Z: zamarra & zooarchaeology
Zamarra (noun): A sheepskin jacket
Zooarchaeology (noun): The study of animal remains of archaeological sites
Most of the time, carbon-12 dating has been a blessing for archaeology. In my particular field of study, it has proven a challenge. Both to my sanity, general being and to a lesser degree, the field of zooarchaeology. The same kind of sheepskin jacket bearing jubylonian marks or idols have shown up again and again, always in surprisingly good condition.
At the beginning of whenever or not Jubylon have ever existed or whenever or not it is all just a clever hoax, these sheepskin jackets (also called zamarras) have been a fundamental argument for the “hoax thesis”, since they have almost always been in remarkably fine condition. However that thesis suffered a serious blow, when the first of them underwent carbon dating and was found to be approximately two hundred and eighteen years old. The materials are always fairly rough sheepskin and have clearly not gone through much treatment before sewing, but the craftsmanship is almost good, bordering on excellent. The buttons are made from finely polished ebony, the threads used are strong and almost entirely unbroken. I have been given the privileged of trying one on at museum and it felt comfortable and warm, perfect for working or just generally being outside. So in other words, it seems perfect for the City of Doors and Stairs and it’s supposedly very windy climate. The jacket I had the pleasure of trying on carried the same strange spicy smell as the rest have been reported to also carry. They have also showed up in strange situations.
Hugo Jean Durand (1919-1998) was a member of the French Resistance who fled from Vichy persecution into the Alps in 1943, where he told a tall tale of finding the jacket in a crate inside a ruined cabin. That jacket helped him survive the cold and eventually make his way to German-occupied France near Lille, where none knew him. He helped send transmissions and intelligence to Great Britain and fought for the French Resistance until the war ended. I found an old picture of him celebrating victory, drinking white wine and smoking, while dressed in a strange sheepskin jacket. He was clearly having a grand time.
Again, the jackets only add to the mystery, because all of them are at least two-hundred years old. Did Jubylon really exists or was it all just a clever hoax? If it was, it seems like it was a hoax carried out at least two hundred years ago. I will continue my research, even though I have not found anything more conclusive. To think that a fact derived from a scientific method could create further confusion…. the time of miracles is perhaps not over. I do wonder if I should begin studying something light and easy, like say the English Civil War or the Spanish flu. Something tangible and and therefore far more uplifting.