|
|
|
What's IotD? The interesting, amazing, or mind-boggling images of our days. |
|
IotD Stuff |
|
Permalink Latest Image |
|
|
|
Some folks who have noticed IotD
Neatorama |
|
Common image haunts
Astro Pic of the Day |
|
Advertising |
June 13th, 2016: Bee-Loved Rosslyn Chapel
Rosslyn Chapel, in Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland, was built in 1446 and owned by the same family ever since,
currently The Earl and Countess of Rosslyn. It’s still used today as a place of worship, as well as a popular
tourist destination. As you would expect, it’s needed some maintenance now and then.
|
Back in 2010, when the chapel was being restored, workers found surprises among its pinnacles. When they took the pinnacles apart for repair, two of them enclosed hollow spaces the size of a gas tank. One of them also had an entrance through a carved stone flower on its exterior. And inside that pinnacle was a deserted bee hive. (The other hollow pinnacle had no stone-flower entrance.) No-one knows why this sanctuary was purposefully built in a place where the bees and their honey are inaccessible. |
|
One stonemason, Allan Gilmour, said that he had seen bees create hives within soft sandstone. They burrowed into the sandstone and created honeycombs. This weakened the stone. In the 15th century, hives were usually woven skeps. Did the monks hope that if they provided a haven in the pinnacle the bees would not colonize and weaken other stone in the building? The pinnacles had been covered for a while and that may be why the bees left. |
In early 2105, Rosslyn Chapel reported that the pinnacle is now restored, “and since the construction work at
the chapel stopped we’ve seen the bees return”.
From the buzz it sounds like they’re back in beesness.
link
|
Your reply here?
The Cellar Image of the Day is just a section of a larger web community: a bunch of interesting folks talking about everything. Add your two cents to IotD by joining the Cellar. |