According to a Sunday Times article, "a folk-dance tutor claims he has solved the mystery of illustrations in the Book of Kells that has puzzled historians for generations. Alan Nowell claims the interwoven patterns depict monks performing ancient mystical dances."
The Book of Kells is an ornately illustrated manuscript containing the four gospels of the Bible. It was produced by Celtic monks around AD 800. Alan Nowell's website explains how he interpreted some of the designs as stylized illustrations of dance positions, using his background in folk dance.
Even more interesting is a video of an experimental dance based on the Book of Kells after Alan Nowell's ideas, performed by The Kells dancers in Skerries, Ireland.
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