Latest News

Blades and pottery unearthed during work on the new Toome Bypass reveal invaluable information about the lives of ancient peoples, according to archaeologists who have examined the artefacts.

The find is the most significant discovery in the province since a 4,000-year-old grave was discovered during an excavation in the ruins of Newtownstewart Castle in County Tyrone in 1999.

Paul McCooey, who has examined the latest find, said their discovery was of immense importance. “The wealth of archaeology uncovered provides a fascinating insight into the lives of our ancestors,” he said.

A special team of experts has been appointed by the Roads Service to carry out a full examination of the site where a 3.5km dual carriageway is being built to ease chronic traffic congestion.

More than 8,000 pieces of flint, including small microlith blades and bigger tools used for hunting and fishing, have been discovered.
The finds range from Mesolithic (7,000-3,500BC) and Neolithic (4,000-2,500BC) to the Bronze Age (2,500-1,200BC) and right up to some tools from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Mr McCooey added: “This area would have been an ideal home for our early ancestors. “These hunter gatherers concentrated their activities on waterways, foraging on the shores of seas, lakes and rivers.”

Other archaeological sites at Castleroe and Newferry have confirmed Mesolithic man migrated up the River Bann to Lough Neagh.

“The family groups lived a nomadic lifestyle in houses made from animal skins spread over a bowl-shaped timer frame, indicated by traces of a circular pattern of postholes found at Toome,” added Mr McCooey.
“The finds at Toome also include flint tools and shards of decorated pottery from the New Stone Age, or the Neolithic period.
“Neolithic man built more permanent rectangular dwellings whose foundations show up as linear gullies with stone foundations packed with organic material.”

from BBC News website, 8th Jan 2003

A major conservation project by Wiltshire County Council and two Wiltshire museums to preserve over 100 Bronze Age pots has reached the halfway point.

More than a hundred pots were discovered near Stonehenge, Avebury and other historical sites across Wiltshire by the Victorian archaeology pioneers, Sir Richard Colt Hoare, William Cunnington and General Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt Rivers.

More with pictures at....
24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh/ART14495.html

poole-libdem.fsnet.co.uk/Wards/Bourne_Valley/bourne_valley.htm

One of the worries about the move of Branksome Library was the future of the Branksome Stone. The Branksome Stone is a neolithic relic that has been housed in the grounds of the library for a number of years and is the oldest known item in the history of Poole. Thanks to concerned residents, Poole Council and the East Dorset Housing Association, the new owners of the site, this important artefact from the past will remain available to the people of Poole.

From the Yorkshire Post 03/01/03

Child in prehistoric grave ‘may have been sacrificed‘

THE remains of a child who could have been a human sacrifice have been found in a prehistoric graveyard unearthed in the Yorkshire Dales by Leeds University archaeologists.

The bones of the child, aged about four and thought to have lived in the Bronze Age about 3,000 years ago, were discovered in a stone-lined hollow – one of eight sets in the ring cairn near Kettlewell in Upper Wharfedale.
The unique discovery of the remains along with prehistoric cattle bones, pottery and an arrow head, suggested the cairn was used for rituals as well as a burial site, said Roger Martlew, who made the find with a team of students from Leeds University’s school of continuing education.
Dr Martlew said: “The site is full of features which, although found individually at different ring cairns around Britain, have not been found together in one place before.
“It could show that the Dales, which had been thought to be a bit of a backwater at the time, actually had wider connections to other parts of the country.
“What is unique is that we have a mixture of two elements – we have got different ritual activity but we have got burials as well.”
He said he had not expected to find the remains of the child because it was usual for Bronze Age ring cairns to be ceremonial and not actual burial sites.
Some ring cairns – circles of underground stone-lined hollows – found across England and Wales contain nothing but pits of pure charcoal that suggest the cairns were used for some ceremony not necessarily connected with burial.
Dr Martlew added: “We have taken a quick look, and the bones seem to be of a child aged four although we haven’t determined yet whether it was a boy or a girl.
“There is a suggestion elsewhere that children were offered as human sacrifices and that is a possibility here.
“We think there may well be more bodies to be found, as there generally tends to be an important primary burial of some sort and this is not it.”
The discovery is the culmination of a two-year project by Dr Martlew and his team of mature students which began as a field survey of the area.
The excavation has already provided the focus for archaeological field courses run by the school of continuing education, and funding has also been obtained from the Centre for Field Research in the US. Work will continue to unravel the complexities of the site over the next year.
[email protected]

02 January 2003

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2622965.stm

Rooftop pool will offer spectacular views of city
It is more than 20 years since the plug was pulled on bathing in Bath. Some time this spring, the vagaries of millennium projects allowing, the hot water will gush and Bath will be open for business again.

guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,866783,00.html

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

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.
--
Sigurd Towrie

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.

--
Sigurd Towrie
Blackhall – Kirbister – Stromness – Orkney
Heritage of Orkney: https://www.orkneyjar.com

Maev Kennedy, arts and heritage correspondent
Wednesday December 18, 2002
The Guardian

West Country police recently turned out on a cold wet night, to follow up reports that two men were illegally digging on an important Roman site. A man with a metal detector was detained nearby, and hundreds of objects were recovered from his car and home.

But of the extraordinary haul of Roman coins, scraps of armour and harness, a medieval purse carrier and a crushed Victorian silver thimble, only a tiny scrap of blackened Anglo-Saxon silver can be proved to be held illegally. The finds, more than 400 in all, are being studied by experts at the British Museum, but the incident increases the frustration at the present law shared by archaeologists, police and museum experts.

Although amateurs using metal detectors are encouraged to report all finds, under the voluntary portable antiquities scheme, they are only legally obliged to report treasure finds of gold or silver or hoards of coins.

Of the cupboard full of finds from the West Country case, only the sliver of silver – a decorated Anglo Saxon strap end, perhaps 1,300 years old – counts as treasure, which the finder could be prosecuted for failing to report.

The man claimed to have been digging more than two miles from the Roman site, with the land owner’s permission – though why he was doing so in darkness and rain was harder to explain.

Although many of the objects recovered are believed to have been illegally excavated, probably from scheduled ancient monuments like the Roman site, where permission would never be given for an amateur to trawl with a metal detector, it is impossible to prove where they came from. The coins would only be treasure if found as a hoard.

Although none of the objects are hugely valuable, there is a ready market for such scraps of history. Many antiquity dealers will not touch such unprovenanced items, but a dodgy dealer can accept, without written proof, assurances from an excavator that he had the land owner’s consent, then swear he obtained the items in good faith and is protected in law. The damage is done, and the knowledge which could have been excavated with the objects lost forever.

Internationally the problem is vast, with a sophisticated trade in looted archaeology, sometimes stolen to order from sites or museum stores. In Britain the problem is also widespread, with reports from many parts of the country of “nighthawks”, gangs of thieves removing van loads of material. Recently the Yeavering Bell Iron Age hillfort in Northumberland, which has never been excavated, was left pitted with dozens of holes

The government promised before the election to reform the law by creating a specific offence of acquiring, handling or selling looted antiquities, but has failed to find parliamentary time. An attempt to reform the law will be made through a private member’s bill which will be introduced in February by Richard Allan, the Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield Hallam and a member of the parliamentary all-party archaeology group.

“This bill would mean that dealers who knowingly trade in artefacts plundered from archaeological sites could be prosecuted,” he said. “Archaeological sites must be protected. Closing down the market in looted cultural objects would remove the incentive for taking material from archaeological sites.”

At the British Museum Roger Bland, director of the portable antiquities scheme, which last year resulted in 40,000 reported finds, deals daily with the frustrations of the law as it stands: “In the West Country case the police behaved absolutely commendably, but it’s hard to blame other overstretched forces with limited resources, when they know it will be hard or impossible to get a prosecution to stick. Reform of the law is long overdue.”

news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=5513829

Proposals to divert through a tunnel the busy road currently running alongside Stonehenge were today welcomed by archaeologists.

Archaeologist and broadcaster Julian Richards, who was at the World Heritage Site this afternoon to hear more about the plans, said today’s announcement was extremely welcome news.

“This is a great step forward. We can put Stonehenge back into a more natural setting so people can appreciate what a wonderful site it is.

“You can stand here today and hear the traffic all around you – hopefully that will all change.”

Chris Jones, leading the project for the Highways Agency, said it was a “historic day for the stones”.

Environmental issues were a primary concern when considering the options and a bored tunnel would help to make sure the archaeology was undisturbed, he said.

“It is restoring the landscape to its particular historic context,” he added.

Professor John Barrett, head of the department of archaeology and prehistory at Sheffield University, said the option chosen was better than alternatives of a tunnel cut from above or a highly expensive, longer bored tunnel.

“Stonehenge and its landscape allow us to encounter something of the mystery and power of the prehistoric world. This proposal opens the way for a far greater appreciation of that world,” he added.

Arts minister Tessa Blackstone welcomed today’s announcement, saying: “It will ensure Stonehenge is reunited with its surrounding monuments in their natural downland landscape setting, protect the site from heavy traffic and make possible the construction of a world class visitor centre.”

Sir Neil Cossons, chairman of English Heritage which runs the site, said: “Today’s news is a monumental moment in Stonehenge’s 5,000 year history.

“It means that Stonehenge gets the dignified setting it so justly deserves, the roads are made safer and the core area of the World Heritage Site landscape is reunited.”

English Heritage, the National Trust, the Highways Agency and local authorities are now expected to work on the tunnel’s detailed design before publication of Draft Orders in the Spring

Daily Telegraph 12.12.02 says that “the Council for British Archaeology, the International Council for Monuments and Sites UK, the National Trust, the Stonehenge Alliance and Save Stonehenge will all be expected to call for a longer tunnel at a public inquiry into the scheme next year.”

telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/12/12/nhenge12.xml&sSheet=/news/2002/12/12/ixhome.html

Durham University Archaeology Department are hosting a one-day conference on 08 March 2003 entitled: ‘New Developments in British Rock Art’.

Speakers include Stan Beckensall and Richard Bradley. For a full programme, application form and more information on rock art see dur.ac.uk/prehistoric.art/

from icNewcastle

The huge archive built up by Stan Beckensall in decades of investigating rock art is being donated to the Museum of Antiquities at Newcastle University. Stan will be working with Aron Mazel, a researcher at the university’s school of historic studies, in creating a website so that the archive will be widely available. It includes photographs taken over 35 years, notebooks, rubbings, drawings and the books written by Stan on the subject.

“It contains every bit of information I have gathered over the years and it can now all go on the Internet,” said Stan. Stan and Aron will be revisiting and re-photographing hundreds of rock art sites in Northumberland. There are more than 600 records of rock art panels in the county. Aron said: “We want to make the material available to a wide range of people, including youngsters.
“Rock art has not been at the centre stage of archaeology and it deserves a lot more exposure. “It represents a real manifestation of human endeavour and a huge amount of time and labour was invested in its creation. We need more work on the motivation and meaning behind it and hopefully the website will encourage that.”

Recent discoveries in Cumbria are the subject of the latest book by Stan. Prehistoric Rock Art in Cumbria is published by Tempus at £16.99.
icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100local/page.cfm?objectid=12444387&method=full&siteid=50081&page=2

icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100local/page.cfm?objectid=12444387&method=full&siteid=50081&page=1

From icNewcastle
By The Journal

Examples of some of the best prehistoric rock art in the world are to be protected by a Northumbrian farmer. Much of Duncan Ord’s Chatton Park Farm near Alnwick is a prehistoric landscape, which includes a hillfort and a rock overhang shelter. The farm also has several outstanding examples of mysterious rock art, consisting of cup, ring and other patterns which were carved into sandstone outcrops from 5,000 years ago. Northumberland is especially rich in rock art, which has been explored and recorded for more than 30 years by retired Hexham headteacher Stan Beckensall. He has been campaigning for the rock panels to be safeguarded from threats which include air pollution, acid rain, trampling by cattle, ploughing and quarrying. Yesterday Stan hailed a Countryside Stewardship agreement signed between Mr Ord and Defra which will see the farmer qualify for payments by looking after the ancient legacy.
The stewardship scheme provides funding to encourage traditional farming methods which can help conserve historical features, and makes provision for public access. Under his agreement Mr Ord will now keep grazing animals away from the site, and develop a trail to allow the public to appreciate the historic sites at first hand.

Mr Ord said: “Chatton Park is a marginal farm where we keep cows and sheep, as well as a small arable acreage. Our cows were traditionally wintered on the hill where the rock art is, because it offered the animals a sheltered spot whichever way the wind blew.
“But when Stan Beckensall told me how important these markings on the rocks were I was happy to change our husbandry practices. The stewardship agreement is giving me the support I need to do that.”
Stan said: “The rock art at Chatton is first class – some of the finest in the world. Duncan Ord’s stewardship scheme is an important step forward in preserving the rock art and bringing it to a wider audience. “Developments like stewardship are good because it is a recognition that the rock art is important. This is part of what I have been wanting to happen for a long, long time.
“The farm is part of prime rock art country and the landscape definitely has a presence. It is a special place.” Views from some of the main rock panels offer a sweeping vista across the Till Valley towards the Cheviot Hills. Rock art is often found in such locations and offers clues to its original purpose, which has generated scores of theories. One of the Chatton panels has multiple concentric circles, pairs of cups, squares and domino-style markings.

Neil Clark, senior advisor at Defra’s Rural Development Service North-East, said: “This agreement shows the many applications of Countryside Stewardship, not only helping to enhance and preserve wildlife habitats but also protecting important aspects of our national heritage.”

news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=5513497

A £5.5 billion package of transport improvements for England, including a £183 million road tunnel to protect Stonehenge. was announced today by the Government.

Human remains which could be about 4,000 years old have been unearthed by archaeologists working in a Cumbrian village. A team of archaeologists found the body curled up in the foetal position in a cavity in the limestone bedrock on a building site opposite the church in Levens, near Kendal. The remains have been removed after the Home Office issued a burial licence. Jamie Quartermaine, from Oxford Archaeology North, said the manner of the burial suggested the remains probably dated back to pre-Roman times.
Mr Quartermaine, who is project manager in charge of the survey at the site where two four-bedroom houses will be built, said: “All we can say for certain at this stage is that it is at least 100 years old. “We know this because there was a 100-year-old tree on top of it.” Then he stomped grumpily for a cup of tea, kicking a passing cat. [ok so I made that last sentence up, but he obviously doesn’t give two hoots and just resents the fact his houses are going to take longer to build]

Local historian Roger Bingham said: “It is one of the most exciting discoveries we have had for a long time, possibly since Bronze Age urns were found in Allithwaite. “This is an archaeological discovery of the first importance. “It also underlines the importance of asking for archaeological research before there is development.”

from the Herald:
Shan Ross

The earliest known house in Scotland is understood to have been unearthed in Dunbar, East Lothian.

Archaeologists believe the remains of the house on the site of a limestone quarry dates from the Mesolithic era of the hunter-gatherers between 8000BC and 4000BC.

The site could pre-date the Skara Brae settlement in Orkney which is from around 2000BC in the Neolithic Age.

But the substantial structure might never have been found had planners not insisted the site be surveyed by archaeologists before Lefarge Cement could begin quarrying.

The discovery of holes to take wooden posts for a teepee-like structure, suggest for the first time that the hunter-gatherers built semi-permanent structures from which to roam the shore and countryside in search of food.

Previous sites dating from the Mesolithic era have been found, including shell middens on the west coast of Scotland. A number of small hunting camps scattered with stone tools have also been found.

However no other sites apart from Mount Sandal in Northern Ireland show evidence of serious construction methods.

First indications of the site’s age emerged with the discovery of thousands of flint shards, the remnants of stone tool manufacture, the tools themselves and burned hazelnut shells.

But significantly the discovery of the inward-sloping 8in diameter post holes indicated that the partially natural hollow around which they had been sunk was more than an overnight shelter, according to John Gooder, the project manager for the Edinburgh-based AOC Archaeology.

He said: “Considerable effort was involved in building this round house so perhaps our Mesolithic family spent a relatively lengthy stay in the area, or perhaps returned to the house at particular times of the year over a lengthy period.

“This contrasts strongly with the prevailing view of Mesolithic settlements as little more than temporary camps scattered over a hunting territory.”

Dr Alan Savile, curator of archaeology at the National Museums of Scotland, described the find as “extremely significant” and added: “We may well be looking at Scotland’s earliest house.”

Hunter-gatherers were the original environmentalists. They knew how to burn a stretch of moorland to improve hunting or stimulate the re-growth of edible plants in much the same way grouse moors are burned today to encourage the growth of fresh heather. It is still unknown why or how they managed to turn to farming as a way of life.

-21 Nov

an update of the M50 saga

The Irish Examiner 08 Nov 2002

By Caroline O’Doherty

THE National Roads Authority has denied protestors’ claims of victory after archaeologists resumed work on the controversial Carrickmines Castle site. Dozens of personnel have begun excavations at the site in south Co Dublin, which lies in the path of the South Eastern Motorway, the long-awaited last section of the M50 motorway.

Protestors calling themselves Carrickminders who have been occupying the site since the deadline for excavations ran out at the end of August have declared the return of the workers a “grudging acknowledgement” that recovery of the site’s treasures is far from complete.

“It validates what we’ve said all along. There is a wealth of artefacts still in the ground, and now that the EU and Bord Pleanála are questioning what’s going on, they have slipped the archaeologists back in to try to look like they’re doing a respectable job,” said spokesman Ruadhan MacEoin.

But Michael Egan, spokesman for the National Roads Authority (NRA), said the latest work called finds’ retrieval had always been planned and that it was in fact held up by the Carrickminders after they blocked machinery from accessing the site.

“It was always the intention after the initial manual phase of work was finished to move in with equipment and remove material for sifting to recover whatever coins or pieces of pottery or tools might be in the soil,” he said.

He said the Carrickminders had blockaded the site and prevented the use of mechanical excavators and the work had been held up while mini-excavators were sourced and delivered.

“It’s ironic. Various interests had indicated concern that this area of land needed further checks, but we had already identified that need and they delayed us doing the job.”

The current team of archaeologists expect to have only a few weeks to finish the finds retrieval exercise, and road building contractors Ascon, now working either side of the site, are ready to move in when it is cleared.

But with An Bord Pleanála and the European Commission both now probing elements of the project, it is believed Ascon will be encouraged to continue working around the site as much as possible without delaying the overall construction timetable.

(from the Yorkshire Post)

ARCHAEOLOGISTS believe they have solved a 50-year-old riddle about Iron Age remains in the Yorkshire Wolds.

For years they were puzzled by lines stretching more than 16 miles across chalky hillside near the village of Weaverthorpe.
Thought to be Iron Age crop markings, the lines are now believed to be the remains of a huge cattle ranching operation dating from the second century BC.
The lines were discovered by aerial photography in the 1950s and baffled experts until English Heritage aerial investigator Dave MacLeod – working with three other archaeologists, Mark Horton, of Bristol University, Jo Caruth, of Suffolk County Council, and Melanie Giles, of University College, Dublin – took another look.
“Essentially we are looking at the remains of a highly-sophisticated cattle business that is more reminiscent of the High Chaparral, rather than small-scale peasant farming,” said Mr MacLeod.
“Clearly thousands of cattle were being herded.
“Looking at our aerial photographs we can see that the Yorkshire Wolds are covered in a mass of ancient markings, hinting that the rural population 2,000 years ago wasn’t too much different from that today.
“It paints a vastly different picture of the Iron Age. These people were engaged in specialised farming and had the stability, resources and expertise to ranch on a much bigger scale than most people realise.”
The archaeologists will reveal their findings in the BBC2 series Time Flyers in a programme titled Reading Between the Lines, to be broadcast on Thursday.
The Time Flyers team used aerial archaeology techniques combined with ground excavations to examine the lines.
Some of the more fanciful theories for the interconnecting lines, which are broken by huge “funnels”, gaps 100m wide, suggested they were part of a Celtic purification ritual which involved cattle being driven between fires.
“The funnels channelled livestock into broad droveways leading down to the settlements along the Gypsey Race, which is still the only reliable water source on the Wolds,” said Mr MacLeod.
“The cattle would have been driven back up and out of the funnels to the higher pasture to graze and brought down for water twice a day. We think the funnels are part of a much bigger system stretching over 20km.”
He added: “None of these structures survive above ground, so the only way we can understand the scale of what we are dealing with is through interpretation and mapping of thousands of aerial photographs.”
The lines seen in growing crops are the remnants of 6ft-wide ditches.

25 October 2002

Dunbartonshire Home
Thursday, 24 October 2002

Quarry says safety plans will not detract from landscape
The Lennox Herald Thursday 24th October 2002

By WILLIAM COCHRANE

RUMOURS that a quarry firm is about to give Dumbarton’s sleeping giant a rude awakening have been blasted.

Dumbuck Hill, on the outskirts of the town near Milton, is reckoned to resemble a giant man lying on his back.

Also known to some as the elephant’s head, the hill is one of the area’s best-known and most distinctive landmarks.

But it has also been home to a quarry for well over 50 years.

And bosses there say they must cut a slice from the hillside to prevent huge chunks of rockface falling away, compromising safety.

Aggregate Industries, which has run Dumbuckhill Quarry since late 2000, has applied for planning permission to remove a sliver from the western margin of the quarry at the Milton side.

BACKLASH

The application has sparked a backlash from some villagers, who worry that commercial gain will be put before the district’s heritage.

They have expressed fears that the height of the hill could be reduced by up to 25 metres if the application is approved by West Dunbartonshire Council in November.

If that happens, they say, the famous giant and elephant resemblances would disappear forever.

Aggregate Industries, though, has dismissed such suggestions.

The firm insists that the 25 metres some objectors have referred to is in fact the horizontal distance between existing and proposed faces, which will enable stabilisation.

They say the ground level of the hill will be reduced by just four metres at most and that the work is essential to maintain safety standards at the quarry.

PROFILE

Glyn Jones, estate surveyor Scotland for Aggregate Industries, said: “The sliver we want to remove will alter the ground profile by four metres vertically along a 20-metre strip.

“The profile of the hill will not visibly change because the profile is depicted by vegetation cover and not ground level.

“We are sensitive to the fact that the appearance of the hill is important to people and hence, in agreement with Scottish Natural Heritage and West Dunbartonshire Council, will carry out tree planting on the Milton slope to infill gaps within the tree belt.

“The work we propose to carry out is essential to stabilise parts of the quarry and prevent loose pieces of rock falling from the cliff-faces.

“This problem has been caused historically through previous blasting methods.”

Mr Jones, however, did admit that machinery would be partly visible on the skyline for up to five months when the work begins.

However, he added that after that initial period of stabilisation work, most remaining activity would take place in the quarry’s existing void space and out of sight.

That could go on for between two and three years.

Mr Jones said: “Most people, once we have explained to them why this application has been submitted and what it consists of, have no problems.

“We have a good relationship with the local community and regularly hold liaison meetings with them as and when required.”

But some locals are still unconvinced by Aggregate Industries’ promises and are urging West Dunbartonshire Council to keep the district’s heritage uppermost in mind when considering the application next month.

Charles Villiers, who lives just yards from Dumbuck Hill at Milton, said: “The profile of Dumbuck Hill is that of an elephant’s head and local lore has it that this shape, which is so prominent from near and far, is a reason for the elephant being contained in the Dumbarton coat of arms.

“It would be a sad day if this profile, which for many centuries has been a part of the identity of the historic town of Dumbarton, should be destroyed.

“Such destruction would have an impact upon tourism as it would dismay and discourage potential visitors to the town, be they from overseas or elsewhere, and impair the reputation, image and value of Dumbarton as a town with an historic heritage worth travelling to see.”

Bronze Age Forum
Newcastle Friday 15–17 November 2002
Museum of Antiquities

14th -16th March 2003
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, National Museums of Scotland, and the Neolithic Studies Group
CONFERENCE
SCOTLAND IN ANCIENT EUROPE: THE NEOLITHIC AND EARLY BRONZE AGE OF SCOTLAND IN THEIR EUROPEAN CONTEXT
Royal Museum, Edinburgh

Key speaker – Richard Bradley

On Saturday at 2pm David Browne and Toby Driver, authors of the excellent RCAHMW publication on Pendinas, will be leading a tour of the hillfort. If you are interested in coming along, it all kicks off at 2pm by the monument on the top. Toby has told me they have some new theories about the design and arrangement of the defences, so it should be an interesting (if you’re a hillfort enthusiast). Hopefully the weather will improve before then!

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2279227.stm

A huge Roman iron factory has been unearthed at a remote spot on the southern edge of Exmoor.
Scientists believe the site near Brayford would have supplied markets right across the Roman Empire.

Archaeologists have found furnaces and equipment buried which would have been used to smelt hundreds of tonnes of iron nearly 2,000 years ago.

Preparations are being made to carry out further excavations.

Was it being operated by the Roman imperial army or being run by a local entrepreneur?

Dr Gill Juleff
A team of 20 students and staff from the University of Exeter’s archaeology department, plus local volunteers, have been carrying out the dig.

The team has dug a trench over 10 feet (3 metres) deep across a platform and through a heap of discarded iron slag.

The trench has revealed the scale of iron production on the site.

Pottery fragments found within the trench have also indicated that much of the activity at the site took place during the second and third centuries AD.

Supplying markets

Excavation director Dr Gill Juleff said: “One of the questions the team will be addressing is if the Roman army were overseeing and directing iron production.

“Was it being operated by the Roman imperial army or being run by a local entrepreneur, supplying iron to markets throughout the Roman Empire?

“Certainly the amount of metal produced here was far greater than would have been needed locally.”

The four-year project is being funded by English Heritage and run by the Exmoor National Park Authority, the University of Exeter and the National Trust.