Mysterious man-made islets found in lochs on Scotland’s remote Outer Hebridean islands may be thousands of years older than previously realised, a study has revealed.
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September 10, 2019
August 30, 2019
Work to improve a notorious hairpin bend on the A9 in the Highlands has revealed the site of a hunter-gatherers’ camp.
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August 24, 2019
Pictish occupation of a fort on a well-known hill in Aberdeenshire has been confirmed by archaeologists.
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-49434133
A stone carved by Picts 1,200 years ago has been discovered in the Highlands.
Archaeologists said the find is of national importance because it is one of only about 50 complete Pictish cross-slabs known to exist.
Decorated with a number of symbols, the stone was uncovered at an early Christian church site near Dingwall.
It was used as a grave marker in the 1790s and discovered hidden in vegetation by Anne MacInnes of North of Scotland Archaeological Society.
Read more about this find on the BBC website and in the Ross-shire Journal.
August 21, 2019
A huge Iron Age roundhouse, thought to be about 2,500 years old, and roman pottery have been uncovered during an archaeological dig at a coastal fort.
Volunteers have joined experts to find out more about the little-known Dinas Dinlle National Trust-owned monument in Gwynedd before it falls into the sea.
The 43ft (13m) wide roundhouse was buried by coastal sand, thought to have blown there during a sandstorm in 1330.
Coins found at the fort near Caernarfon suggest it was occupied in Roman times.
The “well-preserved” roundhouse – with its 8ft (2.5m) thick walls – was uncovered close to the cliff edge buried underneath 3ft (1m) of sand during a two-week dig.
August 7, 2019
Unknown monuments identified close to Newgrange in 'exceptionally successful' survey
Around 40 previously unknown monuments have been identified in the Brú na Bóinne area close to Newgrange as a result of what a leading archaeologist says was an “exceptionally successful” survey.
Dr Steve Davis of the UCD School of Archaeology, who has worked for over a decade on the Brú na Bóinne landscape, said the monuments appear to range from what are most likely early Neolithic houses to Neolithic timber enclosures as well as Bronze Age burial monuments and some early medieval farmsteads.
The area surveyed included locations both sides of the Boyne, within the bend of the Boyne and across from the megalithic tombs at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth.
July 30, 2019
Historian and television presenter, Professor Michael Wood, has expressed serious concern over plans to build houses within the historic landscape of Old Oswestry hillfort.
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In a letter of objection he wrote: “I have followed with concern the proposed developments. The Iron Age hillfort of Old Oswestry is generally agreed to be the finest site of its kind in the Welsh Borders. Any development that threatens its setting, as this self-evidently does, in my view, therefore, should be refused.”
The popular historian said Oswestry’s northern gateway around the hillfort was an extraordinarily interesting – and rare – example of a medieval sacred landscape, which still awaited detailed research and survey. This, he said was is in addition to the area’s multi-phase heritage interest ranging from pre-Iron Age to WW1 military archaeology.
July 19, 2019
Archaeologists have uncovered what they describe as a “stunning example” of Neolithic decorate stone in Orkney.
The notch-marked slab was discovered at Ness of Brodgar, the location of a well-preserved and sophisticated complex of stone buildings.
The site was built and occupied by people more than 5,000 years ago.
Archaeological excavations began at Ness of Brodgar more than 15 years ago and the site covers an area of about six acres (2.5 ha)....
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-49030379
July 15, 2019
An archaeological excavation at Trethevy Quoit near Darite has made an exciting discovery which means that our understanding of the prehistoric site will have to be reassessed.
Between 9th and 13th July, more than thirty volunteers took part in the dig, which was supervised by Andy Jones and Ryan Smith of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit.
A geophysical survey had been undertaken in the field around the monument earlier this year and recorded a number of below-ground anomalies, which were targeted through excavation.
The largest below-ground feature was positioned close to the Quoit itself and, on investigation, this was found to be a significant platform of greenstone. The material had been quarried locally and brought to the site. It was clearly an integral part of the monument.
cornwallheritagetrust.org/exciting-discovery-at-trethevy-quoit-archaeological-dig/
July 7, 2019
A replica of a 2,400-year-old log boat, that lies on the bottom of Lough Corrib, was launched in Co Galway this afternoon.
The prehistoric log boat, built from a single oak timber and some 7.5m long, 0.61m wide and 0.4m deep, has been radiocarbon dated to 754-409 BCE (over 2,400 years ago; the Iron Age).
More: rte.ie/news/connacht/2019/0706/1060564-galway-log-boat/
July 3, 2019
The world heritage status of Orkney’s archaeological treasures is threatened by climate change, a report has warned.
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The first modern archaeological excavation of an ancient clifftop fort in Aberdeenshire has begun.
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bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-48853061
June 24, 2019
Recent graffiti depicting the Extinction Rebellion logo which has appeared in West Kennet Long Barrow has been condemned by the Swindon Branch of ER.
June 20, 2019
Archaeologists have revealed the steps to an ancient hillfort’s well in Aberdeenshire.
The site on Mither Tap, a summit on Bennachie, a hill near Inverurie, was first recorded in the 1800s before being covered over.
University of Aberdeen’s Northern Picts project said its excavation meant the steps could been seen for the first time in more than 200 years.
Archaeologists believe the steps could be 1,000 years old,
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-48675964
June 18, 2019
Sadly, the chosen runway location is confirmed to be the option that goes over the only remaining section of cursus. bbc.co.uk/news/business-48668001
June 14, 2019
Archaeologists uncover megalithic monument thought to be unlike any found in Ireland to date
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jrnl.ie/4682855
June 13, 2019
Archaeologists have discovered that some Scottish crannogs are thousands of years older than previously thought.
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June 10, 2019
The National Monuments Service has confirmed that it is investigating a report of serious damage to a 3,000-year-old hillfort near Cavan town.
June 7, 2019
An ancient well at the top of one of Scotland’s most iconic mountain peaks has been unearthed for the first time in hundreds of years.
Archaeologists from Aberdeen University’s Northern Picts projects made the incredible discovery this week at the Mither Tap, one of the summits of Bennachie in Aberdeenshire. The deep granite well would have served as a water source for the occupants of the impressive fort at the top of the hill, the remains of which can still be seen today.
May 24, 2019
Archaeologists hail iron age object a ‘marvellous, internationally important find’
May 23, 2019
A prehistoric forest which was buried under water and sand more than 4,500 years ago and inspired a local legend has been uncovered on a Welsh beach.
The forest near the village of Borth, Ceredigion, Mid Wales, used to stretch for up to three miles along the shore between Ynys-las and Borth but eventually was buried under layers of peat, sand and saltwater.
The eerie remains of these ancient trees under Borth’s beach have led to the local legend of the mythical Sunken Kingdom of Wales, called Cantre’r Gwaelod.
Folklore has it that Cantre’r Gwaelod, or the Sunken Hundred, was a once-fertile land and township stretching for 20 miles, but was lost beneath the waves in a mythical age.
According to tales passed down through the ages, disaster struck and Cantre’r Gwaelod was lost to floods when Mererid, the priestess of a fairy well, apparently neglected her duties and allowed the well to overflow. Some say that on a quiet day, they can hear the bells of the drowned church of Cantre’r Gwaelod.
Now the remains of the forest’s trees have been exposed more clearly than ever by low tides and high winds from Storm Hannah.
dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7057361/Petrified-forest-Bronze-Age-emerged-Welsh-beach.html
May 9, 2019
Project plans to map out a major part of Doggerland
On the Guardian web site today.
theguardian.com/science/2019/may/08/mapping-begins-of-lands-lost-to-north-sea-during-the-stone-age
May 8, 2019
A metre-long core from inside the prehistoric stone was removed during archaeological excavations in 1958.
No one knew where it was until Robert Phillips, 89, who was involved in those works, decided to return it.
English Heritage, which looks after Stonehenge, hopes the sample might now help establish where the stones originally came from.
In 1958 archaeologists raised an entire fallen trilithon – a set of three large stones, consisting of two that would have stood upright with the third placed horizontally across the top.
During the works, cracks were found in one of the vertical stones and in order to reinforce it, cores were drilled through the stone and metal rods inserted.
