Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Not wanting to be pedantic, but I think the oldest historical attractions in Dover are the White Cliffs which are millions of years old.....
Been nice knowing you :)
True Paul , very true
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
True, Sarah, the Phonaecians had ships, but Byblos is more known for having invented script.
The name Bible comes from Byblos, as it is written with letters and words.
Yet our Neolithic Stone Age monuments in the British Isles are said to date back over 5,000 years. Dover must have been a port then, because it is reasonable to assume that Dover is the first British port.
British civilisation most probably started in Kent and spread as far as Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
So we're talking of at least 5,000 years ago.
Thanks for the description of a bible Alexander
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i had an old port once, 30 years old it was.
supposed to go well with stilton, sadly i only had a packet of kraft cheese slices to hand but enjoyed it much the same.
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Port, from Portos in Portugal.
Have you got over the disapointment yet Howard ?
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
"Dover must have been a port then, because it is reasonable to assume that Dover is the first British port. "
While I have no wish to belittle Dover's proud lineage, I do have a teensy-weensy problemette with the above sentence.
Dover may have been a very early hill fort...before the waters rose up?
http://www.megalith.ukf.net/bigmap.htmIgnorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Failing to see your point, Tom.
Are you a supporter of the theory that people settled in Britain crossing a land mass from Gaul? Can you prove then that this land connection existed about 5,000 years ago?
Geology does not confirm this.
As for archaeology, the oldest human settlements in the British Isles are reckoned to be no older then 5,000 and a few hundred years.
Personally I believe history in Britain and Ireland starts with the Neolithic Stone Age, and that the Megalithic and Paleolithic Ages never existed anywhere on Earth.
The fact is, a stone is possibly millions of years old, and it is not possible on the mere evidence of a group of erected stones to determine the period when they were set up, as there is no wood structure (wood can be dated, albeit with limits).
The oldest known stone townships on our Isles are on Orkney, one being a village estimated to be 5,200 years old,, the other being Knap of Hower, about 5,600 years old.
These were inhabited households. Neolithic and all.
Orkney surely was not connected to Norway??
The inhabitants would have come from the Scottish mainland. There forefathers would have moved up North from southern Britain, gradually, over a period of many centuries.
My theory is that settlement in Britain and Ireland started in Kent, which is close enough for the small sea vessels of that time to cross from Gaul.
Dover has a proven track record dating to 3,850 years back. The absence of stone circles in Kent from earlier times may simply be because Kent is mainly chalk land and has no mountainous regions with large stones.
However, your link failed yo mention some famous Kentish caves that were subject to human activity in very ancient times.
See also: The British Isles in the Neolithic Stone Age. It has interesting links supplied to sites such as Stonehenge (English Heritage), Brin Celli Ddu (Anglesey), Newgrange (Mythical Ireland) and the Orkney Islands (Orkneyjar).
You won't miss it as it's page 1 on Google.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
We now have new information and pictures etc etc about yesterdays launch of the Tourism Campaign on the frontpage. There is a lot of it. Make yourself a cup of tea and wade through it. I added some interesting notes, hopefully interesting anyway, above the press releases on the f/page, but these only cover a small amount of the information passed on by that ever pleasant chap Jon Iveson.
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,014
Ah yes this is the page .Mr Iveson does a good job quitely behind the scenes .
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Yes Jon does a huge amount of stuff - to be curator of the museum is a full time job in itself plus tourism and all the voluntary work on top of it
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
Yes, glad to see him officially heading tourism. I was with a group of ex academics from Univ of Kent doing a tour of the town hall and museum last year, led by Pat Sherrat on behalf of the Dover Society. We bumped into Jon in the museum and he spent an hour talking to them about the bronze age boat and a wide range of Dover's history, they were enthralled.
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,800
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Oh you are wicked...cant think why Roger wouldnt be invited, it was only a straightforward presentation. As it includes Deal and Sandwich perhaps it was something to do about being cautious with numbers.
Just a couple of further little bits about the tourism situation. Jon Iveson, who certainly knows his local stuff, as you say there Ray he can talk for ages entertainingly on the Bronze Age Boat and much else...he said that they were "wedded" to the name White Cliffs Country as a considerable amount of money has been poured into this over the years. I assume this is to satisfy our sometimes disgruntled Deal and Sandwich neighbours.
But...this is like trying to push water up hill to some extent, as who in the wider world would know where White Cliffs Country is? The White Cliffs of Dover on the other hand is the natural brandname...known to all and sundry, both far and wide...yet it is not used.
More on all this of course on the frontpage but just another little bit...reserving accommodation online is up by 20%..although visitor levels are roughly the same as previously..it is just a different way of doing it.
Also the secondary market is growing so there is scope for Dover there...in that many cruise visitors for example have already done several cruises previously, have already done the London and Leeds Castle standards, and are looking for something else. It is this secondary market where scope for advancement lies for Dover/Sandwich/Deal.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
In my Tourism Strategy (which Jon has a copy of) I do mention about changing the emphasis from "White Cliffs Country" to "Dover, Deal and Sandwich - White Cliffs Country" so the emphasis is on the Town names, rather than just white cliffs.
I also think that the whitecliffscountry.org website name, should be doverwhitecliffscountry.org
There's lots of other suggestions of course in the Strategy as the document is 14 pages long.
Roger
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Personally I think what you are suggesting is too much of a mouthful for a modern marketing campaign Roger. Dover is and always will be associated with the White Cliffs so mentioning the name Dover is superfluous.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
Absolutely not Barry.
Roger
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,764
I agree with Roger. Thinking of the younger generation town names will mean a lot more than the White Cliffs which those of us of a certain age connect automatically with Vera Lynn. How many foreigners who have never visited the UK will have heard of White Cliffs Country but just might have heard of Dover.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
But it just does not 'work' - far too long for a marketing brand.
