Thing Sites: Dingieshowe Traditional Geocache
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A small lock'n'lock box capable of containing logbook, pencil and small swappable items.
Thing sites, from the Old Norse Þing, are the early assemblies found throughout Northern Europe as a result of our shared Norse heritage.
When the Vikings and early Norse settlers arrived in a new place they brought with them their customs and legal systems. Political decisions were made at the thing, laws upheld and disputes settled. Proceedings were overseen by the local ruler and the law-speaker (judge), whose job was to memorise and recite the law. At some things, known as Althings, any free man was entitled to vote. At others - Lawthings - the crown and local communities acted together to interpret the law.
The thing was also a focus for religious activity, as well as trade and exchange. At Thingvellir in Iceland you can still see the remains of the booths, or huts, where traders came to do business with people attending the meeting.
The thing system for sharing and legislating power can still be recognised today. Several things continue to be active. The Icelandic parliament is still known as the Althing, the Norwegian parliament is called the Storting and the Faroese parliament goes by the name of Løgting. The Manx parliament, known as Tynwald, still holds a midsummer court on the thing mound at Tynwald Hill every year.
There are Thing Sites caches in and around the locations of Norse and Viking assembly sites in Norway, Iceland, The Faroe Islands, Orkney, Shetland, Highland Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Follow in the footsteps of the Vikings, and explore some of these fascinating sites.
The thing site at Dingieshowe makes use of an earlier prehistoric monument. Somewhere around 300BC a broch was built on top of an earlier Neolithic site which had been in use some 3000 years before. Much later the ruined broch was then used as a thing site. Local folklore tells of the burning of a witch at Dingieshowe; her skull is said to have frequently reappeared in the sands around Dingieshowe.
Park at the nearby toilets to begin exploring this geocache. Most people walk along the south facing beach of Dingieshowe, Taracliff Bay, and look at Dingieshowe from either the dunes around the mound or from that southern shore. You can however cross the road from the car park and toilets, and walk along the north facing shore, Peter’s Pool, and look across the road at Dingieshowe, getting a real sense of its size and prominence in the landscape. Spend some time watching the wading birds in the sands and keep your eye out for World War 2 anti-tank concrete obstacle. Take care crossing the road, and don’t go at high tide.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va ubyybj haqrearngu pbapergr nagv-gnax bofgnpyr.