One day, almost seven years ago, an acquaintance introduced Lewis to Asatru, a modern take on the 40,000-year-old religion of Northern Europe. Followers of Asatru, which means “belief in the gods,” made headlines in Oregon a few years ago by laying claim to the centuries-old remains of Kennewick Man.

Lewis studied books on Asatru, as it’s practiced by modern-day followers. He read about Norse gods and goddesses and the nine noble virtues — strength, courage, joy, honor, freedom, loyalty to kin, realism, vigor and reverence of ancestors.

He liked what he read, and Tammy embraced it, too.

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ATHENS (AFP) - A senior Greek archaeologist warned this week that the last original sculptures still adorning the Parthenon, Athens’ iconic ancient temple, face a major pollution threat and must be removed to a museum.

“There are still 17 original metopes (sculpted plaques) which must be protected because they can no longer endure atmospheric conditions,” Acropolis site supervisor Alexandros Mantis told AFP on Friday.

Mantis has proposed that the endangered sculptures be replaced by replicas and kept safe in a new museum located below the Acropolis that is scheduled to open in September.

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After a gap of some forty four years, Stonehenge is once again being excavated. Admittedly, this time it is only a very small hole, and is only being dug for a fortnight, but it is a very important hole, and on April the 9th, we were invited down to Stonehenge to inspect it. It was a wonderful trip, not least because the weather was perfect. After the heavy snow fall at the weekend the sun decided to shine and since we were allowed inside the circle, I took the opportunity to take hundreds of photographs.

The excavations are being conducted by Geoffrey Wainwright (ex-English Heritage) and Tim Darvill (Bournemouth University), following up their research into the sources of the blue stones in the Prescelly Mountains in Pembrokeshire: but as they are being funded by the BBC TimeWatch programme, they are being carried out with the maximum publicity.

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