Ascott House

This incredible place is a wealth of treasure - famous paintings line every wall, exotic ornaments and antique furniture. It is a 'weekend cottage' for a well known banking family and, although National Trust, is not regularly open. I popped along today to get a blip for an 'old civilisation' to fit the May challenge word of MAYA. I had to look this up and do a bit of research:

As a girl's name it means 'Angel' but there is much more than this when applied to the Mayan Civilisation.

The Maya civilization (AD 300-900) was one of the most sophisticated in the pre-Columbian Americas. It extended from south-eastern Mexico across modern-day Guatemala, Belize and the western parts of Honduras and El Salvador. The Maya were never politically unified but lived in around sixty separate kingdoms, each with its own ruler. Relations between the kingdoms were complex. There was negotiation, trading and inter-marriage, as well as invasion and warfare.
Maya cities usually had a dramatic stepped pyramid topped by a temple sanctuary at their centre. Close by were the palaces of the royal court, which functioned as the centre of government and provided luxury accommodation. As well as lesser residences, temples and plazas, ball-courts have been identified. These consisted of two parallel walls between which a ritual game using a rubber ball was played.

The Maya produced impressive artworks, including polychrome ceramic vases and carved stone monuments portraying their rulers. The British Museum holds a number of carved lintels from Yaxchilan in modern south Mexico. They are considered to be among the masterpieces of Mayan art and record the rulers of the city.

Mayans developed a sophisticated writing system and used an elaborate calendar system known as the Long Count to provide dates. By about AD 800 Maya civilization was in decline. Building and monument-making stopped and in some places there is evidence of violence and destruction. The problems may have been caused by warfare and agricultural crisis. Despite this 'collapse', the Maya survived in reduced numbers. There are about six million Maya alive today.