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Ancient carvings could be national treasure
http://www.fifenow.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1015&ArticleID=557553
ANCIENT stone carvings found on Burntisland's Binn Hill have excited major interest among archaeologists.
As a result they look likely to be designated a scheduled ancient monument, given the same status as national treasures such as Edinburgh Castle. And local enthusiasts hope it could prompt a fresh archaeological survey of the whole area, believing more discoveries could be waiting. The object of such excitement is a set of rock carvings thought to be about 4000 years old and of a design rare in Scotland and almost unique in Fife.
Fife Council Archaeologist Douglas Speirs enthused: "It's fantastic - truly amazing. The carvings are what is called a cup and ring design on a large boulder, with a spiral carved out on a nearby rockface. They are about 4000 years old - which means they were already about 3000 years old when the famous carvings were made in the Wemyss Caves. We know of examples of this style mainly from Perthshire and Argyll, and even there they are rare, so to find one here in Fife is hugely important. The fact that one of the cup and ring marks has not been completed gives us confirmation of the method used to carve them."
The find has also excited Historic Scotland, which is set to declare the site a scheduled ancient monument, giving it the maximum legal protection from development or other damage. Councillor William Leggatt has pushed for the site to be both recognised and protected since the discovery came to light. "There's a lot more in Fife and I'm quite sure there is a lot more to find on the Binn Hill itself, because it has been an important site through the ages," he said.
The discovery was a tale in itself. Local men Colin Kilgour and Jock Moyes, who shared an interest in archaeology, came across a picture of cup and ring-marked stones at an exhibition. "It was then we realised we had seen these markings before," explained Colin. "When we were kids we used to play on the Binn Hill, and I remembered finding patterns just like that when we were building a gang hut. We went back and, sure enough, the carvings were still there. We knew what the markings were, but had never imagined they would be so important.''
10 July 2003
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Anglo-Saxons no more
I can't supply a URL for this one, as the site won't let me but it was published in The Herald on 25th June this year:
DNA suggests the Celts held their ground - Scientists shatter Anglo-Saxon myth, writes STEPHEN STEWART
THE first analysis of DNA passed from father to son across the UK has shattered the Anglocentric view of early British history, it emerged yesterday. For decades, historians have believed that successive waves of invaders, such as the Anglo-Saxons, drove out the indigenous population of the British Isles, labelled Celts, pushing them to the fringes of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. However, work by a team of scientists on the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son, has shown the native tribes left their genetic stamp throughout the UK and not only in the "Celtic fringe". The evidence suggests that Anglo-Saxons tend to dominate British history merely because they kept better written records than their indigenous counterparts.
A large number of native people remained in England and central Ireland and were never entirely replaced by the invaders, often surviving in high proportions throughout the British Isles, according to the research by Professor David Goldstein, Dr Jim Wilson, and a team of experts at University College London. The study was based on comparing Y chromosomes from Britain with the invaders' Y chromosomes, represented by descendants of Danes, Vikings (in Norway) and Anglo-Saxons (in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany).
Dr Jim Wilson, a population geneticist from Orkney who is now based at University College London, said: "The recent paper was based on a study that I carried out on Orkney to tell if the inhabitants were descended from Vikings. It found the genetic profile was halfway between Norway and Ireland, suggesting that the Vikings did have a significant effect on the population. In the new study, samples were collected from the whole of Britain in a grid pattern. The study contradicts the notion of the complete replacement of the indigenous people by incoming Anglo-Saxons. The data set doesn't show that but illustrates that the English are largely indigenous in origin. We wanted to look at whether culture and genetics go together. In Orkney and Shetland they spoke Norwegian until the 1700s and there we have a strong case for genes and culture going hand-in-hand."
Dr Wilson and his colleagues established that Y chromosomes of Britain's indigenous populations were almost identical to those of the Basques, who live on the French-Spanish border and speak a language unrelated to the Indo-European tongues that swept into Europe 8000 years ago. "We tended to avoid the term 'Celts' as there is some debate about it. For example, the Irish and Welsh are indistinguishable from the Basques, who are the earliest indigenous inhabitants of Europe," he said. "The Basques were in Europe before farming and before the development of Indo-European languages such as those spoken by the people labelled Celts."
The indigenous population, genetically very close to the Basques, must also be drawn from the original Paleolithic inhabitants of Europe. They are possibly the first modern inhabitants of Britain, who settled the islands about 10,000 years ago. As well as the Vikings' genetic trail in Orkney, a centre of Viking activity from 800-1200, many men in York and east England carry Danish Y chromosomes but there was little sign of Anglo-Saxon heritage in south England, once believed to have been heavily colonised.
Cultural evolution
The notion there is a specific history of the Celts, as opposed to the individual histories of the Irish, Welsh and Scots, is a recent phenomenon. Between the fall of the Roman Empire and circa 1700, "Celtic" was used only to describe the ancient Gauls of France and related continental peoples. The conventional view has been that Celts shared certain cultural traits such as related languages; they were also all non-literate and non-urban. The alternative view is that great differences occurred between so-called Celtic cultures. For example, Druidic cults may have been confined to the British Isles and much of Gaul, and were possibly unknown among most of the continental tribes called Celts in the Iron Age.
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Dig brings some excitement to Dull village
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/11-6-19103-23-50-7.html
DULL by name but not by nature.
The sleepy Perthshire hamlet of Dull may be a collection of cottages with an unfortunate name that makes it the butt of many jokes, but an archaeological excavation is uncovering that it was once one of the most important places in Scotland.
The Dull Dig, which will be open to the public from Saturday until June 27, is a rare chance to view an archaeological excavation uncovering aspects of Scotland's most distant past.
Alan Graham, director of operations at Perthshire Tourist Board, said: "The dig is one of the focal points of Perthshire Archaeology Week, a programme of exhibitions, guided walks, lectures and activities that will highlight the rich and varied history of the heart of Scotland.
"During the week, visitors will be able to sample underwater archaeology, explore one of Europe's best-preserved Roman forts, walk to Dunsinnan - best known for its association with Macbeth's castle of Dunsinane - visit a 5000-year-old axe factory, join a landscape survey and much more."
The area around Dull has been inhabited for at least 5000 years. In the 7th century, it became a place of solitude and retreat for St Adamnan, the biographer of St Columba, who is attributed with halting the plague in the area by the miracle of casting the evil spirits of the disease into a rock.
In the Dark Ages from the 7th century onwards, Dull was the foremost centre of ecclesiastical learning in Scotland with an early Christian monastic complex and a thriving community with paved streets devoted to different trades.
Dull's influence waned as it was superseded by Dunkeld and St Andrews, but as late as the 12th century it housed a Trionensian priory established by King David I of Scotland.
Now much of the history of Dull is being uncovered through the archaeological dig at Dull parish church, which is thought to occupy the site of the original monastery. Excavations last year uncovered the remains of an earlier building below the church as well as pottery and human remains.
- June 11th 2003
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Neolithic Structures unearthed at Brodgar
Forwarded for info:
From: Sigurd Towrie
Subject: Neolithic Structures unearthed at Brodgar
A suspected Neolithic house on the Ness of Brodgar in Stenness was uncovered at the weekend but subsequently reburied.
Unearthed by Beverley Ballin-Smith and Gert Peterson of Glasgow University's archaeological research division, the site at Brodgar Farm lies half-way between the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness.
But although the find is another exciting one for Orkney, the visiting archaeologists had no remit to excavate. Because the site is within Orkney's World Heritage Site, a decision must first be made on how best to deal with it.
The round structure is much like the ones at nearby Barnhouse and last year's geophysics survey of the area suggests that there are at least three in the area - which is also halfway between the waters of the Stenness and the Harray Lochs, on an area of high ground in line with the entrance to the Brodgar ring.
I visited the site today and will be writing up a complete article for The Orcadian (and Orkneyjar) later this week.
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Sigurd Towrie
Blackhall - Kirbister - Stromness - Orkney
Heritage of Orkney: http://www.orkneyjar.com
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Norse code taps back 9000 years to life in Highlands
From the 23rd December edition of The Herald.
by MARTYN McLAUGHLIN
Archeologists have discovered the remains of a 9000-year-old community that shows Scotland's earliest settlers may have been of Nordic origins. The site, halfway up the 4000ft Ben Lawers in Perthshire, has uncovered a range of flints and tools almost identical to those originally created in Norway. However, it came as a surprise. Dr John Atkinson, of Glasgow University, was leading a five-year project to excavate the area and was working on another site at the time. "We were looking at structures relating to the 1570s when we dug a bit deeper and stumbled upon the site," he said. "It is the earliest inland site and certainly the first highland settlement to have been found in Scotland."
He believes the discovery shows settlers were living on the mountain range some 10,000 years ago after the glaciers receded. More than 9000 pieces of material have been found, and the head of Glasgow University's archeological research division believes historians will be forced to reconsider what was previously taken for granted. "We found flints, blades and lots of quartz debris from where they had obviously tried to repair their tools," said Dr Atkinson. "We believe they came inland from the coast - which was the only place they could have found the flint - to hunt deer through the valley. The similarities between their tools with those found in Norway is very exciting."
The comparisons point to the theory that Scots fled east to Norway at the onset of the ice age, but came back in surges to repopulate the country once the glaciers had melted. Archeologists have only discovered scattered settlements before the Ben Lawers find, most of them based around the coastline and lowlands. However, the new site has led historians to believe the first settlers may well have been far more advanced than was once thought, able to adapt to the inhospitable climate of the Highlands.
The discovery comes after a recent increase in funding to protect the natural landscape of Ben Lawers. The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded an additional £1m to the National Trust for Scotland in June to assist a five-year programme of repairs on Ben Lawers, Glencoe and other mountains. The project is designed to improve public walkways, and at the same time, preserve the land. The five-year Ben Lawers historic landscape project started in 2002, aiming to coordinate wide-ranging studies into human influence on the landscape of North Lochtayside. Information in the field is being collected through detailed topographic and underwater surveys, excavations, and environmental and scientific studies.
- Dec 23rd
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The Comet Stone
From the Stones Mailing List, another interesting revelation - posted to the list by Sigurd Towie, whose excellent site Heritage of Orkney should not be missed.
Another extract from my forthcoming archeological review of 2002 that may be of interest:
"The designation of the area surrounding Maeshowe, Brodgar, the Standing Stones and Skara Brae as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 has resulted in a number of projects to better understand the archaeology - visible and invisible - within the landscape. One of these was an extensive geophysics survey of the Brodgar peninsula - the thin neck of land bordered by the Harray and Stenness lochs.
Among the many features revealed by the five month operation is the existence of a fourth 'object' in the ground by the Comet Stone - the megalith that lies about 150 yards from the Ring of Brodgar - as well as a number of features within the Brodgar ring itself."
The full report will appear on my site shortly.
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Sigurd Towrie
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Prone stones found by Stenness Loch
From the Stones Mailing List, some interesting discoveries - posted to the list by Sigurd Towie, whose excellent site is mentioned elsewhere here.
I was going to hold onto this until my complete article appeared in The Orcadian, but following a number of e-mails received today after a story on Radio Orkney this morning, here's the relevant extract:
"While attention over recent years has been firmly on Tankerness and the underground chamber of Minehowe, the emphasis in 2002 shifted firmly back to the West Mainland and the “Neolithic Heart of Orkney”.
There, for the first time in almost 30 years, the area around two of Orkney’s best-known ancient monuments - the Ring of Brodgar and Standing Stones of Stenness – came under close scrutiny.
Not only was a large section of the Ness of Brodgar painstakingly scanned, but a chance discovery of two large stones on the shore of the Stenness loch could shed some light on the construction of the stone circles, in particular how the megaliths were transported from the quarry site.
While walking the eastern shore of the Stenness Loch, Nick Card of Orkney Archaeological Trust (OAT) came across the two prone stones lying by the water. The stones, just to the north of the Wasbister disc barrow, could indicate that after being hauled to the loch after quarrying, the megaliths took to the water for their final leg of the journey. Although Nick is only certain that one of the stones was destined to be a standing stone, the discovery has intriguing parallels with a local tradition that other stones lie within the loch itself.
“It could be that these stones may once have been erected but were knocked or fell down in more recent history,” suggested Nick, “but this seems unlikely. If they had been standing, they would surely have been recorded somewhere. It seems more probable that they were actually on the way somewhere. And if you were moving something that size it makes sense to use the water.”
Staying on the subject of standing stones, work at Vestrafiold in Sandwick over the summer seems to have confirmed that megaliths were indeed quarried there – the location long held to be the source of the Stenness stones. The project, led by Dr Colin Richards of Manchester University, hopes to reveal more about the people who hewed the great stones from the quarry and moved them more than seven miles to the Ness of Brodgar. Previous investigative has concentrated on the stone circles themselves, but Dr Richards’ project could provide an intriguing glimpse behind the scenes of the construction of Orkney’s grandest prehistoric relics. The Vestrafiold work is ongoing and Dr Richards hopes to return in 2003."
Not much else can be said about the Vestrafiold project at present - landowner isn't keen on publicity.
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Sigurd Towrie
Blackhall - Kirbister - Stromness - Orkney
Heritage of Orkney: http://www.orkneyjar.com
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Previous 20 | Showing 21-27 of 27 news posts. Most recent first |
I work offshore in the North Sea as a rig medic. 55+ years old. Nationalist to the core. Have been interested in ancient sites as long as I can remember, due to my Dad's interest in history. Traced my ancestry back to the 1650's. Run a website about the little Fife town I was born and brought up in, Burntisland. Run a website on Stone Circles in Angus and Perthshire. Learning Gaelic, but not very fluent so far. Spend a lot of time walking in the hills. Member of the Scottish Megaraks. Sanity often questioned....
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