“Notts County Council has agreed in principle to increasing its funding for Creswell Crags Heritage Trust. The authority currently gives £38,000 to support one of Britain’s most important archaeological and geological sites. Over the past six years a £6m programme has been undertaken to improve facilities. The trust is bidding for money to develop a new visitor centre and museum to attract tourism. The county has agreed to put up its yearly contribution by £14,000 from 2009/2010. But the increase is subject to the trust creating a sound business plan and the funds being available.”
Latest News
January 29, 2007
January 25, 2007
Hobbit Cave Digs Set to Restart
From an article published on the BBC News web site on 25th January 2007:
Archaeologists who found the remains of human “Hobbits” have permission to restart excavations at the cave where the specimens were found.
Indonesian officials have blocked access to the cave since 2005, following a dispute over the bones.
But Professor Richard Roberts, a member of the team that found the specimens, told BBC News the political hurdles had now been overcome.
January 19, 2007
Treasure hunters – the new heroes of national heritage
Members of the public unearthed 57,566 ancient objects last year, according to the British Museum — an increase of 45 per cent on 2005. The items included a spectacular Viking hoard of 20 silver bracelets.
Two reports published yesterday show how finds by people walking, gardening, farming or actively searching for treasure provide a wealth of information about our past.
David Lammy, the Culture Minister, described metal detector users as “the unsung heroes of the UK’s heritage”.
The Times 18/01/07
January 16, 2007
Controversial plans to extend a quarry close to an ancient monument in North Yorkshire have been given the go-ahead despite opposition from campaigners.
Construction firm Tarmac can now extend its works at Ladybridge Farm, near the historic Thornborough Henges.
Campaigners had been fighting the plans for three years – fearing further work would damage the 5,000 year old site.
The henges – earth works – are believed to be one of the largest ritual gathering places of the Neolithic era.
A revised scheme was granted after the original bid was rejected in February.
Tarmac Estates manager Bob Nicholson said the decision had come as “a great relief” to the company’s employees, hauliers and others whose livelihoods rely on the Nosterfield quarry.
The approval of the reduced plans will allow Tarmac to take out sand and gravel on a site east of Nosterfield quarry at Ladybridge Farm on condition the company gives legal safeguards to protect the site.
Map showing location of Thornborough Henges
A Tarmac spokesman confirmed the firm’s appeal against refusal of its earlier application would be withdrawn.
George Chaplin, chairman of the campaign group Timewatch, said the petition, which included 10,000 names and addresses, was ruled inadmissible to the planning committee.
He said: “I find it very concerning with regards to democracy.
“We had hoped the council would incorporate the views of their voters in to the minerals planning strategy by now, but it hasn’t happened.
“We always hear about how apathetic the voters are meant to be, but when the voters actually put their names and addresses down on a petition it’s just ignored. What does this mean for democracy?”
Mr Chaplin added the campaign would continue and take its case to central government.
An English Heritage spokeswoman said the area between the Rivers Ure and Swale contains the most significant concentration of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments and related archaeological deposits in the north of England.
January 12, 2007
Clues found for Early Europeans
From an article published on the BBC News web site on 12th January 2007:
A genetic breakthrough could help clear up some long-standing mysteries surrounding our closest evolutionary relatives: the Neanderthals.
Scientists have reconstructed a chunk of DNA from the genome of a Neanderthal man who lived 38,000 years ago.
The genetic information they extracted from a thigh bone has allowed them to identify more than a million building blocks of Neanderthal DNA so far.
Program on BBC2 Monday 15th January at 9pm where a 3,000-year-old Scottish temple cave dedicated to dead children has been brought to life for the first time. See;
January 10, 2007
Hi everyone. I live just down the road in the castle-like house nearby to the Stones. Today (10th Jan 07) two men knocked on my door from English Heritage. They proceeded to tell me that a large tree on the site has a deadly fungus and it has to be removed. Although I have full access to the site, (as the woodland backs onto my front garden) I shamefully have never visited it.... so I wonder if removing the tree will make an impact on the ambience of the place??
January 9, 2007
The UCD School of Archaeology and Humanities Institute of Ireland, University College Dublin present a conference on the materiality of stone, with an evening reception and keynote address by Richard Bradley on Friday 9th March, and papers by invited
Speakers including specialists on stone monuments, lithic objects, rock art and quarrying, on Saturday 10th March.
Confirmed speakers include Lara Bacelar Alves, Stefan Bergh, Gabriel Cooney, Mark Edmonds, Andy Jones, Katina Lillios, Blaze O’Connor, Muiris O’Sullivan, Yvan Pailler, Colin Richards, Chris Scarre, Annelou Van Gijn, Aaron Watson, and Chris Gosden (Discussant). We welcome anyone with an interest in people’s engagement with stone, and more broadly in the theme of approaches to material culture, to attend.
Further details on registration, getting to UCD, maps, eating out, and accommodation are available on the conference website: ucd.ie/archaeology/materialitas
January 7, 2007
Call for an end to clearing of trees near Tara
Frank McDonald, Environment Editor
Irish Times
Saturday, January 6, 2007
The Save Tara campaign has urged Opposition TDs to call a halt to the
“premature clearing” of trees in the Gabhra Valley, east of the Hill of
Tara in Co Meath, and to reroute the M3 motorway “before we pave over
history, literature and archaeology”.
In a statement yesterday, it said that the public should visit the
sites where trees had been felled to verify – contrary to claims by its
proponents – that the motorway would be closer to Tara than the
existing N3.
Save Tara said that the tree-felling at Rath Lugh, near Lismullin, and
at Blundelstown “shows without doubt that the new road and the planned
interchange are closer to the top of the hill than the existing road”.
Noting that the Gabhra river runs beside the N3, it said that the
motorway would drive over it.
Gabhra means “white mare”, and horses are associated with the kingship
of Tara. Horse bones were found on the hill.
The valley was associated with the deaths of the Fianna. “Here is the
site of the Battle of Gabhra, where the King of Tara battled with the
Fianna and both he an the famous champion Oscar were killed along with
many others,” the statement said.
“Rath Lugh contains the name of the old Irish god Lugh, who took over
his kingship on the top of the Hill of Tara and is celebrated in the
Festival of Lúnasa. It was one of the outer defensive forts of Tara,
and the present route will cut it away from its natural centre. This
extraordinary rath would then sit at the edge of a motorway, completely
out of context.”
The statement said that three Tara experts had warned of this “rather
ignominious end for a once proud and important monument”. In a paper in
2004, Joe Fenwick, Conor Newman and Edel Bhreathnach said that the M3
would “destroy the spatial and visual integrity of the archaeological
and historical landscape of Tara as well as removing from it key
component monuments”.
visit tarawatch.org
Protesters bring temporary halt to work on new M3 motorway
Fiona Gartland
Irish Times
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Preparatory work for the new M3 motorway from Clonee to Kells in Co
Meath was temporarily disrupted yesterday when Save Tara campaigners
held a protest against the controversial road.
A handful of protesters entered a site at Baronstown, near
Dunshaughlin, where scrub, trees and soil were being removed. They sat
in front of machinery that was being used to move the scrub. They also
sat in the buckets of earth-moving equipment to prevent them from being
used.
Work on the site was halted and workers vacated the area in advance of
an inspection by health and safety consultants.
The action marked the beginning of a campaign against preparatory tree
felling along the route of the M3, including near national monument
Rath Lugh, the site of a promontory fort in the Tara-Skryne Valley and
at Ardsallagh, where a large number of trees have been removed.
Protesters argued that work other than archaeological excavation should
not be taking place before an oral hearing on the National Roads
Authority (NRA) draft tolling scheme for the motorway takes place later
this month and before contracts have been signed with Eurolink, who are
the preferred bidder for the project.
Eric Burke, a protester who lives close to Ardsallagh and whose garden
is included in a compulsory purchase order for the road, said the tree
felling began just before Christmas.
“They did not give us notice the trees would be coming down, they just
came in and did it,” he said.
“They haven’t finalised the tolling scheme yet, so why have they
started this?”
Local Sinn Féin councillor Joe Reilly has called for work on the route
of the M3 to cease as the public-private partnership contract has not
yet been signed.
However, a spokesman for the NRA said the preparatory work was not part
of the main contract to build the M3 but was being done ahead of the
site transfer and was being carried out by a firm sub-contracted to
Meath County Council.
He also said the draft tolling scheme was a separate issue from the
construction of the motorway and the motorway could still go ahead
regardless of the outcome of the oral hearing.
“The gap can be filled in other ways,” he said.
On yesterday’s protest, the spokesman said the contractor had taken
appropriate measures.
“There was no need to cause controversy, the decision was to make sure
no one was put in harm’s way, even if they were willing to put
themselves in harm’s way. The mature stance was not to engage and to
move to work elsewhere,” he said.
“That is what the contractor did. A health and safety consultant was
called in and the gardaí were informed of the situation, but because it
did not escalate they did not need to come out.”
10:28 Wednesday January 3rd 2007
unison.ie/breakingnews/index.php3?ca=9&si=103913
Opponents of the new M3 motorway in Co Meath have mounted a demonstration in the Tara-Skryne valley today to protest at the felling of trees along the route of the proposed road.
The protestors are accusing the National Roads Authority of tearing down mature trees at several sites on the route, including the historic Rath Lugh area.
The National Roads Authority has defended the work, saying it is part of normal preparations for the motorway project.
The authority also says it is currently the best time of year to carry out the work without disturbing the local wildlife.
Motorway opponents protest against felling of Tara trees (Ireland)
Motorway opponents protest against felling of Tara trees
10:28 Wednesday January 3rd 2007
https://www.unison.ie/breakingnews/index.php3?ca=9&si=103913
Opponents of the new M3 motorway in Co Meath have mounted a demonstration in the Tara-Skryne valley today to protest at the felling of trees along the route of the proposed road.
The protestors are accusing the National Roads Authority of tearing down mature trees at several sites on the route, including the historic Rath Lugh area.
The National Roads Authority has defended the work, saying it is part of normal preparations for the motorway project.
The authority also says it is currently the best time of year to carry out the work without disturbing the local wildlife
See images at https://www.tarawatch.org
See also:
Irish Times: Protesters bring temporary halt to work on new M3 motorway 4 Jan
Irish Independent: Tara protesters disrupt work on M3 4 Jan
Irish News: M-way protestors vow to save Tara heritage site 4 Jan
Irish Times: Call for an end to clearing of trees near Tara 6 Jan
To sign our petition please go to https://new.petitiononline.com/hilltara
January 6, 2007
The planned M6/Heysham road link will run straight through the small village of Torrisholme, causing major disruption to the residents and will pass a few hundred metres from Torrishome Barrow.
The County Council’s planning application admits that there will be “moderate to slight adverse effects” upon the site and that there will increased visual and noise disprution. The heart of village will be cut in 2 and houses which once looked out over green fields will have a 4 lane highway passing by their bedroom windows.
As the road passes through the village (and cuts straight through the grounds of the College where I work) it will be raised above the current road level, thus impacting upon the views from the top of the Barrow which allow a 360 degree view of the area, across to Lancaster and Morecambe Bay.
Locally, few people believe that this monster road will benefit the local area, our MP (Labour) has called it a “white elephant” and the impact it will have upon the life of the residents and the local FE College will be huge.
We have few prehistoric sites of note in this area as it is (the Romans were busy round here!) and the Barrow isn’t particularly renowned but this is just another example of big business and government thinking the “little people” don’t count. There is huge opposition to the road locally as we all know it is LOCAL traffic which causes the problems and this link will not ease any of this.
Local campaigners have set up a lobbying group – details can be found here: heyshamm6link.info/
December 28, 2006
A Bronze Age logboat which had lain unseen in the River Tay for 3,000 years is being studied by archaeologists.
It is hoped the find will yield important new information about how human ancestors lived.
Although the boat, made from the trunk of a single oak, was found five years ago, it was only lifted out of the Tay during the summer.
Repairs carried out on the 30ft vessel have already given experts an insight into Bronze Age technology.
The boat, which would have been powered by up to 12 men, is being studied by archaeologists in Edinburgh who have claimed it to be one of the best examples of its kind in Scotland.
Experts have also been intrigued about the discovery of sulphur in the wood.
Noel Fojut, of heritage agency Historic Scotland, said: “There are very advanced techniques now for analysing the material, such as what was used to make a repair in the middle of the boat.
“We can now do a lot with very small samples, so the boat looks just as it did before.”
The logboat currently has to be kept wet to prevent drying out and cracking.
However, once the research has finished, it will be injected with chemicals and freeze dried to preserve it.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6213857.stm
December 8, 2006
A dog proved to be a canine Indiana Jones by finding a stone axe head dating back thousands of years in Aberdeenshire.
Rowan the inquisitive black labrador unearthed the Neolithic find at the Drum Estate.
She dropped it on owner Alec Gordon’s foot and he took it for examination, with early analysis estimating it as perhaps 6,000 years old.
Mr Gordon said: “I wonder if she knew it was something special.”
Mr Gordon was on a woodland walk with his dogs when Rowan made the unusual find.
He told BBC Scotland: “I was walking through the wood and we arrived at a spot where we normally stop. One of them dropped a stone which she’d been carrying.
“I took it back to Drum Castle and saw it had edges”.
“I gave it to the local National Trust for Scotland (NTS) archaeologist who almost immediately confirmed that it was Neolithic, 4-6,000 years old, and pretty special.”
Experts say the axe head is thousands of years old
Shannon Fraser, regional archaeologist for NTS in the north east of Scotland, said: “I think it’s really exciting because we have not had finds from Drum Estate from this period.”
She said of Rowan: “I think she should become my honorary assistant”.
Mr Duncan said of his dog: “I wonder if she knew it was something special because when she dropped it she dropped it on my foot”.
“It’s not every day you get an axe dropped on your foot.”
December 2, 2006
“By the agrarian revolution of the third millennium BC Stonehenge was already an important site, but its extension about 2300BC was clearly intended by its guardians to make it a major pilgrimage attraction. This needed some sensational draw, and what could be more sensational than a henge composed of the fabled Preseli bluestones, fount of a hundred holy wells? It was worth any Olympian expense.
The medieval historian Geoffrey of Monmouth told of a belief in the healing power of Stonehenge’s stones, brought by Arthur’s magician, Merlin, “from Ireland”, where stones have long had magic properties. Geoffrey’s stories are ridiculed, but his folk memory might contain a grain of truth. Could the appeal of the bluestones lie not in ancestor worship or astronomical ritual but in the power these objects were thought to hold back in Preseli? In his new book, Stonehenge: Biography of a Landscape, Darvill points out that the arrangement of the stones at Stonehenge even reflects their geological location back in Wales.”
More at – guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1961517,00.html
November 23, 2006
Ancient Britain in its European Context (AHOB 2)
“The second phase of the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project (AHOB) is funded to run until 2010, thanks to a grant by the Leverhulme Trust. The project, which started in October 2001, has made groundbreaking discoveries dating human occupation of Britain back as far as 700,000 years. Phase two of the AHOB project (AHOB2) will continue to add data on the earliest human colonisations of Britain, but the project will also carry out more comparative studies in continental Europe.
The first year of the AHOB2 project will include an attempt to recover DNA from a fragment of jawbone found at Kent’s Cavern in Devon. This will help determine whether it is a modern human as previously believed, or a late Neanderthal. With a newly estimated date of 35,000, this fossil lies right at the time when modern humans could have first encountered the Neanderthals in western Europe.”
More at -
nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/ahob/index_2.html
and info on phase 1 of the AHOB project at -
November 18, 2006
orkneyjar.com/archaeology/ditch2006.htm filled with water [only partial view]
November 16, 2006
Neanderthal DNA secrets unlocked
From an article by Paul Rincon, published on the BBC News web site on 15th November 2006:
A genetic breakthrough could help clear up some long-standing mysteries surrounding our closest evolutionary relatives: the Neanderthals.
Scientists have reconstructed a chunk of DNA from the genome of a Neanderthal man who lived 38,000 years ago.
The genetic information they extracted from a thigh bone has allowed them to identify more than a million building blocks of Neanderthal DNA so far.
November 3, 2006
thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1626742006
Scotland’s magical ancient circles leave Stonehenge standing
AURA SABADUS
TOURISTS exploring Britain’s ancient spiritual heritage are better off visiting Scotland’s stone circles than “noisy, overcrowded” Stonehenge, according to research by the National Geographic Traveller. In a survey of the world’s best-known heritage sites, the magazine described the famous Megalithic attraction in the south-west of England as a “mess”, lacking “charm and magic”.
Instead, the magazine recommends the unspoilt stone circles in the north of Scotland which, despite growing visitor numbers, remain unspoiled by noise and intrusion. The researchers’ verdict on Stonehenge said: “What a mess! Compelling... over-loved... certainly the current experience lacks magic. Crowd control is a good thing, but over-regulation has made the visitor’s experience rather disappointing; charm is gone. Good interpretation and so impressive... but you can get a similar impact from lots of other stone circles, especially up north in Scotland, without all the noise and intrusion.”
Last night, Scottish tourism bosses seized on the comments, claiming that the protected Neolithic monuments of Orkney, maintained an “awe-inspiring” feel which other world heritage sites had long lost. The islands’ 5,500-year-old prehistoric heartland, which was granted World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1999, includes some of the best-preserved archaeological sites in Europe. These include the Ring of Brodgar – a massive ceremonial enclosure and stone circles, and the nearby Standing Stones of Stenness, Barnhouse Village and the tomb of Maeshowe.
Carly Simpson, the marketing executive of VisitOrkney, said: “Although the site is visited by thousands of people each year, the stone circles still maintain a magical, untouched charm, which, sadly, some other World Heritage Sites have lost due to high visitor numbers.”
Researchers at the National Geographic Traveller surveyed 94 World Heritage Sites, as varied as the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, the Pyramids of Giza and the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. The city of Bath rated 78 points, putting it seventh in the overall list. Stonehenge scored only 56 points out of 100, better than the lowest mark – 39 for Kathmandu Valley – but well short of Norway’s West Fjords on 87 points.
A spokeswoman for English Heritage said yesterday : “The site has lost some of its magic, but the fact that it is the only UK World Heritage Site to have been nominated as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World is testimony to its universal and enduring appeal.”
A spokeswoman for Historic Scotland said: “We are delighted the survey of World Heritage Sites recognises the importance of Scotland’s stone circles.” The Heart of Neolithic Orkney and its stone circles is one of four World Heritage Sites in Scotland – the others are the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, New Lanark and the island of St Kilda, all recognised for cultural and natural significance.
UNSPOILT REFLECTION OF ANCIENT TIMES
ORKNEY’S stone circles are Britain’s best-preserved ritual centre, reflecting the workings of a prehistoric civilisation unspoilt by urban and industrial development. The site includes a series of related monuments which fall into two complexes some 6km apart.
The Ring of Brodgar comprises a massive ceremonial enclosure and stone circles, dating from between 2500 and 2000BC. Around it are at least 13 prehistoric burial mounds and a stone setting.
Close by are the Standing Stones of Stenness, Barnhouse Village and the tomb of Maeshowe – one of the finest architectural achievements of prehistory.
The Unesco World Heritage site, Stonehenge, is “a destination in trouble”, a new survey has found.
The National Geographic Traveler magazine marked the site 56 out of 100 against criteria including historic preservation and tourism management.
Survey panellists said Stonehenge was a “mess”, “over-loved” and “crowded”.
English Nature, which looks after the site said it was “actively seeking to revamp its visitor facilities” and improve the near-by A303 road.
More than 400 tourism experts rated 94 World Heritage sites in the third survey of its kind for National Geographic.
The lowest ranking destination was given to the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, which scored only 39 out of 100.
In a statement, English Nature said: “It is true that the site has lost some its magic, but the fact is that it is the only UK World Heritage Site to have been nominated as one the New Seven Wonders of the World.”
It is competing against other iconic buildings and structures, ranging from the Statue of Liberty to the Great Wall of China, in a global hunt for the New Seven Wonders of the World.
The poll is being organised by the Swiss-based group New7Wonders and the winners will be announced in July 2007.
Last year, planning permission was refused for a new visitor centre at Stonehenge but English Nature plans to appeal against the decision in December.
It also said that the much-needed improvements to the A303 – which have been endorsed at a public inquiry were now subject to a government review as a result of cost increases.
October 30, 2006
The Ringlemere Bronze Age cup will be on display at the Dover Museum, Kent as from October 17th 2006 until the end of February 2007 and will be displayed alongside the permanent exhibit, the Dover Bronze Age Boat. Go to dovermuseum.co.uk and click on the ‘news’ link for further information ...
October 24, 2006
After years without any books on the Recumbent Stone Circles of Aberdeenshire, we will get two in the next couple of years – to quote Adam Welfare at RCAHMS:
“You may be interested to learn that we are presently working on two
books about Aberdeenshire. The most advanced is a detailed multi-period
study of the archaeology of the Don Valley, which we trust will be
published sometime this coming year (2007). This contains an overview of
the Recumbent Stone Circles and related stone rings, etc., within the
survey area. In the case of the RSCs, the Don Valley embraces about 50%
of the known examples.The cover may even feature a Hi-Spy shot of Easter
Aquhorthies . . .”
As a result of collecting so much info on RSC’s during the course of researching this book, they decided to put it to good use and:
“because such a high proportion
of the known sites had been surveyed in the course of that study, we
decided to examine the remainder to the north and the south of this core
distribution and produce a separate volume devoted to the Recumbent
Stone Circles themselves. There were many reasons why this seemed a good
idea, not the least being that the class, itself, was long overdue a
review, as almost 150 sites have been attributed to it rightly or
wronglyover the years. This is likely to appear in about 12 to 18 months
time (2008).
Although the RSCs form the heart of this volume, it has been
necessarily to discuss them in relation to the many similar monument
types in their immediate neighbourhood and also further afield. Part of
the study is also devoted to a review of the development of the ideas
that have gradually accreted concerning their origin and purpose.”
I can’t wait! He also told me that full use of colour will be made throughout, in both photos and graphics, so they should be fantastic books. They will most likely appear under publication of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
As with all publishing, the dates are subject to revision, but roll on 2008!
October 22, 2006
The museum at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, near Dereham, currently has an exhibition called ‘Norfolk’s First Farmers’. Items on display include a famous 11,500-year-old antler harpoon used for hunting, and which was dredged up from the sea floor north of Cromer in 1931, and a bronze-age cauldron.
A demonstration of how Stone Age delicacies were prepared is taking place at the museum from next Monday to Friday.
For information about these events contact the museum on 01362 860563 or visit museums.norfolk.gov.uk
October 17, 2006
An airship has flown over Stonehenge to celebrate the 5,000-year-old landmark’s inclusion on a shortlist to decide the seven wonders of the modern world.
Fifty robed druids performed a ceremony inside the circle to mark the event.
Stonehenge, the only British entry, is up against iconic buildings and structures ranging from the Statue of Liberty to the Great Wall of China.
The global poll is being organised by the Swiss-based group New7Wonders. The winners will be announced in July 2007.
The New7Wonders winner will be chosen by the public.
Bernard Webber, New7Wonders founder, said: “I think it (Stonehenge) has great potential because of its simplicity. It’s like a mirror for humanity.”
“Stonehenge’s beauty is also its environment which, if the roads were not here, would be even better. I think it has a good chance.”
Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, is one of 21 finalists.
Some 20m votes have already been received, including many from India for the Taj Mahal, China for the Great Wall and Peru for Machu Picchu.
But European voters have been slower off the mark, said Tia Viering, a spokeswoman for New7Wonders.
The news of Stonehenge’s entry has been greeted with enthusiasm.
“It should win simply because it’s prehistoric. It’s 5,000 years old and was built before written language, before metal tools and before the invention of the wheel,” said Dave Batchelor, of Stonehenge.