Geomythology is a hybrid discipline combining geology and mythology, invented in 1973 by geologist Dorothy Vitaliano. It aims to glean scientific information from legends and stories. One set of legends that has been fruitfully examined from a geomythological perspective is the Arthurian tales. While most mainstream historians believe that King Arthur never existed, there are facets of truth related to some of these narratives that have to do with natural, often geological, phenomena. This poster explores some of these connections by synthesizing current research on the topic, then offering hypotheses on the subject. Regarding present research, one claim is that the global volcanic winter caused by the eruption of the volcano Ilopango (El Salvador) in 535-536 A.D. may have influenced the Arthurian stories, particularly those of the alleged battles in which the monarch fought. A second claim is that Arthur’s favorite hunting dog, Cavall, who took part in the hunt for the great boar Twrch Trwyth, putatively left a mark in stone during one hunt. This mark may in fact have been caused by erosion or was the print of a large mammal such as a bear, mis-identified as that of a massive canine. A third conjecture pertains to the king’s battle against the monster of Mont Saint Michel, an episode recorded in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of Britain. Originally published in 1136, the History was a best-seller in the middle age and a key source of Arthurian lore. According to Geoffrey, Arthur slew a noxious giant who was terrorizing the island, and the method by which he kills the ogre may owe something to the practice of trepanation, a medieval surgical procedure in which a hole was drilled or bored into a skull. Fourth, the supposed bones of the king, which were unearthed during an 1191 exhumation of his corpse (in Glastonbury, England), may in fact have belonged to that of a large mammal. Summing up, while Arthur’s existence has never been proven, the stories surrounding him may shed light on geological and osteological events.

How to cite: Burbery, T.: Using Geomythology to Examine the Claims of the King Arthur Legends , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-7160, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-7160, 2025.

The Dartmoor massif, occupying 954 km2 of central Devon (SW England), is dominated by Variscan granite with a narrow aureole of Devonian-Carboniferous metasediments. Rising to around 500-600m asl, typically 250-300m above its hinterland, this difference in geology and altitude has led to the development of a very distinct landscape. In particular, extreme climate cycles of the Quaternary, fluctuating from humid, warm temperate to glacial created the perfect environment for landscape evolution, with phases of periglacial solifluction acting on deeply pre-glacially and interglacially weathered bedrock leading to widespread tor formation – the region being famous for the development of models for such processes. Crucially, the generally thin, acidic and poor soils, extensive areas of surface rock - have meant that human intervention in the landscape - especially cultivation - has been limited and consequently extensively areas of periglacial features remain spectacularly well-preserved. In addition, the high relief gives the massif a distinctive climate to much of the surrounding area, being cooler, wetter and more prone to mist and cloud. When combined with the distinctive landforms and landscapes such as tors, block-fields, valley mires and blanket bog – the latter often with an important Holocene climate record- it is not surprising that Dartmoor is a land of myths and legends with a strongly geomorphological inspiration. Although the origins of many of these stories will be pre-Christian, they have been lost and too often assigned an evil character connected with devils and witches, as a way of ‘burying’ any latent connection with ancient gods and spirits… Hints of some of these origins exist in Saxon words and place names such a local name for the (or ‘a’?) devil, ‘dewar’, or spectral hounds known as ‘wisht’. However, as settlements on the moor date back to at least the Neolithic have been identified, some of these legends will undoubtedly have much older origins. These early farming cultures, however, had the most dramatic effect on the landscapes of Dartmoor, leading to an almost complete deforestation, hence re-exposing periglacial landforms and landscapes, but also leading to an irreversible deterioration of surviving soils due to leaching and acidification, especially as a result of subsequent climate cooling and increased rainfall. These changes led to an abandonment of many higher moor settlements during the Middle Ages and hence only some lower areas of the moor, have been modified by post 17^th century enclosure, and much of the area remains as open moorland revealing a wide range of well-preserved landforms. Some ancient myths and legends also persist, however, as they have inspired classic literature and ultimately film and television, most famously Arthur Conan-Doyle’s, Sherlock Holmes story,  ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’, where a spectral dog and ancient curse haunt an aristocratic family.   Today, the unique features of Dartmoor are protected by a wide range of conservation designations from site and feature-specific to whole landscape as a National Park.

How to cite: Page, K. and Migoń, P.: Dartmoor, SW England – a uniquely well-preserved Pleistocene periglacial landscape and an inspiration for myth and legend, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-2777, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-2777, 2025.

Erratic boulders are among the most spectacular geological phenomena left in the landscape by past ice sheets. In Central Europe, the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS) advanced and retreated several times during the Pleistocene, depositing thick layers of clastic sediments and fragments of Scandinavian bedrock of various sizes, including large erratics. Northern Poland, in particular, features a landscape rich in erratic boulders deposited by the last FIS around 24–15 ka. These large erratics are fascinating geological objects, providing valuable information about the flow directions of the last FIS (through petrographic properties) and the timing of the ice sheet's retreat (via cosmogenic nuclide inventories). They also hold significant societal importance, serving as natural resources, providing notable landmarks, and serving as a fantastic source for geomythology.

In this study, we present the occurrence and characteristics of erratic boulders within the area covered by the last and penultimate glaciations in northern Poland. Large erratics were identified using books, maps, and catalogues dedicated to environmentally protected sites (e.g., lists of natural monuments). We compiled all available information about large erratics into a GIS database and screened it to identify the largest in situ boulders potentially suitable for surface exposure dating with cosmogenic ¹⁰Be. In subsequent phases of our study, these boulders were used as key dating sites for reconstructing the chronology of the last FIS retreat in northern Poland. Additionally, some of these boulders hold significant cultural importance for local communities, paving the way to legends and myths, serving as esoteric places, or becoming locations commemorating important historical events.

This work was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland (grants No. 2023/49/N/HS3/02181 and 2022/46/E/ST10/00074).

How to cite: Tylmann, K., Woźniak, P. P., Rinterknecht, V., and Piotrowski, R.: Great glacial giants: erratic boulders of northern Poland as witnesses of the Pleistocene ice age and beyond, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-5845, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-5845, 2025.

Past knowledge, legends and inspirations for the future. The geo-cultural value of erratic boulders in the Southern Baltic Lowlands

Erratic boulders represent an important element of the Southern Baltic lowland landscapes. A network of dependencies and interactions developed between erratic boulders and humans. These relationships were both pragmatic and symbolic. Erratic boulders were attributed supernatural qualities – they were revered, perceived through the lens of demonic worldviews, and associated with epiphanies and manifestations of beings/entities deemed dangerous to humans (Juśkiewicz et al. 2025). Since the Neolithic period, erratic boulders were used in sepulchral rituals (Matuszewska 2022, 402, 408). Stone tombs were constructed from them, symbolizing the ‘stone sky,’ a concept present in Indo-European cultures. Erratic boulders were also used as a source of building materials and millstones. In the latter case, narratives exist in which the process of material extraction and production was linked to the supernatural (Piotrowski & Wróblewska 2024).

Erratic boulders with distinctive forms were given names, and their origins were interpreted. Most commonly, they were associated with giants or devils who transported them from distant lands, including Norway and Sweden. These interpretations, strikingly similar to contemporary data, are a compelling example of pre-scientific intuition. Analyzing these narratives helps uncover the cultural phenomenon of erratic boulders.

The combination of traditional local knowledge, legends, and contemporary scientific data provides a comprehensive – both holistic and inclusive – understanding of the geo-cultural phenomenon that erratic boulders represent. Only by integrating geological values with both tangible and intangible cultural values can a new geo-cultural quality be achieved, enhancing their significance. The geo-cultural potential of erratic boulders offers an excellent foundation for creating local and regional branding. Erratic boulders can be utilized in geo-cultural tourism, education, and regional promotion.

A holistic approach that combines geological and cultural values not only deepens our understanding of the phenomenon of erratic boulders but also creates opportunities to use them as symbols of local and regional identity.

References:

Juśkiewicz, W., Jaszewski, J., Brykała, D., Piotrowski, R., Alexander, K.M., and Juśkiewicz K.B. (2025). Supernatural beings of Pomerania: postmodern mapping of folkloristic sources.  Journal of Maps 21 (1): 1-15.  https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2024.2434015

Matuszewska, A. and Schiller, M. (2022). Is It Just the Location? Visibility Analyses of the West Pomeranian Megaliths of the Funnel Beaker Culture. Open Archaeology 8: 402–435, https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0236

Piotrowski, R. and Wróblewska, V. (2024). “Memory of stones”. The motif of millstones production from erratic boulders in folk narrations from northern Germany and Poland: between a memory of craft and an object of memory. Fabula 65 (3-4): 334-355,  https://doi.org/10.1515/fabula-2024-0017

This work was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland (grants No. 2023/49/N/HS3/02181 and No. 2019/35/B/HS3/03933).

How to cite: Piotrowski, R., Brykała, D., Czubla, P., and Tylmann, K.: Past knowledge, legends and inspirations for the future. The geo-cultural value of erratic boulders in the Southern Baltic Lowlands , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-6226, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-6226, 2025.

To understand the surrounding world - for millennia man has tried to interpret natural hazards, geological processes and geomorphological forms. This attempt to understand and order the surrounding environment manifested itself in the emergence and long functioning of legends and beliefs (Juśkiewicz et al., 2025). This applied to the entire spectrum of the world that surrounded humans. One unique example of narratives specific only to Pomerania (NE Germany and NW Poland) are the legends written down by ethnographers at the turn of the 20th century relating to the so-called Hünenhacken - stone imprints of the heels of giants. Although they are indisputably the products of human hands - so far their purpose has not been clarified. They are most often considered the prehistoric and early historical grinding objects - the so-called “trough mills” or “grinding troughs.” Found in megalithic tombs and in agricultural fields among other erratic boulders, they were collected by local people, secondarily used to feed domestic animals, and even built into the walls of Christian churches as stoups - containers for holy water (Becker, 2020). The authors identified dozens of examples of such “sacred” use in Germany and Poland.

Communities that are looking back to ancient tales and legends for their own local identity and uniqueness - are paying attention to the mystery of these unusual stones. Because they were made of erratic boulders - mainly Fennoscandian granites - they have great potential to become important artifacts of Pomerania's geocultural heritage.

This work was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland (Grant No. 2019/35/B/HS3/03933).

References:

Becker, E. (2020). Das Mahlsteinmuseum Neu-Kleinow : Von Reibplatten, Handmühlen und Hünenhacken. Norderstedt: Books on Demand.

Juśkiewicz, W., Jaszewski, J., Brykała, D., Piotrowski, R., Alexander, K.M. and Juśkiewicz, K.B. (2025). Supernatural beings of Pomerania: postmodern mapping of folkloristic sources.  Journal of Maps 21 (1): 1-15,  https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2024.2434015

How to cite: Brykała, D., Becker, E., and Jaszewski, J.: Stone footprints of giants in the young glacial landscape of Pomerania (NW Poland and NE Germany), EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-5937, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-5937, 2025.

We can say that the economy from medieval times till the beginnings of 20th century was managed in a nearly zero-waste manner. Every tool or utensil was used until it was worn out. In many cases, this „useless” items were re-used, often in an original or unobvious way. The great examples are quern stones and millstones, which were expensive both to produce or to buy. On Southern Baltic Lowlands they were mostly made in situ of commonly available materials, such as erratics brought in by Scandinavian ice sheet in Pleistocene. For thousands of years quern stones were one of the most common, and at the same time, most important tools used to meet one of the basic needs – food production. It is therefore not surprising that there was a specific emotional bond between man and these stones. These works of human creativity were immortalised in folklore[1] and often carried symbolic values – for example, in a biblical meaning millstone symbolises death, rebirth or transformation. Semi-finished or worn millstones were used as altars, ciboria, grave stones on Jewish and Christian cemeteries, as well as a material for monuments and sculptures. They also were embedded into church walls, which is a local phenomenon in Northern Poland and Northeastern Germany[2]. In recent years, however, they have also become a desirable material for creation of small architecture in public and private places, like parks or gardens. Some of them can be found in museal collections or in lapidaries, where they serve as geoeducational or geoturistic objects.

This work was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland (Grant No. 2019/35/B/HS3/03933).

How to cite: Mosakowski, Z., Brykała, D., Czubla, P., Piotrowski, R., and Juschus, O.: Geocultural significance of millstones within the Southern Baltic Lowlands, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-6023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-6023, 2025.

The young glacial landscape of the Southern Baltic Lowlands contains a large number of erratic boulders with which local folk tales are associated (Juśkiewicz, et al. 2025; Piotrowski & Wróblewska 2024). There are motifs referring to the origin of the boulders and all kinds of traces - cracks, scratches, depressions, cup marks, holes were interpreted as the effect of supernatural interference. They were seen as traces of a devil's chain or of being struck by a devil's whip. Depressions and holes were interpreted as the marks of claws, hooves or even the devil's buttocks or a giant's hand. In the case of some of these boulders, the belief that they had a cultic purpose became firmly established, e.g. as pre-Christian sacrificial altars (so-called Opfersteine) or solar cult objects. Local names for these stones alluding to the intervention of saints, angels or demonic beings have survived to the present day. We will try to identify both anthropogenic and natural processes that led to the formation of microforms on the surface of the boulders, considered 'supernatural' in folk tradition.

This work was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland (Grant No. 2019/35/B/HS3/03933).

References:

Juśkiewicz, W., Jaszewski, J., Brykała, D., Piotrowski, R., Alexander, K.M. & Juśkiewicz, K.B. (2025). Supernatural beings of Pomerania: postmodern mapping of folkloristic sources.  Journal of Maps 21 (1): 1-15,  https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2024.2434015

Piotrowski, R. & Wróblewska, V. (2024). “Memory of stones”. The motif of millstones production from erratic boulders in folk narrations from northern Germany and Poland: between a memory of craft and an object of memory. Fabula 65 (3-4): 334-355,  https://doi.org/10.1515/fabula-2024-0017

How to cite: Czubla, P., Brykała, D., Pogodziński, P., Tylmann, K., and Piotrowski, R.: Traces of supernatural beings or attempts to produce millstones from erratic boulders?, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-8101, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-8101, 2025.

ToPoTown analyzes the feasibility of using precarious housing conditions for sustainable tourism in the “Katatura” township in Windhoek, Namibia. The focus is on economic feasibility, environmental relevance and acceptability among the population. Tourism should lead to an improvement in living conditions, which in turn has a positive impact on environmental conditions. With GIS-supported inventories, surveys of new data and their spatial analyses, the feasibility and environmental situation is being researched and at the same time a database is being created that can be used as a starting point for a web-based portal solution for structured resource management.

With just under 500,000 inhabitants, Windhoek is home to almost 20% of Namibia's total population. The city is experiencing rapid growth due to people whose hopes for work and a better life are based on its proximity to the capital. As a result, the urban area continues to expand. Overall, the living conditions of around 60% of Windhoek's inhabitants can be described as extremely precarious. Katatura is Windhoek's best-known and oldest suburb. It was created in the 1950s during apartheid in order to forced relocate the colored population from the city center according to ethnic groups. The City of Windhoek's pilot program to encourage the owners of historic houses in Katutura, which were built between 1959 and 1960, to exchange them for new, modern houses represents a unique opportunity to preserve Windhoek's cultural heritage and at the same time boost the local economy through tourism. Based on these buildings - which are very important for the people's consciousness - tourism could develop, which would help to improve the precarious situation of the inhabitants. This would also have very strong environmental aspects, as the disastrous pollution and land degradation resulting from this living situation could be significantly mitigated.

The aim of ToPoTown is to assess the feasibility of sustainable tourism, research the environmental conditions and thus create a database on the country's socio-cultural and natural resources. The content focus relates to the following points:

• Inventory (socio-cultural and natural parameters)
• Perspective of the residents
• Environmental aspects (e.g. land use, pollution, degradation)
• Designation of potential tourist centres

In terms of methodology, the focus is on analyzing remote sensing data in order to obtain information about relevant natural (e.g. climate, soils, terrain morphology, water) and technical parameters (e.g. water supply, health, infrastructure, electricity). On the other hand, socio-cultural parameters are collected through extensive qualitative and quantitative surveys. The results lead to the realization of a GIS with emotional aspects (“emotional GIS”). Finally, based on these principles, a site location analysis is developed as a generic model for a multi-criteria analysis to identify potential tourist centers.

ToPoTown provides an excellent starting point for conducting similar studies in other regions of Namibia and southern Africa, focusing on the following specific aspects of the regions:

• Cultural-historical parameters,
• Natural resources and environmental conditions,
• Colonial historical parameters.

How to cite: Löwner, R. and Mwando, S.: ToPoTown: Tourism Potential of Townships - example of Katatura, Windhoek, Namibia, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-13289, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-13289, 2025.