On my journeys through the forest I have regularly encountered discarded cook ware; tea pots, pans as well as the remains of leather shoes (usually the degenerated soles). These finds are often off today's beaten tracks, the pots are usually crushed and appear to be 50 or so years old. These finds have fascinated me; trying to workout what they represent. Recently I found an answer; as often happens, several paths converged to illuminate the past. It would appear that these apparently random finds represent a way of life once common place in the forest, now sadly marginalised, corrupted and outlawed.....Gypsies. The forest was once well known for Gypsies, who frequently camped within its bounds. Usually the pans or tea tops are crushed; why the pots are so frequently crushed is a mystery, maybe it was tradition or cultural.
Gypsies are a definable travelling group, first appearing in Britain during the reign of Henry the 8th as opposed to other groups such as, Irish travellers, New travellers, Eastern European Gypsies and other itinerants who appeared later. Their name is derived from 'Egyptians' as that is where the Medieval Britons wrongly thought they came from.
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