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heritage.caledonianmercury.com/2010/11/02/preparing-the-perfect-prehistoric-pint/001566

Preparing the perfect prehistoric pint
By Elizabeth McQuillan

Academics have pondered over why we began to cultivate cereal, and in particular barley, crops alongside our livestock around 4000 BC. Common sense dictates that these grains provided an ideal source of carbohydrate, and it allowed some welcome additions such as bread, porridge, and sugars into the larder. But archaeological findings also suggest that we were partial to a bit of ale to wash down our supper, and that we have been home-brewing for quite some time.

In fact radiocarbon dating of residues found in a drinking vessel in Strathallan, Fife, identified the alcoholic tipple as having been fermented as early as the second millennium BC (1540BC to be exact; at a time when the ancient Egyptians were erecting gargantuan pyramidal structures). Next to this archaeological find lay the body of a young woman, so perhaps it had been a bad pint, or there was some refining still to be done with that particular recipe.

Fast-forwarding to our crop-growing Neolithic and Bronze Age years, at a ceremonial site in Balfarg/Balbirnie, Tayside, fermented grain and plant residues were found in large buried earthenware vessels – evidence that the cultivated grain was being used for more than making porridge and bread. The sample also contained the pollen of Deadly Nighshade, which may have had hallucinogenic properties, or perhaps was designed to poison all the party guests. Again, the recipe maybe just needed a bit of tweaking.

But then, without the benefit of a biochemistry degree to understand the processes involved, these early brewers could only experiment and learn through trial and error how to achieve the best brew. Shared with their neighbours, they probably drank the good with the bad, and slept off the effects to come back and try another day.

So, what would the brewing process have involved in 4000BC?

Malting (germination) could be achieved in watertight vessels with frequent water changes or by placing the grain in a tied bag in a running stream so the water remained fresh and didn’t require changing. Soaked grain would then be laid on a flat floor away from the outside elements and regularly raked and watered. Once the grain reached an early stage of germination, the grain would be dried with a kiln to preserve the sugars.

Mashing (when starch is converted to sugar) involved grinding the grain with quernstones. This would help release natural enzymes and speed the conversion of the remaining starch to sugar. The gentle heat needed could have been provided by hot stones or by using the ash from the fire.

Sparging is washing through the mash with hot water to produce sweet wort that can then be fermented. Our ancestors would have probably used their woven baskets for this job, and let the watery soup filter into an earthenware vessel. The spent grain provided quality fodder for the livestock.

Fermentation needs yeast, and there are a number of possible methods to explain how this yeast was introduced. Airborne yeast could be enough but, in the Western Isles, a hazel “wand” was traditionally used to stir the brew during fermentation. Each time the wand would stir a new batch, the dried yeast on the wand would reactivate the process. Perfect.

A couple of mystical, biochemical hocus pocus weeks later, and a tantalising pitcher of ale with supper was a reality. And a party a racing certainty.

“Archaeologists have unearthed a collection of Bronze Age axe heads, spear tips and other 3,000-year-old metal objects buried in an Essex field.”

From the BBC
bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11651691

bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11656142 with link to daily You Tube updates
youtube.com/user/360Production

bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11621802
Silbury Hill acquired its distinctive shape in more modern times, according to new archaeological evidence.

To add to Rockrich’s news........

Experts are hoping to set up a community team to help investigate ancient rock carvings.

The ‘CSI: Rombalds Moor’ project will look at the moor’s stone remains including the Twelve Apostles Stone Circle, the Swastika Stone and the cup-and-ring carvings known to archaeologists worldwide and the many walkers who visit the area each year.

But now the experts want to train a group of volunteers to take part in crucial work in recording vital information about the ancient sites.

The project is managed by rural regeneration enterprise Pennine Prospects. It is part of a wider Watershed Landscape scheme, which won almost £2million of lottery funding earlier this year to restore the landscape of the South Pennines uplands Next month the CSI: Rombalds Moor project will be launched in Ilkley, with workshops by experts and a guided walk to the archaeological sites.

Among the speakers on Saturday, November 6, will be community archaeologist Gavin Edwards who is known to many Ilkley people for his work at the town’s Manor House Museum and Art Gallery, and English Heritage’s head of metric survey Paul Bryan.

A team of consultants has been selected to lead the prehistoric carved-rocks project on the moor. In addition to making written records, it will involve photographing the rocks to create 3D images through the ‘photogrammetry’ process. The workshop will give more local people a chance to learn about the project and register their interest.

A spokesman for Pennine Prospects said: “Over the coming months a series of training sessions covering surveying, recording and photographic techniques will be organised for community volunteers to learn how best they can help undertake the work over the next three years.

“The project will also aim to ensure that the skills and knowledge gained during this time will then allow the work to continue and develop after the project has come to an end.”

The project launch and workshop will take place at Church House, next to All Saints Parish Church, in Church Street. The event will be open for registration and refreshments between 9am and 9.45am.

Anyone interested in taking part is asked to contact Gavin Edwards in advance at [email protected], leave a message at the Manor House Museum, Castle Yard, Ilkley, or telephone (01943) 600066.

thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/local/localbrad/8475971.CSI__Rombalds_Moor_project_launched/?ref=rss

Silbury Hill is as ancient and enigmatic as Stonehenge. David Attenborough tells Jonathan Jones why he set out to crack it

guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/25/david-attenborough-silbury-hill-bbc

I know this has been covered before and affects wider than Stonehenge but it’s interesting to see that EH’s approach to photo rights is getting wider exposure (pun intended).

techdirt.com/articles/20101020/04044411496/english-heritage-organization-claiming-it-holds-effective-copyright-on-any-and-all-photos-of-stonehenge.shtml

yro.slashdot.org/story/10/10/21/0019257/All-Your-Stonehenge-Photos-Are-Belong-To-England

A myth destroyed, they actually ate bread with their meat........

Starch residues on stone tools suggest early humans ate a balanced diet.

Ground grains found at Stone Age sites suggests early modern humans did not subsist on meat alone. Once thought of as near total carnivores, early humans ate ground flour 20,000 years before the dawn of agriculture. Flour residues recovered from 30,000-year-old grinding stones found in Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic point to widespread processing and consumption of plant grain, according to a paper published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1.

“It’s another nail in the coffin of the idea that hunter–gatherers didn’t use plants for food,” says Ofer Bar-Yosef, an archaeologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who was not involved in the study. Work in recent years has also uncovered a handful of Stone Age sites in the Near East with evidence for plant-eating.

The meat-centric view of early modern humans stems partly from the fact that meat-eating leaves a more indelible mark in the archaeological record than omnivory, says Laura Longo, an archaeologist at the University of Siena in Italy and an author on the paper.

Stone blades used for hunting and animal bones bearing cut-marks are common finds, whereas plants leave few relics. Complicating matters, archaeologists typically washed the grinding tools used to process plants, removing any preserved plant matter, says Longo.

Early omnivores;

Beginning in the early 2000s, Longo and her colleagues started analysing unwashed stone tools from a 28,000-year-old human settlement in central Italy called Bilancino. Patterns of wear on the sandstone tools suggest that they were used for grinding, like a mortar and pestle. The stones were also coated with several kinds of microscopic starch grains. Longo and her colleagues identified the grains based on their shape as belonging to the root of a species of cattail and the grains of a grass called Brachypodium.

The researchers also found grinding tools coated with cattail and fern residues at human sites in southern Moravia in the Czech Republic and south of Moscow, all dated to roughly 30,000 years old.

Unlike Neolithic humans, who domesticated and cultivated grains such as wheat and barley, these hunter–gatherers relied on wild vegetation. However, many of the plants found by Longo and her team were widely distributed, offering a reliable, even nutritious source of food, she says. For example, once ground and cooked, the cattail grains contain nearly as much energy as domesticated cereals, the researchers calculate.

Grinding tools bear traces of 30,000-year-old cattail and fern (right).PNASBar-Yosef says that the study proves that flour-making was common to early modern humans. “I’m pretty sure that you’re going to have many more cases where there is evidence for the use of plants by humans.”

Bruce Hardy, a paleoanthropologist at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, expects that flour-making dates back even further than 30,000 years. “This is not isolated to a small group of people. It’s a regular part of subsistence for humans,” he says.

After all, humans, ancient or modern, just aren’t equipped to live on a diet of meat alone. “If you get that much meat in your diet not balanced out with other nutrients, you get protein poisoning,” says Hardy.

nature.com/news/2010/101018/full/news.2010.549.html?s=news_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news%2Frss%2Fmost_recent+%28NatureNews+-+Most+recent+articles%29

Why I was reading the Daily Record I don’t know but the rewards for metal detecting are pretty high.

dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/10/15/scots-treasure-hunter-set-for-460k-windfall-after-digging-up-iron-age-gold-86908-22636443/

belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/maghera-tomb-5000yearold-burial-site-to-give-up-secrets-14977234.html

Archaeologists are to dig out a portal tomb in Northern Ireland for the first time in 50 years.
The collapse of Tirnony Dolmen near Maghera has produced a rare opportunity to discover what lies beneath — and exactly how old it is.
Normally portal tombs, which are among the oldest built structures still standing in Northern Ireland, are off limits to excavators and must be preserved.

But after the massive capstone of this portal tomb fell to the ground earlier this year, archaeologists will be able to uncover the secrets it has held for millennia before repairs are carried out.
Tirnony Dolmen is between 5,000 and 6,000 years old, according to Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIIEA) archaeologist Paul Logue.

“After standing in Northern Ireland weather for over 5,000 years some of the tomb’s structural stones have begun to crack, causing the capstone to slip,” he said.
“Before we start to repair the tomb we will excavate it to ensure that the archaeological material associated with it is recorded ahead of restoration work.
“When the tomb was first built it would have been used for interring the bones of selected members of the local stone age community. This could have included men and women, young and old. Finds from inside similar tombs include pottery and flint tools, possibly left as grave goods for use by the dead in the afterlife.
“We hope to find out more about how this tomb was built, when it was built and how it was used.”

Members of the public are invited to come along on Friday afternoons to find out for themselves what has been unearthed. The excavation will also be charted in a blog revealing the latest finds.
Mr Logue said the tomb was originally built by digging out a trench where the upright stones were embedded, packing round these with smaller stones before installing the massive capstone on top of them.
In recent years, the capstone, which weighs between two and a half and three tonnes, had begun to rock, putting pressure on the supporting stones beneath. These then moved, causing the capstone to slide further.

(Acknowledgements to WRAO and Digital Digging for this information)

A new volunteer led project which aims to record all the rock art on Rombalds Moor will launch with a public event on Saturday 6th November 2010. The full day event will include a morning of presentations covering rock art, the project background, recording methodologies and a guided walk in the afternoon. There will also be opportunity for volunteers to register their interest in taking part in the project.

Venue: 9am in Church House, Church St, Ilkley.

pennineprospects.co.uk/watershed-landscape/community-archaeology-in-the-south-pennines

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11536596

1) “Discover Stone Tools Workshop” with Avebury archaeologist Dr Nick Stanshall
The day includes a chance to handle real stone tools from the Alexander Keiller Museum.
Sunday 24th October 10am – 4.00pm, Cost £30

2) Guided Walks through the Avebury Landscape.
Last Sunday of the month starting 31st October,
10.30am – 1.30pm Tickets: £5.00 in advance or pay on the day. Meet at Silbury Hill car park.

3) Wyrd Avebury Ghost Walks
Selected evenings in October, cost £4.75 includes a glass of mulled wine

Call 01672 539250 for details or visit

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/Avebury

The Uffington White Horse has been caught up in an identity battle after it was suggested it could be a dog.

rest of article: bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-11531634

All ready mentioned elsewhere but -

“...the curious story of Julian Cope, former Smash Hits cover star, practising druid and great British eccentric, is set to be turned into a feature film. David Morrissey, the award-winning actor, has secured the film rights to Head On, Cope’s autobiography.

“A student of pagan ritual, Cope’s most surprising career shift has been his emergence as an acclaimed expert on Britain’s prehistoric stone circles; his book, The Modern Antiquarian, sold 40,000 copies, was adapted as a BBC documentary and prompted an invitation to lecture at the British Museum.”

More here – independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/from-smash-hits-to-stone-circles-julian-copes-life-to-be-filmed-2103180.html

(Can we hope for a private viewing party ;-)

Severe restrictions on scientists’ freedom to study bones and skulls from ancient graves are putting archaeological research in Britain at risk, according to experts.

guardian.co.uk/science/2010/oct/10/burial-grave-mike-pitts-stonehenge

Visit the Big Dig!
Wednesday October 13th 2010

Where: Avon Fields: Former MoD Headquarters
Netheravon Road
Durrington

The village of Durrington is well known for its early archaeological heritage, including the largest Neolithic henge in Britain at Durrington Walls and nearby Woodhenge, both over 4500 years old. However, excavations by Wessex Archaeology in advance of the construction of new housing by Persimmon Homes South Coast on the former Ministry of Defence estate offices have started to uncover the remains of a late Iron Age/ Romano-British settlement.

More: wessexarch.co.uk/blogs/news/2010/10/08/open-day-excavation-durrington-wiltshire

(Dammit – why a weekday? :( I’d go if it were a weekend!)

3 walks you may be interested in:

Walks in the Stonehenge Landscape

Dates: 9 October 2010, 30 October 2010 and 13 November 2010

Price: Adult £3
Stonehenge Landscape

On an afternoon stroll up on the downs, find out about ancient peoples, hidden histories, wildlife and the changing landscape. Discover what lies beyond the stone circle.

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Explore the landscape with your DSLR camera

Dates: 16 October 2010 10:30am

Price: All £28
Stonehenge Landscape

Explore the Stonehenge landscape on an intermediate photography workshop, with professional photographer Mark Philpott. Learn how to get the best from your DSLR camera and be inspired by King Barrow Ridge, its ancient mounds and earthworks and its diverse wildlife. Workshop size limited to allow Mark to give lots of one-to-one help and there will be the opportunity to share photos and receive constructive feedback.

----------------------------------------

Autumn photography walk

Dates: 23 October 2010 3:00pm

Price: All £4
Stonehenge Landscape

An evening walk to capture the colours of autumn. Join photography expert Mark Philpott and a National Trust guide on an autumnal evening walk around the Stonehenge landscape. Mark will show you how to capture evocative vistas and the changing seasons in a landscape rich in archaeology and wildlife.

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nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-events/w-events-find_event.htm?propertyID=323

WHEN Hamish Mowatt decided to investigate a mysterious mound as he tidied an Orkney garden, he had little idea he would uncover a hoard of bodies that had lain untouched for around 5,000 years.
Archeologists believe the tomb he discovered under a boulder outside a bistro in South Ronaldsay could lead to new insights into how our neolithic ancestors lived and died.

But they face a race against time as water washing in and out of the newly uncovered tomb could wash away its contents and dissolve any pottery and human remains inside.

Mr Mowatt uncovered the tomb in the garden of Skerries bistro and self catering cottages. He said: “There is a big slab of stone about eight foot by eight foot and I had always wondered what was underneath it. I had a bit of time at the end of the summer and I thought I would take a look.”

Mr Mowatt, who runs a boat business, pushed a piece of wire down a hole at the side of the stone and discovered a cavern underneath it. He then pushed down a rod attached to an underwater camera he used for looking at wrecks and discovered a chambered cairn with skulls against the edge.

“I have never really been that interested in archaeology, but when the rod went down into the chamber I could not leave it alone, my blood was pumping when I got a torch. Carole and I looked inside and saw the skull sitting in the murky water.

“It was amazing to think that we were looking at something that had not seen the light of day for 5,000 years. One of the skulls was looking straight at me. It set me back for a moment.”

Mr Mowatt and his fiancee Carole Fletcher, who owns the bistro, got in touch with Julie Gibbon, the Orkney county archeologist, who told them they had made a significant find.

“She was really blown away. She said it might be the missing part of the jigsaw – and they could discover a lot by excavating it.”

Ms Gibbon said she hoped Historic Scotland would support the excavation of the site – which is around 100 metres away from the Tomb of the Eagles, the chambered cairn where Orkney farmer Ronnie Simison found 348 human skulls in 1958.

Mr Simison and his family run a tourist attraction based around the 3,000 year old tomb – which they believe was a centre for sky burials – where dead bodies were exposed on the cliffs so the sea eagles could carry off their meat.

Seventy talons from sea eagles were found inside the tomb as well as 14 birds.

The archeologist said the new find was extremely significant. She said it could lead to new discoveries about the life and the death of some of Orkney’s earliest inhabitants.

Until the tomb is fully excavated it will not be known how extensive it might be.

There are at least four skulls inside – but the archeologist believes there may also be shards of pottery – or other artefacts which can be rescued before the water washes them away.

“Orkney has some of the best preserved archeology in Scotland and a lot of what we have has national and international significance.

“But it is not every day that you find the remains of people buried 4-5000 years ago.

“Because we have found them now we have the chance to excavate them in such a way that we can save more of the DNA within the bones. These sorts of techniques were not available 50 years ago.”

Ms Gibbon said the tomb needed to be examined quickly because of potential damage from water seeping in and out, but that said she had high hopes that the excavation would shed fresh light on neolithic society and ritual.

“I’m hoping Historic Scotland is going to support us. This is going to give us a lot of answers about neolithic life.”

Bistro owner Carole Fletcher said she was thrilled about the discovery. “I am really quite excited. I know there are a lot of archeological sites on Orkney but this is something special. I’m very interested to find out what is under there. It isn’t every day you find something like this.”

heritage.scotsman.com/heritage/Neolithic-tomb-found-in-garden.6561782.jp

The Boy with the Amber Necklace: Bronze Age teenager buried at Stonehenge had travelled to visit site from the Mediterranean

Every year, one million visitors flock to Stonehenge from around the world to gaze in wonder at its towering stones.

Now scientists say that the prehistorical monument was also attracting tourists from overseas thousands of years ago.

Today they revealed that a Bronze Age teenage boy buried at the stone circle around 1550BC was born and brought up in the Mediterranean.

The boy – aged 14 or 15 – had travelled to Britain from Spain, Italy, Greece or France, crossing the English Channel in a primitive wooden boat, they say.

Read more: dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1315897/Bronze-Age-teenager-buried-Stonehenge-travelled-visit-site-Mediterranean.html

(Apologies for link to the Daily Mail!)

wharfedaleobserver.co.uk/news/8410078.Archaeologists_find____tomb_of_tribal_king____hidden_on_moor/

Wharfedale and Airedale observer.

A prehistoric cairn circle which may have been the tomb of a tribal king has been identified on Askwith Moor.

The discovery at Snowden Crags was made by the same group of antiquarians who uncovered evidence of several other cairns, or ancient graveyards, on the moor earlier this year.

Antiquarian Paul Bennett – aided by friends Michala Douglas, Dave Hazell, Robert Hopkins, Paul Hornby and Geoff Watson in finding and examining the spot – is convinced the large circle is an important find.

He said: “The circle is still pretty much overgrown and requires a decent excavation. But it is, without doubt, a prehistoric cairn circle, probably Bronze Age, and appears to be the centre-piece in the middle of the Snowden Crags necropolis.

“For years, several of us have wondered whether or not a stone circle was the antiquity that was being described in the only singular reference of the place, mentioned almost in passing in Eric Cowling’s fine survey of this area – Rombald’s Way, 1946 – more than 50 years back. But despite various explorations on these moors over the last 20 to 30 years, Cowling’s curious singular reference has remained a mystery – until now.

“Thankfully now we have a good view of the place. The site was relocated during one of our exploratory walks assessing the extensive walling, settlement pattern and prehistoric graveyard that scatters the central and north-western section of the moors here.

“Michala had stumbled upon an average-sized ring of stones, between one and three feet tall, and about 13 yards across, with what seemed like an entrance on its southern side, seemingly untouched in the middle of the mass of decaying bracken.

“It took longer than expected to shift all the bracken, but eventually, once we’d done it, we were looking at a very distinct man-made circular monument, measuring 13 yards by 12 yards across and, at its highest point, not even three feet above the present ground level.

“But today’s ground level is certainly much higher than it was when these stones were first placed here.”

Mr Bennett, from Oakworth, now hopes someone will fund a proper archaeological dig at the site although, with a long waiting list and limited money available for such endeavours, he is not holding his breath.

He said: “What we have so far is this: a large flattened circle consisting of at least a dozen upright stones that define the edges. Between these are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of smaller stones.

“Inside the circle is a scattered mass of many small stones, typical of cairn material, filling the entirety of the monument, but the central region has been dug into at some time in the past.

“It sits on a flat plain of moorland amidst the Snowden Crags necropolis with around 30 other small cairns. But this particular site is several times larger than all the others, probably indicating that whoever was buried or cremated here was of some considerable importance in the tribal group – a local king, queen, tribal elder or shaman.”

More details about Paul’s local discoveries can be found at megalithix.wordpress.com.

From the BBC website-

Neanderthals were able to ‘develop their own tools‘

Neanderthals were keen on innovation and technology and developed tools all on their own, scientists say.

A new study challenges the view that our close relatives could advance only through contact with Homo sapiens.

Full story at
bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11408298

A 4000-year-old burial chamber in Perthshire has been described as Scotland’s “Valley of the Kings.”

Excavation of the site at Forteviot, just to the south of Perth, began in earnest last year and ever since it has been regarded as something of an archaeological jewel.

It was uncovered by the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (SERF) project, run by archaeologists from Glasgow, Aberdeen and Chester universities, and the results of the project’s first three years have just been published by Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.

Researchers first discovered the four-tonne capstone slab covering the burial chamber in 2008, but had to wait until last year to organise the resources to lift it.

The team hoped there was a burial chamber beneath, but had no idea it would prove to be one of the best preserved sites in Britain and almost undamaged by the passage of time.

The high quality of preservation proved to be “virtually unique” and archaeologists were soon claiming the early Bronze Age grave as a site of “exceptional importance.”

At the entrance, a stone sealed the grave so well that organic materials survived, with a leather bag, unidentified wooden objects and plant matter among the items discovered.

A distinctive bronze dagger with a gold hilt band was also found.

The plant matter was later identified as meadowsweet blossoms and was hailed as the first proof that people in the Bronze Age laid flowers upon the graves of loved ones.

Together with carvings on the underside of the capstone, the findings were also taken as evidence that the grave was that of a significant person.

The team returned this year to reveal more impressive burials and monuments, indicating that the site was a significant centre of ceremony and burial in the early prehistoric and the Pictish periods.

Excavations explored part of a massive Neolithic timber enclosure and demonstrated that the monument required over 200 huge timber posts, which needed a ramp to hoist them into position.

The work has shown that the site continued as a major burial location and ritual landscape into the Bronze Age.

The area has also revealed square barrow cemeteries from the Pictish period and although these burial mounds have not yet been dated, their form suggests they are early, demonstrating that people in the Dark Ages were using the prehistoric earthworks as a sacred place for burial in the period around the formation of the Pictish kingdom.

Perth MSP Roseanna Cunningham said the burial site helped to underline “the absolutely central importance of this part of Perthshire to the whole of Scotland.”

The full story, along with illustrations and photographs, is revealed in a new 60-page Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust publication, Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot Project Report 2006-2009.

The booklet is available from the trust’s office, Perth Museum and Art Gallery and the AK Bell Library.

thecourier.co.uk/Community/Heritage-and-History/article/5518/perthshire-burial-chamber-is-scotland-s-valley-of-the-kings.html

environmental survey for site on outskirts of Stornoway lodged with Scottish Government

Plans to build a controversial £200million windfarm on the outskirts of Stornoway have moved forward.

The developer – a partnership between Amec and French government-owned EDF Energy – wants to erect up to 50 giant turbines adjacent to a busy tourist route.

Now an environmental survey has been lodged with the Scottish Government, which has responsibility for deciding if the windfarm goes ahead due to the large scale of the scheme.

The proposal sparked fierce criticism after it emerged the community-owned Stornoway Trust signed a deal potentially committing crofters’ grazings to the huge development for decades.

Stornoway Trust factor Iain MacIver said: “I am delighted with the recent progress the application has made.

“This application will be respectful and mindful of the impact on the local environment and habitats and this has been foremost in our thoughts as we have submitted the application.

“Our development partners have listened and learned from their previous application and we are committed to engaging and consulting with the local community during this project. I believe the appointment of a community co-ordinator will be integral to this process as we aim to form an ongoing partnership with the local community.”

The environmental report covers all aspects of how the proposed windfarm would be assessed from an environmental perspective during the design, construction and operational phases.

It addresses surveys to include noise, visual impact, archaeology, ecology, tourism and hydrology. Bird studies started on the site last spring.

The current proposal follows the Scottish Government’s refusal to approve a controversial plan for a £700million chain of 181 huge turbines up the length of Lewis. Depending on the number of turbines which receive planning permission, up to £1.5million is being offered annually in community benefit after electricity starts generating in three or four years.

Read more: pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1932165?UserKey=#ixzz10QxDcFAx

I am not sure what has happened and will be making enquiries but the stone that may or may not have been a standing stone...has vanished.
It has been replaced by a modern granite upright with a messy road sign stuck in top of it....
I asked a couple of locals if they knew what had happened to the stone but I am no further forward.

Mr H