the park," said park superintendent Dave Uberuaga. "When you have that size and scope of potential development that close to the park, it will impact our visitor experience." -Outside Online
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I-Team: Crossing the line into Area 51 gets caught on camera
by George Knapp - A tour bus carrying visitors to the edge of the top secret Area 51 military base has done something that many people have only fantasized about doing. It crossed the line and entered the base.
The driver and his four passengers learned a quick lesson about how serious Area 51 is about its boundary and its security. And the entire incident was captured on video.
In the 25 years since I-Team reports first put the once unknown base on the map, tens of thousands of curious people have trekked out to take a peek.
A few strayed over the line, on purpose, and were quickly scooped up. As far as we know, this is the first intrusion caught entirely on video and it nearly caused the tours to be shut down. Go to I-Team: Crossing the line into Area 51 gets caught on camera for more information and video
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