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“Evidence that the outer stone circle at Stonehenge was once complete has been found, because a hosepipe used to water the site was not long enough.

Parch marks in the grass, in an area that had not been watered, have revealed places where two “missing” huge sarsen stones may once have stood.

The marks were spotted by an English Heritage steward who alerted archaeologists to their existence.

Previous scientific techniques such as geophysics failed to find any evidence.”

More here...

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-28967538

PDF Reoprt on Management and Restoration of Hillfort – illustrated by Jane Stanley.

archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-1062-1/dissemination/pdf/cornwall2-102150_1.pdf

Follow link to see the artwork.

strangehistory.net/2014/08/21/jane-stanley-paints-castle-dinas/

Jane Stanley is an extremely talented archaeological reconstruction artist, based out of Cornwall. Castle-an-Dinas is an Iron Age fort in the middle of that county, a six-acre site second only, in terms of its natural charisma, to South Cadbury in Somerset. Put Jane and Castle-an-Dinas together and you get some of the best historical fiction around, though historical fiction by brush stroke.

Cornwall Council commissioned Jane to do a series of paintings of Castle-an-Dinas. What makes this series (to the best of my knowledge) unique is that they are not just different aspects of the site (a deer kill, a burial, a hosting…) They are the site over perhaps twenty five centuries. We put them up here with a link to Jane’s facebook page, hoping that neither she nor Cornwall Council will send a cease and desist order: they are available in a pdf online; also given the quality of Jane’s work we take pleasure in pointing out a recent book, A Brush with the Past. Beach’s credit card has presently maxed out but as soon as everything is back up and functioning… The image at the head of the post shows the creation of the two bronze age tombs at the head of Dinas: the second picture immediately below shows, instead, the Iron Age fort that followed on. As is typical of these sites the Iron Age was all too happy to leave the Bronze Age in place. The stronghold was crowned by two tombs from centuries before.

So far this is the normal fare of archeaeological art (albeit it at the best end of the market). Now though we turn to more recent times. In the first days of March 1645 a mauled Royalist army camped out in old Iron Age vallum. Cornwall was an overwhelmingly Royalist area, but here the decision was made to surrender. The fight was impossible by this date and two days later the Royal Standard was given up to the Parliamentarians at Bodmin: a black day. Britain would labour under the ‘Protector’ for fifteen wasted years.

The next picture is a curiosity. Cornwall is mining country, but it was not until Britain’s straitened circumstances in the First World War that the decision was made to sink a shaft here in search of Wolfram of all things. Love the combination of Edwardian industrial might and Iron Age landscape.

Then my favourite picture of them all. In the 1960s a Pennsylvanian archaeologist, Bernard Wailes carried out a multi-year professional dig at the site. Bizarrely, though this sometimes happens in archaeology, he never got his act together to actually publish the findings. There were two brief notes in a Cornish journal. Castle-An-Dinas waits another archaeological hero, preferably one though that has time to dig and write.

Here are the pictures that Jane missed or that Cornwall Council did not commission. First, there are Arthurian rumours about the fort: a bit of desperate Romano-British sheltering might have been fun. Second, the fort was used by smugglers in the modern period: barrels being rolled out of the way of excise? Third, there are reports of great furze fires in the modern period at night. By all accounts the whole countryside could see Castle-an-Dinas in flames for miles around.

This is a tentative guess for this news item in Ardnamurchan...

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of at least two bodies in a Bronze Age burial cist in a remote area of the west Highlands.

They were previously aware of one body in the ancient grave on the Ardnamurchan peninsula but they have now found more bones than could belong to another person.

A skull found during an earlier archaeological dig at Swordle in 2010 was dated as being from around 1700BC.

And the bones discovered during the Ardnamurchan Transition Project team’s visit to the area this summer have now been sent away for radiocarbon dating.

Team leader Ollie Harris, who is a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Leicester, described the latest discoveries as both “interesting” and “exciting”.

He said: “In the majority of Bronze Age cists, we would expect to find one person buried in a crouching position on their side, but examining the remains in this cist strongly suggests the presence of two or more people.

“This was an exciting find. One of our main aims this year was to find out about what we thought was a single body, so to come back and find probably two people is very interesting as it offers a different perspective on Bronze Age burials.”
He added that they also found another jet bead in the grave. Three were found in 2010 and they are believed to be part of a necklace.

They also unearthed a flint scraper, which they believe to have been used for removing fat from hides, and small pieces of flint debitage, which is the waste material produced in the making of early stone tools.

The cist was found under a pile of rocks known as Ricky’s Cairn.

While at Swordle this year, the team also excavated the Neolithic tomb of Cladh Andreis, a 200ft long mound of rocks leading from the tomb, which they describe as the tail of the monument, and a small Bronze Age cist cut into the side of the tail.

Mr Harris said the small Bronze Age cist had been a new find this year.

He said: “This cist had been heavily robbed. There were just a few scraps of bone in it, but we are hoping we can get a radiocarbon date from them.”

He added that they had previously worked on Cladh Andreis, which was built around 3,700BC, from 2006 to 2010.

“This year we found bits of teeth, human remains from various bodies and a leaf-shaped arrowhead,” said the archaeologist.

pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/314656/remains-of-at-least-two-bodies-found-in-ancient-grave/

A Neolithic ditch which became a huge funerary monument when it was enlarged with an outer ring during the Bronze Age has been found on housing development grounds in Kent.

Archaeologists suspect a “sacred way” could have led to a henge 6,000 years ago at Iwade Meadows, to the west of the Kent industrial town of Sittingbourne.

Positioned on a north-west slope, the 30-metre diameter structure is one of several prehistoric monuments on a north-west slope above the Ridham fleet stream running through the centre of the site.

“Its purpose is not known,” says Dr Paul Wilkinson, of excavators SWAT Archaeology.

“But it may be that the monument was reused as an enclosure for stock management at this time or could formally have been used as a ‘sacred way’ leading to the Neolithic ‘henge’.

“The monuments are in a location that would have formerly had extensive views to the Swale Estuary and the Island of Sheppey beyond.

“The archaeological evidence suggests that the outer ditch may have originated in the Neolithic and been later transformed in the Bronze Age into a funerary monument with the addition of the inner ring.”

Archaeologists now hope to determine the exact date, phasing and character of the monuments.

“The outer ring has an entrance facing north-east suggesting that it may have originated as a henge-type monument – a ceremonial gathering place of which Stonehenge is our most well known example,” says Dr Wilkinson.

“The inner ring appears to be later and is an unbroken circuit. This may be associated with a Bronze Age burial, as a barrow, though no burials have yet been found.

“A second smaller monument lies close to the larger rings and may be a secondary barrow dating to the Bronze Age.

“While the monuments may have fallen out of use for their primary function by the middle Bronze Age they seem to have still been significant landscape features, as a track from the north-east is seen to have been extended to the causeway entrance of the outer ring.

“The importance of the location in the Neolithic period is reinforced by the rare findings of a series of pits close to the monuments that may indicate the area was being used before the construction of the monument or represents activity associated with it.”

culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art494192-Archaeologists-compare-Neolithic-Kent-site-Stonehenge-Bronze-Age-funerary-monument

In August’s edition of Current Archaeology, Jim Leary talks about his theory first aired in ‘The Story of Silbury Hill’. Did our ancestors build Silbury to mark the source of the Thames. I’ve always liked this theory.

marlboroughnewsonline.co.uk/features/history/3319-did-our-ancestors-get-it-wrong-and-create-silbury-and-avebury-to-mark-the-source-of-the-thames

An Iron Age hill fort has been bought by the National Trust for £450,000.

Built more than 2,000 years ago, Hambledon Hill, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, stands at 190m (620ft) and spans the size of 50 football pitches.

The trust, which takes over management of the site, said its historical uses included communal occupation, farming, feasting, conflict and burial.

Money to buy the hill fort came from a Natural England grant and a legacy gift left to benefit Dorset countryside.

.............................................

Hambledon is the first hill fort acquired by the trust in Dorset for 30 years and joins its six other sites, including Hod Hill, Lamberts Castle, Badbury Rings and Pilsdon Pen.

It had been owned for the past 30 years by conservational charity Hawthorn Trust, which was looking to sell, and managed by Natural England as a National Nature Reserve.

The National Trust said it decided to buy the site to secure its future and ensure maintenance and access for the public was maintained.

Jerry Broadway, a National Trust volunteer working on Hambledon Hill, said: “When I come here I feel like someone would when they go into St Paul’s Cathedral.

“When there is no-one else around and I sit on the top of the hill looking at the view I feel very privileged. And to play a small part in looking after the hill is a good feeling.”

The nationally-important chalk grassland is also home to at least five species of orchids, while 28 species of butterfly have been recorded at the site over the years.

From its summit visitors can see across three counties – Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-28674113

marlboroughnewsonline.co.uk/features/history/3314-exciting-archaeological-finds-from-the-second-year-s-dig-at-avebury-s-west-kennet-avenue?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Archaeology students mostly from Southampton and Leicester universities have re-opened one trench from last year’s dig and opened another major area of investigation in West Kennet Avenue. This involves moving tons of turf and soil and getting down to a level of soil that has never been ploughed (“intact soil”) and so holds flints and other artefacts such as pottery shards, where they were dropped.

This part of the Avenue was chosen because it had been investigated by the marmalade millionaire Alexander Keiller in the 1930s and he had located a gap in Avenue’s stones. Such a gap must have been left for a reason – perhaps because there was a building or other special structure that had to be preserved.

Among these finds are several flint arrowheads – including one miniature barbed and tanged arrowhead (photo left) which the project’s experts say is deliberately miniaturised. Whether it was made as a gift, a toy or for a ritual purpose is another matter altogether. Whatever the reason for making it, the workmanship is extraordinary.

This dig is part of the long term Between the Monuments programme which aims, as National Trust archaeologist Dr Nick Snashall puts it, “to put the people back into the Avebury site.” Finding out more about the routine lives and residence of the people who built and used Avebury’s henge and avenues should help understand why these monuments were made and why this site was chosen.

It is a collaborative research project between the University of Southampton (Dr Josh Pollard), University of Leicester (Dr Mark Gillings), Allen Environmental Archaeology (Dr Mike Allen) and the National Trust (Dr Ros Cleal & Dr Nick Snashall.)

On Tuesday (August 5), with only two full days to go before the dig had to finish and with some rain showers during the morning, people from the surrounding villages were shown over the site and heard about the project’s progress.

Despite the buckets, wheelbarrows and spades (there was even someone spotted wielding a pick axe – albeit on the upper layers of soil), archaeology makes use of all the latest technology. This year laser measuring equipment has been used on the site.

Dr Mark Gillings & soil samplesDr Mark Gillings & soil samplesAnd those plastic bags behind Dr Gillings (photo left) contain soil samples which will be analysed and may reveal tell-tale signs of plant life, what animals were about and so on. This is important as the soil is so acidic that snail shells and bones are not found – but pollen and chemical residues will be preserved and identified in the analysis.

Another recently available technique allows scientists to tell what different sizes and shapes of flint cutting tools were used for. This high-magnification process has shown one tool found last year was used to cut nettles – from which string and cords were made.

Another exciting find in one of last year’s trenches is what looks to the experts like the remains of a ‘possible hearth’. It was nearby in this trench that they discovered in 2013 twelve certain or probable stake-holes in a pattern that could justify the theory that they were part of a dwelling of some sort: it is very tempting to add two such finds together to make a dwelling.

And then, just when the students thought they had unearthed some really good and significant finds from many centuries BC, someone finds a mediaeval coin. Mind you, this coin far smaller than our five pence piece and paper thin, so spotting it amidst the soil and recognising that it was anything at all worth keeping from the spoil heap, is a testament to these students’ growing expertise and enthusiasm.

As ever, it is a matter of funding being available to allow a third year’s dig to reveal even more of the evidence of the human lives that flourished in between Avebury’s stones.

Seems a second gold ‘earing’, this one interpreted as a hair ornament, that looks akin to the one found at Kirkhaugh in 1935.

Makes it one of the oldest bits of metal in Britain, dating back to the chalcolithic, around 2,300BCE.

northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/national-news/boys-strike-gold-with-ornament-dig-1-6766776

Thirty years ago, a peat cutter working in the Cheshire countryside spotted what he thought was a piece of wood trundling along a conveyor belt.

Tasked with the job of keeping the belt free of debris, he threw it away, but as it hit the ground, the dirt fell from it and the remains of a human leg lay in the summer sun.

That gruesome discovery on 1 August 1984 led to Rick Turner, the newly-appointed county archaeologist, being called to the site on Lindow Moss.

He says what followed were “the most exciting days of my archaeological career”.

“I was taken out on to the moss and shown where the previous day’s peat had been taken from,” he says.

“Walking the uncut sections, I found a flap of dark, tanned skin projecting from below.

“Reporting my discovery to the police, we agreed I would be given a day to excavate the remains.”

On 6 August, the site was recorded and sampled, the limits of the remains were established and “Lindow Man was lifted – within his block of surrounding peat – on his way to international celebrity”, Mr Turner says.

More:

bbc.com/news/uk-england-28589151

A photograph of picnickers enjoying lunch at an ancient monument in Cornwall has been re-enacted almost a century after the original party packed up their hampers.

Photographer Andy Hughes, who has a studio in St Ives, was invited to recreate the scene by members of Sustrust, a history group responsible for rebuilding Carwynnen Quoit, near Camborne, earlier this year.

Using an old glass plate camera, the Truro College photography lecturer set up the shot as the original group had been arranged in 1925. He is currently processing the image and will be revealing the results in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, a number of professional photographers, including Colin Higgs, of the Western Morning News, were on hand to capture the reconstruction process.

“Andy was meticulous in his preparations,” said Colin. “It was fascinating to watch.”

The Neolithic structure, known locally as the Giant’s Quoit, had been a forlorn pile of stones for some 50 years before members of Sustrust began a five-year project to rebuild it. Watched by several hundred enthusiasts and supporters, its 10-ton capstone was finally hoisted back into place on Midsummer’s Day. Measuring 11ft by 8ft by 1ft, the great granite slab was dropped into position by crane.

Pip Richards, who has been the driving force behind the venture to re-erect the 5,000-year-old burial chamber near Troon, said the photographic re-enactment was part of a number of associated activities, including the production of a book and app.

“It is quite a famous photograph and comes from the collection of David Thomas,” she said. “It was a great day and I’m confident the results will be exceptional because the weather was not too bright so people weren’t squinting.”

Among those posing as 1920s picnickers were archaeologists James Gossip, Jacky Nowakowski and Richard Mikulski, Tony Boshier, who was part of the reconstruction team, Sustrust chairman Andy Norfolk, along with volunteer diggers and supporters.

“People just love to dress up and have some fun,” said Pip. “The director, James Kitto, did a great job organising everyone into their positions. If anything was different it was the attitude of those being photographed. In 1925, it was only seven years after the Great War, and there is a sombre air about the picture.”

Carwynnen Quoit – which has also been known as The Giant’s Frying Pan and Pendarves Quoit – might originally have been covered by a large mound of earth. More than a dozen similar structures can be seen elsewhere in Cornwall, including Trethevy Quoit, Lanyon Quoit and Chun Quoit.

Numerous groups were involved in the reconstruction project, including several schools which took part in outdoor lessons at the site. Children from Troon, Crowan, Kehelland, Penponds and Archbishop Benson schools chose items for a time capsule, which has now been buried deep beneath the ancient monument.

“We decided to let the children decide what should go in it,” said Pip. “So among the objects is a teddy bear, a jar of local honey to help people in the future identify the plants of today, hair from members of the team to help with DNA identification, 2014 coins, a serpentine heart pendant, a golf ball, badges from Troon Cricket Club and Camborne Rugby Club, a St Piran’s flag, a pasty key-ring, and a cartoon telling the story of the quoit.”

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Sita Cornwall, the excavation revealed around 2,300 objects – many of them Neolithic – in the surrounding area. For more information visit giantsquoit.org

westernmorningnews.co.uk/1920s-picnic-picture-recreated-ancient-monument/story-21962607-detail/story.html

A large part of Wales’ highest mountain is being prepared for sale.

The 500-acres on the northern slopes of the mountain comprises Clogwyn Du’r Arddu, regarded as one of the premier rock climbing areas in Britain, and rough pasture land from below the cliffs to the Halfway station on the Snowdon Mountain Railway.

A website created by agents acting for farmer Dafydd Morris states: “This famous mountain is regarded as one of the wonders of Wales, the jewel in the crown of Snowdonia and one of the most visited tourist attractions in the UK.

“Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa in Welsh is the highest mountain in Wales and is the home to a number of rare plant and bird species including the world renowned Snowdon Lily artic-alpine plant, treasured by the Welsh nation.

“A large part of the Snowdon massif is up for sale and Dafydd Morris is calling on all conservationists and the public in general to grasp the opportunity to buy a part of Snowdon to help conserve and cultivate its natural beauty for generations to come.”

It is understood Mr Morris is planning to sell Clogwyn Du’r Arddu in one lot and the remainder of the land in smaller parcels.

Mr Morris was not available for comment but a spokesman said no final decision has been taken yet as to whether the sale will go ahead.

“All the necessary components for a possible sale have not been finalised and a final decision whether or not to sell the land has been taken,” he said.

walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/snowdon-sale-farmer-prepares-sell-7537087

A set of mysterious, 5,000-year-old rock carvings could see the light of day again, after being buried 50 years ago to protect them from vandals.

The Cochno Stone in West Dunbartonshire bears what is considered to be the finest example of Bronze Age “cup and ring” carvings in Europe.

The stone, which measures 42ft by 26ft, was discovered by the Rev James Harvey in 1887 on farmland near what is now the Faifley housing estate on the edge of Clydebank.

It is covered in about 90 carved indentations, or “cups”, and grooved spirals, along with a ringed cross and a pair of four-toed feet.

Because of the array of markings on it, the Cochno Stone has been recognised as being of national importance and designated as a scheduled monument.

In 1964, Glasgow University archaeologists recommended it should be buried under several feet of soil to protect the carvings from further damage by vandals. The stone has been covered ever since.

Straddling the garden of a private property and parkland owned by the local council, it is now covered by vegetation and surrounded by trees.

In his book The Prehistoric Rock Art of Southern Scotland, archaeologist Ronald Morris, an expert in ancient rock carvings, described the stone as “one of Scotland finest collections of petroglyphs”.

History researcher Alexander McCallum, who has lobbied to have the stone uncovered, said there were multiple interpretations for the carvings.

He said: “Some people think that the Cochno Stone is a map showing the other settlements in the Clyde Valley – that’s one of the theories. I think it was probably used for lots of things; it was never used for just one thing and over hundreds of years it changed use.

“As far as the symbolism goes, some believe it’s a portal, of life and death, rebirth, a womb and a tomb – people believed in reincarnation, so they would go into the earth and then come out again.”

He said it was also possible the stone had been used in sacrificial ceremonials, with milk or water poured into the grooves and channels as offerings, or that the markings were astronomical maps, showing constellations that guided prehistoric farmers’ crop sewing.

Mr McCallum said similar carvings had been found around the world, including in Hawaii, India and Africa, while in Scotland they tended to be found along the west coast near the sea or rivers, often close to copper mines.

Changes in the options available to heritage bodies for the conservation of ancient sites and a shift in the attitude towards how they should be treated have led to the possibility of the Cochno Stone being uncovered.

A spokeswoman for West Dunbartonshire Council said it would “seek professional advice on the implications of uncovering the area”, adding: “Our priority is to ensure this renowned site is preserved and protected in a sustainable way.”

A spokeswoman for Historic Scotland said: “We have had no recent approaches with specific proposals.

“In the 50 years since it was covered over, there have been significant advances in recording techniques and our understanding of conservation, and we would be happy to support any considered and adequately resourced proposals to uncover it, in conjunction with the local authority and the landowner.”

The stone was featured in Scots film maker May Miles Thomas’ critically acclaimed feature The Devil’s Plantation, which traces ancient landmarks that link modern Glasgow to its prehistoric past. The film was based on 1980s archaeologist Harry Bell’s book Hidden Geometry, which includes the carvings in its history of the city and its surrounding landscape.

scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/5000-year-old-cochno-stone-carving-may-be-revealed-1-3479326

Carwynnen Quoit is standing proud again for the first time in half a century thanks to the efforts of a community group. Eminent Cornish archaeologist Professor Charles Thomas explains the ancient monument’s significance.

Today in Cornwall and Scilly the remnants of what are seen as Neolithic burial monuments, mostly excavated or ruined, involving large granite uprights and capstones and usually seen as having been enclosed in large kerbed mounds or cairns, are known by various names.

These include quoit, referring to capstones, and an English word for the small stone discs or horseshoes used in an old-style throwing game. They also include and cromlech, which is sometimes seen as “grambla”, an obscure dialect word shared with Welsh.

Its original sense was “curved-slab”, referring – like quoit – to a capstone.

In the last few years, thanks to Pip Richards of the Sustainable Trust and her archaeological colleagues, excavations and public involvement by schools and community groups have reached a most exciting stage at Carwynnen, the high ground in the southern part of Camborne parish. Readers will already know this as it has been well-reported in the WMN.

I write as a Camborne man, born in 1928, who well recalls the Carwynnen monument before its last collapse – possibly as a result of an earth tremor – in 1948. The monument, when complete, had three large local granite uprights and a vast granite capstone slab. It stands in what has long been called Frying Pan Field and was still nicknamed when I was a boy as The Devil’s Frying Pan. The implication, possibly overlooked until now, is that Carwynnen Quoit, as we may call it, was – unlike similar and contemporary Neolithic monuments in West Penwith such as Lanyon Quoit, Chun Quoit, Zennor Quoit and others – never contained in a large mound or cairn with stone-kerbed circumference and a low entrance passage.

Carwynnen was not necessarily unique in all of Cornwall, but radically different.

I don’t want to anticipate the findings of a report to be published by senior archaeologists Jacky Nowakowski and James Gossip, who are in charge of the exploration. What I stress is that this upland sector of Cornwall’s central east-west ridge has a general name of Carwynnen (Cornish: the light-coloured, or granitic, rocky hill) and that, despite centuries of mining and farming, it’s still riddled with standing stones, the odd stone circle, clusters of stone huts and early field-systems. Trial sections now dug in Frying Pan Field imply scattered Neolithic activity all around.

My guess is that those “frying pan” names date from the 16th or 17th centuries when English overcame spoken Cornish and that, before then, the monument itself was most probably cromlech. If so, the name would arise from the large, always visible, capstone. The conclusion is that Carwynnen Quoit was never contained in a vast mound of stones and earth and never so concealed. It was, if you like, open-air. From the Neolithic beginning, people could walk between the uprights, walk below the capstone, on a kind of neat circular paving, upon which they might place small offerings.

In other words, it was never built as a Neolithic burial mound. Effectively it was some kind of religious monument or a temple. Why, where and when it was made are questions still left with the archaeologists.

Now that the capstone has been replaced, the field tidied and sign-boarded, it is a temple once again.

Again as a Camborne man, whose family – from West Penwith – settled up there on the Carwynnen ridge in the 1680s, I find all this exciting beyond words. And I hope, readers of the WMN, will follow what happens next with equal attention.

westernmorningnews.co.uk/quoit-place-worship-burial/story-21465028-detail/story.html

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-28276503

A £2.4m extension to Salisbury Museum housing more than 2,500 rare artefacts has opened.
The Wessex Gallery of Archaeology, which was partly funded by a lottery grant, is home to to a large collection of Stonehenge-related pieces.

These include the skeleton of a wealthy and powerful Bronze Age man dubbed the “Amesbury Archer” discovered in 2003.
The gallery also includes the Wardour Hoard containing 4,000-year-old sword fragments, spearheads and chisels.

The Duddo Stones are still threatened by wind turbine speculators.

We have 2 schemes which have been refused by the planning authority because of the damage to the setting of the Stones, but which are being appealed.

One, for a 74m turbine to the north of the Stones, was unanimously refused on the advice of planners and heritage experts. But a planning inspector approved it at appeal.

Local people recently (June, 2014) took a huge financial risk, going to the High Court to get this approval overturned.

We now face this being re-determined, together with an appeal on the refusal of two 34.5m turbines, which were also refused because of their impact on the setting of the Stones.

You can help. See ‘Guardians of the Stones‘on the Duddo community website.

Experts say the find is highly unusual as it is the first time coins from these two separate civilisations have been buried together

A precious hoard of Roman and Late Iron Age coins has been discovered in a cave where it has lain undisturbed for more than 2,000 years.

The treasure trove was unearthed after a member of the public stumbled across four coins in the cave in Dovedale in Derbyshire’s Peak District.

The discovery prompted a full-scale excavation of the site.

Experts say it is the first time coins from these two separate civilisations have been found buried together.

Archaeologists discovered 26 coins, including three Roman coins which pre-date the invasion of Britain in AD43, and 20 other gold and silver pieces which are Late Iron Age and thought to belong to the Corieltavi tribe.

Although Roman coins have often been found in fields, this is understood to be the first time they have been unearthed in a cave.

The cache has been declared as “treasure”.

National Trust archaeologist Rachael Hall said: “The coins would suggest a serious amount of wealth and power of the individual who owned them.
“Coins were used more as a symbol of power and status during the Late Iron Age, rather than for buying and selling staple foods and supplies.

“Was an individual simply hiding his ‘best stuff’ for safe keeping? Or perhaps speculating, in the hope that the value would increase in the future, like a modern-day ISA?”

She said the situation of the cave could not be ignored.

‘Exciting find‘
“Could it have been a sacred place to the Late Iron Age peoples that was taboo to enter in everyday life, making it a safe place that would ensure that person’s valuables were protected?”

The largest hoard of Iron Age gold and silver coins ever found in Britain was discovered by an amateur archaeologist in 2000 near Hallaton in Leicestershire.
More than 5,000 coins, jewellery and a silver-gilt Roman parade helmet were among the treasures discovered during that excavation.

The British Museum’s curator of Iron Age and Roman coins Ian Leins said that while this latest find at Reynard’s Cave and Kitchen did not quite match the Hallaton discovery, it was “exciting”.

For the first time, the National Trust enlisted the help of wounded ex-soldiers returning from Afghanistan to assist with the excavation.

The coins have been cleaned by conservation specialists at the British Museum and University College London and will go on permanent display at Buxton Museum later this year.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-28189287

Karl Lee, flintknapper and primitive technologist will be performing his art as part of the Festival of Archaeology 2014.
This event is free and runs from 10:00-04:00 on Sat 12th Jul 2014 at Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre 10, Market Place, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 3HF Tel: 01249 705020 Email: [email protected] Web: www.chippenham.gov.uk

Karl will be not only be making various flint impliments but selling items from his previous demonstrations.
For an insight into Karl’s skill, see video from his previous demonstrations at the museum in 2011, a Ovate Hand Axe as used during the Paleolithic period, youtube.com/watch?v=xsHGXkxyQDU and a leaf shaped arrow head typical of the ones used during the Neolitchic period. youtube.com/watch?v=1rz99-0Zryg

For a profile of Karl, see the primitive technologist website – primitive-technology.co.uk/karl-lee/

Article from the EDP24.

University of Leicester archaeologists have been uncovering the past and this summer will be undertaking the final season of excavations at Leicestershire’s finest Iron Age hillfort.
The nationally important hillfort, marked by dramatic earthworks, located near Melton Mowbray has been the setting for a five year research project which has helped redefine understanding of the hillforts use with the help and support of English Heritage and landowners the Ernest Cook Trust.

Located between Burrough on the Hill and Somerby, south of Melton Mowbray, it is one of the most striking and historic features in the landscape of eastern Leicestershire. The well-preserved Iron Age hill fort dramatically crowns a steep-sided promontory of land reaching 210m (690 ft), with superb views.

Dr Jeremy Taylor, co-director of the excavations, said: “Before the current project began there was little known about Burrough Hill, with only small scale excavations in the 1960s and 1970s to go on. As a result of the University of Leicester led excavations since 2010 we now have a fuller understanding of the nature of the hillforts occupation over time and the prestige of the hillfort residents during the Iron Age.”

The excavations have revealed evidence of life on Burrough Hill from at least the Early Bronze Age, with last year’s work identifying a small building and monument containing stone tools and pottery dating to around 2800 BC. The hillfort appears to have been constructed during the Iron Age, around 500 BC, and used throughout the later Iron Age and into the Roman period. The excavations have shown that Burrough Hill continued to be used well into the Roman period, identifying evidence for a Roman farmstead dating to the 3rd-4th century AD.

This final year of the project aims to investigate a possible second entrance into the hillfort and more about the life of its inhabitants in order to bring to a conclusion what has a been a very succesful series of excavations.

John Thomas, project co-director said: “We have been surprised by the quantity and quality of the information we have uncovered. It has really painted a new picture of life at Burrough Hill and helped to fit the hillfort into a wider view of Iron Age life across the county that we have steadily developed through other excavations over several decades. Now we can compare Burrough Hill not only to contemporary sites in the East Midlands, but also other nationally important hillforts such as Danebury and Hunsbury.”

Thomas added: “We would like to share the results of our work with as many visitors as possible seeing as this is the last chance for people to view the excavations in progress. We run a programme of school visits during our time here, which has been supported by generous grants from the Ernest Cook Trust. This year has proved particularly popular due to the changes in the National Curriculum to include prehistory in primary school teaching. The open days we have held over the last few years have been
fantastically well supported and it is good to see the hillfort full of people who are excited about the discoveries we are making about one of our regions finest prehistoric monuments.”

sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140623092301.htm

This is a write-up of a talk given by Dr Rowan McLaughlin regarding how the 4000+ developer produced RC dates since 2001 in Ireland basically rewrite whole swathes of how we perceive the prehistory of Ireland.

rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/review-rewriting-pre-history-of-ulster.html

[snippet from 1/3 of way in]

Over the last decade-and-a-half or so has seen a vast increase in the volume of archaeological data that has been produced. Much of this is the result of economic circumstances, where development-led excavations have been carried out in advance of construction. Many of these were carried out during the Celtic Tiger years, in advance of major infrastructural works such as roads, pipelines, quarries, and residential developments. In a perfect world, the excavations get written up and get stored in archives as ‘grey literature’ ... some even get published. McLaughlin estimates that over the last ten years alone some one million pages of new data for the island of Ireland have been written down. Rowan’s approach to the ‘data mountain’ has been centred on extracting an understanding of chronology from this mass of data, a task he describes as ‘the golden cord to lead out of the labyrinth’. An examination of all the available radiocarbon dates for Irish prehistory that were available in around 2001, shows that there were 1396 known from both published and grey literature sources. Plotting all of these out gives an indication of what prehistory is ‘like’ at this point. As may be expected, there are relatively few sites dating to the earliest periods and more sites from more recent times and a slow but gradual increase in between. This has led to a view of the prehistory of Ireland where there was an initial colonisation during the Mesolithic (c.10k cal BP) and that this was a relatively stable hunter-gatherer way of life until the introduction of agriculture (c.6k cal BP). After this point we see a population explosion that goes hand in hand with increasing social and religious complexities. From this point on we can witness communities evolving and adapting these beliefs and practices, until it reaches its final developed flourishing of civilization in more recent times. As he says: ‘The problem with that view is that it is entirely wrong. It’s not what the archaeological data actually indicate.’ He sees that this discovery has been the big achievement of development led/commercial archaeology in Ireland since the millennium. He then turned to another histogram of 4928 dates from prehistoric Ireland that have become available in the time since 2001.Instead of a gradual increase, there are peaks and troughs in activity. At some times it appears that there were significant episodes of large-scale archaeological deposition, and this contrasts with periods of seemingly little activity. To understand the reality of what we’re seeing here, there are a number of ideas that must be kept in mind. Firstly, all the dates must be calibrated as we cannot directly compare this archaeological data with environmental evidence from various regions. The other issue is the degree of bias in how these data points were collected. Obviously, the first bias is where excavations take place – either dictated by individuals’ research interests, or where development is planned. Further biases exist in the systematic approach that archaeologists use in the collection of this data. For example, there are certain types of features that are more likely to be dated over others – what McLaughlin describes as features that are ‘more juicy looking’ and, thus, more likely to be dated. Indeed, certain types of sites are almost completely ignored and this is an ongoing issue.

A four-year campaign to dig a 21-barrow set of graves, declared as a set of Scheduled Ancient Monuments and aligned in a style linked to Stonehenge, has begun at one of Britain’s largest and most intriguing mixed cemeteries.

Archaeologists hope to discover the origins of the cemetery on Petersfield Heath, where the early Bronze Age burial mounds are set in a style more typically associated with Wessex.

The style of the burial mounds is more commonly seen is Avebury, Stonehenge and Wessex.

The build, environmental impact, social implications and living conditions of the barrows will be examined in a series of dig seasons expected to begin in September.

Geophysical and topographic surveys, documentary research and palaeo-environmental studies will also take place under plans backed by a £100,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant and a £20,000 investment from the South Downs National Park Authority.

Volunteers of all ages will be invited to take part in the excavations.

culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art488124-Archaeologists-excavating-Bronze-Age-cemetery-Hampshire

vimeo.com/99198566

Work to rebuild a collapsed ancient Cornish monument has been completed on the day of the summer solstice.

Carwynnen Quoit, or Giant’s Quoit, a 5,000-year-old burial chamber near Troon, collapsed in 1966.

The burial chamber had fallen apart but, with help from archaeologists, it is standing proud once again.

Replacing the capstone was the last piece of work carried out by owners the Sustainable Trust, which bought the site in 2009.

Leading architect on the project, Jacky Nowakowski said: “It’s a magical moment to get to this stage in the project.

“I feel exhilarated to bring the capstone home and make the monument complete again.

“A lot of people have come together to bring an ancient monument back to life, so today’s a real celebration of that amazing achievement.”

The ancient granite monument is believed to date as far back as the Neolithic period.

The Cornwall Sustainable Trust and Cornwall Heritage Trust employed professional archaeologists to help research and rebuild it.

Initial work saw two support stones replaced in their original Neolithic footings but the third stone had to be adjusted to comply with health and safety regulations.

The main capstone measuring 3.3m (11ft) long, 2.5m (8ft) wide and 30cm (1ft) thick was dropped into position by a large crane.

According to the trust, Carwynnen Quoit is among 12 similar monuments around the county.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-27945128

The summer solstice, King Arthur, the Holy Grail … Stonehenge is supposed to be a site of myths and mystery. But with timed tickets and a £27m visitor centre, does it herald a rampant commercialisation of our heritage?

theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/21/from-heritage-to-heretics-stonehenge-making-history