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DIVERS face a desperate race against time to recover 8,000-year-old artefacts from the bottom of The Solent before they are lost forever.

iwcp.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1252&ArticleID=1310963

Stuart Piggot and Derek Simpson did an exemplary excavation in 1965 , influenced by contemporary research on English stone circles they concluded the sequence at the site was a timber setting and shallow ditch was replaced by two successive stone settings. Pottery associations were dated to the Neolithic . A recent paper by Richard Bradley and Alison Sheridan , “Croft Moraig and the Chronology of Stone Circles ” has transformed the earlier thinking. Thanks to the “Dating Cremated Bones Project” from the National Museum of Scotland 26 sherds of the 29 finds are now thought to be of a Late Bronze Age date , Similar sherds have been associated with cremated bone from the stone circles at Kintore and Old Keig and ring cairn at Gownie all giving a  date of approx. 2800 BP. The pottery that was previously dated from the Neolithic probably relates to an episode of activity at the site but before any monument building .
The revised structural sequence is now .Phase 1)Outer stone circle Phase 2) Central post circle . Phase 3) Shallow ditched enclosure on site of the earlier post circle. Phase 4) The oval stone setting . All of the above phases have parallels elsewhere e.g. timber settings inside existing stone circles are found at Stannon Down Cornwall , Ogden Down Dorset and Strichen RSC . One of the implications of these findings is that we may have to rethink the Burl suggestion that the last stone circles were built around 1500 BC and abandoned by 1200 BC .

An interesting article from this months Archaeology magazine
archaeology.org/0601/abstracts/mongolia.html

More bits and bobs on the Mongolian ‘Deer Stones’ here
si.edu/scmre/educationoutreach/acp2005.htm
mongolart.mn/history_fine_art.html
doncroner.com/2005/09/mongolia-khovd-aimag-bayanzurkh-bulgan_29.html
smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issues02/nov02/object.html

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4589638.stm

The two men (one a giant 6’6” compared to the other who was 5’2”) met their sticky ends (no pun intended) in bogs at Clonycavan and Croghan in the Iron Age. They were both found in 2003.
There will be a ‘Timewatch’ programme about them on the BBC on 20th January.

Archaeologists are currently studying the hoard found at Silk Mills Bridge near Taunton in the summer, before the items go on public display.

“Steven Membery, archaeologist for Somerset County Council, said of the site: “It appears to be an island in a large river. It was used seasonally probably for hunting ducks and fish. It’s rare to find hunter gathering communities like this anywhere so this is an important discovery.”

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/4576710.stm

northamptontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=255&ArticleID=1300655

So this is how it should be done – with Chinook helicopters.

Andy Philip 09:00 – 22nd December 2005

Fires were lit at an Aberdeenshire stone circle last night to mark the winter solstice.

The Breemie stones, at Broomhill, by Lyne of Skene, attracted people for quiet reflection as they watched the sun set on the shortest day of the year.

Organisers of the gathering asked people to take along wood to fuel four fires.

Jason Schroeder, who erected the stone circle, advertised it on his “www.sacredway.co.uk” website.

He urged visitors to write down experiences they did not want to live through again on a piece of paper before burning the messages in the central fire.

After destroying the messages, they were encouraged to add their wood to the flames to connect with Mother Nature.

Mr Schroeder, originally from South Africa, said around 3,500 revellers turned up at his previous Summer Solstice at the stones.

More...

Source: Press and Journal

Link: condense.it/northscotland

The things people will do to make Daventry interesting.....

DAVENTRY District Council has agreed unusual plans to build a ‘stone henge’ at the top of a famous landmark near Crick.

The council last week debated plans to install four 10-tonne rocks at compass points around Cracks Hill to create a unique stone circle about 30 metres from the top of the hill.

daventrytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=696&ArticleID=1291720

[One to sigh and shake your head at]

Rare bronze-age treasures were sold on eBay for £205, a coroner heard yesterday. Five bids were made and the axe heads were shipped over to Dutch collector Jeroen Zuiderwijk, who paid just a fraction of their real value. Luckily however, the archaeologist, an experimental metallurgist at a theme park, got in touch with UK museum authorities. The find was described by expert Ros Tyrrell as only the second ever bronze-age collection to be found in the Buckinghamshire area.

The series of 15 axe heads was believed to have been dug up using metal detectors by a couple known as Stuart and Tracey, from the Milton Keynes area of Buckinghamshire. When the couple moved to France in 2004 they gave the find to friends John Couchman and Lorraine Ayton who promptly put them up for sale on eBay.

“It would have been such a waste if they had been sold individually,” Ms Tyrrell told the inquest in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. “Now the hoard will stay together and will be available to see if people want to study it. You can only study what is available and this will be a valuable addition to our collection.”

The axe heads, held by the British Museum, are set to be handed to the Buckinghamshire County Museum in Aylesbury. Yesterday at the treasure trove inquest, Milton Keynes coroner Rodney Corner formally declared that the treasure belonged to the Crown. Since the 1996 Treasure Act, finders are no longer keepers and must report any objects more than 300 years old. However, the coroner heard that a lot of treasure was never handed in by unscrupulous metal detectors known as “night hawks” who only operated under cover of darkness.

“We are very grateful to Mr Zuiderwijk. He could have kept quiet and we would never have known. We would have lost our ability to study them,” Ms Tyrrell added. “These axe heads were high-tech in their day. They looked really swanky with their gold colouring.”

edited from the story by Fred Attewill at
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2450782005

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/4549230.stm

I must do a bit of weeding sometime.

“New research shows early humans were living in Britain around 700,000 years ago, substantially earlier than previously thought. Using new dating techniques, scientists found that flint tools unearthed in Pakefield, Suffolk, were 200,000 years older than the previous oldest finds.“*

* news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4526264.stm”

From an article published on the BBC News web site on 11th December 2005:

Parts of an Iron Age hillfort are to be closed to the public while essential repair work is carried out.

About £40,000 is to be spent repairing badly eroded ramparts at Danebury Hillfort near Stockbridge, Hampshire.

Parts of the fort, which sees between 70,000 to 100,000 visitors a year, will be temporarily closed as the four months of work is carried out.

The overall site will still remain open and the repairs are expected to be completed by mid-March.

Read the full article...

A gold torc made from 25 metres of twisted wire was found in Sedgeford, Norfolk in the 1960s – but it had a bit missing. It went on display in the British Museum (who don’t care if things are a bit battered). Now Steve Hammond, a local amateur archaeologist, has found the missing section, about 400 yards away from the original find spot. Happily, the British Museum has been able to buy it with money from their Friends and the National Art Collections Fund – so the two bits are reunited once more. Ahh.

https://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1922526,00.html

It has beautifully snazzy La Tene style ends – you can see a picture on the British Museum Compass website.

Serious questions have reportedly emerged about the qualifications of the Government’s chief archaeologist.

Reports this morning said Brian Duffy, who advised the Government on matters such as the controversial Tara motorway scheme, got the job in July 2003 ahead of candidates with superior qualifications and experience.

The reports said Mr Duffy had a general BA degree in archaeology and had no track record of archaeological excavations or publications.

The latest revelation follows the recent controversy surrounding the Government’s chief science adviser, who was moved to another job when it emerged that he received his PhD from a US university known to sell such qualifications over the internet.

irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=190268270&p=y9xz69x85&n=190269156

Britain’s first cave art is more than 12,800 years old, scientific testing has shown. Engravings of a deer and other creatures at Creswell Crags, in Derbyshire, have proved to be genuine Ice Age creations, and not modern fakes, as some had feared.

The engravings were found in 2003 at two caves, Church Hole and Robin Hood’s Cave, which lie close together in the Creswell gorge. Palaeolithic occupation deposits dating to the last Ice Age were excavated there in 1875-76, but the art remained unnoticed. Although the most notable finds were from 15,000-13,000 years ago, even older tools were noted, some dating to the Middle Palaeolithic between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago, others a few millennia later.

Read the full article here
timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,61-1910329,00.html

Eden District Council’s Penrith Museum is celebrating news that they have been awarded over £24,000 from the Local Heritage Initiative, a scheme run by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Nationwide Building Society.
The funding will allow the Museum to run a series of events during 2006 aimed at broadening awareness of, and accessibility to, prehistoric heritage in the Vale of Eden. This area is a major focus for Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, including stone circles, henges, burial cairns and rock art sites. The project aims to forge new interest in these monuments that have survived for over four thousand years, and which can still be seen so dramatically across the varied landscapes of the Vale of Eden.
Read it all here
eden.gov.uk/main.asp?page=3972
Thanks to Kate Sharpe

From an article published on the BBC News web site on 5th December 2005:

The remains of a skeleton found underneath a medieval ship discovered buried in the banks of the River Usk in Newport are that of an Iron age man.

Tests carried out on the bones which were found in December 2002, have shown that they date back to 170BC.

It makes the skeleton about 1,500 years older than the 15th century ship.

Read the full article...

Plans to stabilise the ancient Silbury Hill mound in Wiltshire have been unveiled by English Heritage.
The man-made monument, believed to date to the Neolithic period, developed a hole at the top five years ago after the collapse of infilling in a shaft.

There are proposals to remove an inadequate backfill from this and other cavaties and replace it with chalk.

English Heritage said it would preserve the long-term stability of the hill while minimising further damage.

Surveys have confirmed that the overall structure is stable, although there are pockets of instability resulting from tunnels dug in 1776, 1849 and 1968.

English Heritage is drawing up a brief for contractors to come forward with their proposals for how the work should be done.

The organisation is also looking at how to fund the project.

From the beeb: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/4477192.stm

timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1881612,00.html

Saved because faery colony held to be beneath it, this is not St.Fillan’s Seat but a boulder over a plague pit (see themodernantiquarian.com/forum/?thread=28343)

A double grave site from the late Iron Age has been unearthed in Dunbar, East Lothian. One of the grave sites is thought to be that of a warrior as an iron spearhead, sword and possible pin were also found with the remains. The substantial and well-preserved grave was identified with the remains of two individuals. The earliest or primary burial had been moved from its original position to accommodate the second or later burial.

Places for People, who are developing the land for residential use, commissioned AOC Archaeology to conduct the investigation of the burial ground. Alister Steele, Managing Director of Castle Rock Edinvar (a subsidiary of Places for People), who are developing the site said: “Discovering a find like this is an exciting prospect in any new development and proves the necessity of securing our historical heritage by ensuring that land we develop has been scoped by expert archaeologists.”

Previous archaeological investigations in Dunbar have revealed medieval remains and, although the origins of Dunbar are known to extend back to the late prehistoric and early historic period, it was assumed that medieval remains would also be found during this investigation – hence the investigation organised by Places for People.

Biddy Simpson, the East Lothian Council Heritage Officer said: “This is an extraordinary and exceptional find. Although similar multiple burials have been found in the vicinity of Dunbar this burial was of very high quality and is the first one to be excavated using modern archaeological techniques. The quality of the grave construction and the items within the grave strongly suggest that it was a high status burial, the finding of which is incredibly important.“.

The site has now been fully excavated and the remains are to be analysed by specialists. Also discovered during the investigation were a number of late medieval remains, including a well.

eastlothian.gov.uk/content/0,1094,4274,00.html

THE remains of an Iron Age warrior have been found in Dunbar – only the third grave of its kind in Scotland. Archaeologists were called to the old Empire Cinema site, off the High Street, which is currently being developed into flats. The well-preserved grave contains the remains of a warrior as well as an iron spearhead, sword and what is believed to be a pin. Archaeologists believe an earlier burial had been moved from its original position to accommodate the warrior before being put back, to create a double burial.

East Lothian Council heritage officer Biddy Simpson described the find as “extraordinary and exceptional”. “Although similar multiple burials have been found in the vicinity of Dunbar, this burial was of very high quality and is the first one to be excavated using modern archaeological techniques. The quality of the grave construction and the items within the grave strongly suggest that it was a high status burial, the finding of which is incredibly important,” she said.

Staff from Loanhead-based AOC Archaeology were drafted in to work on the site. Project officer Mike Roy said it was an extremely unusual site and unlike anything he had previously excavated. He added that the findings suggested the occupants were of “considerable status”.

Ronan Toolis, senior project officer with AOC Archaeology, explained that the two other Iron Age warrior graves had been excavated in Alloway and Camelon, near Falkirk. “The Dunbar site is a real treasure trove,” he said. “It is rare for a prehistoric burial to be found in a town like this.”

The area has now been fully excavated and the remains will be analysed by specialists. Mr Toolis added that they would know more once DNA analysis and carbon dating of the bones were carried out. It may also be possible to establish the area from which the warrior came, by analysing his teeth. Dental tests could reveal traces of chemicals which had been present in the water he drank at that time, which would in turn point to a certain geographical location.

A late medieval well was also discovered during the excavation.

Gordon Easingwood, from Dunbar Local History Society said that the warrior grave was “obviously a significant find” and that he would be interested to find out more once the tests were completed. During the 1980s, the remains of an Iron Age promontory fort were discovered during excavations in the town. It is believed that this helped to date the origins of Dunbar to at least the 1st-4th centuries AD.

eastlothiancourier.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=1077&format=html

Whitby Museum, Pannett Park, Whitby, North Yorkshire
Thursday 1st December 2005
A seminar, sponsored by English Heritage: Fire and the Archaeology of Fylingdales Moor, North Yorkshire
This seminar will review the responses to the needs of ecology and archaeology on 2.5 square kilometres of moorland on the coast of north-east Yorkshire, the subject of a disastrous fire in September 2003. The morning session will discuss what has been done to record the archaeology revealed by the fire, and how this has been integrated with efforts to safeguard the archaeology and regenerate the ecology of the moor. The afternoon session with consider continuing management and research requirements, including a discussion of the now-famous carved slab, and what the wider lessons of the project are.
Draft Programme:
MORNING: RESPONSES TO THE FIRE (chair – TBC)
10.00 Coffee
10.30 Welcome
10.40 Introoduction – Fylingdales Moor before the fire (Graham Lee (NYMNPA)
10.55 Introduction – aftermath of the fire: archaeological management issues (Neil Redfern, EH)
11.10 Introduction – aftermath of the fire: ecological management issues (Rachel Pickering, NYMNPA)
11.25 The application of air photography to the burnt moorland (Jane Stone, EH)
11.45 Detailed survey and its results (Al Oswald, EH)
12.05 Walk-over survey and its results (Blaise Vyner)
12.25 Rock art on Fylingdales Moor (Paul Brown/Graeme Chappell)
12.40 New approaches to recording rock art (Paul Bryan, EH)
12.55 Summing up (Neil Redfern)
13.00 Lunch – a buffet lunch will be available – please book your place (see below)
AFTERNOON: TIDYING UP THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY (chair – Graham Lee, NYMNPA)
13.45 Introduction – The land-owner’s perspective
13.55 Overview of the archaeology of Fylingdales Moor (Blaise Vyner)
14.10 The longer-term ecological ambitions (Rachel Pickering)
14.25 The Stoupe Brow monument – opportunity and dilemma (Neil Redfern/Blaise Vyner)
15.00 Discussion of further research requirements led by Neil Redfern
16.00 Conclusion
Please book in advance by e-mailing Blaise Vyner at [email protected],co,uk or writing to 16 College Square, Stokesley, North Yorkshire TS9 5DL. If directions or other information are needed please inquire at the time of booking.

Press Release 10 Nov 2005

A roving display about a major bid to help conserve and manage the Caradon Hill area takes to the roads of South East Cornwall on Monday 14 November.

The roadshow aims to spread the word about the Caradon Hill Area Heritage Project and the special features of the local landscape, which includes moorland, rolling farmland, wooded steep valleys, industrial remains and Neolithic sites such as Trethevy Quoit.

The display is one phase of a Heritage Lottery Fund bid planned by Caradon District Council and Cornwall County Council for next year, which could secure funds for restoration, preservation and enhancement work suggested by the community.

The proposed project area for the bid covers around 58 square miles to the north of Liskeard, centred around Caradon Hill, which is part of the granite upland of the south eastern portion of Bodmin Moor, and including lowland areas surrounding the hill. Some 10,500 people live in the area in settlements including Pensilva, St Cleer, Minions, Upton Cross and part of Liskeard. The area is of great heritage and environmental importance, with part lying within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the remainder in an Area of Great Landscape Value.

The display includes information about the Caradon Hill Area Project plus photographs and pieces written by local residents describing the area’s unique qualities. There will also be details about the consultation report that will be available to the general public to read and comment on from the end of December to January.

Caradon Hill Area Heritage Project development officer Becky Hughes said: “All of the photos and creative writing were inspired by a recent community workshop about the landscape character of the Caradon Hill area. I think people will surprised and delighted by the quality of the work, which very much reflects both the detail and the vastness of the landscape.”

The roadshow will be on display at:
• Liskeard Library – 14-20 November
• St Cleer Memorial Hall – 21-27 November
• Upton Cross School – 28 November-4 December
• Pensilva Millennium House – 5-11 December
• Minions Heritage Centre – 12 December onwards

Arthur Beesley, Senior Business Correspondent

Irish Times
Wed, Aug 10, 05

A consortium involving Spanish construction firm Cintra and the Irish group SIAC is now in prime position to build the €600 million M3 motorway between Clonee and Kells, the controversial project that runs through the Tara archaeological complex.

While the route chosen by the National Roads Authority will be the subject of judicial review hearings before the High Court in October, the Eurolink consortium formed by the two companies has emerged in first place from the initial phase of the tender process.

Their success in this competition marks a second coup for the group, which is already building the multimillion euro Kilcock-Kinnegad motorway. The M3 contract will be by far the largest public-private partnership initiative undertaken to date. The 110 km project includes almost 50 km of motorway.

The consortium will be expected to fund the building of the roadway and maintain and operate it for 45 years. While the terms of the Eurolink tender were not available last night, the consortium will receive tolls on the road and a State subsidy.

Eurolink is understood to have beaten off a rival tender from the Celtic Roads group. Its members include National Toll Roads, owner of the East Link and West Link bridges, the Ascon building group and Spanish construction giant Dragados.

“We have formally advised Eurolink that the company has been identified as the tenderer with the most economically advantageous tender for the M3 Clonee-Kells project,” said a spokesman for the National Roads Authority.

“The authority will now proceed with discussions with Eurolink with a view to appointing the company as provisional preferred tenderer, which potentially will lead to the award of the contract for the project.”

SIAC is understood to be raising its stake in Eurolink to 25 per cent for the M3 initiative.

Two court actions may have a bearing on the eventual route of the motorway.

The first of these is a judicial review action taken by conservationist Vincent Salafia, who is calling into question directions made by Minister for the Environment Dick Roche on the treatment of archaeological sites on the route.

Mr Salafia wants to test the constitutionality of Mr Roche’s decisions under the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 2004.

He claims it is not necessary for the motorway to breach the Tara complex and says an alternative route between Navan and Dunshaughlin offers an alternative because it is shorter and would not breach the complex.

A forthcoming Supreme Court judgment in a case testing the
constitutionality of the 2004 Act in the context of the Carrickmines stretch of M50 motorway may have a bearing on this case. In a judgment that was challenged on a point of law, the High Court previously upheld the constitutionality of the Act in this case.

See: Hill of Tara / M3 litigation site- hilloftara.info

Majority want M3 routed outside Tara, survey finds

Irish Times
Sat, Aug 20, 05

A national survey has found 70 per cent of participants want the M3 motorway rerouted away from the Hill of Tara. Fiona Gartland reports.

The telephone survey, by RedCResearch found seven out of 10 people wanted the M3 to go ahead but outside the Tara-Skryne Valley. A third of respondents said they believed the Government gave enough consideration to alternative solutions such as a Navan-Dublin rail link.

More than 1,000 adults responded to the survey carried out in May for Tarawatch, a campaigning group set up to resist Government plans to route the M3 through the Tara-Skryne Valley.

The group also brought forward an alternative route at a meeting yesterday. The route, “Blue 2”, chosen by the National Roads Authority and approved by An Bord Pleanála, passes east of the Hill of Tara and, according to Tarawatch, will destroy national monuments and valuable archaeology.

“Orange 1”, its suggested alternative, passes west of the hill and “saves the core monuments of Tara from destruction, and is up to 3.5km shorter than the current route, increasing profitability and efficiency dramatically”.

The group also held a protest at the M50 toll booth yesterday. Toll bridge operator National Toll Roads was named last week as the preferred bidder to build and operate booths on the M3.

Green Party deputy Ciarán Cuffe said a good case had been made for moving the road and he supported the campaign for an alternative route. Sinn Féin deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh also pledged his support.

Construction of the motorway depends on the outcome of court action in October.

Environmental activist Vincent Salafia was given leave by the High Court in July to bring proceedings to secure its rerouting. The action, against the Minister for the Environment, Meath County Council, the Attorney General and the National Roads Authority, will challenge directions given by Minister for the Environment Dick Roche regarding the treatment of 38 known archaeological sites along a stretch of the proposed motorway.

The result of October’s High Court case could also be significantly affected by a Supreme Court decision concerning the routing of the Southern Cross motorway near Carrickmines Castle.

An NRA spokesman said it had no doubt that most people supported the Bord Pleanála-approved route.

“We put a lot of time and effort into coming up with this route and the board approved it,” he said. “We are now anxious to get to the point where construction can start.”

===

Hill of Tara / M3 litigation site: hilloftara.info