Category: Ann - Part 11

Augmented Reality Brings Stonehenge Home

Still from the Stonehenge Augmented Reality test by Digital DiggingAugmented Reality (AR) seemed a pipe dream not long ago, but today you’ll find AR Japanese girlfriends (no kidding), pets – or ‘Petz’ – for your kids, tattoos, travel applications (read:iPhone or Android-based systems). In fact fighter pilots have been using it for ages (head-up displays for navigational purposes, not Japanese girlfriends, of course). But I must say this is the first ‘AR Stonehenge’ I’ve come across. Take a look at the video below – I’m sure you’ll agree it’s pretty impressive.

Augmented Reality – a reality in which virtual, computer-generated images overlay the physical environment, and thus enhance it – has been around for some time, but only recently gained public interest as 3DWorlds become more popular and technology and software costs less staggering. The most advanced systems still require a sound budget, but consumeraimed ARis here to stay.

The ‘Wikitude World Browser‘, which runs on smartphones, says it will make exploring the world a whole lot more exciting. The ARToolKit was recently ported to Flash, making displaying models in your browser possible. And now also…the first (?)ARStonehenge, brought to the web by Digital Digging.

How does it work? The paper you see (under Stonehenge) contains a physical (printed) square marker, which you hold in front of a camera.

Your computer determines the real camera position and orientation relative to that marker (viewpoint tracking).

It then takes the 3D model and renders footage from a ‘virtual camera’ which looks at the model (Stonehenge, here) from the exact same position as your real camera does.

This ‘virtual camera footage’ is then overlaid on the ‘real camera footage’, (more or less) carefully alligning the model on the square marker. That combined view gets then displayed on your monitor or handheld device.

Although we have Virtual Stonehenge ourselves (click here to visit Stonehenge 2400BC), I’d love to give’Stonehenge AR’ a try! (Ionce installed BuildAR, but neverran it.)So, ahem – Dear Sir Digital Digging, we have two stand-alone HDcameras, computing capacity and a good printer! (And are even willing to walk around with an ARStonehenge tattoo if round surfaces can be managed by the software?;))

Sticky Rice Secret Ingredient of Ancient Chinese Mortar

ChinaThe Egyptians cut their multi-ton bricks so precise that, often, no mortar was needed for the construction of their monumental builds. The Romans mixed volcanic ashes in their ancient mortar, ensuring the Trajan Forum lasts for almost 20 centuries now. The ancient Chinese builders, however, opted for a more culinary solution: sticky rice mortar.

Scientists have discovered the the secret behind an ancient Chinese super-strong mortar made from sticky rice, concluding it still remains the best material for restoring ancient buildings today. The mortar a paste used to bind and fill gaps between bricks, stone blocks and other construction materials was developed in ancient china some 1,500 years ago, by mixing sticky rice soup with the standard mortar ingredient ofslaked lime.

The researchers identified ‘amylopectin’, found in rice and other starchy foods, as the secret ingredient responsible for the mortar’s legendary strenght.

“Analytical study shows that the ancient masonry mortar is a kind of special organic-inorganic composite material,” the scientists explained. “The inorganic component is calcium carbonate, and the organic component is amylopectin, which comes from the sticky rice soup added to the mortar. Moreover, we found that amylopectin in the mortar acted as an inhibitor: The growth of the calcium carbonate crystal was controlled, and a compact microstructure was produced, which should be the cause of the good performance of this kind of organic-organic mortar.”

The test results of the modeling mortars shows that sticky rice-lime mortar has more stable physical properties, has greater mechanical strength, and is more compatible, which make it a suitable restoration mortar for ancient masonry buildings.

The resulting ‘sticky rice mortar’ was stronger and more resistant to water than pure lime mortar, and, as professor of physical chemistry Bingjian Zhang notes, one of the greatest technological innovations of the time.

Builders used the material to construct important buildings like tombs, pagodas, and city walls, some of which still exist today. The tomb of Xu Pu and his wife, constructed using sticky-rice mortar, was strong enough to shrug off the effects of modern bulldozers and structures in Quan built with sticky rice-lime mortar survived the 7.5 grade earthquake of 1604 AD.

When restoring historical constructions, it is often needed to replace or repair the original masonry work, and the choice of mortar used for this is vital. Examining if sticky rice-lime mortar can be used for restoring ancient buildings, the scientists prepared lime mortars with varying amounts of sticky rice and tested their performance compared to traditional lime mortar.

“The test results of the modeling mortars shows that sticky rice-lime mortar has more stable physical properties, has greater mechanical strength, and is more compatible, which make it a suitable restoration mortar for ancient masonry buildings,” the article notes.

The paper ‘Study of Sticky Rice-Lime Mortar Technology for the Restoration of Historical Masonry Construction’ by Fuwei Yang, Bingjian Zhang and Qinglin Ma appeared in ‘Accounts of Chemical Research’ and can be consulted on the website of the American Chemical Society.

Roman Food at the British Museum – Cooking the Apicius Recipes

Roman Food at the British Museum - Two 'Vicas' LadiesNowadays nobody could imagine Italian cuisine without tomatoes, aubergine, potatoes, maize or pasta as we know it today. The ancient Romans had none of those ingredients available to them. Then what did they eat (besides flamingo)? I visited the ‘Feasting’ event at the British Museum to find out.

In the early years of the ancient kingdom of Rome, dining habits were quite alike for all Romans, rich or poor: breakfast (or ientaculum) in the morning, a small lunch at noon and the main meal of the day, the cena, in the evening. Barely any food was roasted; instead the food was either boiled or fried in olive oil.

Then at least for the rich Greek culture started to influence the dishes as well as dining etiquette, and by the time the Roman Empire was set in stone Roman cooks had access to a wealth of exotic ingredients and recipes.

Some of these recipes were preserved as the ‘Apicius’, a collection thought to have been assembled around the 5th century AD. Additional information comes from Cato’s tips on preparing farm products, Petronius gave satirical descriptions of a Roman feast and various other historical sources mentioning Roman food, such as the Vindolanda tablets. Less conventional sources are mosaics that once adorned the villas of the wealthy (there’s a lovely one with fish dishes in the British Museum) and food remains found at excavations, notably thethermopolia (Roman snack bars) at Pompeii.

Ancient Roman Recipies

The recipes found in the Apicius are aimed at the wealthiest classes with exotic ingredients (even for an empire as vast as the Roman) and manydifferentsauces (such as the famous, garum, made from fermented fish intestines yikes). The Romans loved sweets andoften used large amountsof honey.(Honey might evenhave been used as a ‘biological weapon’ against a Roman army led by Pompey the Great.)

More photographs of the event (and food) are available in this Flickr set.Roman Food at the British Museum - Pomegranate Roman Food at the British Museum - Olive Oil Part II?

Pork was the most popular meat, with beef only mentioned occasionally in recipes. Seafood oysters were bred on a grand scale was popular as well. Poultry was often stuffed (consult the Apicius on how to handle ‘smelly’ poultry) and on special occasions birds like peacocks, swans and even flamingos were eaten. The Romans already figured out how to force-fed geese, making fois-gras as much of a delicacy as it is today.

There was a large choice of vegetables asparagus, cardoon (a sort of artichoke), leek, radish, cabbage, cucumbers,lettuce, endives, parsnip, lentils, pees and chick-peas. Fruits were also on offer, as were nuts.

Roman Influence on the British Diet – Definitely an Improvement

What did this mean for British cooking? When the Romans came to Britain in 43AD they brought with them garlic, leek, peas, onions and many other vegetables and herbs. Meat-lovers nor hunters should ever ask ‘what did the Romans do for us?’ – they introduced many new breeds of animals: chickens, rabbits, pheasants, guinea fowl, the brown hare and possibly even rabbits. Even the poor Britons gained with an upgrade of bread and the import of more productive grains. And let us not forget the most important Roman export product of all: they brought us wine!

Roman Feasting at the British Museum

A health and safety license is needed to feed the public, so no tasting of the Roman food was allowed at the ‘Feasting’. Sadly, as the cooking by ladies from the Vicus re-enactment society looked delicious, and I wouldn’t have minded taking a bit out of some of the cookies, or trying the ancient bread.

MacMummy in an Ancient Patina of Pears

Health and safety regulations care nothing of feeding the (already) dead, so MacMummy bravely took a dive into the ‘patina de piris’ (or patina of pears), which he seemed to enjoy immensely. Strange to me, as the recipe did seem a bit odd: Core and boil the pears, pound them with pepper, cumin, honey, passum, liquamen, and a little oil. Add eggs to make a patina, sprinkle with pepper and serve. This does mean combining pears with eggs and salty fish sauce. Not quite sure about that!

I plan to try out one of the more conventional Apicius recipes this weekend: Fresh mushrooms are stewed in reduced wine with a bunch of green coriander, which must be removed before serving. I know I chose one of the easiest ones. Even on Heritage Key (normally not that culinary oriented) we have more ‘advanced’ Prehistoric and Roman recipes available.But compared to the friendly Vicus re-enactment ladies I’m just a novice ‘ancient Roman’ cook. Surely nothing can go wrong with this one, and food poisoning won’t be on the menu. Right?

The ‘Roman Feast’ at the British Museum was part ofthe event ‘AHistory of the World in 100 Objects Evening: Feasting’. Other activities included the screening of sci-fi classic Soylent Green (surely, for good appetite), object handling and storytelling sessions. Next up on my ancient events calendar is – hopefully – a trip to the ‘Danube’ exhibition at Oxford’s Ashmolean this bank holiday weekend.

‘Atlantis – The Evidence’ with Bettany Hughes to air on BBC Two

Expect to see Bettany Hughes visit the Knossos Palace at Crete in 'Atlantis, The Evidence'. Airs Wednesday June 2 2010 at 9pm on BBC TwoHistorian Bettany Hughes will star in Timewatch Special ‘Atlantis: The Evidence’, to premire on BBC Two next week. She’ll be tracing the origins of the Atlantis myth and presenting evidence that the Thera eruption inspired Plato’s account of the mystical land.

2,400 years ago Greek philosopher Plato wrote of an ancient island civilisation of unparalleled wealth and splendour, which was struck by earthquakes and floods and was swallowed up by the sea in one grievous day and night.

But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea. For which reason the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by the subsidence of the island. (Plato, as translated by Benjamin Jowett)

Atlantis has captured minds and imaginations like no other legendary land. Scores of mavericks, treasure-hunters and fantasists have devoted their lives to finding this lost world (see possible location on Google Earth). Historians and scholars have searched and debated where the real roots of the myth lie for centuries.

Bettany Hughes is among a growing number of experts who believe Plato’s story was inspired by a real historical event the eruption in the Bronze Age of a massive volcano on the Aegean island of Thera, better known to British tourists as Santorini. It was this event which wiped out one of Europe’s first civilisations in a single night.

Photo courtesy NASA. A satellite image of Santorini.Located between Crete and mainland Greece, Thera supported a thriving civilisation that reached its peak between 2000 and 1600 BC. Thera’s capital Akrotiri had its own navel fleet and many trade connections across the Aegean and Near East. Its artists painted beautiful frescoes as far as the Hyksos capital in Egypt. But the Minoan civilization – named after legendary King Minos – came to an abrupt endwhen Akrotiri was devastated by earthquakes. Shortly after a massive volcanic eruption occurred, burying the city.

In this one-off documentary Bettany Hughes presents evidence to support the theory that the Thera Eruption inspired Plato. Recent scientific findings show the eruption was much bigger than previously thought. Archaeological excavations have revealed the remains ofBronze AgeSantorinientombed by the eruption, a frozen moment of the past. As Bettany will show in ‘Atlantis: Evidence’, the parallels between Atlantis and the Minoans are striking.

‘Atlantis: The Evidence’ airs Wednesday, June 2nd 2010 at 9pm on BBC Two

Gold Umayyad Coin with Kufic Inscriptions Discovered in Egypt

Both sides of the coin are decorated with kufic inscription.Egypt announced today that a gold Umayyad coin was unearthed last Thursday during an excavation at the Monastery of St. John the Little, in the desert west of the Nile Delta. In a statement Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, said both sides of the well-preservedcoinare decorated with Kufic inscriptions, the oldest calligraphic form of the Arabic script.

One side of the coin bears the name of Allah. The second side is inscribed: in the name of God the Merciful. The coin’s edge is decorated with the year it was minted. It dates to the year 103 of Higra (721 AD) during the reign of the 9th Umayyad Caliph Yazid II (687 724 AD).

The archaeological mission at Wadi el-Natrun is a joint venture between Yale University and the Supreme Council of Antiquities and involves the excavation and conservation of early Christian remains. The Monastery of St. John the Little is over seven square kilometres in area and containsabout a hundred unexcavated structures.

In late antiquity, the desert settlement called Scetis in Greek (now Wadi el-Natrun, or Natrian Desert, as it is often referenced in Christian literature) was a haven for early Egyptian monastic communities. Monks lived in small cells around the area which were later organized into more formal monastic orders.

The Monastery of John the Little was named after the fourth century desert father, Saint John the Dwarf (or ‘John Kolobos’) and remained one of the most active monasteries throughout Arab rule. It was demolished by a Berber raid in the fourteenth century, yet it is claimed a tree planted by Saint John the Dwarf known as ‘the Tree of Obedience’ still exists at the monastery today.

Four Ancient Egyptian Cemeteries Discovered at El-Lahoun in the Fayoum

Funeral Equipment and Sarcophagus foundArchaeologists last week discovered 45 ancient Egyptian tombs at the site of El-Lahoun, in the Fayum. In a statement issued by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni claims that a sarcophagus holding a mummy has been found in in each of the tombs, located about 70 miles from Cairo.

One of the tombs unearthed during the dig is from the 18th dynasty (1550-1295 BC), and contains at least 12 wooden sarcophagi stacked on top of each other. Each of these sarcophagi is thought to hold a mummy covered in cartonnage.

The mummies are decorated with religious texts from the Book of the Dead and scenes featuring different ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses.

Four cemeteries have also been discovered, the oldest dating to the 1st and 2nd Dynasty (ca. 2750-2649BC). Mission leader Dr Abdel Rahman El-Aydi says the cemetery is composed of fourteen tombs, with one of the burials found almost completely intact. All of its funerary equipment and a wooden sarcophagus with a linen-wrapped mummy were unearthed.

The second cemetery belongs to the 11th and 12th Dynasty (2030-1840BC.) Each tomb includes a painted wooden sarcophagus bearing a mummy covered with cartonnage. This was decorated with religious texts which help the deceased with their journey through the afterlife.

The third and fourth cemeteries are dated to the New Kingdom (1550-1070BC) and the Late Period (724-343BC) respectively.

Two intact foundation deposits of King Senusret II‘s mortuary temple at the southwest and southeast corners of the temple area were discovered earlier by the Hungarian El-Lahun Survey Project (blog). The shafts contained a high number of finds including pottery vessels.

The Fayum area gave its name to the ‘Fayum portraits’, beautiful Greco-Roman mummy portraits. Painted on wood during the models’ lifetimes, the portraitswere placed on the mummy after death. Pristine examples are the boy Eutyches and ‘L’Europeenne’.

Earlier this yearPtolemaic era bronze coins, whale fossils and prehistoric jewellery were discovered in the FayumOasis nearby.Last year 53 stone tombs from the Middle, New Kingdom, Late Period and Roman era were discovered.

Digitally Enhanced Images of New Pyramid Discovery Reveal Ancient Smurf

We all know that a surely proud couple from a village populated by irreducible Gauls still resisting the Roman invaders in 50BC gave birth to Asterix. But where do the Smurfs smurf from? Are they all Peyo’s imagination, or did a tribe of small, little blue men ever exist? One is inclined to think that those cute creatures, dated to the early Spiroe Age, are just a silly invention of a genius comic book writer. Or are they? Their primitive grammar seems to suggest a more ancient origin, and new evidence recently surfaced that Smurfs started smurfing back in ancient times.

The discovery of a 1,400 year-old pyramid in Peru seems to imply that the ancient Moche culture already smurfed blue-coloured antropomorph creatures as decoration on their walls. Digitally enhanced images of the mural found in the newly excavated pyramid suggest Moche artists drew rudimentary smurfs onto their buildings walls. The storyline might not have fully evolved, but on this computer enhanced image, the Smurf is definitely there.

digitally enhanced image of a mural find at the pyramid site

Researchers aren’t quite sure yet what this early depiction of the ‘Schtroumphs’ (that’s what the indigenous call them) means, and why the Smurf normally considered peaceful is carrying something that looks like a club. Scholars are still looking for evidence of female Smurfs, in comic book legend referenced as ‘Smurfettes’.

Its possible they were sacrificed but we dont know.

The Moche settlement does seem to have many features in common with the Smurfs, not at least their financial system. The researchers said it is possible that the settlement without city walls or any defence system was ruled by what might have been considered lords (Papa Smurf) or a corporation of say co-operative but high status practitioners.

The Spiroe-era Smurfs are famous for their sense of community, a form of cooperation without currency, where each Smurf contributes to Smurf society as he or she can.

Mystery still enshrouds the disappearance of the Smurf civilisation from record until their re-appearance in ‘Johan et Pirlouit’ in 1958. Legend has it they lived in a part of the world called ‘Le Pays Maudit’ (the cursed land), which could only be reached by using magic or travelling through dense forests and a high mountain range, quite similar as to the environment in Peru. In an interview with Owen, Professor Swenson of the University of Toronto excavation team smurfed: Its possible they were sacrificed but we dont know.

Disclaimer: This is obviously, I hope a parody story but the ‘Smurf’ is original. At least, the non-digitally enhanced image. But the Moche warrior just looked so much like a smurf, we had to see what happened if we added a little colour. We’re hoping someone will smurf us ancient graffiti of Gargamel next! 😉

Terracotta Army Will Visit Stockholm in August

Terracotta Warriors will go on display in a cave under the Ostasiastiska MuseetAt the end of August the Terracotta Army will visit Sweden, and the soldiers will bring with them the story of China’s birth. In a unique location,the Terracotta Warriors and a collection of never-seen-before objects from simular gravesites will tell the story of how the vast Chinese empire was built on the idea of eternal power. This idea – stretching both space and time – was given shape through momumental burial sites and buildings, and the unification of China. The sophisticated empire that was established would last over two thousand years.

A selection of Terracotta Army statues and recent archaeological finds from five imperial burial sites will be exhibited in the rock shelter of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, a unique setting deep in the earth and a formalbase of the Swedish Navy. The Rock Galleries are usually not open to the public.

“As a visitor one will get that sense of the first magical moment encountering the army face to face in the excavation situation”, says museum director Sanne Houby-Nielsen.

Considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, the army is already world-famous. When on display in London the British Museum had to turn visitors away, despite staying open until midnight – but now the entire excavation team has got its much-deserved recognition too. This year’s ‘Prince of Asturias Prize for Social Sciences‘ has been awarded to the archaeological team which first discovered the Terracotta Warriors 36 years ago, and is still excavating at Xi’an today.

Promo video for the arrival of the Terracotta Army at Stockholm, showing the underground area in which they will be displayed.

The team was praised for devoloping a ‘multi-disciplined research project which allows the study of an important time in the development of the Chinese Empire’, considered by the jury to be a fundamental chapter in the history of civilisation.

Director of the archaeological team Xu Wiehong thanked the foundation and the members of his team, stating the prize belongs to each of them, but pointed out there are still difficulties- such as colour protection of the excavated warriors – and still a lot of excavating and research years to go.

The most recent dig started June last year and is ongoing, with the discovery 114 more terracotta warriors – it is thought there are up to8,000warriors and about 600horses- announced last week. The archaeologists also found 12 clay horses and a number of other artefacts, such as bronze weapons, wooden chariots and drums.

The ‘Terrakottaarm’ exhibition focusses on the period from 200BCand contains over 320 objects, on loan from eleven different museums and, of course, Terracotta Warriors. It runs from August 28, 2010 to January 16, 2011 at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm.

The Lost World of Old Europe and Prehistory Month at the Ashmolean

architecture in the neolithic?Today the ‘The Lost World of Old Europe The Danube Valley, 5000-3500BC’ exhibition opens at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. When visiting you can expect to see the famed goddess figurines which have triggered intense debates about women’s roles in Old European society; the oldest major gold treasure found (in the earliest known male elite burial); and more exuberant (and suprisingly ‘modern’) art and pottery from Europe’s first civilisation.

Having only previously visited New York, it’s a must-attend exhibition containing objects on loan from over 20 museums in Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. It’s a chance to learn about a relatively unknown culture that developed advanced metallurgical practices and created pottery with amazing geometric designs ages, before writing or the wheel were invented.

We are used to being excited about King Tut, Stonehenge, the Terracotta Warriors, mysterious Maya tombs and the like, but the peoples of Old Europe achieved all this when the Egyptians were still practising their buildingand burial skills (Step pyramid of Djoser – 2650BC), before the First Qin Emperor ordered the construction of his mausoleum (210BC) and even before Stonehenge was built (the first stones went up c2600BC, although there are some alternative suggestions).

When we wonder ‘how and why was Stonehenge built?’ we (or at least I) often simplify: we imagine primitive people, with primitive tools, minds and fashion sense. But even a quick look at the highlights of the ‘The Lost World of Europe’ exhibit shows us a civilisation with a great sense of design (the Cucuteni pottery is stunning), good tools (I wouldn’t want to be hit with that copper axe), and evocative female figures – all of them unique (with or without clothes; some have a detailed head, different materials are used and many depict different positions).

Although archaeological work has taken place in the region since the end of the 19th century, there is little general awareness of the wealth of its prehistoric cultural heritage, largely due to the Cold War.

Today with new studies of old collections, planned future excavation projects and international exhibitions such as The Lost World of Old Europe, recognition of the early prehistory of southeastern Europe enters an exciting new era.

If you want to learn more about the latest research, events and lectures organised by the Ashomlean to coincide with the exhibition are obligatory:

Also coinciding with ‘The Lost World of Europe’ at the Ashmolean is the ‘Festival of British Archaeology 2010’ that runs from Saturday the 17th of July until August 1st. The Ashmolean is celebrating this (and their new gallery) with a special Prehistory Month and fun activities such as discovering prehistoricmusic instruments and Bronze Age CSI.

With all this going on, don’t you think they deserve 100,000 and thus your vote for the the Art Fund Prize 2010?

Stonehenge Apocalypse – British megaliths to star in action disaster film

Stonehenge Apocalypse - StillsIf you like apocalypse films, orare not satisfied by Dr Who’s visit to Stonehenge, you may consider yourself lucky: production for the ‘Stonehenge Apocalypse’ film has ended, and it will soon premire on TV. The plot? Opposed to what was previously believed (burial site, astronomical calculator and GPS for aliens) Britain’s most famous stone circle is actually… a dooms day device.

The film directed by Paul Ziller (who previously directed films with striking titles such as ‘Snakehead Terror, Beyond Loch Ness, Ba’al Android Apocalypse and Bloodfist IV: Die Trying) sports the very original tagline An ancient device is awakened… the end of the world is near.

Exciting, as any apocalyptic event except 2012, which was outright boring, despite an impressive flood and Ark reference – always is?

CineTel Films lists the film starring Misha Collins as of the genre’action disaster’, which I’m not quite sure how to interpret. (I’m also still trying to figure out where the Easter Island statues andGiza pyramids featured on the movie posterfit into the story.)

Their synopsis does sound promising: The sun rises behind the monolithic pillars (which is impressive, we can confirm) as a group of heady archaeologists debate the theories and arguments of the great minds that have come and gone in the thousands of years before them. Each believes that they will be the one to unearth the true origin of this mysterious prehistoric mass…known only as the Stonehenge.

stonehenge apocalypse pyramids easter island film posterBut what are those soldiers doing there? Another Battle of the Beanfield? And did those stones just move?!

The apocalyptic scenario sporting an ancient monument hiding apiece of machinery, which then gets discovered and activated by overly hasty and curious explorers (they are always like that in the movies), only to start a chain of events obligatory depicted by blue sparks radiating from the source of evil – that may very well end the world as we know it, does sound like it could just as easily be applied to any Egyptian or Mesoamerican tomb or pyramid. Oh, and Ileft out the default feud between thegood and the greedyarchaeologist.

Stonehenge Apocalypse is set to premiere on the SyFy channel on the 12th of June, at 9.00pm EST. I must admit, despite my criticism andthe fact that ‘Stonehenge Apocalypse’ was not shot in Wiltshire, after watching the movie trailer, I’m just a tiny bit sad this entertainment is USA only.