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The Make & Break Project moves across Wales!
Love this idea, start them young .............
The ‘Make and Break’ project has spread across Wales! Come and see a school perform at a burial chamber near you this summer!
It will be a chance for the younger generation to imagine what it was like to be a Neolithic tomb builder, re-creating a Neolithic ritual of their own at the site… Join us!
People living during the Neolithic
period around 6000 years ago, are
known to have deliberately broken,
and given away their most treasured
possessions. Join us at a burial
chamber near you to find out
more, and watch as school children
recreate a ritual — performing
their own interpretation of a
Neolithic ceremony.
Come and watch:
Dyffryn Ardudwy Primary School at
Dyffryn Ardudwy Burial Chamber, 31 May
Bro Ingli Primary School at Carreg
Coetan Arthur Burial Chamber, 15 June
Kingsland Primary School at Trefignath
Burial Chamber, 21 June
Eglwyswrw Primary School at Pentre
Ifan Burial Chamber, 26 June
All performances at 2pm
www.
http://tinkinswoodarchaeology.wordpress.com/2012/05/26/the-make-break-project-moves-across-wales/#comments
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Trefael Stone reveals stone age burial chamber
More news though not necessarily new, the BBC article has a good couple of photos though.
Archaeologists are to exhume and analyse human bones found under a prehistoric monument only recently identified as a burial site cap.
The Trefael Stone in Pembrokeshire was thought to be just one of many linked to nearby Bronze Age locations.
But it has now been reclassified after a survey established it as the capstone of a Stone Age ritual burial chamber.
The survey revealed the location, near Nevern, has been used for ritual burials for at least 5,500 years.
An archaeological team from the University of Bristol has been given permission to examine the human bones found there along with beads and shards of pottery.
The importance of the stone has been overlooked since it first appeared on maps in 1889.
The first suggestion it may be more significant than one of Wales' many prehistoric standing stones was in 1972 when archaeologist Frances Lynch suggested it could be a dolmen, or burial chamber.
University of Bristol visiting fellow Dr George Nash and colleagues Thomas Wellicome and Adam Stanford held an excavation in September 2010 and returned again last year.
As well as unearthing the human remains, beads and pottery, they found a stone cist - a half-metre long coffin-like container - which they estimate was put there in the later Bronze Age.
The find indicates the site may have been reused as a burial location long after the original stone chamber was built.
Their findings suggest it may prove to be Wales' earliest Neolithic ritual burial location and one of the earliest in Western Europe.
Dr Nash said he knew of Lynch's 1972 comment on the stone, and that no geophysical survey or excavation had been carried out.
He said: "I've always had this hunch that it could be much bigger. It's extremely exciting. It's one of those once-in-a-lifetime finds."
The stone is already noted for a number cupmarks or circular holes gouged out during its ritual use in the Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonies.
The archaeologists found a further 30 cupmarks of varying size on the 1.2m high stone.
Dr Nash said they were able to establish the site was stone burial chamber, built from giant boulders, going back to around 3,500 BC, which was then dismantled about 2,000 BC.
The capstone was then used as a procession marker standing stone pointing to nearby Bronze Age locations he said.
The beads suggest the location may be associated with burials long before even the burial chamber was built, as they may relate to a nearby Mesolithic site dating back 10,000 years, he said.
Dr Nash said the team were amazed that any artefacts were found at the site given the acidic nature of the soil, centuries of agriculture and the area's popularity over the generations with people seeking to unearth ancient treasures.
Dr Nash said: "The soils around this site are very acidic, so I'm astonished how the pottery and the bones have survived all this time.
"It's a big problem in Wales because of a lot of sites have in excavated by antiquarians who have just dug a hole looking for goodies, then taken what they want but have wrecked the site.
"What we have found is extremely rare."
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales has updated its records on the basis of Dr Nash's work.
Dr Nash said the Ministry of Justice had since licensed the team to remove the bones for analysis, including radiocarbon dating, when they return to the site in September.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18172598
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Older than Giza – ancient burial chamber revealed
There is a digital photo on line....
EVEN 5000 years ago, Britons were an understated bunch. About 250 years before work began on Egypt's ostentatious Great Pyramid of Giza, the early settlers of Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, were building impressive stone chambers of their own - and burying them under mounds of dirt. Now, intensive laser scanning makes it possible to virtually peel away the mud, revealing one of those chambers in all its glory.
This is Maeshowe, a 3.8-metre-tall tomb chamber reached via a narrow passage 11 metres long. Maeshowe is one of several Neolithic monuments that comprise the Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was scanned by a team from the Glasgow School of Art's Digital Design Studio and the government agency Historic Scotland. The team is scanning 10 World Heritage Sites, five of which are in Scotland, for the Scottish Ten project. "We scanned Mount Rushmore [National Memorial] in the US in 2010," says Lyn Wilson of Historic Scotland.
All the sites are tourist attractions, which can make conserving them a challenge. The scans, accurate to within 6 millimetres, will form an invaluable record to monitor future wear and tear.
Not all damage made by visitors is unwelcome, though. A thousand years ago, Orkney was under Norwegian rule and Maeshowe was plundered. The robbers left behind the largest collection of runes known outside Scandinavia, carved into the stone. These, too, have been laser-scanned in sub-millimetre detail. That's pretty impressive for 1000-year-old graffiti
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2012/04/ancient-burial-chamber-reveale.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news
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New Pilhough Quarry extension blocked in Peak District
A quarrying company has been refused permission to extend one of its sites in the Peak District in Derbyshire.
New Pilhough Quarry, near Stanton-in-Peak, which covers 14.5 acres (six hectares), would have been increased by more than two acres (one hectare).
Owners Blockstone Ltd offered to exchange its rights to another quarry, on an Iron Age archaeological site.
The Peak District National Park Authority said the extra stone being proposed for extraction was too high.
If the plans had gone ahead it would have enabled the company to extract a further 146,970 tonnes of sandstone by 2022, said the authority.
It added that permission to extend New Pilhough Quarry was not a fair exchange for Stanton Moor Quarry, where 67,500 tonnes of stone could potentially be extracted.
John Herbert, chair of the Peak District National Park Authority's planning committee, said it had been a difficult decision because of what was at stake.
"On one hand we have Stanton Moor, which is one of the crown jewels of the Peak District National Park," he said.
"We have a long-standing commitment to do everything possible to prevent quarrying from ever happening there [Stanton Moor] again and local communities strongly support that stance too.
"We felt the exchange in quarrying permissions being offered by the company was not sufficient to justify going against our planning policies."
The land around Stanton Moor also includes Bronze Age remains, a Scheduled Ancient Monument and wildlife habitats.
Andrew Gregory, director of Blockstone Ltd, said the company was considering its options and had not yet decided whether to appeal against the Peak District's decision, or resubmit its application.
He added that while Blockstone does not need to quarry at its Stanton Moor site at present, it may have to in the future if reserves run out at its other quarries.
The Peak District National Park Authority said quarrying permission at Stanton Moor was currently in suspension, but it could apply to reactivate it by submitting the environmental information needed with an agreement to work to modern standards.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-17725318
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Bookies causes a flutter with White Horse jockey stunt
Putting this up as news though the stunt has now vanished.....
A 3,000-YEAR-OLD hill carving of a horse now has a JOCKEY thanks to bookies Paddy Power.
Locals woke up to find the rider had been secretly added overnight to the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire to promote next week's Cheltenham Festival.
The 110ft tall and 200ft wide temporary installation was pinned to the ground with tent pegs five feet from the original chalk marking to avoid causing damage.
The stunt is part of Paddy Power's We Hear You campaign.
And the firm now hopes the Uffington Rider will become a site of pilgrimage for racing fans from all over the UK in the run-up to the festival.
A spokesman said: "Funnily enough, the idea for our Uffington Rider came from a tweet from one of our customers.
"He was responding to our We Hear You campaign asking if we had any mischief planned for Cheltenham in the wake of our giant Hollywood sign a few years ago.
"We simply couldn't resist the challenge and needed to come up with something spectacular to measure up to the giant sign. I think we've achieved this."
Paddy Power has made a donation to the National Trust, which maintains the Uffington White Horse.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4180538/Paddy-Power-puts-a-jockey-on-the-Uffington-White-Horse-to-promote-Cheltenham-Festival.html
Note; a spokesman for the National Trust says....
"This has been done without the knowledge of the National Trust and, as far as we can tell, without any Scheduled Monument Consent."
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Carpow logboat comes home to Perthshire
3,000-year-old Carpow logboat comes home to Perthshire
One of the finest archaeological finds ever made in Perthshire has taken up residence at Perth Museum and Art Gallery
The Bronze Age Carpow logboat has been transported to the town and painstakingly lifted into its new home by conservation specialists.
One of the oldest and best preserved in Scotland, the 3,000-year-old logboat will be at the heart of the museum's new exhibitions, offering an insight into local life in the distant past.
Since its excavation from the River Tay, near Carpow, in 2006, staff at the National Museums Scotland's conservation and analytical research department have been restoring and preserving the boat.
On its return to Perthshire, the logboat was manoeuvred into Perth Museum in sections by conservators from National Museums Scotland and a team from TG McDonald Engineering.
Over the next few weeks, the logboat will be made whole again and take centre stage in an exhibition on its Bronze Age origins, opening on March 19.
The logboat was recovered from the Tay Estuary by the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust after being discovered in 2001, buried in the intertidal sands and gravels of Carpow Bank, at the head of the Tay Estuary.
Carved from a single tree, the simple craft are the first known boats in existence.
A radiocarbon date verified that the Carpow boat was 3,000 years old, dating to 1130-970BC and excavations in 2002 and 2003 established the full length of the boat at around 9m.
While the bow of the boat had been eroded by tidal action, the buried hull and stern remained in excellent condition.
The site could only be accessed over the summer for around three to four hours each day, and was reburied in tidal mud and sand at each high tide.
The exploratory excavations did, however, identify Carpow as one of the best-preserved prehistoric logboats ever found in Britain.
It was eventually decided to recover the vessel for study and conservation after its exposed bow was found to be eroding.
Excavation was just the beginning of work to preserve the vessel as the team revealed that the oak boat had only survived because it had remained waterlogged.
Once out of the water, the vessel was at risk of disintegration and had to be cleaned, preserved and freeze-dried before it was safe to display in a museum.
Perth Museum and Art Gallery has been closed since January to prepare the galleries for the logboat and to allow for the first stage of improvement works in the entrance hall to be completed safely.
It will reopen on March 5 with the Dinosaurs Unleashed exhibition, featuring life-size dinosaurs, holographic video presentations by wildlife expert Chris Packham, real and replica fossils and interactive exhibits.
Entry is free and the exhibition runs until May 5.
Lifelong learning convener Councillor Liz Grant said: ''Painstaking work has enabled the Carpow logboat to be made ready for display so that we can all discover more about life locally thousands of years ago.
''It's great that we have the chance to highlight the ancient history of the Perth and Kinross area as the Museum reopens after important improvements.''
? Editor's link: The Carpow Logboat, on the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust website
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Perthshire/article/21324/3-000-year-old-carpow-logboat-comes-home-to-perthshire.html
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Kingston Deverill cemetery plan delayed for archaeological investigation
Interesting in that there is a barrow next to the church.....
Plans to expand the cemetery in Kingston Deverill have run into an unexpected problem – the land may already hide a prehistoric burial ground.
The graveyard at St Mary’s Church was last extended in 1926 and is now full, prompting rector Norma Payne and churchwarden Bill Knowles to apply to extend it.
While the move was granted permission, the church was told it would have to first run an archaeological dig because the land is next to a prehistoric disc barrow.
Mr Knowles said: “The whole area is full of prehistoric remains so this is a fairly standard planning condition for the village. I’m not sure we will find anything.
“I would be surprised if there is anything there at all, but it would be very interesting if any archaeological finds are made.
“Of course it would also be a problem for us as it would delay the plans somewhat.”
Historic records stored by the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre show the strip is roughly ten metres away from a Bronze Age mound, dating from around 2,500 BC.
Since such barrows were often created in groups, heritage advisors want to conduct trench surveys of the area to see if further relics are hidden there.
The Deverill valley is believed to have been inhabited since at least 3,500 BC. Kingston Deverill is the site of a 100-yard-long barrow on Cold Kitchen Hill, with another smaller barrow on its lower slopes.
A round barrow on Middle Hill in the village was found to contain a rare necklace made of a glass-like substance found in the Baltic, proof of trade between Wessex and the continent.
Archaeologist Mike Heaton, who runs a consultancy business in Warminster, is helping the church with its investigation.
“There are an enormous amount of prehistoric sites in the valley – you can make out the barrow shapes in aerial photos,” he said.
“There were centuries of occupation in the Iron Age and by the Romans, and a lot of medieval remains too. We will start by carrying out a physical survey to see if there is anything down there. Should anything show up we will dig trenches to find out what. If there is a lot of stuff it could be an investigation lasting several years.
“But it shouldn’t take up too much room, so the church would be able to start using the patch for burials.”
http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/inyourtown/warminsternews/9538112.Kingston_Deverill_cemetery_plan_delayed_for_archaeological_investigation/
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Call to conserve Neolithic grave in Delancey Park
Plans to conserve a Neolithic site in Guernsey have been submitted to the Admiral de Saumarez Trust and the Guernsey Museums service.
Archaeologist Dr George Nash produced the Conservation Management Plan after carrying out fieldwork at the site between 2009 and 2011.
He said the Neolithic gallery grave in Delancey Park had been a centre for the ancient community.
Dr Nash said it had been a settlement before the site became a grave.
He added that the excavation, funded by the trust, had revealed a complex history of the site dating back to the early Neolithic period, some 5,500 years ago.
Dr Nash said the beads from eastern Europe dated back to about 1,500 BC
Dr Nash said the plan he submitted was a long-term strategy looking at the strengths, weaknesses and threats to the site and how they could be acted upon.
He said: "I've suggested we do certain things to enhance it, to make it more of an educational facility, but more importantly make it a marker within the park that people can respect, look at and gain some knowledge from."
Dr Nash said they found "some very nice pieces of flint, but our piece de resistance, so to speak, was the discovery of three very, very small blue glass beads, which probably date to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age, which is the next period along in the prehistoric sequence.
"It tells us there were local groups probably using the sea as their main source of economics, because of where the site is located, but it also tells something very important - that they were importing stuff from far and wide."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-16945795
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Conservation plan to protect Hill of Tara in the future
A conservation plan has been commissioned for the State-owned lands on the Hill of Tara by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan.
The minister, in collaboration with the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Heritage Council, has commissioned the Discovery Programme to undertake the plan which, he said, "will illustrate the unique cultural and historical significance of Tara and identify appropriate policies to ensure its preservation and presentation".
The area to be examined includes the immediate environs of the Hill which contribute to the experience and enjoyment of the monument.
While the conservation plan will also consider access and visitor amenity issues, Mr Deenihan stressed that Tara was "essentially an outdoor experience and that should not change".
The minister emphasised that the emerging conservation plan would "place a key emphasis on consultation with stakeholders, and the local community in particular". Ultimately, it is intended that the conservation plan for the Tara complex will act as an overarching framework for management and interpretation.
Navan area town and county councillors received a delegation from the Department of Heritage and the Heritage Council to brief them on the commissioning of the plan at their January meeting.
Ian Doyle of the Heritage Council, Brian Lacey of the Discovery Programme and Tom Condit of the Department's National Monuments Service, provided an initial information briefing about the planned preparation of the plan.
Mr Lacey said the structure of a conservation plan is quite specific. It is recognised internationally as an ideal formula for protecting heritage and managing change in important historic places.
Since 2005, when the Cunnane Strattan Reynolds Report on the conservation of the Hill was submitted, there have been much more developments, including the completion of the M3 and the excavations associated with the motorway building, numerous publications relating to Tara, as well as remote sensing surveys, Mr Lacey told the meeting.
In the summer of 2010, the Discovery Programme and its partners at NUI Galway doubled the amount of geophysical surveys on the hilltop, revealing in the process what is almost certainly the previously unknown whereabouts of the medieval manor of Tara.
While broadly welcoming the report, councillors expressed concerns about possible restrictions on the Hill, as well as 'Americanising' the monument.
However, in response to Cllr Shane Cassells' concerns that the 'rawness' of Tara which attracted people would be lost, Ian Doyle said there was no intention of creating the 'Disneyfication' of Tara, but the manage and help understand its character.
Cllr Joe Reilly said he hoped that the consultation process was not going to be similar to the recent one concerning Tara. "There is a sad history of consultation and failure to reach agreement 18 months ago," he said.
Cllr Jim Holloway said it was an "exciting" project but that he hoped the "mystique" of Tara would be maintained. Cllr Tommy Reilly and Cllr Jenny McHugh asked that visitor facilities and car parking be looked at, with Cllr Reilly criticising the fact that the OPW centre is closed for the greater part of the year.
Mr Doyle said the purpose of the plan was to look at four points - access, value, protection and enjoyment. The Department officials requested that a representative of the council be appointed to the steering committee to oversee the project, and councillors agreed to consider this.
Archaeological works to investigate the significant degradation of the covering of the Mound of the Hostages have been completed. These excavations have resulted in the removal of a portion of the earthen mound over the passage tomb. Design options for conservation works to the passage tomb and the restoration of the mound are now being considered and will begin as soon as possible.
The Mound of the Hostages, Duma na nGiall, is one of the most prominent monuments among the concentration of prehistoric sites on the Hill of Tara. The covering of the mound is showing signs of significant degradation which, according to Minister Deenihan, "has begun to increase as a result of the very inclement weather over the last few years".
He said that a non-invasive geophysical survey had already been completed which was followed by investigative archaeological excavations overseen by his Department and the Office of Public Works.
"The excavation results will feed into a detailed conservation and management plan for the mound," added the minister.
The Tara-Skryne Preservation Group (TSPG) has welcomed Minister Deenihan's announcement of a conservation plan. Carmel Diviney of the group, which was formed during the M3 motorway controversy, said it is a most welcome announcement to all concerned about the long-ranging state of disrepair on the Hill.
http://www.meathchronicle.ie/news/roundup/articles/2012/02/01/4008743-conservation-plan-to-protect-hill-of-tara-in-the-future/
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Archaeologists and pagans alike glory in the Brodgar complex
Interesting article written in the Guardian by Liz Williams, though I found the original link on Heritage Daily;
Archaeologists are notoriously nervous of attributing ritual significance to anything (the old joke used to be that if you found an artefact and couldn't identify it, it had to have ritual significance), yet they still like to do so whenever possible. I used to work on a site in the mid-1980s – a hill fort in Gloucestershire – where items of potential religious note occasionally turned up (a horse skull buried at the entrance, for example) and this was always cause for some excitement, and also some gnashing of teeth at the prospect of other people who weren't archaeologists getting excited about it ("And now I suppose we'll have druids turning up").
The Brodgar complex has, however, got everyone excited. It ticks all the boxes that make archaeologists, other academics, lay historians and pagans jump up and down. Its age is significant: it's around 800 years older than Stonehenge (although lately, having had to do some research into ancient Britain, I've been exercised by just how widely dates for sites vary, so perhaps some caution is called for). Pottery found at Stonehenge apparently originated in Orkney, or was modelled on pottery that did.
The site at the Ness of Brodgar – a narrow strip of land between the existing Stone Age sites of Maeshowe and the Ring of Brodgar – is massive: the size of five football pitches and circled by a 10ft wall. Only a small percentage of it has been investigated; it is being called a "temple complex", and researchers seem to think that it is a passage complex – for instance, one in which bones are carried through and successively stripped (there is a firepit across one of the doors, and various entrances, plus alcoves like those in a passage grave, which are being regarded as evidence for this theory – but it's a bit tenuous at present). Obviously, at this relatively early stage, it's difficult for either professional archaeologists or their followers to formulate too many firm theories.
When it comes to the pagan community, I don't think that its sounder members will be leaping to too many conclusions too soon; as discussed in a previous column, some of us would prefer to rely on the actual evidence rather than rushing off at a tangent. I cannot help wondering whether the relatively muted response across the pagan scene to the Brodgar findings has to do with the fact that the central artefact discovered so far –" the "Brodgar Boy" – is apparently male rather than female. I am cynical enough to wonder whether, if it had been a northern Venus, there would be much more in the way of rash speculation about ancient matriarchies. Will we see the pagan community flocking to Orkney at the solstices? I doubt it. Orkney is a long way off and rather difficult to get to, whereas Stonehenge and Avebury are with a reasonably easy drive if you happen to live in the south of the country. In the days when the site was at its peak, most traffic would have been coastal, and remained so for hundreds of years to come. (And to be fair, many modern pagans aren't actually too keen on trampling over ancient sites, sacred or otherwise, due to awareness of their relative fragility).
With regard to the "boy" himself, and other ancient representations of the human form, we simply don't know why people made them. Maybe they are gods, goddesses, spirits. Maybe they're toys, or lampoons of particular individuals, or just someone doing some carving in an idle moment. It's hardly a startling theory that, throughout history, people have made stuff for fun: I've always been very amused by Aztec pots made in the shape of comical animals, looking for all the world like the early precursor to Disney and somewhat at variance with the sombre bloodiness of other aspects of that culture.
As soon as the Bronze Age arrived, Brodgar was completely abandoned. There was apparently a mass slaughter of cattle, which would have fed as many as 20,000 people on the site; this is being taken by some experts as evidence of a complete and sudden cultural replacement. But whether it has ritual significance or not, the sheer size, age and numbers involved with the Orkney site make it of immense importance to the history of ancient Britain.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2012/jan/31/archaeologists-pagans-brodgar-complex
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2012/01/archaeologists-and-pagans-alike-glory-in-the-brodgar-complex/
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Star Carr archaeologists given more than £1m in funding
Archaeologists excavating what they claim is Britain's oldest house have secured more than £1m in funding.
The circular structure at Star Carr near Scarborough was found in 2008 and dates from 8,500BC.
Archaeologists from the Universities of Manchester and York say the site is deteriorating due to environmental changes.
The European Research Council has given them £1.23m to finish the work before information from the site is lost.
Time running out
Nicky Milner, an archaeologist from the University of York, said the site was deteriorating rapidly.
"The water table has fallen and the peat is shrinking and it is severely damaging the archaeology," she said.
"The water keeps the oxygen and bacteria out and because they are now going into these deposits that is causing a lot of problems.
The area was settled by hunter gatherers about 11,000 years ago
"We haven't got much time left to excavate and we want to do some specialist analysis before all this important information vanishes forever."
The site was first discovered in the 1940s and has since been the subject of extensive research.
The latest excavation led to the discovery of what would have been a 3.5 metre diameter house occupied by hunter gatherers about 11,000 years ago.
The remains were dated by radio carbon and the type of tools used helped identify the house as being from 8,500BC.
Large settlement
The discovery suggested that people from this era were more attached to settlements than had been previously thought.
Items such as the paddle of a boat, arrow tips, masks made from red deer skulls, and antler head-dresses which could have been used in rituals, have all been uncovered.
Dr Milner said: "What we have here is a massive site, we have structures and we have a timber platform on the edge of what would have been a lake. This suggests that people were living here for quite a long period, for generations, in a large group.
"We have to do more excavation to understand more."
Star Carr would have been settled at the end of the last Ice Age and the team believes it may also offer insights into how people reacted to climate change.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-16721738
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Stargazing at ancient Beaghmore stone circles
THE ancient megalithic site of Beaghmore near Cookstown is to become a unique observatory with a day of free BBC Stargazing.
http://www.midulstermail.co.uk/lifestyle/entertainment/stargazing_at_ancient_beaghmore_stone_circles_1_3401321
Astronomers from Armagh Observatory and archaeologists from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) will be hosting the Stargazing Live Universe Awareness (UNAWE) activities at the fascinating Beaghmore Stone Circles regarded as the best Dark-Sky site in Northern Ireland.
The event which will also run at An Creagan is to be held on Wednesday 18th January 2012.
This is an international astronomy outreach programme funded by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme. You don't need any experience or equipment to give astronomy a go!
Also involved are Cookstown and Omagh District Councils and the aim of the project is to inspire young people to develop an interest in science and technology.
Claire Foley, Senior Inspector of Built Heritage at the NIEA, said "It is great to be part of this joint approach to our shared heritage."
Mark Bailey, Director of the Observatory, said: "Astronomy captures the imagination of children, young and old, as well as others young at heart. A view of the stars and of our Milky Way on a clear night from a Dark-Sky site such as Beaghmore can be an awe-inspiring, sometimes life-changing experience."
In the morning, schoolchildren will undertake a series of astronomy and science-based activities at An Creagán, including those that illustrate the lives of the people that built the stone circles at Beaghmore, in those early times. There will also be activities to illustrate the scale of our Solar System, and a fascinating shadow theatre provided by EU-UNAWE presenters from the world-famous Arcetri Observatory in Florence, Italy.
Later, children, their parents and everyone else are invited to a free Stargazing LIVE event at Beaghmore. This will take place from approximately 3.30pm to 5.00pm - weather permitting.
Participants can travel from An Creagán by free bus or make their own way to the Beaghmore Stone Circles to watch the Sun going down.
Living History enactors will greet them and demonstrate Bronze Age weapons and artefacts technology, including food and agriculture, highlighting possible reasons for the need to use astronomy and the science behind the circles' original purpose. There will also be opportunities to view the stones at sunset and observe the bright planets Venus and Jupiter, both visible as evening "stars" after sunset, and other stars.
Don't worry if the weather's bad, as there will be an alternative Living History programme, a slide show illustrating the night sky from this special Dark-Sky site, and the EU-UNAWE presentation "Virginia and Galileo Galilei: A Sky Full of Discoveries".
The last part of the event, from 8.00pm to 9.30pm, comprises two public lectures, the first by Claire Foley (NIEA) entitled "Stone Circles and the Bronze Age Perception of the Skies", and the second by Mark Bailey (Armagh Observatory) entitled "Comets and Cometary Concepts in History: Identifying the Celestial Connection". Following these illustrated talks will be observing from the grounds of An Creagán if clear.
Those wishing to attend these events should obtain FREE tickets by contacting Mrs Aileen McKee at the Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh; Tel: 028-3752-2928; e-mail: ambn@arm.ac.uk.
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'New' ancient monuments come to light at Knowth
Excavations unearth new features from Neolithic period
New and exciting archaeological finds have been made at the Knowth tumulus over the last few months, according to archaeologists working on the site.
The passage tomb cemetery at Brú na Binne has produced some extraordinary discoveries over the decades ever since Professor George Eogan made his first tentative exploration in and around the site.
A number of previously unknown large-scale monuments in the field lying immediately to the south-east of the large mound have recently come to light.
A programme of detailed non-invasive topographical, electrical resistance and magnetometer surveys conducted by Joe Fenwick of the archaeology department of NUI Galway, in collaboration with Professor George Eogan, has revealed a complexity of sub-surface wall-footings, earth-filled ditches and post-pits. This research confirms that the archaeological footprint of Knowth extends over a far greater area than previously thought.
The nature, date and function of these 'hidden' monuments has yet to be fully assessed but it is likely these features represent a succession of overlapping periods of human occupation, building and rebuilding over the course of several thousand years - from the early Neolithic up to the present day.
Two features are particularly apparent in the magnetometer image, a large double-ringed oval measuring 65m across its minor axis and a sub-rectangular ditched enclosure with internal features measuring over 70m in maximum dimension.
These may represent the remains of a double-ditched enclosure of prehistoric or early medieval date, possibly a henge-like enclosure or ringfort, and a medieval or post-medieval walled enclosure, respectively.
In the absence of dating evidence and with few, if any, definitive archaeological parallels, only very tentative interpretations of these features can be provided at this early stage of investigation, the archaeologists said.
During OPW repair works to a 19th century wall, which forms a boundary along the west side of the public road, a number of significant stones that had been built into its fabric were identified. One, though undecorated, is likely to have served as kerbstone marking the base to one of Knowth's satellite tombs.
Another is an architectural fragment, possibly part of a chapel or other prominent structure at Knowth, which once formed part a grange established in the high medieval period by the Cistercian monks of Mellifont.
Perhaps the most remarkable discovery, however, is a stone which bears a finely carved spiral in the megalithic tradition on one of its surfaces - undoubtedly a structural stone from one of the nearby small passage tombs.
http://www.meathchronicle.ie/news/roundup/articles/2011/12/02/4007977-new-ancient-monuments-come-to-light-at-knowth/
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Secret history of Stonehenge revealed
Another piece of the jigsaw being slotted into the prehistory of Stonehenge. David Keys in The Independent writes.........
Ancient site may have been place of worship 500 years before the first stone was erected
Extraordinary new discoveries are shedding new light on why Britain's most famous ancient site, Stonehenge, was built – and when.
Current research is now suggesting that Stonehenge may already have been an important sacred site at least 500 years before the first Stone circle was erected – and that the sanctity of its location may have determined the layout of key aspects of the surrounding sacred landscape.
What's more, the new investigation – being carried out by archaeologists from the universities' of Birmingham, Bradford and Vienna – massively increases the evidence linking Stonehenge to pre-historic solar religious beliefs. It increases the likelihood that the site was originally and primarily associated with sun worship
The investigations have also enabled archaeologists to putatively reconstruct the detailed route of a possible religious procession or other ritual event which they suspect may have taken place annually to the north of Stonehenge.
That putative pre-historic religious 'procession' (or, more specifically, the evidence suggesting its route) has implications for understanding Stonehenge's prehistoric religious function – and suggests that the significance of the site Stonehenge now occupies emerged earlier than has previously been appreciated.
The crucial new archaeological evidence was discovered during on-going survey work around Stonehenge in which archaeologists have been 'x-raying' the ground, using ground-penetrating radar and other geophysical investigative techniques. As the archaeological team from Birmingham and Vienna were using these high-tech systems to map the interior of a major prehistoric enclosure (the so-called 'Cursus') near Stonehenge, they discovered two great pits, one towards the enclosure's eastern end, the other nearer its western end.
When they modelled the relationship between these newly-discovered Cursus pits and Stonehenge on their computer system, they realised that, viewed from the so-called 'Heel Stone' at Stonehenge, the pits were aligned with sunrise and sunset on the longest day of the year – the summer solstice (midsummer's day). The chances of those two alignments being purely coincidental are extremely low.
The archaeologists then began to speculate as to what sort of ritual or ceremonial activity might have been carried out at and between the two pits. In many areas of the world, ancient religious and other ceremonies sometimes involved ceremonially processing round the perimeters of monuments. The archaeologists therefore thought it possible that the prehistoric celebrants at the Cursus might have perambulated between the two pits by processing around the perimeter of the Cursus.
Initially this was pure speculation – but then it was realized that there was, potentially a way of trying to test the idea. On midsummer's day there are in fact three key alignments – not just sunrise and sunset, but also midday (the highest point the sun reaches in its annual cycle). For at noon the key alignment should be due south.
One way to test the 'procession' theory (or at least its route) was for the archaeologists to demonstrate that the midway point on that route had indeed a special relationship with Stonehenge (just as the two pits – the start and end point of the route – had). The 'eureka moment' came when the computer calculations revealed that the midway point (the noon point) on the route aligned directly with the centre of Stonehenge, which was precisely due south.
This realization that the sun hovering over the site of Stonehenge at its highest point in the year appears to have been of great importance to prehistoric people, is itself of potential significance. For it suggests that the site's association with the veneration of the sun was perhaps even greater than previously realized.
But the discovery of the Cursus pits, the discovery of the solar alignments and of the putative 'processional' route, reveals something else as well – something that could potentially turn the accepted chronology of the Stonehenge landscape on its head.
For decades, modern archaeology has held that Stonehenge was a relative latecomer to the area – and that the other large monument in that landscape – the Cursus – pre-dated it by up to 500 years.
However, the implication of the new evidence is that, in a sense, the story may have been the other way round, i.e. that the site of Stonehenge was sacred before the Cursus was built, says Birmingham archaeologist, Dr. Henry Chapman, who has been modelling the alignments on the computerized reconstructions of the Stonehenge landscape
The argument for this is simple, yet persuasive. Because the 'due south' noon alignment of the 'procession' route's mid-point could not occur if the Cursus itself had different dimensions, the design of that monument has to have been conceived specifically to attain that mid-point alignment with the centre of Stonehenge.
What's more, if that is so, the Stonehenge Heel Stone location had to have been of ritual significance before the Cursus pits were dug (because their alignments are as perceived specifically from the Heel Stone).
Those two facts, when taken together, therefore imply that the site, later occupied by the stones of Stonehenge, was already sacred before construction work began on the Cursus. Unless the midday alignment is a pure coincidence (which is unlikely), it would imply that the Stonehenge site's sacred status is at least 500 years older than previously thought – a fact which raises an intriguing possibility.
For 45 years ago, archaeologists found an 8000 BC Mesolithic ('Middle' Stone Age) ritual site in what is now Stonehenge's car park. The five thousand year gap between that Mesolithic sacred site and Stonehenge itself meant that most archaeologists thought that 'sacred' continuity between the two was inherently unlikely. But, with the new discoveries, the time gap has potentially narrowed. Indeed, it's not known for how long the site of Stonehenge was sacred prior to the construction of the Cursus. So, very long term traditions of geographical sanctity in relation to Britain's and the world's best known ancient monument, may now need to be considered.
The University of Birmingham Stonehenge area survey - the largest of its type ever carried out anywhere in the world – will take a further two years to complete, says Professor Vince Gaffney, the director the project.
Virtually every square meter in a five square mile area surrounding the world most famous pre-historic monument will be examined geophysically to a depth of up to two metres, he says.
It's anticipated that dozens, potentially hundreds of previously unknown sites will be discovered as a result of the operation.
The ongoing discoveries in Stonehenge's sacred prehistoric landscape – being made by Birmingham's archaeologists and colleagues from the University of Vienna's Ludwig Boltzmann Institute – are expected to transform scholars' understanding of the famous monument's origins, history and meaning.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/secret-history-of-stonehenge-revealed-6268237.html
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Explore Mystery of Stone Circle
WOULD-BE archaeologists and star-gazers are invited to meet the experts to explore ancient history and the night sky from a prehistoric stone circle on Sunday, December 4.
The Peak District National Park Authority is offering 60 free places for people to find out more about the mystical Nine Ladies stone circle, on Stanton Moor, both on the ground and in the night sky.
Three two-hour sessions will take place on Sunday December 4, at noon, 2pm, and 4pm, starting at the Village Hall in Stanton in Peak, near Bakewell.
The events will include a short talk on the history of the stone circle, what to look out for in the night sky in December, a planetarium session, and a 15-minute walk to the stone circle.
The 4pm session will include a look at the night sky through telescopes, weather permitting.
Booking is essential as each session is limited to only 20 people.
A waiting list will be used to prioritise bookings for future events.
Dogs are not allowed.
To book or for more information email daniel.brown02@ntu.ac.uk or telephone 0115 848 3518. Participants must bring along their own torch for the 4pm session.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/explore_mystery_of_stone_circle_1_3986781
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Bronze Age burial site excavated on Dartmoor
An early Bronze Age burial cist containing cremated bones and material dating back 4,000 years has been excavated on Dartmoor.
Archaeologists uncovered items from the site on Whitehorse Hill including a woven bag or basket and amber beads.
Cists are stone-built chests which are used for the burial of ashes.
Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) said the discovery could be one of the most important archaeological finds in 100 years.
Archaeologists uncovered cremated human bone and a burnt textile woven bag or basket with stitching on it.
The receptacle contained shale disc beads, amber spherical beads and a circular textile band.
All the items were taken to the Wiltshire Conservation Service laboratory for micro-excavation, which DNPA said revealed a "wealth of information that does not normally survive".
The peat and pollen surrounding the cist are due to be analysed and carbon-dated to provide evidence of vegetation and climate at the time of the burial, and the items will be analysed to reveal how they were made and what materials were used.
Jane Marchand, senior archaeologist at DNPA, said: "This is a most unusual and fascinating glimpse into what an early Bronze Age grave goods assemblage on Dartmoor might have looked like when it was buried, including the personal possessions of people living on the moor around 4,000 years ago."
It is the first excavation of a Dartmoor cist for nearly 100 years, although it is known that about 200 exist on the moor.
The cist is to be rebuilt once analysis is concluded.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-15727960
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Historic hill fort project to begin
Work will be starting soon on a project to safeguard the archaeology of Dumpdon Castle hill fort, near Honiton.
The National Trust, working closely with the Luppitt Commoners, which has common rights over the castle and supported by a Higher Level Stewardship grant from Natural England, is starting a three year project to remove encroaching scrub, restore the beech grove on the top, and to carry out a geophysical survey to find out more about the history of the fort, and ensure that the archaeology is protected for future generations.
National Trust head ranger Pete Blyth said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to both improve the hill fort for today's users but also to ensure that the historical landscape and wildlife are there for our children to enjoy. We are very grateful to Natural England for their generous support of this project and to English Heritage and The Forestry commission who have given us all the necessary permissions and advice.
"We are doing all the scrub clearance work in winter months so as to prevent it having an impact on nesting birds, and minimise disruption for visitors and the bracken control is timed to avoid interfering with the famous display of bluebells on the west slope. The hillfort will remain open for public access throughout the work though access to small areas of the ramparts maybe restricted for safety reasons while work is actually being done on the ground."
Regular updates will be provided at blog site
http://nteastdevon.wordpress.com/ourwork/dumpdon
http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/story-13844601-detail/story.html
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Stanton Drew – new Great Circle entrance found
New evidence of archaeological features in and around the three prehistoric stone circles at Stanton Drew has been revealed.
The results of a geophysical survey carried out by Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society (BACAS) in collaboration with Bath & North East Somerset Council's Archaeological Officer in summer 2010 have just been published.
.The 2010 survey was led by John Oswin and John Richards of BACAS and shows evidence of below-ground archaeological features, including a second entrance into the henge monument first identified by English Heritage in 1997. The second entrance is south-west facing and forms a narrow causeway, defined by two large terminal ends of the circular ditch. Further work at the South-West Circle suggests that it sits on a deliberately levelled platform.
Stone circles like Stanton Drew's are known to date broadly to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age (about 3000-2000 BC). In 2009 the BACAS team produced computer plots showing what appears to be the outline of an earlier Neolithic burial mound or 'long barrow' immediately to the north of the Cove – a group of three large stones in the beer garden of the Druid's Arms. The completion of a resistance survey at the Cove has now reinforced its interpretation as a long barrow, which would date to nearly 1000 years before the stone circles. The length, width and orientation are consistent with this type of monument, including indications of flanking ditches.
"The geophysical survey work at Stanton Drew continues to throw new light on these nationally important monuments" said Bath & North East Somerset Council's Archaeological Officer, Richard Sermon. "It tells us that what we see above ground today is only part of a complex that would have rivalled those at Avebury and Stonehenge."
You can find the survey results at:
www.bathnes.gov.uk/environmentandplanning/Archaeology/Pages/default.aspx
www.bacas.org.uk/geophysics/StantonDrewLowResandCover.pdf
http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Stanton-Drew-8211-new-Great-Circle-entrance/story-13556812-detail/story.html
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Volunteers help preserve The Wrekin's history
Work to save 5,000 years of history on top of The Wrekin has been hailed a success by volunteers.
Restoration teams have spent the last few days working to protect the remains of a Bronze Age barrow and an Iron Age fort, 1,335ft above the Shropshire plain.
Pete Lambert, from Shropshire Wildlife Trust, said The Wrekin held a special place in the history of the area which needed to be preserved for future generations.
He said: "We have been working for three days to repair the effects of millions of feet tramping up to the summit.
"We have been repairing a Bronze Age barrow exposed by erosion which could have been built as a burial chamber 5,000 years ago.
"We are covering it with matting and then sowing it with grass seed to protect it from further damage.
"It was starting to become very exposed so we needed to seal in that bit of archaeology."
The Wrekin was once home to the Celtic Cornovii tribe which built the fort and called it their capital. It sprawled the summit of the hill and covered about 20 acres.
Mr Lambert added: "Hell Gate, the earthwork entrance created by the Cornovii, has also suffered extensive erosion and is being restored.
"The Wrekin is also regaining a little height this week. The triangulation point had dropped about one-and-a-half feet over the last few years as its stone base had worn away. We have had more than 10 volunteers working very hard to build it up again, a fantastic landmark seen from hilltops around and beyond the county," he said.
Read more: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2011/10/05/volunteers-help-preserve-the-wrekins-history/#ixzz1Zz7ZfVgE
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Likes, so many things; history, prehistory, Wales, wild flowers, landscape, Saxon poetry, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, John Ruskin, William Morris
Pembrokeshire has been a place I return to for my spirits to be replenished since way back in time. It's where I find prehistory, not so Avebury anymore, a place of dissent.
Favourite site; has to be Stoney Littleton, the little river with its water plants gently streaming away, the barrow itself is a place to sit and dream in the summertime.
Partner; Littlestone who lives in the megaless desert of Essex, and who always corrects other people's writing.....
http://northstoke.blogspot.com/
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