Today Radio Orkney reports that a great number of Mesolithic tools have come to light, though presently this is thought to represent a refurbishment workshop rather than a factory per se. They urgently require volunteers to sieve the whole of the spoil heap for microliths missed by the main thrust of the excavation
Latest News
June 21, 2007
June 17, 2007
English Heritage is urging as many people as possible to vote for Stonehenge to ensure it becomes one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
“Stonehenge represents something particularly special in our nation’s history, ” said Mr Carson.
But not special enough to warrant a special approach to it’s problems, eh?
June 15, 2007
English Heritage’s Appeal against refusal of planning permission for its new Stonehenge visitor centre has been allowed and planning permission granted by the Secretary of State, subject to 58 conditions and a Section 106 Agreement between Salisbury District Council and the applicant. This is absolutely no surprise to objectors to a scheme that is part of what has become a very expensive Stonehenge Project led by the Government acting as both promoter and decision-maker....
June 14, 2007
Roche Approves Resumption of Work at Tara
rte.ie/news/2007/0614/tara.html
“It will be the first controversy to hit the new Government, as the Green Party has long held that the route of the M3 is wrong.”
But they’ll get over it no doubt.....
June 10, 2007
Hello all, I was looking at the route of the by-pass and was very concerned about how it would affect the circle. I got a reply to my email to Aberdeen councils Cliff Buchan who is the Aberdeen Western Periferal Route (AWPR) assistant managing agent. He said the stones were unaffected.
He sent me a plan and while the stones are not in the new route they will be very close. It looks like the road will be sunk in cut.
Is there anyone out there with the expertise who can give me a better idea of how the stones will be affected or is it just wait and see?Thanks Alex
June 7, 2007
Iceman 'bled to death on glacier'
Massive blood loss from a ruptured artery killed the 5,300-year-old Alpine “Iceman” known as Oetzi, tests confirm.
A Swiss-Italian team says the arrow that struck him in the left shoulder slit the artery under his collar bone.
June 4, 2007
Through the carefully trimmed foliage, St Paul’s majestic dome appears no larger than a thumbnail.
Seen from 10 miles away, London’s iconic cathedral seems to hover in the distance like a mirage, shimmering in the heat.
This unique “viewing corridor” from King Henry VIII’s Mound, down a specially maintained tree-lined avenue, has been a feature of Richmond Park in south-west London, since the early 1700s.
With the surrounding modern buildings carefully hidden by the holly hedging, this “key hole” view of the 18th Century landmark from the park is like a window to London’s past.
But heritage campaigners fear new planning laws – introduced by Mayor Ken Livingstone and rubber-stamped by Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly – mean Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece could end up crowded out by sky-scrapers.
Under the new planning rules, the so-called viewing corridor has been narrowed from a width of 150m to 70m.
May 31, 2007
I have spent the last few months battering away at the local Heritage departments in an attempt to improve the knowledge and awareness of the locals and to do something about the pretty sad state of the monuments around the Medway.
Today I was told they have received a Lottery grant and are starting on it next year! This will probably mean an excavation at Kit’s Coty, and the removal of those railings once and for all, follow-ups to other local finds [and probably more tombs] and a kind of marketing campaign to help protect them.
I suggested some other, more specific targets, which they seemed unaware of, and it could mean the start of an ongoing project to unearth and record so much that has been lost to farming.
With the tallest megalithic chambers and the two oldest causewayed enclosures in the country at Sheppey and Cliffsend, plus another on the Medway at Burham that is so far undated, it looks like Prehistoric Kent might finally be put back on the map.
May 26, 2007
no pic of rock art yet but
orkneyjar.com/archaeology/harrayearthhouse2.htm
May 25, 2007
Competition for Young Archaeologists
The Young Archaeologist Club have launched their annual ‘Young Archaeologist of the Year’ competition – it’s open to anyone aged 8-16.
You have to create a trail that lets people know about the history or archaeology of the area where you live. The theme this year is ‘Monuments and Memorials’ – so where better to do a bit of research than TMA, I ask you.
More information at
britarch.ac.uk/yac/yac_yaya_comp_2007.pdf
The closing date is 31st August 2007.
May 21, 2007
“Keen historians are being invited to help a team of Exeter University archaeologists uncover secrets of an ancient Bronze Age and medieval site.Members of the public are invited to the dig to investigate the remains of a medieval building near an old manor house.
The team have worked at the site, in Stokenham, near Kingsbridge, for two years and they will reopen it again from July 2 to 24. Last year’s excavation unearthed a number of finds including the remains of a medieval manor house and Bronze Age pottery.
Project director Penny Cunningham said that anyone who wanted to help would not need any particular skills. “They will be asked to sort or wash finds like pottery and will help analyse them,” she said.
“We want to encourage people to think about ownership of the past, especially among people who have been living in the area for a long time.”
The team will work from 9am to 5pm every day except Fridays. Anyone who wants to lend should just turn up.
There are open days on the weekends of July 7 and 8, 14 and 15 and 21 and 22.
Children of all ages are welcome to participate in the junior archaeologist workshop days on July 7, 14 and 21 from 10am to 3pm.
The dig is in the field immediately behind Stokenham parish church.
For more information contact Dr Williams, Department of Archaeology, Laver, University of Exeter, EX4 4QE, or [email protected] . uk, or call 01392 262491.”
from ‘thisisexeter.co.uk’ 19th May.
“Sinn Féin said today it would seek to have the controversial section of the M3 motorway diverted away from the Hill of Tara if in government.
Outlining the party’s environmental policies, Dublin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh said: “The current Government’s track record on protecting Ireland’s archaeological and architectural heritage is disgraceful.”
Mr Ó Snodaigh said: “Under the so-called Environment Minister Dick Roche, they have pursued a relentless, no-holds barred campaign of destruction, as they seek to plough roads and motorways through historic sites, allow the sale of priceless historic artefacts, which are rightly the property of the Irish nation, and neglect and let fall into ruin key historic buildings which should be promoted as major tourist attractions.”
He said that while Sinn Féin fully supports the upgrading of the country’s road this does not have to be done at the cost of the wholesale destruction of the environment or precious heritage. ”
from ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0519/breaking39.htm
Archaeologists have discovered traces of ancient remains at Edinburgh Castle during preparation work for the construction of a new visitor centre.
Experts said borehole samples revealed debris dating from before the Iron Age, more than 2,000 years ago.
Historic Scotland’s Peter Yeoman said the finds were “truly invaluable” because they helped to explain the site’s “lost history”.
Edinburgh Castle is one of Scotland’s top tourist attractions.
Mr Yeoman, a senior archaeologist with the castle’s owners Historic Scotland, said that it was certain that the front of the area where the castle now stands was encircled by two massive ditches as long ago as the Iron Age.
Inside the ditches are layers of remains including pottery and food debris built up over several centuries.
Edinburgh Castle stands high above the city centre on top of an extinct volcanic plug.
May 16, 2007
Discount Megalithomania Conference Tickets
Megalithomania are offering a limited amount of £65
tickets (usually £80) for their cutting-edge look at
the megaliths of antiquity this weekend in
Glastonbury. You must quote ‘MEGA-MODERN ANTIQUARIAN-OFFER’ when
calling 01458 831800 to get the discount. Plus day
tickets for £40 are available on the door. The venue
is the Assembly Rooms on the High Street of
Glastonbury on 19th – 20th May
“When we know our past, our present & future reveals itself with joy”
May 15, 2007
A newly renovated bunkhouse set in a converted skittle alley and attached
to a real ale pub has been leaving guests ‘bowled over’ in Wiltshire.
Recently opened YHA Clyffe Pypard is conveniently located right next to the Goddard Arms and has already welcomed a steady stream of visitors from all over the world.
Another souterrain has come to light in Harray (see Dale) in ploughing a field for barley . Historic Scotland has given a 3 week grant for its excavation, no visitors allowed. With it a hole in the same field reminiscent of that found by the South Keigar earthhouse in Deerness, Orkney.
orkneyjar.com/archaeology/harrayearthhouse.htm
2nd week on Corrigall earthhouse :-
orkneyjar.com/archaeology/harrayearthhouse2.htm
May 14, 2007
IanHBT to run from Callanais to Cairnpapple for Leukaemia Research
Commencing on May 26 , Ian Campbell of Edinburgh will run between Callanias on Lewis and Cairnpapple in the Bathgate Hills in West Lothian covering a distance of 260 miles in 9 days to raise money for Leukaemia Research .
Ian says ” This journey takes me from my favourite stones to the circle closest to the village where I was born. i have been lucky enough to visit Callanias on a number of occasions and generally manage to spend the solstice at Cairnpapple. Leukaemia research do enormous good in the fight against cancer , if you would like to support me on this journey , please visit www.justgiving.com/iancampbellhbt ”
ROBERT TEMPLE SPEAKING IN GLASTONBURY
ROBERT TEMPLE, bestselling author of ‘The Sirius Mystery’ will be exclusively talking about his discoveries of prehistoric quartz crystal and glass lenses that date back to the megalithic era at Glastonburys MEGALITHOMANIA conference. The event takes place at The Assembly Rooms on May 19th & 20th. Temple will be speaking at 6pm on the Saturday.
Temple will present evidence that magnifying lenses, telescopes, and optical surveying techniques existed from the time of Old Kingdom Egypt, with magnifying crystals known even in Predynastic times, circa 3300 BC. Over 400 ancient optical artifacts which were precision-ground or cast have been discovered by Professor Temple proving the exact alignments of ancient monuments were made possible by the use of crystal and glass lenses.
The mythical dimension of ‘light technology’ will also be explained, such as the true meaning of the myth of Prometheus, based on ‘fire from heaven’ produced by light beams focused by magnifying lenses and mirrors. Professor Temple will be speaking at 6pm on Saturday 19th May at the conference.
Tickets for his talk will also be available on the door for £6. Tickets are £80 for the conference. £40 day tickets will be available on door. Individual talk tickets will be available on the door for £6 each.
Call 01458 831800 for tickets and more details or visit the newly launched
megalithomania.co.uk and myspace.com/megalithomania
May 11, 2007
Canadian WoodHenge found.
During a remote-sensing survey of the Fort Ancient Earthworks in 2005, Jarrod Burks of Ohio Valley Archaeological Consultants discovered a circular pattern in the soil that stretched nearly 200 feet in diameter.
Fort Ancient is a massive earthwork in Warren County that was built more than 2,000 years ago by the Hopewell culture.
Robert Riordan, an anthropology professor at Wright State University, directed excavations there in 2006 and last month completed a report on his initial explorations of the circles.
Dubbed the “Moorehead Circle” by Riordan in honor of pioneering archaeologist Warren K. Moorehead, the area was a “woodhenge,” defined by a double ring of posts.
The outer ring consisted of large posts about 9 inches in diameter set about 30 inches apart in slip trenches filled with rock. The inner ring had similar-size posts set about 15 feet inside the outer ring.
Riordan estimates that the outer ring would have held more than 200 posts, each 10 to 15 feet tall. Inner posts likely were shorter.
At the center of the circle was a
2.5-foot-deep pit that was 15 feet long by 13 feet wide and filled with red, burned soil. The pit was ringed by a shallow trough in which large timbers of red oak had been burned. Excavators found little ash, so the burned soil must have been brought in.
A radiocarbon date on charcoal from a remnant trace of a post suggests it was built between 40 BC and AD 130. Burned timber fragments from the pit were dated AD 250 to AD 420.
The different ages suggest to Riordan that a “sequence of ceremonial events” took place at this location. The two rings of posts and the pit might be related, or they might represent three separate rituals.
With less than 5 percent of the circle investigated, Riordan warns, our understanding of it remains tentative.
“We avidly look forward to subsequent field seasons, new data and altered perspectives,” he wrote.
More information about the
excavation of the Moorehead Circle can be found on the Ohio Historical Society’s archaeology blog:
www.ohio-archaeology.blogspot.com/.
Bradley T. Lepper is curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society.
Engineers are to re-open a tunnel that goes deep inside the ancient monument of Silbury Hill in Wiltshire.
May 6, 2007
Plans for vast irreversible changes to the surroundings of our national icon “in time for the Olympics” are fully in place. Most heritage and archaeological bodies, with the extraordinary exception of English Heritage, are totally opposed to them. Yet final government confirmation may be imminent......
the rest of the article can be read here;
May 2, 2007
Press Release;
The Campaign to Save Tara is very pleased at today’s announcement that
construction is to be stopped on the proposed route of the M3 through
the Tara/Skreen Valley. Under the National Monuments Act the
archaeologists contracted by the NRA were forced to declare a likely
National Monument has been discovered. It had been the Save Tara
Campaign that first alerted the National Museum to the potential
significance of the Liamullen site, a wood henge which is within 100mts
of the Rath Lugh monument, and directly within the path of the proposed
motorway. It is known that the Museum immediately contacted the NRA
seeking information on the find. Henges are generally used for
ceremonial activity and this directly links the Valley with the top of
the Hill of Tara where a similar henge was found by the Discovery
Programme archaeologists Conor Newman and Joe Fenwick.
This Government does not exactly have a stellar record in dealing with
heritage or archaeology and the amended National Monument Act of 2004
gives the Minister permission to destroy this precious area. The
Campaign would ask again that any construction by held off until the
election is over and a new Government may be put in place.
The Lismullen site had not been accurately identified during the initial
archaeological survey of the route and the discovery of a henge almost
80mts in diameter and comprising of two concentric circles caused
surprise to the archaeological contractors and near-apoplexy at the
National Roads Authority. It would appear that there are underground
passages associated with the henge.
Michael Canney from the campaign said: ‘Everybody knew that this route
was destined to destroy the landscape of Tara if it went ahead. The
advice of national and international experts was ignored. This route was
chosen because it was favored by local politicians and businessmen. That
this monument has been discovered is more by accident than by design and
many other sites that were of significance have been hastily and
inadequately surveyed. We now can on the Government and the NRA to
abandon this route – admit they have made a serious mistake and act
properly and positively to protect our heritage.‘
Mr. Canney continued: ‘Minister Cullen and the NRA must now admit that
this road is wholly inappropriate for the landscape of Tara and initiate
a review of the whole project. The people of Meath deserve to have a
decent rail transport system and the line to Navan should be re-opened
immediately. This road would have done nothing to create local jobs, and
in fact would have exacerbated the multitude of problems faced by the
people of Meath regarding planning and transport.‘
Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin
Campaign to Save Tara
April 30, 2007
peterboroughnow.co.uk/news?articleid=2738561
The plans for the PREL’s waste plant were recommended for refusal by Peterborough City Council after widespread opposition. (This included fears that Flag Fen’s water levels would be adversely affected).
However, the final decision lies with the Secretary of State for Energy and the Government has already indicated that it wants Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to take 5.7 million tonnes of London’s waste by 2021. PREL has claimed it will only take waste from a 35-mile radius, and the plans will go before a public inquiry later this year when Government-appointed planning inspectors will make the final decision.
An archaeological dig is currently being undertaken at the site.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6591483.stm
The concrete blocks of the Long Man got a fresh coat of whitewash at the weekend – the first time since 1999.
The article credits this mammoth feat to both the Territorial Army and the local morris dancers. I’m assuming these are mutually exclusive groups, but who knows.
April 25, 2007
From BBC News:
Archaeologists have published findings of an important Bronze Age settlement at Manchester Airport.
The dig, which was part of the multi-million pound development of Runway 2, uncovered Early Bronze Age artefacts at Oversley Farm in Styal.
The finds – which include flint arrowheads, pottery and tools – will go on display at Chester Museum.
Experts at the dig said they had made a ‘significant discovery’ about pre-historic life in Cheshire.
The site is the first excavated example of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age life in the county and the details have been published in a report by archaeologist Dan Garner.
Pottery pieces
The artefacts were discovered during runway redevelopment works
Speaking about the finds, Mr Garner said: “The building of the second runway at Manchester Airport created a unique opportunity to excavate a 3km long corridor.
“We made some exciting finds such as Bronze Age pottery, a tanged flint arrowhead and other tools and, of course, the footprint of the farmstead.
“We were very pleased to discover a prehistoric site of regional significance.”
The artefacts have been radiocarbon dated to confirm their authenticity.
Manchester Airport supported the archaeological investigations as part of a £17m package of environmental works.
The report is available from British Archaeological Reports (B.A.R).