Latest News

The oldest man-made object found in Britain has been unearthed in Norfolk, offering dramatic new evidence that the history of mankind in northwest Europe began up to 200,000 years earlier than previously thought.

A stone axe unearthed along the coast by a man walking his dog is thought to date from 700,000 years ago. Experts at the British Museum say that it could revolutionise our understanding of our ancient origins. While further research is now taking place at the Norfolk site, the axe is to be displayed next week at the British Museum, in an ambitious exhibition on British archaeology.
Whole story here from The Times Online

‘Ancient Scots may have enjoyed sophisticated economic, social and cultural links with the builders of one of the world’s most mysterious ancient monuments, according to new research.

Experts have revealed a previously unknown link between the elite of ancient Scots society and Stonehenge, dispelling the myth that Scotland’s Bronze Age tribes were uncultivated barbarians.’ says STEPHEN STEWART of ‘The Herald‘

Read whole story here

One of Britain’s most important archaeological finds is under threat – from North Yorkshire potato farmers.

Scientists have discovered a vast area of buried buildings and villages spanning 6,000 years, under fields at West Heslerton, near Malton in North Yorkshire.

Read whole story here...

Eastern Daily Press

Torc discovery rivals Snettisham hoard

An Iron Age torc unearthed in a Norfolk field this summer has been hailed as an exceptional find on a par with the famed Snettisham hoard.

Norfolk Museums Service expert Dr John Davies said the item dated back to the Iceni tribe, probably a generation before Iceni leader Boudicca lived.

He said: “It is indeed a very fine example. It compares with some of the very finest examples that have turned up at Snettisham.

“It’s a very exceptional find, a delightful find in many respects because it’s aesthetically beautiful.

“The number we have of these isn’t vast, so every one that turns up is important.”

Dr Davies said he would love to see the artefact, which was found by farmer Owen Carter in July and declared treasure by a coroner last week, on display in the Castle Museum, Norwich.

“It would be lovely for people to come and see and appreciate the magnificent craftsmanship of the people of the time,” he said.

“We would be interested in acquiring it if we possibly can. It’s something we would love to put into our Boudicca gallery.”

But the museums service will have to wait for the torc to be valued and then look into applying for funding.

A report by Dr JD Hill of the British Museum revealed that the item, which was made between 200 and 50 BC , survived more than 2000 years intact before suffering recent minor damage from agricultural machinery.

He added that it was similar to the “Snettisham Great Torc, but lacking the elaborate La Tene or Early Celtic design”.

Dr Davies said the electrum torc would have belonged to a prestigious figure in Iron Age Norfolk and Boudicca would have worn similar jewellery.

“It would a badge denoting how prestigious they were, belonging to a tribal chief for example,” he said.

“We can tell they were someone very important in the society because of the value, craft and care that was spent on them.

“It adds to our understanding of the great wealth possessed in west Norfolk at that time, which suggests it was a very important area.”

(Not many) Human remains found at juamei’s ‘world’s dullest fort’.

Richard Parr EDP24
November 13, 2003 06:00

Fragments of human skull were found on the side of a ditch during an excavation of the site of an Iron Age hill fort in north-west Norfolk.
In the summer, Norfolk Archaeological Trust announced it had bought a 17-acre site comprising the remains of the fort at Bloodgate Hill, South Creake, near Fakenham, to stop further ploughing. A geophysical survey was carried out and this revealed the line of a defensive ditch and an internal circular enclosure. A complete section was dug up along the main ditch and bank to reveal that it was four metres deep, making a formidable defence.

Up to half a dozen Iron Age forts are known in Norfolk and two of them at Thetford Castle and Warham Camp, near Wells have revealed defences of a similar size in previous excavations. The trust was looking for artefacts to help date the site, which is believed to have been constructed in the last few centuries before the Roman invasion.

Peter Wade-Martins, who runs the archaeological trust at Gressenhall, near Dereham, said the trust did not know whether the fort had ever been attacked, but fragments of human skull had been found on the side of the ditch during the excavation. So few finds were made during the excavation that the trust brought in Jean-luc Schwenningen, from the Research Laboratory for Archaeology at Oxford.

The laboratory took three samples from the silts in the ditch to measure the electronic charge in the particles of sand. These particles pick up charge at a constant rate from the radiation in the surrounding soil from the moment they were last exposed to daylight. “So the hope is that we will know how old the silts are, plus or minus 10 per cent,” said Dr Wade-Martins. “This is a new technique which has only recently been employed on sites like this. We are hoping to hear the results by January.”

...which is good.
Read the story from the “This is Richmond” Website here.

A new book by an archaeologist from north-east England is set to reveal the sexually-symbolic landscape of Britain. Cathy Tuck, who has worked on the Time Team TV programme, chronicles 5,000 years of sexually significant sites in her book “Landscapes and Desire”.

Describing standing stones as phallic, and burial chambers as womb-like, the project started when she found a sexually-explicit grotto in a park in Buckinghamshire, England, while working for English Heritage as a landscape archaeologist.

Written over two years – during which time she covered 30,000 miles around Britain – the book includes a gazetteer of sexually-symbolic sites, which readers are encouraged to investigate – “If people open their eyes and take a look around them, it’s amazing what they will see.”

Source: The Journal (3 November 2003)

From an article on BBC News web site:

Our human ancestors may have taken a close interest in dental hygiene.
Palaeontologist Dr Leslea Hlusko, of the University of Illinois, claims to have evidence ancient man used rudimentary tooth picks.

She has shown that curved grooves found on fossil teeth dating back 1.8 million years could be the result of erosion caused by repeated rubbing with grass stalks.

Sceptics argue today’s toothpicks leave no such marks, but Dr Hlusko said grass is more abrasive.

More...

Mark Pilkington in The Guardian
Thursday November 6, 2003

Were some ancient sites designed to be acoustically, as well as visually, awe-inspiring?

Ongoing research at Neolithic sites around the UK has revealed striking similarities in their acoustical properties. Key examples, both in Ireland, are the huge passage tomb of Newgrange and the burial mound known as Cairn L at Loughcrew. These sites contain passageways leading to large circular chambers, and have a resonant frequency (at which sounds naturally echo and reverberate) of about 110hz – the frequency of the male baritone, the second lowest singing voice. Standing waves, whereby sounds are reflected off walls and superimposed on to one another, and other acoustic curiosities, have been observed in these and other sites. Stone circles including Avebury and Stonehenge also appear to reflect sound in distinctive ways.

Archaeologists have suggested that chanting, singing and drumming at these sites would have produced reverberating echoes that might have been interpreted as voices of spirits or gods; they may also have induced physiological and psychological changes in people, adding to their potency as sites of spiritual importance.

These acoustic discoveries may also shed light on some of the visual motifs etched into the walls of many ancient sites. Experiments in a replica of the Newgrange passage, at Princeton University, showed that if a site was smoky or misty, standing sound waves would become visible as they vibrated particles in the air. Could this visualising effect account for the zigzag and concentric ring markings on the chamber walls?

Intriguing acoustic effects have also been noted at sites in the Americas, from Anasazi kivas (ritual chambers) in New Mexico, to Chichen Itza on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Here, the famed Mayan pyramid of Kukulcan, or Quetzelcoatl, is known for the way the solstices and equinoxes are reflected in its stones, but professional acoustician David Lubman has observed another aspect to its design. If you clap in front of the pyramid, the sound is reflected back by its stone steps, sounding, Lubman claims, like the chirp of the quetzal bird, sacred to the Mayans.

Acoustic archaeology is a young field finally gaining academic respectability. New discoveries are made constantly, so next time you’re at an ancient site, sing, clap your hands – and listen carefully.

Dramatic Scenes On North Cornish Coast
50 tonnes of headland soil moved
Trevelgue Head (Porth Island) was closed to public access earlier this week to enable an airlift of material to repair an ancient Bronze Age barrow on the island near Newquay.

Despite strong winds and heavy rain, on Wednesday 29th October, staff from Restormel Borough Council, in partnership with the County Council’s Historic Environment Service, co-ordinated an airlift of 50 tones of headland soil by 771 Naval Air Squadron Culdrose.

The repair became necessary to overcome the effect of natural erosion as well as the wear and tear of the many visitors who come to enjoy the spectacular coastal views. Transporting the quantity of material across the narrow footbridge by hand would have been impossible without the help of the Navy.

Cllr Michael Burley, portfolio holder for Tourism & Leisure at the Borough Council commented: “This barrow is one of a number along the North Coast near Newquay showing the importance of this whole area in the Bronze Age. We are extremely grateful that 771 Naval Air Squadron were able to assist us in repairing this prestigious site.”

Twenty-two staff from Restormel’s Parks Service, together with support from the BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) braved the atrocious weather to help with the unloading and distribution of the soil. Despite the conditions everyone pulled together in a good team effort, pleased to be involved in an important and exciting project.

Now that the soil has been deposited on the headland, a small team from Restormel will be carrying out conservation works on the Barrow and nearby footpaths in early November.

This project is the latest in an ongoing programme of work to preserve the archaeology and fabric of the Headland. A management plan drawn up in 1999 by English Nature identified a number of issues, including the need to repair to ramparts of Iron Age cliff castle, which made Trevelgue one of the most heavily defended headlands in Cornwall. In 2001 and 2002 damage to the cliff castle’s ramparts was repaired while the new footpath and steps were laid through the ramparts.

Further work on the island is planned, but staff are hoping for better weather next time! For further information or pictures, please contact Dick Cole, Archaeologist for Cornwall County Council or Andrew Pidgen Parks & Amenities Manager Restormel Borough Council.

Welcome to Restormel

From an article on the BBC News web site:

UK museums and universities could soon have to repatriate many of the human remains in their collections to indigenous peoples around the world.

MPs were told on Tuesday that a working group that has been looking into the issue will recommend a panel be set up to oversee the return of collections.

Campaigners have pressurised curators to hand over old bones so that they can be buried in their tribal homelands.

Some scientists have resisted the calls because they still study some material.

They have argued that this research has provided invaluable information about human origins and evolution.

More...

Archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown ancient settlement on a Westcountry island while carrying out a watching brief on the construction of a new playing field. Members of Cornwall County Council’s environmental and heritage services made their exciting find on Tresco in the Isles of Scilly.

Commissioned by Tresco Estate, their excavation has so far uncovered the remains of five houses, other stone buildings and some walls which have survived for centuries just a few centimetres below the present ground surface.

The main buildings were circular and rectangular. Some contained remains of porches, hearths, quernstones for grinding corn and also internal partition walls.

Fragments of carefully recovered pottery suggest that the settlement, like others on Scilly, dates to the Bronze Age of about 3,500 years ago.

The form of the buildings is similar to houses of Bronze Age origin which were excavated on Nornour in Scilly’s Eastern Isles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a council spokesman said.

Nornour’s dwellings had displayed evidence of continuous occupation and modification throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages.

Some of those buildings had been used as a Roman shrine up until the fourth century AD.

The buildings that have just been unearthed on Tresco would have been destroyed if the construction of the playing field had continued.

Because of the importance of the site, Tresco leaseholder Robert Dorrien-Smith decided to move the new playing field almost 20 yards to the north in order to preserve the remains.

The features uncovered have been cleaned and recorded by the archaeologists from County Hall, Truro, before being reburied for posterity.

Charlie Johns, one of the county council’s senior archaeologists, said: “We have been amazed to find these remains so close to the surface of the ground. It is great for the people of the Isles of Scilly that the Tresco Estate has decided to move the new playing field in an effort to preserve these historic findings.”

A report on the findings is expected to be completed in two months’ time.

Archaeologists say the earliest record of human habitation in Scilly comes from the Bronze Age. On nearly all its islands there can be found ancient barrows, passage graves and stone boxes in which the remains of the Bronze Age dead were laid.

From ThisisDevon

Cathy Tuck went on a 30,000-mile trek around Britain finding hundreds of sexually symbolic landmarks, buildings and gardens for her book Landscapes and Desire.

From phallic ancient standing stones to womb-like burial chambers, her odyssey of the sexual takes in sites dating back more than 5,000 years and explodes the myth that Britain is a sexually repressed nation.

See the third story down on this page for more...

Orkney may have been the largest prehistoric settlement or ceremonial site in Britain, new research reveals today.

Archaeologists using the latest techniques to map under the soil discovered the world heritage site covering the Ness of Brodgar in Stenness, was a massive centre of activity in Stone Age times.
Orkney’s landscape has largely managed to avoid the rigours of industrialised farming and may yet yield its secrets about the recently-surveyed site, which in terms of scale, puts the likes of Stonehenge, Avebury and Skara Brae in the shade.

Whole article here....

By Helen Briggs, BBC News Online

Scientists have pinpointed the likely birthplace of Oetzi the famous Iceman.
The ancient hunter probably spent his childhood in what is now the Italian South Tyrol village of Feldthurns.

Evidence suggests his lifelong travels were confined to a 60-kilometre (37-mile) range south-east of where his body was found.

The 5,300-year-old frozen mummy emerged from a melting glacier along the mountainous border between Italy and Austria in 1991.

Scientists have been carrying out detailed studies of how he lived and died ever since.

The latest research, published in the journal Science, looked at isotopes found in the Iceman’s teeth and bones. Whole story here...

Newcastle scientists are helping to save an ancient North site from destruction.

The archaeologists will help promote the little-known henges in Thornborough, near Ripon, North Yorkshire as tourist attractions.

The Neolithic site is said to be equal in importance to Stonehenge. Constructed in 3,000 BC, the triple henge occupies an area larger than Stonehenge itself.

Jan Harding, an archaeologist at Newcastle University, has spent six years leading a research project into the three henges.

Only limited archaeological work was done at Thornborough from the late 19th Century to the 1950s but Dr Harding’s research involved extensive surveys and field walking which yielded a number of flint tools.

Her work coincides with a BBC 2 series in which TV presenter and archaeologist Mark Horton expressed his horror that one of the most important ancient sites in the region will be destroyed.

During the making of the Time Flyers programme, Dr Horton tells of his shock at current proposals to quarry the entire surrounding area, “which will leave the henges on an `island’ surrounded by open gravel pits”.

He was horrified to discover the extent that quarrying to date had already removed substantial areas of the surrounding landscape, during which a vast amount of related archaeology was destroyed.

Dr Horton, head of archaeology at Bristol University, said: “I’ve been appalled by what I’ve seen at Thornborough. Archaeological sites like this should be protected and plans such as these shouldn’t even be proposed. That such destruction could even be considered around Stonehenge, or even lesser-known sites in the South, is unthinkable”.

Original article – Newcastle Evening Chronicle

Whilst constructing a reservoir at Testwood just outside Southampton, Southern Water uncovered the remains of a Bronze Age bridge.

wessexarch.co.uk/projects/hampshire/testwood/index.html

A TV archaeologist criticised a county council today over the destruction of the landscape around one of Britain’s top prehistoric sites.

Thornborough Henges, near Ripon, has the greatest concentration of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age sites in the country.

It represents the largest prehistoric quarrying operation in Britain and construction firm Tarmac has proposed extending its activities in the area.

Dr Mark Horton, a presenter on the BBC’s Time Flyers programme, criticised North Yorkshire County Council over the destruction of the landscape around the site.

Dr Horton, head of archaeology at the University of Bristol, said: “I’ve been appalled by what I’ve seen at Thornborough. Archaeological sites like this should be protected and plans such as these shouldn’t even be proposed.

“That such landscape destruction could even be considered around Stonehenge, or even our lesser-known sites in the south, is unthinkable. “Yet at Thornborough, it is OK to seriously consider the total loss of a prehistoric landscape, arguably as important, for simple economic gain.’‘

North Yorkshire County Council permitted Tarmac to quarry in the area in 1994 with “only a very limited archaeological survey’’, Dr Horton said. Nosterfield Quarry in Thornborough is one of the county’s most important quarries, producing more than 500,000 tonnes of sand and gravel each year, but supplies from the existing reserves are expected to run out within three years.

Full Story:
thisisnorthallerton.co.uk/the_north_east/northallerton/news/NEWS0.html

Source: Orkneyjar Archaeology News (24 October 2004)

For centuries scholars and antiquarians have had their own theories over the activities that once took place in Orkney’s World Heritage Site covering the Ness of Brodgar in Stenness. From druid enclosures to ancestral monuments, each era had its own ideas about the Neolithic ceremonial centre. However, despite the advances in archaeological knowledge, technique, and technology, there is still very little known about the area.

But this looks set to change, with the continuation of a project to use magnetometry to scan the entire Brodgar peninsula. Magnetometry is the technique of measuring and mapping patterns of magnetism in the soil. Ancient activity, particularly burning, leaves magnetic traces that show up even today when detected with the right equipment. Buried features such as ditches or pits, when they are filled with burnt or partly burnt materials can show up clearly and give us an image of sub-surface archaeology.

The full article

Archaeologists are engaged in a race to save the remnants of an Iron Age settlement built by one of the most mysterious early peoples of Scotland.

The prehistoric site at Carghidown, near the Isle of Whithorn, Galloway, could illuminate the lives of an ancient tribe called the Novantae.

However, the promontory fort located 100ft above the sea, which has a number of extremely rare features, faces destruction after years of wave and wind action and could collapse into the sea... Whole story here.

October 22, 2003: cornwall24.co.uk/news/

Archaeologists from Cornwall County Council’s Environment and Heritage Service have begun a three-week excavation to investigate an ancient fogou at Higher Boden, near Manaccan on the Lizard, which was recently discovered by a local farmer.

Fogous were last in the headlines in 1996 when Channel Four’s Time Team devoted a programme to these puzzling Cornish monuments.

Named after the Cornish word meaning ‘cave’, fogous are remarkable prehistoric monuments consisting of a stone-lined passage roofed with massive capstones. Many also have side tunnels dug into the natural subsoil and a few have evidence of circular underground chambers.

They are found only in the extreme west of Cornwall, mainly on the Land’s End and Lizard peninsulas, and were always built within and beneath settlement sites. Evidence shows that they were built more than 2,000 years ago ago during the later Iron Age (400BC to AD43) and have similarities with underground monuments known as ‘souterrains’, which are broadly contemporary but are found in other parts of Britain and Ireland.

Charlie Johns, county council senior archaeologist and project manager, said: “Nobody knows exactly what fogous were built for. The three most popular theories are that they were refuges in times of trouble, cellars for storing food and livestock or that they served a religious or ritual function – perhaps it was a combination of all three. This is an amazing and extremely rare discovery.”

There are only eleven other definite or probable fogous in Cornwall, only two of which have been excavated in recent years – Carn Euny, near Sancreed, in 1978, and Halliggye, near Trelowarren, in the early 1980s – although these revealed little evidence as to the function of fogous.
This latest excavation is sponsored by English Heritage, which has provided specialist support for the project.

Site visits and tours will be conducted by county council and Royal Cornwall Museum staff. Students from Truro College, local volunteers and the Cornwall Archaeological Society have been assisting with the work.

All about fogous
A fogou, or underground tunnel, has been documented at Boden since the early 19th century, when it was viewed and recorded by Polwhele, the vicar of Manaccan and St Anthony. The reports of later writers (Cornish 1906, Henderson 1912 and 1916) appear to “embellish Polwhele’s original report without reference to any further field observations” (Linford 1998, 188).

The site lies on a southerly slope near the summit of a gentle hill, some 300 metres to the west of the Boden Vean settlement (SW 7685 2405) itself one kilometre south of Manaccan village on the Lizard peninsula. The below-ground remains have been part uncovered following two separate incidents in 1991 and 1996, while discussions with local residents have shown that the fogou had previously been exposed 75-80 years ago.

There are only 11 other known definite or probable fogous: Boleigh, Carn Euny, Castallack, Chysauster, Halligye, Higher Bodinar, Lower Boscaswell, Pendeen, Porthmeor, Treveneague, Trewardreva, and 20 or so possible ones. Of these, only two have been excavated in recent years – Carn Euny (Christie 1978) and Halligye in 1982

In the interim note on Halligye, Bill Startin pointed out that “despite revealing quite a lot of information about the Halligye site, these limited excavations have revealed little further evidence as to the function of fogous”.

A lecturer will be explaining the history of a sacred calendar – that could be Germany’s equivalent to Stonehenge – on the BBC’s Horizon programme in January

Professor Miranda Aldhouse-Green, a senior lecturer at the University of Wales College, Newport has been filmed discussing a Bronze Age sky-disc, which features in early man’s attempts to map the heavens.

Prof Aldhouse-Green, a European prehistorian specialising in the archaeology of ritual and religion, was filmed for the popular Horizon TV series.

“They spent a day interviewing me about the significance of an ancient sky-disc, dating from around 1600BC, which may have been used by priests as a sacred calendar,” explained Prof Aldhouse- Green.

Full story here

Archaeologists are investigating whether Wittenham Clumps was a centre for human sacrifice – after the chopped-up remains of a woman were found in a grave at Castle Hill.

The skeletal remains of the women were part of a remarkable discovery by archaeologists of a shared grave containing skeletons of a child and a man.
Read whole story here

From an article by David Whitehouse, published on BBC News web site:

A keen-eyed archaeologist claims to have found some of the oldest artwork ever – carved faces 200,000 years old.

The human images were found in 2001 by Pietro Gaietto on an expedition through the Borzonasca district of Italy.

He claims the rock has been sculpted into faces that look in opposite directions; one is bearded with what Gaietto calls an “expressive face”.

If this is genuine, the artist would have been an extinct human species that died out about 150,000 years ago.

More...

This walk may be more interesting to geologists but looks interesting....

The walk starts at the spring which rises from below the Upper Greensand. A huge quarry on the eastern side of Giant Hill, in the Lower and Middle Chalk, provided building stone for Cerne and probably other villages. The walk goes over the top of the hill, which is covered in a thick deposit of Clay with Flints. The valleys at Minterne Parva and Upcerne are also on the Greensand.

The main building stones in Cerne Abbas are the Lower and Middle Chalk and Lower Purbeck limestone from the Ridgeway quarries. The Lower Chalk may be identified by its gritty texture, with the occasional dark grain of glauconite. The Middle Chalk has been used in huge blocks in the medieval North Barn (now Beauvoir Court). The Lower Purbeck, a white laminated limestone, has been used in several buildings in the main street, and for the Hospice.

MORE INFO

Cost £1.50 per person