Neolithic homes unearthed at roadside
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/3613882.stm
A Bronze Age cemetery is one of a number of prehistoric settlements that have been discovered in County Down.
Neolithic homes, which date to 4000 BC, were also uncovered by archaeologists along the A1 road near Newry.
Evidence from the excavation is being preserved before work begins on upgrading the road at Loughbrickland.
Head archaeologist Kevin Beachus said the find, which he described as "significant" was far more then his team expected.
"We didn't expect quite so rich a find, we knew there would be something there or supposed there would be, but we had no idea it was going to be as wealthy as it is.
"The three neolithic houses which are about 6,000 years old, there are perhaps 30 maybe 35 in the entire UK known.
"We have got three of them, so they are very important.
"I think our findings are going to be used by universities, I would have thought, as a teaching aid for many years to come.
"The burials have been buried inside bronze age pots, each pot is buried in the centre of a circle or a ditch and then that is filled over the top."
The archaeologists, which were brought onto the site by the Roads Service, have only a few days to collect their findings before work begins on the project.
"I'm afraid the road is going to be bulldozing its way straight through the site in the next few days," said Mr Beachus.
However, he added that he was confident everything would be preserved in time and that future generations would learn a lot from the artefacts.
"I have got a wonderful team on site and I have no doubt that we will have it cleared by then."
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Huge protest over henges
A HUGE number of objections are being delivered to County Hall today, protesting against a quarry firm's bid to extend its operations near the 'Stonehenge of the North'.
Thornborough Henge campaigners hope to have collected a massive 1,000 individual letters of objection against Tarmac Northern Ltd's plan to extend their sand and gravel extractions at Nosterfield Quarry.
The Friends of Thornborough and Heritage Action have also collected thousands more signatures on petitions, including on the internet, protesting against the threat to the prehistoric site, near Bedale.
Today they will be using a wheelbarrow to take the objections to North Yorkshire County Council which is set to decide on the issue.
Speaking of the massive support, George Chaplin, Heritage Action's Thornborough Campaign co-ordinator and member of the Friends of Thornborough, said: "We have really upped the ante; we want to make a splash and show the powers that be some clear confirmation of the level of support.
"We feel that by presenting the council with more objections than it has ever received for any application, we can send a clear message about the strength of public concern."
The campaign involved members visiting houses throughout the area and asking residents if they were interested in giving their support and writing a letter of protest.
Houses in Masham, Thornton Watlass, Newton-le-Willows, Well, Thornborough and Crayke Hall were all targeted and by Wednesday the group had already received around 600 letters with the promise of more to come.
Around ten per cent of the protest letters are from abroad, reflecting the international interest in the site, and an online petition has so far gained 3,300 signatures.
Although the statutory period for consultation officially ends tomorrow, people can still object to the application up to September 30.
Mr Chaplin said: "Once the statutory period is over we intend to concentrate on the quality rather than quantity of the objections as well as continuing the process of gaining international recognition for the Thornborough Henges.
In a statement, Tarmac Northern estates manager Bob Nicholson said the company shared the public's concern for local heritage and the need to protect the area of the henges.
"We have announced that we do not intend to go ahead with any planning application to excavate the area surrounding the protected henges, pending the outcome of a detailed English Heritage study which will reveal the extent of the area's competing land uses," he said.
"We have also explained that by progressing our application to excavate sand and gravel at nearby Ladybridge Farm in the meantime we will be uncovering artefacts which would otherwise be left undiscovered, or worse, damaged by modern agricultural practices.
"In fact, Tarmac has an exceptional record in the recovery and protection of important archeological finds.
"We also continue to operate an open door policy with all local interest groups and the relevant statutory authorities to ensure we work together to find a solution which protects our local heritage at the same time as drawing on much-needed resources for the region's construction industry."
Mr Alwyn Shaw, the county council's principal minerals and waste planning officer, could not confirm whether the number of objections was a record for such an application, as claimed by the campaigners.
"Everybody is entitled to make their views be known and we will look at them, read them, and present a summary of them to the planning committee," he said.
"This is a controversial application and there has been a lot of concerns, as there is with a lot of quarry and waste applications. They attract local interest."
Mr Shaw said a preliminary report would go before committee in October, and he believed a recommendation would be made that councillors undertake a site visit, probably in December.
"We would then have the full report with the full details and all representations heard. We accept that it is a difficult decision and we have to acknowledge people's concerns."
http://www.northallertontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=22&ArticleID=831525
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Bid to increase quarrying runs into a barrow-load of trouble
CAMPAIGNERS delivered a wheelbarrow full of objections against more quarrying near an ancient monument in North Yorkshire yesterday.
About 550 letters were handed to the county council from protestors fighting plans to extend the Nosterfield Quarry, close to Thornborough Henges, near Ripon, North Yorkshire.
Campaign group Heritage Action says the proposal by Tarmac Northern would destroy a significant archaeological site.
George Chaplin, Heritage Action campaign co-ordinator, said: "This is the most important monument between Stonehenge and the Orkneys and we expect it to be a long campaign.
"This is just an initial show of concern.
"Thornborough Henges has been woefully under-recognised as a site of importance and we aim to move forward with a national campaign to build awareness.
"Our work will be going on all summer. We have meetings set up all over the place to spotlight the issue."
The site is said to contain the greatest concentration of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age henges - or circular monuments - in the country.
It is thought the henges may have been the most important sacred site in Britain 5,000 years ago and English Heritage has backed the protest campaign.
The county council expects to produce a preliminary report for consideration by councillors in September. This is likely to recommend a site visit and it could be December before any decision is taken.
http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_north_east/northallerton/news/NEWS2.html
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Roman and Stoneage Artefacts Found Near Pub
Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of a Roman fort and a Stone Age settlement near a pub in Chesterfield.
Experts were called in when developers discovered the artefacts on land underneath the Old Feather's Pub on Lordsmill Street.
Some of the pottery dates back to the 1st Century AD.
Maria Barnes from Chesterfield Museum said the discovery indicates the town's Roman settlement was larger than previously thought.
"Most of the evidence of Roman settlement is the centre of Chesterfield and this gives us proof that the civilian settlement around the fort extends further south than we previously thought," she said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/3891829.stm
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Pledge Over Ancient Site Quarrying
A decision on plans to quarry near an ancient monument known as "Britain's best kept prehistoric secret" will not be rushed, North Yorkshire Council has promised.
The council is considering an application by Tarmac Northern to extract sand and gravel from Ladybridge Farm at Nosterfield, near Ripon, which is within a mile of Thornborough Henges – three 5,500-year-old ancient monuments forming part of a sacred landscape across North Yorkshire.
English Heritage is among the opponents of quarrying until more archaeological investigations are carried out.
The council is waiting for archaeological information from Tarmac, which will form part of the company's environmental statement in support of its plans.
Tarmac has sought to reassure local people, including the Friends of Thornborough Henges, who oppose any further quarrying, that the Ladybridge Farm application for an 111-acre quarrying extension would not damage the area's archaeology.
Simon Smales, North Yorkshire's assistant director (planning and countryside unit), responded to Friends' criticism over the council's handling of the planning application, saying it would be determined in the same way as any other scheme. He said: "Far from putting anyone at a disadvantage, the county council is providing everyone who has an interest in this particular application a period of time far in excess of that required by law to formulate their views and provide their comments.
"The county council must strike a balance between complying with the relevant legislation, the efficient handling of a planning application and obtaining the views of those people who are affected by, or have an interest in, a proposed development."
Mr Smales said the usual 21-day period for responses had been extended by a week to July 30 and the Friends had been told the council would accept representations received up to September 30.
Planning officers are not expected to prepare a report for councillors before late October and a site visit would follow.
See http://snipurl.com/7rz8 for the original article by Julie Hemmings, as published on 14th July 2004 on the YorkshireToday web site.
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Archaeologists 'link Stonehenge to Wales'
Daniel Davies, The Western Mail - Jun 21 2004
Stonehenge was built by a Welsh family, archaeologists now believe.
The discovery of an early Bronze Age grave, made by workmen laying pipes on Salisbury Plain, is further proof that England's ancient landmark is a Welsh export.
Chemical tests on the 4,300-year-old teeth of seven people unearthed on Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, show they came from South West Wales or the Lake District.
But because the stones are bluestone brought from the Preseli mountains in Pembrokeshire, experts say the remains almost certainly belong to people born in Wales, who were among Stonehenge's builders.
It is the first time human remains have been found that link the mysterious ceremonial site with the north Pembrokeshire origins of the 80 standing stones.
Dr Andrew Fitzpatrick, from Wessex Archaeology, who excavated the site, said, "In medieval times, people believed that the stones could only have been brought to Stonehenge by Merlin the Wizard.
"For the first time we have found the mortal remains of one of the families who were almost certainly involved in this monumental task."
Archaeologists have named the Welshmen the Boscombe Bowmen because they were found buried with arrowheads.
The remains were dug up near the site where the Amesbury Archer was found two years ago. Although he lived at the same time, he came from central Europe.
Pottery fragments buried with him match those found with the Welsh family.
The Boscombe Bowmen grave is unusual because it contains the remains of an entire family, including three children, a teenager and three men. The shape of their skulls shows at least three of the party were related.
They were found in May 2003 when QinetiQ, a technology company operating on Boscombe Down airfield, dug a trench to lay water pipes and electrical cable.
QinetiQ archaeologist Colin Kirby, who stumbled across the 2,300BC grave, said, "On the second day of the excavations, I noticed human remains in the side of a water pipe trench.
"On investigating the spoil from the trench, fragments of beaker pottery and an arrowhead emerged.
"This was very exciting as it showed that the burial was probably Bronze Age and may be linked to the Amesbury Archer.
"I immediately informed Wessex Archaeology."
The Archer's burial is the wealthiest in Europe found from this period. Grave goods show he was clearly wealthy and may have been held in high esteem for importing metal working skills from Europe.
Metal may hold the key to why an ancient society chose Preseli bluestones for a monument more than 200 miles away.
Dr Fitzpatrick said beaker pottery of the type found with the Bowmen and the archer has also been found in county Kerry, Ireland.
The Preseli mountains could have been an important landmark for prospectors travelling around western Britain looking for sources of copper at the dawn of the Bronze Age, he said.
"Why people know of either Stonehenge or why people know of Preseli is the thing that people are beginning to tie together with people travelling and looking for metal," Dr Fitzpatrick said.
The stone circles at Stonehenge were built from two types of rock. The massive goal-like structures are sarsen sandstone from Marlborough, 20 miles north of Stonehenge.
But this find brings experts no closer to understanding how the bluestone, which was used to create the inner circle of smaller standing stones, was hauled to Salisbury Plain.
Dr Fitzpatrick said, "It is an astonishing thing to have done and people must have regarded Preseli as a truly magical place because they made the enormous effort to transport stone all the way over 200 miles, so there must have been something in the stone or the spirit of the place."
Scientists can locate where the Bowmen came from bythe enamel on their teeth. Asit forms it retains a fingerprint of the local environment by locking in oxygen and strontium isotopes. Tests by the British Geological Survey showed the men came from an area with high radiation background, like WestWales.
Original article on icwales.co.uk
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Henges battle's new twist
http://www.ripontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=805861
A quarry firm has been warned it has a fight on its hands over plans to extend its operations next to an ancient site of national importance.
Campaigners this week pledged to step up their fight to protect the unique triple henge complex at Thornborough, north of Ripon, after it was revealed that quarry operators had submitted a planning application to extract more sand and gravel nearby.
National campaign group Heritage Action has formed a small sub-group to look at the issues surrounding the neolithic site and to support local action group, the Friends of Thornborough, in their fight against further quarrying.
The Friends have been building up support for the last year, and now Heritage Action are urging more people nationwide to back their cause – and protest against the planning application by quarry company Tarmac Northern Ltd.
Tarmac has just submitted proposals to North Yorkshire County Council for an area of 111 acres at Ladybridge Farm, which lies to the east of the current Nosterfield Quarry at Thornborough.
The company says the expansion is necessary to provide much-needed sand and gravel supplies to North Yorkshire's construction industry.
But the Friends this week accused the quarry company of sacrificing heritage for profits and said Tarmac was going ahead with the planning application despite being made fully aware of its national significance.
Jon Lowry, chairman of the Friends, said: "I can assure Tarmac that it is in for a long fight and call upon all citizens of this country to join our demand, by writing to their MPs, that the government takes immediate action to protect this outstanding example of our national heritage by declaring it an Area of Archaeological Importance."
Heritage Action is also urging people to protest against Tarmac's proposals to extend its operation around the henge site, which archaeologists have dubbed the 'Stonehenge of the north'.
It is asking members of the public to write to Prime Minister Tony Blair, his deputy John Prescott and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, as well as the county council.
The group's chairman, George Chaplin, who is also a member of the Friends, said this week there was pressure for the application to be called in by Mr Prescott, which would involve a public inquiry.
He added: "The site is Yorkshire's oldest and most important monument complex, and it's one that's already had a massive amount of damage done to it.
"We are going to make sure that the Thornborough issue reaches national headlines. It is important that the government is aware that this is a national issue."
Tarmac this week sought to give assurances that the proposals would not impact on the archaeology of the area because they do not include the area of Thornborough Moor, which contains the 5,500 year old henges.
And it said any future plans for the Thornborough Moor area would take full account of the archaeological and environmental value of the site.
Bob Nicholson, Tarmac's estates manager, said that, without an extension of the excavation area, Nosterfield Quarry would have to close in three years' time.
He added: "Tarmac will not pursue any further proposals until the findings of the English Heritage sponsored Conservation Plan are known.
"The application to extend the area of excavation to Ladybridge Farm includes detailed plans for initial soil stripping works to be monitored by a professional archaeologist to ensure any artefacts which may be discovered are investigated and recorded. There are also plans to fully restore the site to enhance biodiversity and nature conservation.
"As responsible quarry operators, this care and respect for the environment and its archaeological heritage, is standard practice for Tarmac."
For more information about Heritage Action's campaign see www.heritageaction.org. The Friends' website is at www.friendsofthornborough.org.
11/06/04
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Minerals firm accused by campaign group
http://www.thisisdarlington.co.uk/the_north_east/news/NEWS35.html
by staff of The Darlington & Stockton Times
A LEADING minerals company is prepared to sacrifice archaeological heritage near Bedale for profits, it was claimed this week.
A local campaign group has reacted angrily to the announcement that, as expected, Tarmac Northern has applied for planning permission to extract sand and gravel from an area next to Nosterfield quarry in a bid to secure the future of the operation.
The 111-acre site east of the quarry at Ladybridge Farm does not include the area of Thornborough Moor, which contains three earthwork henges classified as scheduled ancient monuments, but the campaign group warned that it would vigorously resist the application.
Tarmac Northern estates manager Bob Nicholson said Nosterfield quarry would close in three years' time unless the company was able to extend the extraction area. This would have a knock-on effect on local jobs and building projects.
Tarmac Northern has already said that it will defer any decision on whether to try to extend excavations on to Thornborough Moor until the results of a conservation plan commissioned by English Heritage are known.
The Friends of Thornborough, a voluntary group dedicated to protecting the surviving setting of the henges, is concerned about the potential effects of quarrying in that area but is also worried that excavations at Ladybridge Farm will destroy more archaeological evidence.
Tarmac Northern said, however, that it was seeking to reassure local stakeholders and interest groups that the Ladybridge Farm application would not have an impact on the archaeology of the site.
It added that any future plans for Thornborough Moor would take full account of the archaeological and environmental value of the site and would not affect the henges.
Mr Nicholson said: "The application to extend the area of excavation to Ladybridge Farm includes detailed plans for initial soil stripping works to be monitored by a professional archaeologist to ensure any artefacts which may be discovered are investigated and recorded.
"There are also plans to restore the site fully to enhance biodiversity and nature conservation. As responsible quarry operators, this care and respect for the environment and its archaeological heritage is standard practice for Tarmac Northern.''
He said Tarmac was doing important work in identifying and extracting new sand and gravel sources to meet the needs of local construction industry in accordance with the Government's supply guidelines.
If Nosterfield quarry were to close, North Yorkshire would face a supply shortfall of 500,000 tonnes a year.
Tarmac began consulting the local community and statutory authorities in November 2002.
Submission of the Ladybridge Farm application clashes with the stance taken by English Heritage, which said in April that it was opposed to any further extraction in that area until the archaeological value of the landscape surrounding the henges was better understood.
English Heritage is funding Dr Jan Harding, of Newcastle University, to conduct extensive fieldwork on the Thornborough landscape. It was Dr Harding who first highlighted the historic importance of the henges.
A spokesman for the Friends of Thornborough said the Ladybridge Farm application was a sad day for the henges complex, described by English Heritage as the most important prehistoric site between Stonehenge and the Orkneys.
Friends' chairman Jon Lowry said: "It is appalling that a company which attempts to project itself as a supporter of archaeology is prepared to sacrifice yet more of this national treasure for the sake of its own profits.
"I can assure Tarmac it is in for a long fight and call upon all citizens to join our demand by writing to their MPs that the Government takes immediate action to protect this outstanding example of our national heritage by declaring it an area of archaeological importance.''
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Ancient Mining and Metallergy Summer School
IAMS SUMMER SCHOOL 2004
Dear all,
It is my pleasure to announce once again the upcoming IAMS Summer
School. Our annual two-week event will treat
"Ancient Mining Technology" and "Ancient Smelting and
Metallurgy",
and will take place from
Monday June 21 until Friday July 2 2004
at the
Institute of Archaeology
University College London
31-34 Gordon Square
London WC1H 0PY
United Kingdom
(For a map, see www.streetmap.co.uk, using the London post code WC1H
0PY).
We would like to invite you to the annual Summer School on Extractive
Mining and Metallurgy at the Institute of Archaeology in London.
Running from Monday 21 June to Friday 2 July 2004, it offers one week
on mining technology, taught by Professors Tim Shaw and Beno
Rothenberg, and one week on extractive metallurgy, taught by Beno
Rothenberg, Vince Pigott, H-G Bachmann, John Merkel and Thilo Rehren
(in chronological order of appearance...).
The Summer School is organised and sponsored by the Institute for
Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies (IAMS), aiming at students and
professionals with an interest in ancient technology and
archaeometallurgy. The admission fee covers
handouts and biscuits and a small contribution towards the costs; it is
kept low to encourage and enable student participation. Admission for
one week is GBP 75, for both weeks GBP 120 (single day attendance GBP
30).
Unfortunately, we can not provide support for accommodation or travel
costs.
Details of the programme can be found at IAMS' webpage
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/iams, and you can contact Xander Veldhuijzen at
the Institute of Archaeology / IAMS at [email protected] for
bookings and requests.
The courses are intended for anybody interested in early mining and
metallurgy, and require no existing specialist knowledge. However,
opportunity will be given to explore specific aspects in more detail,
within the given schedule. Both weeks can be taken independently from
each other.
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There can be no doubt that this is an ancient sacred Well. It sits on Holly Hill, and the village that it gives it's name to was the site of an significant bath house in Roman times, possibly including a temple.
A visit to Well church may well reward you with a sight of the goddess of Well spring - a fish-bodied female figure is carved into one of the external window lintels.
The only other place where this image has been found so far is inside the church at Kirklington - the next village into which the spring at Well flows.
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This is an uncertain find. It is an out of place stone that sits on the gravel bed to the north west of the Northern Henge at Thornborough.
I think it may be significant in that it sits more or less on a straight line between the Sacred Spring at Well and the Northern Henge.
A similar line is followed by the longest pit alignment that is coming away from the northen henge - discovered on the Nosterfield Quarry. The pit alignment is thought to be Iron Age, the Spring at Well was used to feed a Roman bathhouse which was probably related to a temple.
Were it not for the lack of naturally found large blocks of stone locally this stone would probably pass off as an eratic. But such things are largely unknown in the area and therefore there is a good possibility that this was placed for a purpose and therefore requires further investigation.
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This stone is a possible.
On the upper surface of the stone are a number of depressions that could be heavily eroded cup marks. Anyone who knows the area knows that these are sometimes difficult to distinguish between natural erosion. However the two of us who visited this stone were sufficiently impressed that we thought it should be included here so others can cast judgement in future.
The stone itself, although very large and weighing several tons is clearly out of place, since it now sits in the middle of a small spring bed. It appears to have fallen down the hill and ended up here.
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This site appears to be a four poster type grave site. It's not a stone circle as far as I can see, it sits within the remains of the collapsed burial mound.
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