EDitorial ± 16-Jul-2002
Behold Camelot
Can't recall exactly when it was on, but did you catch that Time Team special from Orford, a short hop up the Suffolk coast? When Tony and the gang weren't sampling the goodies over at the smokehouse, they were knee-deep in artefacts taken from trenches in the grounds of the castle. These included patches of stretched pig-skin that had seemingly been smeared with a saffron-based dye to render them bright yellow, and a primitive form of valve. Contentiously, Mick Aston took these as evidence of a 12th century inflatable model predating the current stone structure.
Inevitably the cons outweighed the pros in these early designs, hence their brief appearance as an archaeological curiosity.
Good Points
- portable: surprise potential attackers by moving overnight
- hoghide in plentiful supply for running repairs
- no need for expensive masonic contract staff
Not So Good Points
- nowhere to pin the elaborate tapestries
- lack of a stable foothold not good when preparing boiling oil
- two words: arrow slits
- kept drifting around in the moat
- serfs suffered collapsed lungs from constant exhalation
- derision by visiting French: "we laugh at your air-filled fort!"
- appalling hygiene conditions caused by no drain-away for latrines
Be seeing you!