Filming locations: Wadi Rum

Oct9

Chap and I went to see The Martian in 3D the other day. I’m a sucker for a space movie, and I’m also a sucker for deserts. So a space movie set on a desert planet is right up my street. And I knew from the advance publicity for the movie that large parts of it had been filmed in the Wadi Rum in southern Jordan.

The Martian, filmed in Wadi Rum in Jordan.

I have a special spot in my heart for Wadi Rum, which I first visited 30 years ago. Half way through my first archaeological dig in Jordan we had a week-long break, and a group of us took the dig Land Rover and drove all around Jordan (not difficult to do as it’s a small country). We had a ball, visiting the Dead Sea, the desert palaces, driving down the King’s Highway to Kerak, and staying overnight in Petra with a bedouin, Dachlala, and his family (we had special dispensation from the Department of Antiquities – one of the perks of being an archaeologist). After Petra we drove deep into the stunning, massive grandeur of the Wadi Rum and camped there, digging hollows in the orangey red and incredibly soft sand in which to sleep and cooking our food on dried camel shit fires. During the day we went to swim in the coral reefs at Aqaba, and came back to the Wadi to sleep at night. The scale and the beauty of the place, and the absolute isolation, were so remarkable. (Only ten years later, when I last visited the Wadi in 1995, we camped again, but this time we could see the bonfires of other groups all around in the distance).

Location filming in the Wadi Rum for The Martian. Photo by Giles Keyte.

The Martian, starring Matt Damon, filmed in Wadi Rum.

Matt Damon in Wadi Rum. The photo hasn't been 'Marsified' as you can see some small camel thorn seedlings.

Matt Damon in Wadi Rum. The photo hasn’t been ‘Marsified’ as you can see some small camel thorn shrubs and seedlings.

Given its striking visual impact, it’s not surprising that Wadi Rum has been used many times in Hollywood film productions. Perhaps the most famous is, of course, David Lean’s 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia (on the way to the Wadi we drove alongside a spur of the abandoned Hejaz Railway that Lawrence and his tribesmen blew up further along the line).

Wadi Rum in Lawrence of Arabia.

It has also stood in for Mars in other sci-fi movies, such as Mission to Mars (2000), Red Planet (2000) and The Last Days on Mars (2013). Ridley Scott, the director of The Martian, had previously used Wadi Rum as an alien landscape in his 2012 film, Prometheus.

Wadi Rum, 1985.

Camping out in Wadi Rum, 1985. Our second camping spot.

Morning in Wadi Rum, 1985. In the background our trusty Series 3 long wheel base dig Land Rover.

Hannah (or is it Ug the Cavewoman?) cooking on the camel shit fire, wadi Rum , 1985.

Hannah (or is it Ug the Cavewoman?) starting the fire using camel thorn, Wadi Rum, 1985. Pile of camel shit to the left. Hannah’s hair looking wild due to sea salt, desert wind, dust and smoke.

Waking up in Wadi Rum, 1985. Left to right, Hannah, Mick, Fritdjof, Carenza, Bronwen.

Happy days. I’m very lucky.

An elephant up our lane

Sep27

Last Thursday while walking up our lane I saw Alfie, one of the neighbourhood cats, with his nose deep in a sedge plant, clearly on the hunt. I wondered if he was after a mouse or some similar small critter, and bobbed down to have a look. At first glance, from the head of it and the way it was rearing up, it looked like a small snake, but I then realised it was an elephant hawk moth caterpillar (Deilephila elpenor). These are huge caterpillars, and I guess the moths are named after their caterpillars’ similarity to an elephant’s trunk.

800px-Deilephila_elpenor_Weibchen_Saarland_003

Elephant hawk moth. Photo by Orchi.

As a defence mechanism, the caterpillar will rear up on its front legs. It did it to me again as I was holding it: it’s quite impressive! The caterpillars overwinter as chrysalids in leaf debris on the ground, and metamorphose into their adult moth form in May the following year.

The caterpillars feed on willowherbs (Epilobium) and bedstraws (Galium), such as Galium verum (Lady’s bedstraw), and have been known to feed on fuschias as well. None of these grow up our lane so I’m not sure what the caterpillar was feeding on, or whether it was looking for somewhere to overwinter. Interestingly, last year Chap rescued another elephant hawk moth caterpillar from Alfie at about the same spot. Both times we put the caterpillar in among our densely-planted and sheltered flower beds, and hoped that they would be able to successfully overwinter there.

Wildlife Trust information on elephant hawk moths

UK Moths information on elephant hawk moths

The Piet Oudolf garden at Hauser & Wirth, Bruton

Sep22

We had a look round here on Saturday. The old farm buildings have been beautifully restored and altered for use as a gallery exhibition space, and new buildings have been added. My favourite part was the modern cloister, with clever planting. I assume the planting is by Piet Oudolf, who designed the beautiful meadow garden behind the gallery. The gallery and gardens are free to enter. The next exhibition there is one of photos by Don McCullin.

The late summer prairie-style planting was looking spectacular, and the garden was alive with bees and butterflies and hoverflies and dragonflies and damselflies and other assorted bugs and beasties. I think any beekeepers round there must be delighted!

Hauser & Wirth Somerset website

Someone needs a pedicure …

Sep19

Ballou, to be precise:

We have bank voles (Myodes glareolus) living in our lawn and in our flower beds, and this is the result of Ballou’s particularly vigorous attempt at excavating one out of the lawn.

(The little critter got away, I’m pleased to report).

Animals riding other animals

Sep17

News today of another animal hitchhiker: a seal on a humpback whale off the coast of Australia:

A seal hitching a ride on a humpback whale. Photo by Robyn Malcolm.

This follows on from the weasel on the green woodpecker in England:

Weasel on a green woodpecker. Photo by Martin Le-May.

and before that, the Cape Genet riding on buffaloes and rhinoceroses in South Africa:

Cape genet on a rhinoceros.

I wrote a blog post about this last example last year, with more photos.

I think I might have to make animal hitchhikers a regular feature …

Sunday stroll: Down through Dorset

Sep14

Not really so much a stroll as a bimble in the car with a short walk at the end of it. Chap and I headed for the seaside yesterday, taking a long and slow route through Somerset and Dorset’s winding country lanes.

We stopped off at several places en route. First stop was the church of St Andrews in Yetminster. Here we admired the 15th-century painted decoration still surviving on the stonework and woodwork and a reminder of how our mostly now-plain parish churches would have looked in the past. There was a splendid brass monument to John Horsey (died 1531) and his wife on one wall, and another, stone this time, to Bridgett Minterne, who died in 1649. While we were there we were surprised by the church bells, which rang out ‘God Save the Queen’ – very unexpected. Apparently this happens every three hours to remind the villagers of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1897. I wonder if it happens through the night? There are some fantastic gargoyles on the tower, and a beautiful golden weathercock, but my photos of these haven’t come out very well and so don’t do them justice.

15th-century painted decoration at St Andrew’s, Yetminster.

Brass monument to John Horsey (died 1531) and his wife, St Andrew’s, Yetminster.

Monument to Bridgett Minterne (died 1649), St Andrew’s, Yetminster.

The tower with gargoyles and golden weathercock, St Andrew’s, Yetminster.

Next stop was the reservoir at Sutton Bingham. We went for a short walk along the edge of the reservoir through the wildflower hay meadow that is managed by Wessex Water, but as it had been given its annual cut not too long ago there wasn’t much to see. On the water there were mainly gulls and a few ducks, and a heron perched on the opposite shore. Sadly we didn’t see the osprey that are summer visitors here. A few dinghies and sailboats from the yacht club were pootling up and down the water, all very Swallows and Amazons.

A Mirror dinghy on Sutton Bingham Reservoir.

Then down into deepest Dorset and the Marshwood Vale. We stopped at the village of Stoke Abbott, parking near a lovely lion’s-head fountain of spring water with a spring-fed stone trough for horses nearby, both under a mighty oak planted in 1901 to celebrate the accession of Edward VII to the throne following the death of Victoria. We wandered off to look at the church of St Mary the Virgin. There had been a wedding there recently, as the fresh and dried flower confetti lay on the path and the church was still adorned with the wedding flowers. The church is in such a pretty setting, and has a 12th-century font with wonderful carvings.

Lion-headed fountain for spring water at Stoke Abbott.

Spring-fed water trough for horses, Stoke Abbott.

St Mary the Virgin, Stoke Abbott.

Wedding flowers at the porch, St Mary the Virgin, Stoke Abbott.

The 12th-century font, St Mary the Virgin, Stoke Abbott.

Wedding flowers and the simple lectern, St Mary the Virgin, Stoke Abbott. The flowers included agapanthus and Mollucella laevis (Bells of Ireland).

Notice in the porch, St Mary the Virgin, Stoke Abbott.

The sadly sheep-free graveyard, set in the most beautiful countryside, St Mary the Virgin, Stoke Abbott.

A lovely thatched house near the church in Stoke Abbott.

When we got back to the car a family (grandparents and wee granddaughter, we guessed) were filling up a car boot-load with numerous bottles and containers of the spring water, so I assume it’s safe to drink.

After a fruitless search for the cottage in Ryall where my family had spent several summer holidays in the late 60s (Mr and Mrs Kinchin’s B&B), we headed for the sea at nearby Charmouth. The weather was wild and windy, and we had a chuckle over the couple braving it out with their windbreak and deck chairs. We watched a kestrel quartering the top of the landslip cliffs, searched in vain for fossils, walked a short way up the beach and then decided to head home, via Bridport, Dorchester and Shaftesbury. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

A blustery afternoon at Charmouth.

No-one in the water, unsuprisingly.

The well-named Golden Cap on the right.

The shell grotto at St Giles House

Sep10

One of the nominations for the recent prestigious Historic England Angel Awards was for the craftsmanship in the restoration of the shell grotto at St Giles House near Wimborne St Giles in Dorset. Chap and I were very disappointed when it didn’t win – we thought it deserved the title, but then again, we are a little biased as we know the team from Sally Strachey Conservation that undertook the work.

The grotto is featured in the video above, from 2:10 onwards.

The grotto was built in the grounds of St Giles House, the family seat of the Earls of Shaftesbury. It dates from the early 1750s, and was built by John Castles (d. 1757) of Marylebone in London. Unlike some other grottoes, this one is free-standing rather than built into a rock face or hill slope, and is built over a springhead in the grounds. It is now safely roofed once more and even though it is not quite ordinary-looking from the outside, nothing prepares you for the fantastical realm within.

The grotto comprises an entranceway leading to a central room – the inner chamber – with tiled floor and a fireplace. This is flanked on either side by a curving side passage.

The main room is described in the Shell Guide to Dorset by Michael Pitt-Rivers (1966) as ‘an attempt at an underwater room rather than just a shell room’, and you certainly get the sense of being in some mysterious and magical undersea kingdom. The decoration comprises shells of all sorts of kinds, sizes and colours – huge conches are fixed to the walls as well as tiny jewel-like bivalves – and the marine effect is heightened by the clever way corals and sparkling mineral crystals, such as quartz, have been incorporated in the decor, as well as the way the shells have been attached to branches to mimic life in a coral garden. (You wouldn’t know there are branches under there, as they have been fully covered).

The main chamber of the shell grotto at Wimborne St Giles. Photo by SPAB.

The main chamber of the shell grotto at Wimborne St Giles, following the recent restoration work. Photo by SPAB.

Old photo of the grotto used by the conservators as a guide.

Old photo of the grotto before it fell into disrepair, used by the conservators as a guide.

Apparently some of the original shells came from the Caribbean, courtesy of the father of William Beckford of Fonthill Abbey: we know Fonthill and its grottoes well. In the restoration many of the shells had fallen from the walls and part of the work included sifting and storing those that could be saved. Replacement shells were sourced from all over, including eBay and beaches!

Repair work under way, rebuilding the shells on to the lath and plaster work.

Conservation work under way, rebuilding the shells on to the lath and plaster work.

Conservation work under way. Photo by Sally Strachey Conservation.

The main chamber after the completion of the conservation project. Photo by Sally Strachey Conservation.

We were impressed with how meticulous and intricate the work was, and the great care that was being taken by the team.

The side passages are mainly decorated with huge, knobbly flint nodules, though hiding in amongst these are the occasional whale vertebra and piece of architectural stone. The floors of the passages are set with smaller flint pebbles, much like the wonderful grotto at Stourhead and the much smaller one at the Larmer Tree Gardens.

The grotto is described as ‘recently restored’ in the 1966 Shell Guide; clearly it fell back into disrepair not long afterwards as by the time of its listing by English Heritage in 1986 it is described as ‘overgrown and in a state of dereliction … The main grotto which cannot now be easily entered has walls lined with shells, fossils, coral and stone mounted on a lathe and plaster vault, partially collapsed … An important example of this type of grotto but now in a state of considerable disrepair.’ It was placed on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register, and its fate looked bleak.

However, in the past few years the present Earl of Shaftesbury instigated a sizeable programme of works to save not just the grotto, but St Giles House itself, which was also on the Register. The work was largely funded by various government bodies. The work done on the house won the Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury the Award for the Best Rescue of Any Other Type of Historic Building or Site at the recent Angel Awards.

Repairing the roof of the grotto.

Huge congratulations to everyone involved in the work, both at the grotto and St Giles House, both of which are now firmly off the Register.

If you want to know more about John Castles’ grotto work, this blog post is an interesting place to start.

Further information and reading

The English Heritage Grade 2* listing of the grotto

Sally Strachey Conservation page about the project

A blog post about a SPAB visit to the grotto while the restoration work was underway last summer

RCHM (Royal Commission on Historical Monuments), Dorset vol V, 1972, p. 97, no. 6.

Newman, J and Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 1972, p. 473.

Pitt-Rivers, M, Shell Guide to Dorset, 1966, p. 141.

Jones, B, Follies and Grottoes, 1953, pp. 47-49.

A scented bed

Sep1

Hecate sunbathing amid the marjoram today.

I think they’ve gone

Aug30

I think the house martins (Delichon urbicum) left us today, heading south on their migration to Africa. The RSPB tells me that they leave the UK in September and October, but I wonder whether we saw them leave today. Normally their flight is in loose, open groups, hunting high over the village in a wide open looping flight. At about 10 this morning Chap and I saw something very different, a tight, low flying group of maybe forty individuals flying directly to the south / south-west of us, and not returning. A couple of stragglers followed a few minutes later. I haven’t noticed any over the village since.

House martin. Photo by Ómar Runólfsson.

It wouldn’t surprise me if they have left a bit earlier than usual, as we have had a very cold and wet few weeks, more November-like that August-like.

House martins. Photo by Sean – Martin.

It reminds me of the time some years ago when I watched a group of at least a hundred house martins all settle on the sloping terracotta tiles of the roof of a nearby tall house. I was alerted to them by the terrific noise they made as a group, a lively twttering and calling that went on for a couple of hours. And then they all flew off. And that was that – they’d gone for the year. I’d never seen that behaviour before, nor have I since, and assume they were marshalling themselves before the grand depart.

N E From designs, #1: asymmetrical concave discs

Aug18

The more I study Niels Erik From’s modernist jewellery, the more I like it. I don’t know whether it’s to do with my archaeological career, and the years spent working on finds from various excavations, but I am an inveterate typologiser. I just can’t help it. So I have noticed the variations in the various designs that N E From used in his jewellery.

NE From rose quartz ring, with a larger head at 16 mm diameter. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. Design #1.1.1

Usually he made a suite of jewellery types – rings, brooches, earrings, cufflinks, bracelets, necklaces, pendants – and in a variety of themes all riffing on a basic design, and using a range of different semi-precious stones. Putting my Linnaean hat on, I’m going to start with what I rather clunkily call his asymmetrical concave disc design. It probably has a proper name given to it by From, but I don’t know what that is.

The characteristic features of this design are a dished, concave disc of silver, into which is set, asymmetrically and near the edge of the disc, a cabochon semi precious stone (or sometimes a solid silver cabochon) held in a plain collet. The silver around the collet is oxidised to give a blackish effect, to contrast with the rest of the disc, which is untreated and silvery.

N E From amethyst ring, 15 mm diameter head. NOW SOLD: click on photo for details. Design #1.1.1

N E From black onyx ring, 15 mm diameter head. NOW SOLD: click on photo for details. Design #1.1.1

NE From amazonite ring with a smaller diameter head (13 mm). For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photos for details. Design #1.1.1

NE From rose quartz and sterling silver ring, this one with a smaller head at 13 mm diameter. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. Design #1.1.1

This basic design is also found in brooches:

N E From solid silver brooch, for sale by decotini on Etsy: click on photo for details. This design is also occasionally seen as a pendant brooch, with an additional small loop attachment on the back to allow it to be worn as a pendant. 45 mm diameter. Design #1.1.2

and earrings:

Niels Eric From modernist rose quartz clip on earrings. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD). Design #1.1.3

and cufflinks:

N E From tiger’s eye cufflinks. For sale at vintagecufflinks.com: click on photo for details. Design #1.1.4

and bracelets:

N E From blue glass bracelet. For sale at scandinaviansilver.co.uk: click on photo for details. Design #1.1.5

and necklaces:

N E From solid silver necklace. Design #1.1.6

and pendants:

Niels Erik From rhodochrosite and sterling silver pendant. Click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD). Design #1.1.7

N E From amethyst pendant. For sale at JohnKelly1880.co.uk: click on photo for details. 42 mm diameter. Design #1.1.7Okay, now we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s start riffing.

Multiple discs in a row:

N E From Baltic amber moderist brooch. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

N E From Baltic amber brooch. NOW SOLD: click on photo for details. Design #1.2.1

Multiple discs in an equal sized trefoil arrangement:

N E From amethyst brooch. NOW SOLD by VintageJewelsNL on Etsy: click on photo for details. Design #1.2.2

N E From rose quartz pendant. #1.2.3

Multiple discs in an unequal sized trefoil arrangement:

N E From silver earrings. For sale on Etsy: click photo for details.

N E From silver earrings. For sale on eBay: click photo for details.

Rings of six discs:

N E From rose quartz brooch. For sale at Estate925 at trocadero.com: click on photo for details. Design #1.2.5

N E From amber pendant. Design #1.2.6

Discs interspersed with open circles:

Niels Erik From rose quartz modernist bracelet with five discs. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. Design #1.3.1

N E From rose quartz bracelet with six discs. NOW SOLD: click on photo for details. Design #1.3.1

N E From rose quartz necklace. (Possibly a bracelet later converted into a necklace?). Design #1.3.2

Discs with surrounding circles:

N E From rose quartz earrings. Design #1.4.1

N E From chrysoprase bracelet. Design #1.4.2

N E From amber necklace. Design #1.4.3

N E From amethyst pendant. NOW SOLD: click on photo for details. Design #1.4.4

NE From Baltic amber pendant and chain. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. Design #1.4.4

Discs with surrounding double circles:

N E From chrysoprase brooch. NOW SOLD by VintageDesignSilver on Etsy: click on photos for details. Design #1.5.1

N E From rose quartz earrings. NOW SOLD by PatriciaJon on Etsy: click on photo for details. by Design #1.5.2

N E From amber pendant. Design #1.5.3

Discs with surrounding ovals:

N E From amber bracelet. For sale at vintage-jewels.nl: click on photo for details. Design #1.6.1

N E From rose quartz necklace. Design #1.6.2

I’m sure there are plenty of other variations I haven’t come across yet. It’s fun looking!

Cabochon semi precious stone types I have seen used in the various designs:

Single arrangements:

Design #1.1.1 (ring): amber, amethyst, chrysoprase/green chalcedony, glass (blue), ivory, malachite, onyx (black), rhodochrosite, rose quartz, solid silver, tiger’s eye.

Design #1.1.2 (brooch): amber, chrysoprase/green chalcedony, glass (blue), rose quartz, solid silver.

Design #1.1.3 (earrings): amethyst, chrysoprase/green chalcedony, rose quartz, solid silver.

Design #1.1.4 (cufflinks): amber, rose quartz, tiger’s eye.

Design #1.1.5 (bracelet): chrysoprase/green chalcedony, glass (blue), rose quartz, solid silver.

Design #1.1.6 (necklace): solid silver.

Design #1.1.7 (pendant): amber (small and large), chrysoprase/green chalcedony (large), rhodochrosite (small), rose quartz (small and large).

Multiple arrangements

Design #1.2.1 (row brooch): amber, rose quartz, tiger’s eye.

Design #1.2.2 (equal trefoil brooch): amber, amethyst, rose quartz.

Design #1.2.3 (equal trefoil pendant): rose quartz.

Design #1.2.4 (unequal triple earrings): solid silver.

Design #1.2.5 (ring of six discs brooch): chrysoprase/green chalcedony, rose quartz.

Design #1.2.6 (ring of six discs pendant): amber

Discs interspersed with open circles

Design #1.3.1 (bracelet): amethyst, rose quartz.

Design #1.3.2 (bracelet): rose quartz.

Discs with surrounding circles

Design #1.4.1 (earrings): rose quartz.

Design #1.4.2 (bracelet): chrysoprase/green chalcedony.

Design #1.4.3 (necklace): amber.

Design #1.4.4 (pendant): amethyst, tiger’s eye.

Discs with surrounding double circles

Design #1.5.1 (brooch): amethyst, chrysoprase/green chalcedony.

Design #1.5.2 (earrings): rose quartz.

Design #1.5.3 (pendant): amber.

Discs with surrounding ovals

Design #1.6.1 (bracelet): amber.

Design #1.6.2 (necklace): rose quartz.