Bellisseria Archeology

[Female Winslet]

Haven't you ever wondered about Bellisseria's history? Obviously such a well developed place could not pop out of the ground wholly formed. Surely it did not just get pulled up from the ground by some kind of animal.  

No. Obviously the idea is ridiculous. So I was wondering about Bellisseria's story, where it came from, how it developed, and why people first came to live there before it developed its current construction industry boom. And today I think I may have encountered my first clues. I was strolling through some of the areas near the west coast when I discovered this building here. 

This is obviously an abandoned barn. So it suggested to me that Bellisseria might have some sort of agricultural history. At least the area around the barn must have served some agricultural purpose. Perhaps this was a place where livestock were kept long ago. Or corn. Or hay. Obviously this must have played some roll in the way that ancient citizens of Bellisseria once were able to deal with their need to make a living. 

I continued along where I encountered this building behind a clearly different house in an obviously entirely different location and noticed that behind it there was an old building that was just falling apart. 

Obviously this building was no house. The tank on top is a giveaway that, at one time, it must have served some kind of industrial purpose. I didn't dare go inside considering its condition. And I didn't dare climb up the stairs because I would not have been climbing any sort of Mt. Olive, but rather a dangerous building that should probably be demolished. It's nothing more than a reminder of a Vlasic era that has long since passed, and there was no reason for me to step inside and risk getting hit by a spear or some big chip falling out of the ceiling. Do that and there's be nothing left of me but hamburger. And I'm not the owner of the property anyway (clearly, right? Of course it's not me) and trespassing just wouldn't be kosher.

I contacted my fellow Bellisserians letting them know I was in quite a pickle. I could not for the life of me figure out what this meant. After some discussion about how these buildings could fit into the theme of the area, we realized that their condition had to be the result of a lengthy fermentation caused by their exposure to salt, water, and the elements over a long time. So the likeliest scenario was that they were grandfathered in. A check with the Bellisseria Historical Society's records confirmed that these were protected historical sites. In fact, these may have been the first pickle manufacturing facilities in all of Bellisseria! Which just goes to show that the pickle industry in Bellisseria has been important since long before any of us lived there! So now we know what's the dill! Sweet!

 

 

Edited July 17, 2019 by Female Winslet

[Love Zhaoying]

I assume wherever one encounters one of the misty red avatar “ghosts”, an avatar is buried on that spot.

[Female Winslet]

7 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I assume wherever one encounters one of the misty red avatar “ghosts”, an avatar is buried on that spot.

Could be one of the avatars from days long forgotten.

When I login tomorrow, I will be very disappointed if my house is not surrounded by people wielding pitchforks and complaining about this 🙂

Edited July 17, 2019 by Female Winslet

[fairlyprincess]

It's a bit sad to see all the old cucumber fields disappearing so quickly, but I guess that's progress.  Have to thrive to survive..  : )

[Aethelwine]

I can't help but wonder if there are any traces of Magellan Linden's explorations on the continent like there are the others. 

[Rolig Loon]

Archeology is only part of the job.  There has to be a back story behind some of the place names, a clue to where the first settlers came from or what they did on the land before modern day Bellisserians arrived. Who was San Jocoso, for example, and what's the story behind Shady Corners?  People have speculated about Penitent Beach, but what about Myopia Falls?  Local historians should be digging into these things, writing pithy articles for the papers.  Enquiring minds want to know.

[ThomasHooker]

12 hours ago, Aethelwine said:

I can't help but wonder if there are any traces of Magellan Linden's explorations on the continent like there are the others. 

Check out the Squishy Pickle Shack in Navigation. He left a bit of a surprise there for people to find.

[Aethelwine]

6 hours ago, ThomasHooker said:

Check out the Squishy Pickle Shack in Navigation. He left a bit of a surprise there for people to find.

Well spotted, it took me a while to see it was so inconspicuous. It looks like he has been there very recently!

[Dyna Mole]

17 hours ago, Rolig Loon said:

Who was San Jocoso, for example

The chronicles record that San Jocoso and a small band of itinerant monks landed on the east coast of the continent and paddled their rough coracles up a long and mysterious river, settling finally at a spot where the land was good for vineyards.  San Jocoso, also known as the "Laughing Monk", led his doughty [ or maybe "doughy". Handwriting in the chronicles is hard to decipher] community for many years until succumbing to whooping cough during the Winter of Great Wolves. San Jocoso is said to have been buried near the site of the present Capitol Springs bridge, where he liked to sip wine and contemplate the habits of marsh birds. The chronicles are known for speaking in metaphors, so it is unclear whether these are historical facts or embellishments of local folklore and bar room tales.

[Fritigern Gothly]

All joking and banter aside, there is/was a Second Life Historical Society which goal it was to record and preserve historical objects and locations in SL. Unfortunately, all that remains is a group with 10 members, 8 of which look like they haven't logged in since 2010 or so.

Perhaps we should start a similar society again. Heck, then as a group, perhaps we can even give the Moles a friendly kick in the pants to motivate them to drop some stuffs in the The Molemart at ttp://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Leafminer/210/149/34 (which contains items used to build Heterocea and Sansara, the roads and railroads, and some other stuffs)

[Female Winslet]

4 minutes ago, Fritigern Gothly said:

All joking and banter aside, there is/was a Second Life Historical Society which goal it was to record and preserve historical objects and locations in SL. Unfortunately, all that remains is a group with 10 members, 8 of which look like they haven't logged in since 2010 or so.

Perhaps we should start a similar society again. Heck, then as a group, perhaps we can even give the Moles a friendly kick in the pants to motivate them to drop some stuffs in the The Molemart at ttp://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Leafminer/210/149/34 (which contains items used to build Heterocea and Sansara, the roads and railroads, and some other stuffs)

I like the idea, but I think orbs and ban lines on the mainland outside of Bellisseria would make it hard for such a group to operate. I'd be interested in participating if not for that.

10 hours ago, Dyna Mole said:

The chronicles record that San Jocoso and a small band of itinerant monks landed on the east coast of the continent and paddled their rough coracles up a long and mysterious river, settling finally at a spot where the land was good for vineyards.  San Jocoso, also known as the "Laughing Monk", led his doughty [ or maybe "doughy". Handwriting in the chronicles is hard to decipher] community for many years until succumbing to whooping cough during the Winter of Great Wolves. San Jocoso is said to have been buried near the site of the present Capitol Springs bridge, where he liked to sip wine and contemplate the habits of marsh birds. The chronicles are known for speaking in metaphors, so it is unclear whether these are historical facts or embellishments of local folklore and bar room tales.

What say the chronicles about the ancient pickle factory of Bellisseria?

[Mollymews]

( just because I can't help myself 😺 )

while near history is important, particularly named places in honour of early intrepid explorers who teleported at great risk and peril to themselves, the story of Belli goes way way back. A recent discovery of a forgery authentic scroll, found while ploughing the old cucumber fields

 
Belliestateus Vaticanus  

[1:1] In the beginning when Patch created the heavens and the regions,
[1:2] the regions was a formless void and blue wavy stuff covered the face of the deep, while a wind never swept over anything.
[1:3] Then Patch said, "Let there be light"; and there was a not very good windlight.
[1:4] And Patch saw that the windlight was not very good; and called in Rider who went OMG! and made a more awesome one.
[1:5] Patch called the awesome windlight Day and kinda night, and the not very good one Rider hid way down in the dialogs somewhere and never called it anything. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
[1:6] And Patch said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
[1:7] So Patch made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.
[1:8] Patch called the dome Sky, but Sky said uhh! uh! not to name after me. And Patch said pleeaaasssee! go on! and Sky went oh! ok then. And so there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
[1:9] And Patch said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the regions terrain appear." And it was so.
[1:10] Patch called the dry terrain Terrain, and the waters that were gathered together he couldn't think of a name so they just called Water. And Patch went oh! well and that was good enough.
[1:11] Then Patch said, "Let the terrains get painted to look like grass and sand and brown rocky-ish stuff. And it was so.
[1:12] The painted terrains kinda looked like vegetation: pretendy grass and stuffs.  And Patch saw that it was good enough as well
[1:13] And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
[1:14] And Patch said, "Let there be windlights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,
[1:15] and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the terrains." And it was so. Because Rider had already made them
[1:16] Patch tried to make two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars.
[1:17] Patch tried to set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the terrains and waters,
[1:18] to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And Rider went "Oh! man. We gunna be here forever at this rate" and done it himself. Patch saw that it was way good and patted Rider on his back.
[1:19] And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
[1:20] And Patch said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky."
[1:21] "And the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind." And Ebbe coughed discreetly, and Patch went "Oh! thats right. Let there be Moles"
[1:22] Patch blessed the Moles, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water with houseboats, and let traditional houses multiply on the terrains." And Ebbe went: "Yeah!"
[1:23] And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
[1:24] And Patch said, "Let the terrains bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind."
[1:25] And the Moles went: "I think he means like roads and stuff" and they made it so. And Patch saw that it was good and said awesome sauce!
[1:26] Then Patch said, "Let us make avatars in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the houseboats of the water, and over the traditional houses, and the pickles."
[1:27] And Grumpity went: "Umm! There's a zillion avatars pressing F5 and they already look like us kinda sorta except for the F5 imprinted on their fingers and foreheads."
[1:28] So Patch blessed them F5 avatars, because Patch didn't want Ebbe to cough all over him again. And Patch said to them "You can't be fruitful and multiply, because we haven't got enough homes at the moment. So just one each ok ?" And the avatars never said anything. Just keep refreshing the F5 to get any home, nevermind more than one.
[1:29] Patch said, "See, I have given you a home and like trees and rocks and roads and stuff, upon the face of all the regions but you have to bring own food because we haven't got enough LI to grow anything other than trees and hedges and grass and flowers."
[1:30] And to every avatar what never got a home yet, Patch said "Let there be pickles!" and the Moles went "What!" and made a pub instead. And it was so.
[1:31] Patch saw everything that the Moles had made, and indeed, it was very good
[1:32] And there was evening and there was morning, and that was the sixth day.
[1:33] On the seventh day Patch fell asleep because puffed out. And the Moles all went "Awwww!" tucked him under a warm blankey with his teddy bear, and just carried on.
[1:34] And there was evening and there was morning, and that was the seventh day.
[1:35] On the eighth day Patch arose and said: "Let us call this place Eden". And the Moles went "Sorry boss! that name already been used. So we have called it Bellibutton." And Patch said "Reaally! Oh! well!"
[1:36] These are the generations of the waters and terrains and when they were created. In the days that Patch made the regions what are known as the Bellibutton of Second Life

 

[Dyna Mole]

Surprisingly little. Considering how important pickles are in today's Bellisseria social life, I suspect it will not be long before some historical sleuth uncovers the story.  Maybe even writes a doctoral thesis.  It is said, of course, that the octagonal shape of the Squishy Pickle is an homage to the eight original members of the pickle cartel that owned that ancient factory.  That much is common knowledge.  Their names and even the location of the factory have not survived, as far as I know.

Edit:  Ah, well, then... there is the mythology, recited above while I was busy typing.  It says rather little about pickles, as you notice, but it's a start.

Edited July 19, 2019 by Dyna Mole

[Fritigern Gothly]

8 minutes ago, Dyna Mole said:

Their names and even the location of the factory have not survived,

The factory was destroyed in an enormous explosion, somewhere in 2003. It created the central crater on Heterocea as an indelible scar on the face of the virtual world.
I understand that you did not know about that, it was the blackest page in SL history and caused a worldwide pickle shortage, an event that LL prefers would get lost in the mists of time. However, the geographical evidence is undeniable.
I have included a map with the approximate former location of the pickle factory.

[Beth Macbain]

38 minutes ago, Mollymews said:

[1:22] Patch blessed the Moles, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply...

Look, it's right bloody there, @Quartz Mole! Patch says so!

looks around

What? Oh hai, everyone! 

Just... er... go on about your business! Nothing to see here! Just chatting about... er... math! And mangos? Yeah, math and mangos!

[Female Winslet]

1 hour ago, Mollymews said:

( just because I can't help myself 😺 )

while near history is important, particularly named places in honour of early intrepid explorers who teleported at great risk and peril to themselves, the story of Belli goes way way back. A recent discovery of a forgery authentic scroll, found while ploughing the old cucumber fields

I got nothin'. This is just amazing and I love it! But neither Ebbe nor Patch was one of the original Lindens so I think they both technically post-date the creation. 🙂

1 hour ago, Dyna Mole said:

Surprisingly little. Considering how important pickles are in today's Bellisseria social life, I suspect it will not be long before some historical sleuth uncovers the story.  Maybe even writes a doctoral thesis.  It is said, of course, that the octagonal shape of the Squishy Pickle is an homage to the eight original members of the pickle cartel that owned that ancient factory.  That much is common knowledge.  Their names and even the location of the factory have not survived, as far as I know.

But if you read my original post, you will see that I found it!

1 hour ago, Fritigern Gothly said:

The factory was destroyed in an enormous explosion, somewhere in 2003. It created the central crater on Heterocea as an indelible scar on the face of the virtual world.

The Bellisseria pickle factory, which was found in Bellisseria exploded and created a crater on Heterocera? How'd that work?

[Fritigern Gothly]

29 minutes ago, Female Winslet said:

The Bellisseria pickle factory, which was found in Bellisseria exploded and created a crater on Heterocera? How'd that work?

Well, duh! The fact that the Heterocea Pickle factory was found in Belliseria (after it had been lost for all these years) shows that it was a very big explosion.

EDIT: Congrats on locating the landing spot of the factory!

Edited July 19, 2019 by Fritigern Gothly

[Female Winslet]

38 minutes ago, Fritigern Gothly said:

Well, duh! The fact that the Heterocea Pickle factory was found in Belliseria (after it had been lost for all these years) shows that it was a very big explosion.

EDIT: Congrats on locating the landing spot of the factory!

Hmmmmm so pickle making came to Bellisseria because of this explosion, perhaps.

[Fritigern Gothly]

Scholars have hypothesized that pickle making could have ended up in Bellisseria through an extinct civilization, known as the Primitars. They may have found delivery boxes of pickles, which drifted to Bellisseria after the blast threw them into the sea. The Primitars figured how to create primitive pickles but the art of pickle making on Bellisseria was lost after the Primitars went extinct.

Fast forward 15½ years, and an industrious tribe, known as the Moles rediscovered the lands and decided to develop it for future habitation. It is rumoured that some members of this Moles tribe excavated some artefacts whilst preparing the lands for cultivation.

One of the more stubborn rumours tell of the excavation of a glass jar of pickles, predating the Mole civilization. Obviously, the jar could not have been thrown here by the explosion of the pickle factory, so the only logical conclusion is that the Primitars developed the art of pickle making, possibly after the pickle disaster dumped thousands of delivery crates with pickles and pickle-making supplies in the surrounding oceans. Some of these crates may have washed ashore, allowing the Primitar people to learn how to make pickles.

At least, that is one theory.

 

[Mollymews]

6 hours ago, Dyna Mole said:

Edit:  Ah, well, then... there is the mythology, recited above while I was busy typing.  It says rather little about pickles, as you notice, but it's a start.

weeeell !

apparently there was another scroll, but it got munched up by the cucumber plough and only a tiny fragment remains. I haven't myself seen it so dunno as to its veracity but what I heard was the fragment says

2:1 On the ninth day Patch gathered some Moles unto himself. And he said to them "Now then! About the pickles what I said let there be!"
2:2 The some Moles gathered, looked and pointed with their little paws at these some other Moles wearing disguises who were in the pub what they had made. And them some other Moles in the pub gulped and said "

and that's all that has survived of the second scroll

so is a big speculation now about what those in the pub Moles wearing disguises said about the pickles which they obviously had something to do with. But we dunno exactly what that was

so we left only with archaeology and other scientific means to discover what the actual origins and purpose the pickles and their continued role and influence on the regions, their history and folklore. Something recognised by Helicopter Pilot Officer 1st Class Female Winslet who is be commended for recognising this. (At this rate Pilot Officer Winslet is gunna end up with a whole box of chocolate fish. Which is ok)

p.s Is pretty clear that Dyna Mole was one of the gathered Moles, and not one of the in the pub Moles wearing a disguise, so Dyna is absolved in the great mystery: What about the pickles!

[Patch Linden]

7 hours ago, Mollymews said:

( just because I can't help myself 😺 )

while near history is important, particularly named places in honour of early intrepid explorers who teleported at great risk and peril to themselves, the story of Belli goes way way back. A recent discovery of a forgery authentic scroll, found while ploughing the old cucumber fields

 
Belliestateus Vaticanus  

[1:1] In the beginning when Patch created the heavens and the regions,
[1:2] the regions was a formless void and blue wavy stuff covered the face of the deep, while a wind never swept over anything.
[1:3] Then Patch said, "Let there be light"; and there was a not very good windlight.
[1:4] And Patch saw that the windlight was not very good; and called in Rider who went OMG! and made a more awesome one.
[1:5] Patch called the awesome windlight Day and kinda night, and the not very good one Rider hid way down in the dialogs somewhere and never called it anything. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
[1:6] And Patch said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
[1:7] So Patch made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.
[1:8] Patch called the dome Sky, but Sky said uhh! uh! not to name after me. And Patch said pleeaaasssee! go on! and Sky went oh! ok then. And so there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
[1:9] And Patch said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the regions terrain appear." And it was so.
[1:10] Patch called the dry terrain Terrain, and the waters that were gathered together he couldn't think of a name so they just called Water. And Patch went oh! well and that was good enough.
[1:11] Then Patch said, "Let the terrains get painted to look like grass and sand and brown rocky-ish stuff. And it was so.
[1:12] The painted terrains kinda looked like vegetation: pretendy grass and stuffs.  And Patch saw that it was good enough as well
[1:13] And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
[1:14] And Patch said, "Let there be windlights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,
[1:15] and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the terrains." And it was so. Because Rider had already made them
[1:16] Patch tried to make two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars.
[1:17] Patch tried to set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the terrains and waters,
[1:18] to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And Rider went "Oh! man. We gunna be here forever at this rate" and done it himself. Patch saw that it was way good and patted Rider on his back.
[1:19] And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
[1:20] And Patch said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky."
[1:21] "And the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind." And Ebbe coughed discreetly, and Patch went "Oh! thats right. Let there be Moles"
[1:22] Patch blessed the Moles, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water with houseboats, and let traditional houses multiply on the terrains." And Ebbe went: "Yeah!"
[1:23] And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
[1:24] And Patch said, "Let the terrains bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind."
[1:25] And the Moles went: "I think he means like roads and stuff" and they made it so. And Patch saw that it was good and said awesome sauce!
[1:26] Then Patch said, "Let us make avatars in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the houseboats of the water, and over the traditional houses, and the pickles."
[1:27] And Grumpity went: "Umm! There's a zillion avatars pressing F5 and they already look like us kinda sorta except for the F5 imprinted on their fingers and foreheads."
[1:28] So Patch blessed them F5 avatars, because Patch didn't want Ebbe to cough all over him again. And Patch said to them "You can't be fruitful and multiply, because we haven't got enough homes at the moment. So just one each ok ?" And the avatars never said anything. Just keep refreshing the F5 to get any home, nevermind more than one.
[1:29] Patch said, "See, I have given you a home and like trees and rocks and roads and stuff, upon the face of all the regions but you have to bring own food because we haven't got enough LI to grow anything other than trees and hedges and grass and flowers."
[1:30] And to every avatar what never got a home yet, Patch said "Let there be pickles!" and the Moles went "What!" and made a pub instead. And it was so.
[1:31] Patch saw everything that the Moles had made, and indeed, it was very good
[1:32] And there was evening and there was morning, and that was the sixth day.
[1:33] On the seventh day Patch fell asleep because puffed out. And the Moles all went "Awwww!" tucked him under a warm blankey with his teddy bear, and just carried on.
[1:34] And there was evening and there was morning, and that was the seventh day.
[1:35] On the eighth day Patch arose and said: "Let us call this place Eden". And the Moles went "Sorry boss! that name already been used. So we have called it Bellibutton." And Patch said "Reaally! Oh! well!"
[1:36] These are the generations of the waters and terrains and when they were created. In the days that Patch made the regions what are known as the Bellibutton of Second Life

 

Ok this post frankly made my day, put a huge smile on my face and I laughed right out loud at a handful of them!

At the same time, there's some frightening reality in there too!  😂

Hmmm, Abnor's potato salad is missing though...   😮

[Fritigern Gothly]

1 hour ago, Patch Linden said:

Hmmm, Abnor's potato salad is missing though...   😮

Mollymews must have ate it.

[Constantine Linden]

I'm not saying that there's necessarily a history of ancient Bellisseria, but I know that there's more than just what's on the surface.  Not necessarily the LAND surface, but....

Edited July 19, 2019 by Constantine Linden
clarification

[Beth Macbain]

16 minutes ago, Constantine Linden said:

I'm not saying that there's necessarily a history of ancient Bellisseria, but I know that there's more than just what's on the surface. 

Oh dear... residents are going to be moving in excavators and destroying all the hard work of the Moles now trying to find the literal meaning behind that little tidbit of information!

It's gonna be mayhem!

[Arquet]

18 minutes ago, Constantine Linden said:

I'm not saying that there's necessarily a history of ancient Bellisseria, but I know that there's more than just what's on the surface. 

well, it was built by moles after all...😄