The Shimmer
It was by chance that I first noticed, ‘The Shimmer’. It was the morning of the winter solstice 2017. I had slept in the north east chamber of Belas Knap Long Barrow. I watched the way the sun entered the mound. Little by little it crept along the stones until it illuminated the back stone of the north east chamber. Years before I had painted a picture titled, Soul Stone. It depicts firelight bringing life and warmth to the echinoid fossils in the back stone of this chamber. The sun was now manifesting in exactly the same place creating a very similar effect with intense orbs of light.
For the past few years we have been capturing, ‘The Shimmer’ on camera and film. It has been a waiting game that has led to many thoughts and explorations. The sun is alive during its passage in and out of chambers and along surfaces, it has the power to transfix us. We are mesmerised by its shapes patterns and sudden flashes of gold. Shadows and dust are dancing with the dead, creating a shimmer between the worlds.
Belas Knap Long Barrow is situated high in the cotswold hills on the edge of a steep slope. There are many other barrows in the Cotswolds situated in similar positions, Belas Knap however is a little different. Its orientation is almost north to south. Most of the others are orientated east to west. The false entrance does not receive direct sunlight, in fact it is mostly in shadow. The wide forecourt draws us inward towards a dark mysterious structure possibly once a portal dolmen.
Light and dark spaces in and around the mound fascinate me. The chambers of the barrow all feel very different. On the west side the single chamber is light and airy with a view towards the setting midwinter sun.
The two chambers on the east side are dark and brooding. Both of these are illuminated by the sunrise. The smaller of the two is low and has a womb like quality, safe and enclosing, you have to crawl to access it.
The chamber that lies to the south has lost its stone covering, edged in by stone walling on two sides with a low back stone, it is often bathed in moonlight.
The roof structures of the chambers may have been corbeled, and the entrances may originally been much smaller. We cannot now tell how much light would have entered these dark places, but the elevation of the sun still dictates the intensity of colour and the appearance of light anomalies.
Observing the sun and moon at Belas Knap has led me to view the mound as a, seasonal clock. The sun travels over and around the mound visiting the chambers at different times of the year. The moon makes its presence most strongly felt when a full moon rests above the spine of the mound, emphasising the darkness of the false entrance.
In collaboration with Richard Suckling, (Cave Bear Films) it has been possible to capture footage of ‘The Shimmer’ and produce a short film. We want to bring the outside world into the heart of Belas Knap. Perhaps the Neolithic barrow builders were trying to entice the sun and moon inward. The film shows how the celestial bodies bring a spectacle of light and darkness into the world of the dead.
The sequences were filmed on a Canon C100 Camera setup on a locked off tripod. The composition and positioning of each shot were crucial to achieve a successful time-lapse. The one thing we could not control was the length and intensity of the light effects.
The film will be screened as part of the Art and Archaeology of Belas Knap exhibition.
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