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Log Book Entry 31/1/2018

Items in this story:

The Black Book of Carmarthen

The Black Book of Carmarthen
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The submerged forest

The submerged forest
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Clychau Cantre'r Gwaelod

Clychau Cantre'r Gwaelod
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Vellum

Vellum
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A labyrinth

A labyrinth
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We went to Aberystwyth to the National Library of Wales.  We met with Owain he talked to us about Merlin and the history of Merlin linked to Carmarthen.  We looked at old maps of Carmarthen.  We found references to the Priory on the map where the Black Book of Carmarthen was written.  Owain showed us what materials would have been used to write the black book of Carmarthen.  Quills, vellum something to write on made from animal skin, oak that would have been mixed with copper.  We saw the Black Book of Carmarthen.  Owain said the book was worth £5,000,000 so we could only look at a copy!  The copy was an exact replica and still worth over a million.  It took many hours to make the copy.  

We all drew a picture of what we thought Merlin looked like.  He told us that people thought Merlin had magical powers and could see into the future.  Merlin witnessed a battle and was frightened and so left society to live on his own.  Merlin was also a poet and is mentioned in the Black Book of Carmarthen.

We left Aberystwyth and travelled to Borth beach in the hope of discovering the submerged forest linked to the myth of Cantre'r Gwaelod.  This reminds us of the myth about the old oak in Carmarthen - that if it was chopped down that the town would flood!  The tide was out and when we arrived we stood amongst the tree stumps.  Then we worked in pairs and one person was the camera and the other was the photographer.  The camera closed their eyes and the photographer took them to a place where they could make a good image.  We then took pictures on our ipads.  

We could see the rings on the tree stumps.  We looked at a compass and we looked at a map of Borth and Aberystwyth.  We drew a compass in the sand.  We drew Ireland in the West because Mrs Jones comes from Ireland and we drew Poland for East as some of us come from Poland.  We put Borth to the north and Aberystwyth to the South.

Rowan drew a labyrinth in the sand.  We learnt about journeys and path making and circles and travelling.  It was freezing and by the end of the session we were shivering because it was so cold and windy at the beach.