Garry's Blog

Not archaeology but: 1769 The detailed publication in the 1950s and 60s of the diaries of the British voyagers to New Zealand reduced the heroic version of James Cook to one having a stain of violence to M ā ori. Since then evaluations here have been more nuanced, but a great navigator and mapmaker certainly. The earliest European voyages to New Zealand were met by Māori warriors. There were frequent challenges: Come ashore and we will eat you, was one. With all male crews what were the Māori to make of the ships? –   they were not obviously peaceful. While many contacts resulted in a peaceful exchange many did not. Of the contacts up to and including Cook’s third voyage, of one Dutch, three British and two French expeditions, crew members were killed by Māori on three of them. Retaliation was undertaken in all cases though Māori loss of life is only certain for one. Cook arriving later to one incident had the opportunity for further retaliation. To the dismay of his crew h

Notre Dame A beautiful cathedral - sadly gravely damaged. Its glory was always its superb location and exterior. These survive and from photographs the vaulting is somewhat damaged but let's hope not too severely. The spire should be an easy rebuild. There must have been a lot of small timbers in the roof for it to have burned like that - large timbers char and burn very slowly. The reconstruction can use timber, but it must be wisely and have protections that modern buildings have. For visitors to France do not be deterred. Sainte Chapelle and Saint Denis are still in Paris, even  Sacré-Cœur if you like the style  or at least the view if you don't. The  rest of France is well endowed with cathedrals. Avoiding the tourist crush at Notre Dame is perhaps a small plus.