Latest News

Kate Wilson, inspector of ancient monuments for English Heritage North-East has called for action to stop arsonists on Eston Moor who are destroying the heather which protects archaeological sites. Trials bikes and off-road vehicles are also damaging the earthworks.

Detective Constable Trevor Smith, of Cleveland Police, who said: “By building a closer relationship with English Heritage, we can reduce the number of incidents of damage to scheduled monuments and, where necessary, secure convictions against those responsible for the damage.”

The organisations are also concerned that fences have been ripped up and used as bonfire fuel, while earlier this year two sheep were slaughtered and one farmer’s cattle were stampeded through a neighbour’s crops.

Police recently seized an air rifle, an axe, a 6in combat knife and lock knives from rival gangs of children camping around landmark rocky outcrop Eston Nab in groups of up to 40. Over one weekend last summer, Cleveland Police rounded up 22 teenagers, with an average age of 14, of whom six were armed.

full article at
thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_north_east/teesside/news/NEWS0.html

By Mark Ford
09:30 – 20th October 2005

The spectre of occult practices in the West reared its head yesterday as
police investigated a second case of ritual sheep slaughter near an ancient
Pagan altar on an isolated moor.

Six sheep were found with their necks broken and their eyes removed on land
at Moortown near the edge of Dartmoor. Four of their bodies were arranged
in a regular square shape, another two were lying next to a pattern of stones.

In January, seven sheep were found just half-a-mile away in the same eerie
shadow of Vixen Tor. Again their necks were broken, and this time
chillingly arranged in the shape of a heptagram – a seven-pointed star
symbol, linked for centuries with the dark arts and Black Magic rituals.

Now, the Western Daily Press can reveal that police are connecting the
incidents with the presence of an ancient Pagan sacrificial altar, the
stone remains of which are located just to the east of the tor.

“Our understanding is that this place used to be some sort of meeting place
for Pagans,” said a spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police.

“To the east of Vixen Tor there is evidence of an ancient stone sacrificial
altar.

They added: “We are investigating this as a matter of criminal damage.

“People obviously have their right to practise their religion, but when
that involves damaging, or in this case killing, other people’s property,
it becomes a crime.” The dead sheep, worth £600, were still warm when they
were found by their owner, farmer Daniel Alford, on Sunday morning.
He has little doubt the shocking incident has its roots in Pagan ritual.

“You hear of all sorts of crazy stuff like that around Dartmoor, it’s that
sort of place, people believe in all sorts of strange things,” he said
yesterday.

“It is a bit unsettling knowing that someone has been creeping around up
there doing this, but there’s not a lot we can do, it’s such a vast area.

“There were the four sheep and then 10ft or 15ft away there were another
two, which were laid next to three stones which had been arranged in a
pattern,” he said.

“The stones looked like a kind a of gateway, a similar thing that had been
found in January.

“After talking to a few people we established that it was probably
something to do with Janus the Pagan god of January and the beginning of
the New Year and banishing evil spirits.

“What this one is about, I’ve no idea. It was a full moon.”

In this case, the eyes were completely removed from the sheep, and there
were no signs of the messy pecking that could attribute the loss to an
attack by birds.

Police confirmed the animals had their necks quickly broken and there were
no indications of a prolonged struggle or suffering.

It is thought at least two people would have to had to have been involved,
given the sheer physical strength needed for the killing and arranging of
the sheep.

Vixen Tor and the Alford family have gained notoriety recently in a
high-profile right-to-roam row with ramblers, walkers and climbers.

In 2003, the Alfords controversially ended 30 years of permitted access to
the tor on the grounds they could be held liable if there was an accident
on it.

Earlier this year, the decision was upheld by an inquiry inspector who
ruled against opening up the land under Countryside and Rights of Way
legislation.

Last month those demanding access to the tor and the land it stands on
mounted a peaceful protest on the Alfords’ land.

Yesterday Daniel Alford said he did not believe the clash over access was
in anyway connected to the disturbing finds.

“I really don’t think it is the sort of thing the Thermos flask brigade
would get involved in,” he said.

westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146049&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145779&contentPK=13351104

From an article published on the BBC News web site on 19th October 2005:

A campaign to raise public awareness of a historic countryside area to safeguard it for the future is to be launched next month.

The campaign is to use a range of arts to get people interested in and to understand the history of the South Dorset Ridgeway, north of Weymouth.

Photography and painting competitions are among the ways organisers hope to raise awareness of the area.

Read the full article...

from www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk 15 October 2005

A team of archaeologists from Sheffield University have revealed significant new insights into the role of Stonehenge after discovering a prehistoric ceremonial road. The team, also from four other universities, discovered the avenue.

It proves there was a walkway between a henge (a circular momument) at Durrington Walls, and the River Avon, three miles away, blowing a hole in the theory the standing stones at Stonehenge were a one-off feature.

The new find supports the team’s theory that Stonehenge was in fact just one part of a much larger complex of stone and timber circles linked by ceremonial avenues to the river.

Radiocarbon dates indicate the henge was in use at the same time as the sarsen stones were erected at Stonehenge. The newly-discovered roadway, with its rammed flint surface, is wider than most modern roads and more substantial than any other Neolithic track in Europe.

It runs for about 100 metres (328ft) from the timber circle within the great henge to the river. Analysis has shown that the avenue was heavily trampled by prehistoric feet, and archaeologists have unearthed numerous finds along its edge.

Prof Mike Parker Pearson, from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Archaeology, believes Stonehenge and Durrington Walls, together with its adjacent site of Woodhenge, were linked by the river to form a single complex.

He has suggested the entire complex was a funerary monument. The work was filmed for a Channel 4 Time Team special, to be screened next year.

A new project aims to increase people’s awareness, knowledge and appreciation of the amazing landscape between Weymouth and Dorchester.

It is being launched on November 5 by the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team which hopes the project will appeal to everyone who enjoys the countryside, including artists, photographers and amateur historians.

Among outstanding features of the area are the strange `lumps and bumps’ which litter the skyline between Broadmayne and Hardy’s Monument – and which few realise are round barrows that have been there 4,000 years.

See thisisdorset.net/dorset/weymouth/news/WEYMOUTH_NEWS_NEWS3.html for details.

From the Yorkshire post:

“They roamed the earth almost 6,000 years ago, performing rituals on animal remains and devouring human body parts.
But these are not the strange creatures of film or fiction – they were farmers in the Yorkshire Dales.
New research on bones discovered in six Dales caves has revealed that farming in the area dates back thousands of years –and with it a history of cannibalism.”

Read the full article

A study has highlighted how rural development and drainage for agriculture in the Somerset levels has badly damaged nationally important archaeological sites.

When ground water levels drop in the summer, the waterlogged remains dry out: current farming methods don’t leave enough water inthe peat to protect them.

The study focused on 13 of the most important sites near Glastonbury, including prehistoric trackways and villages. Some sites had already been lost while others were suffering gradual decay.

Vanessa Straker of English Heritage said: “We are encouraging as many farmers as possible to apply for Defra’s environmental stewardship scheme, which gives them payments in return for conserving the countryside.”

taken from the article “Farming endangers prehistoric roads” by Norman Hammond
in the Times
timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,61-1818469,00.html

The survey was jointly carried out by English Heritage, the Environment Agency and Somerset County Council, and will be reported in detail in the November issue of British Archaeology.

Campaigners are calling for an independent assessment by archaeologists of the threatened quarry site near the Thornborough Henges.
Last week North Yorkshire County Council put off a decision on controversial plans by quarry firm Tarmac to extract 2.2 million tonnes of sand a gravel from the Ladybridge Farm site, half a mile from the triple henge complex north of Ripon.

But campaign group TimeWatch has voiced concerns regarding the agreed strategy of allowing Tarmac a further four months to carry out research into the archaeology at the proposed quarry site.

The group has now called on North Yorkshire councillors to ensure that the archaeological work due to be carried out at Ladybridge is done by an independent third party.

“There is a massive gulf between Tarmac and the rest of the archaeological world regarding the importance of Thornborough’s archaeology,” said George Chaplin, chairman of TimeWatch.

“Now that Tarmac’s evaluation has effectively been rejected by the council, we are pressing to get this new evaluation done by an independent third party otherwise we can see that this confused situation will only continue.

“For more than three years Tarmac have abjectly refused to accept the notion that there could be archaeology of national importance at Ladybridge. This line has remained unchanged despite the protestations of a great many archaeologists, campaigners and now English Heritage.

“When Tarmac was faced with rejection of the planning application, they ask for a delay, not so they can work out how much nationally important archaeology they are looking at, but to try yet again to prove that it is not important at all.

“This is turning into a critical situation, one that could have ramifications for every major heritage site in North Yorkshire.”

Tarmac’s existing Nosterfield Quarry, close to the henges, is nearing the end of its working life and the firm wants to continue production by expanding on to the adjacent Ladybridge site.

The firm’s estates manager, Bob Nicholson, said: “The application site is more than half a mile from the nearest henge and in our view truly poses no threat to the monument. Tarmac has no wish or intention to affect the henges but naturally we want to continue in production and keep the employment in place.”

Commenting on the deferment of a decision on their application, he said: “The deferment will give time to discuss the archaeological aspects with English Heritage in more detail and hopefully reach an informed decision based on additional factual evidence if required.”

The county council is expected to consider the matter again in January.
30 September 2005

ripontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=1207264

The bodies of two new-born infants have been found in northern Austria at a site which dates them to between 27 to 40,000 years old. DNA testing might be possible and may confirm if they were twins.
The bodies had been wrapped in, probably, an animal hide, covered in ochre,decorated with ivory beads and protected by the shoulderblade of a woolly mammoth,propped up by pieces of tusk.

Fuller story here... newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8063

The latest newsletter of the Cornwall Archaeological Society brings news that the Eathorn Menhir, long stuck at the side of a field and covered in ivy and chicken wire, has now been re-erected in its original position.
With the help of Steve Hartgroves of CAU and the Earth Mysteries Group the original base was found and the stone placed back in it using a local farmers crane.
Sadly this news came 24 hours too late for me...I was down on the Lizard yesterday and if I had known would have popped round for a photo.

26th November 2005

The annual archaeology conference at the Lakes School , Troutbeck Bridge, Windermere.
Including -
Exploring Lower Eskdale.
Re-Opening of Leverswater mine, Coniston
Bales sites smelting in Yorkshire & Cumbria
Rock Art in Cumbria: Context & Connections
Monks Farmers & Raiders – The early Medieval Period in the Lake District.
Conservation & Interpretation at Force Crag Mine.

Tickets £8 including tea & coffee. £14 with lunch
Avilable from The Lake District National Park Authority.

Rock Art project officer Tertia Barnett said: “It is
fascinating work and we are uncovering more all the time. Help from volunteers has been invaluable so far and we are looking to recruit more.”

The one-day training programme is at County Hall, Morpeth on October 21 and anyone interested is asked to contact Tertia on (01670) 533076 or [email protected]

The volunteers will be working in small teams using a range of methods to document the rock art, including a ground-breaking 3D technique developed for the project by English Heritage that will allow the carvings to be viewed and studied in great detail.

from Berwick Today
berwicktoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=970&ArticleID=1196540

Archaeologists at the mesolithic site have found “more than 1,000 finds ranging from shards to complete axes and entire pots.”

More from the BBC here

Campaigners opposing plans for quarrying near an ancient monument in North Yorkshire must wait until the New Year for a decision by councillors.
Tarmac has applied to quarry sand and gravel at Ladybridge Farm, north of Ripon, near Thornborough Henges.

Opponents fear it could destroy clues about the 5,000-year-old earthworks’ history but Tarmac says the land could cope with quarrying and conservation.

A decision was deferred on Tuesday to await a full report in January.

On Tuesday North Yorkshire County Council issued a statement saying: “Today’s meeting has decided to defer this matter to allow a further archaeological investigation to be carried out.

“We hope to have a full report for members to consider in January.”

Members of the North Yorkshire County Council planning board had visited the site in August and were recommended to refuse permission by planning officers.

The henges are believed to be one of Britain’s largest ritual gathering places from the Neolithic period.

The henges are in open countryside near the A1

Local campaign group TimeWatch has collected a petition of more than 10,000 signatures against the plans which would see work about half a mile away from the henges.

It said the quarry would contribute to the permanent loss of nationally important archaeology.

US-based conservation group the Landmarks Foundation has also voiced its concern at the quarry proposals, describing them as a tragedy.

But several people have expressed their support for the quarry extension.

Tarmac already has a quarry at Nosterfield, close to the ancient henges which consist of three earthworks built in a line running north-south for about a mile.

Workers at the Nosterfield Quarry and local building firms have sent in 80 letters and a 350-signature petition arguing that more than 50 livelihoods depend on the application’s approval.

Tarmac has said the extension is on farmland where there is only “thin and scattered” evidence of prehistoric activity, according to a recent study by archaeological consultants.

The actual henges are under no threat from quarrying because of their status as protected ancient monuments, the company added.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4261022.stm

dynamic.rte.ie/av/2075790.smil

A short video with some very nice footage of the equinox on 20th Sept 2005 by RTE, the Irish state broadcaster.

A gallery of my own photos from that morning:

cianmcliam.smugmug.com/gallery/824678

Click on the photos for larger versions.

“Underwater archaeologists in Perthshire have made the incredible discovery of a drowned forest, thought to date from the neolithic period some 5000 years ago.”

More details here

Decision-makers urged to reject quarrying near henges

From the archive, first published Wednesday 14th Sep 2005.

THE long and often acrimonious battle over the future of one of Britain’s most important archaeological sites will come to a head next week.

At a meeting in Masham town hall, North Yorkshire county councillors will decide on the future of quarrying operations by the 5,000-year-old Thornborough henges.

In a major blow for quarry operator Tarmac, they are being recommended to throw out plans to extend extractions near the three large Neolithic earthworks.

Planning officials said the proposal would have “an unacceptable impact on nationally important archaeological remains”.

They also said the move would be contrary to the authority’s policy on mineral extraction and that there was no overriding need for it.

Tarmac Northern wants to extend Nosterfield Quarry at Ladybridge Farm, Thornborough, near Ripon, to extract 2.2 million tonnes of sand and gravel over four years.

An application was submitted in June last year and immediately brought protests from those who feared for the future of the henges, about a kilometre south-east of the extension area.

Almost 850 letters of objection and three petitions with a total of 9,680 signatures were sent in. Some of the objections came from overseas.

The Council for British Archaeology, Yorkshire Archaeology Society and action groups the Friends of Thornborough Henges and Timewatch also submitted detailed responses calling for the scheme to be rejected.

Tarmac has insisted throughout that the development would pose no threat to the henges, saying the extension would be further from the earthworks than the existing quarry site.

Yesterday, their response to the recommendation to refuse permission was muted.

Tarmac Northern estates manager Bob Nicholson said: “We have only just learnt of the officers’ recommendation and will need to study the report to committee in detail before we are able to comment further.”

Councillors will meet at 1pm on Tuesday, and the public turnout is expected to be high. The chairman of Timewatch, George Chaplin, was not making any early celebrations yesterday.

He said: “The messages we are getting are that refusal is far from certain.”

archive.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/2005/9/14/206072.html

Brown Gelly, the hill to the south of Dozmary Pool goes up for auction on the 27th September. On the hill are several barrows plus iron age settlements. The land has recently become open access land, before that access to the hill was never clear. The guide price for 240 acres of prime Bodmin Moor is £220,000...The save Brown Gelly fund starts here!

For more info go to..

https://212.50.188.105/cgi-win/vebra.cgi?details1?src=vebra&PropertyCode=1431011/LANDA/18780/11

Archaeologists believe they have uncovered the first Iron Age burial on the Isle of Skye.

The skeleton from about the 1st millennium BC is thought to be that of a young female. It was found recently in an open stone-lined grave as the archaeologists worked to re-open the blocked entrance to the High Pasture Cave.

The discovery is extremely rare. Iron Age burial sites have been found in several locations on the east coast of Scotland, but this is among the few occurrences along the country’s Atlantic seacoast and the first on Skye.

“The discovery of the human remains at the High Pasture’s site is a very important find and will provide a unique opportunity to study a wide range of aspects of Iron Age life and death in the region,” said George Kozikowski, a member of the High Pasture Cave Project.

This article: heritage.scotsman.com/news.cfm?id=1907512005
Also see the news item below, and the website at
high-pasture-cave.org/

From:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4219956.stm

Archaeologists face a race against time after the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of a stone age settlement on the A30 in Cornwall.
The Highways Agency allowed the archaeologists access to the site ahead of the dualling next to Goss Moor.

Heavy machinery has already began stripping part of the route, leaving little time for the dig.

They are trying to record all signs of human activity and so far have come across a lot of evidence of mining.

Meanwhile, circular stone structures have been uncovered at Belowda, near Roche.

These ruins include old stream workings, some leats and culverts which may be tied in to more intensive tin workings, and the settlement.

chronicle.gi/

Archaeologists working deep inside Gorham’s Cave have discovered a rare prehistoric painting, that could be up to 13,000 years old, of a deer. To the untrained eye it looks like a series of random scrawls on the cave wall.

But with the help of the experts, the outline of an animal crowned with a distinctive set of antlers quickly becomes clearly discernible.
The discovery of the painting follows the previous find of cave art in St Michael’s Cave and highlights the wealth of archaeological remains in Gibraltar.
Alongside the painting, the archaeologists working in Gorham’s Cave have also made important Neanderthal finds during the past two weeks.
“The surprises seem to come one after another each year,” said Professor Clive Finlayson, director of the Gibraltar Museum and co-director of the excavation at Gorham’s Cave.
“What we have now in Gibraltar are eight caves where we know there has been Neanderthal occupation.”
“We also have a number of caves with occupation by modern people, of which at least two have cave art, which is of great heritage value in global terms.”
“This makes Gibraltar one of those unique places for the study of prehistory and for this rich heritage.”
“Certainly in terms of Neanderthal occupation sites, for a peninsula this size to have eight is unique in the world.”
“There is no other place like that,” he concluded.
Of the recent discoveries at Gorham’s Cave, the cave painting of the deer is perhaps the most significant.
From its style, the experts working in the cave can tell that it is an Upper Paleolithic painting from the Magdalenian period, making it approximately 12,000 to 13,000 years old.
“It is extremely unique,” Professor Finlayson said.
“In the south of the Iberian peninsula it is probably the second one,” he added, explaining that similar artwork is common only in the south of France and, to a lesser extent, northern Spain.
That could suggest a link between prehistoric communities there and those in this region, who perhaps were sheltering in southern Iberia during a glacial period.
“This is a really major find and there may well be more in there,” he said.
Aside from these broader lines of enquiry stretching halfway across Europe, the paintings are helping experts build a clearer picture of what life was like in Gibraltar thousands of years ago.
“Both this find and the one in St Michael’s Cave help to fill in details of the life of our hunter-gatherer ancestors who lived on the Rock,” said Maria Dolores Simón, an archaeologist from the Fundación Cueva de Nerja who is closely involved in the excavations in Gibraltar.
The painting is just one of a series of important discoveries made by archaeologists working in Gorham’s Cave as part of an excavation programme that has been running annually since 1991.
They have been working on two distinct levels of sediment deep inside the cave, a ‘modern’ one dating back no more than 20,000 years, and a Neanderthal one that dates back at least 30,000 years.
Within the ‘modern’, Upper Paleolithic level, one of the most interesting finds this year has been the discovery of a complete hearth – “a barbecue if you like”, Professor Finlayson said – that prehistoric people were using to cook food as part of life inside the cave. The fireplace is believed to be anywhere between 16,000 and 20,000 years old.
But the researchers also found a very large hearth in the Neanderthal level. They are still waiting to have this find dated, but already it is being described as significant.
“We can show that not only were these modern people living and cooking inside the cave, but we have an incredibly large Neanderthal hearth,” Professor Finlayson said.
From the clues in the cave, researchers are starting to draw initial conclusions.
The Neandearthals did not survive in this part of the world more recently than 30,000 years ago, but the oldest human remains date back to around 20,000 years ago.
“What this means is that, at least in this cave, Neanderthals and modern humans never met,” Professor Finlayson said.
“Therefore in this cave we can very definitely say that the modern people, contrary to what the general belief is, did not cause the extinction of the Neanderthals.”
“Now I’m not going to generalise this beyond that case, but the fact that we can question it in one cave questions the globality of that principle.”
Tests are now being carried out on remains found in both hearths.
The results will give researchers an idea of the kind of plants and wood used in the fires, and by extension a better understanding of the flora during both periods.
Excavation work in the cave continues until September 22.

[Gibraltar Chronicle]
chronicle.gi/

The Council for Scottish Archaeology (SAM) are having their flagship annual event during September.

SAM is a programme of archaeological events that take place in September all over Scotland from some of the remotest islands to the busiest of city centres. People of all ages and interests should find an event that will appeal with many events suitable for families and young people.

Scottish Archaeology Month 2005 link: scottisharchaeology.org.uk/projects/sam.html

Events link: scottisharchaeology.org.uk/projects/samProgramme.html

Sigurd’s report orkneyjar.com/archaeology/minehoweburial2005.htm
(extension for burial recording was granted).

The remains of seven humans have been found in a large pit in the mouth of a cave on the Goldsland Wood site, near Wenvoe, in the Vale of Glamorgan. The pottery and flint blades found with them date the remains to about 3000 BC.

Archaeology students from the University of Central Lancashire, in Preston, had been digging there as part of their course. “The Goldsland caves have never been excavated before,” said Dr Rick Peterson, the course leader. “We went there hoping to find undisturbed evidence for whatever ritual took place 5000 years ago that led to peoples’ bones being put in caves and we seem to have found it.

“At the moment our understanding of these rituals is that first the large pit was dug, probably to make the small cave mouth look much bigger and more impressive. Then the dead were placed in the pit with some of their possessions such as pottery and stone tools. Then once the bodies had become skeletons it seems that most of the bones were then moved to other ritual sites, like the nearby chambered tomb of St Lythans. The pit containing the ash from a cremation is evidence for a different sort of rite – although it probably took place around the same time.”

The team plan to return to the site in 2006 and excavate a much larger area.

From the BBC news site
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/4185966.stm

The wood is at ST108718, along a footpath from the St Lythans dolmen.

Westbury residents are facing a long wait before their cherished landmark can be restored to its former glory. The famous White Horse has become covered with lichens, causing it to lose its gleaming appearance. The plight of the monument was recognised by English Heritage in July last year and work began to restore the discoloured surface.

Several previous restoration projects had been carried out, including laying reinforced concrete over the image in the hope of providing a resistant surface to the elements. Eight years later, the monument had to be steam-cleaned by English Heritage to remove biological deposits.

The organisation is now keen to find a longer-term solution which means residents may have to put up with the horse’s bedraggled appearance for some time yet. Technical investigations have been carried out on the site to establish the cause of the deterioration.

Three different paint samples were tested on the horse and are being monitored to measure the rate of deposit. English Heritage said these trials now have to be repeated to ensure the right approach is adopted to achieve a white surface which will stand the test of time.

An English Heritage spokesperson said: “The trials are going to take place again over the coming winter. We need to go through two full winters to make sure we have the right results and we are looking positively at next spring to make a decision.”

The organisation said it does not have the money to restore the monument annually. Pending the success of the trials, the surface will be cleaned and treated subject to funding.

The Mayor of Westbury, Cllr Michael Hawkins, said it was vital the monument was restored as soon as possible. “The White Horse is very important to the town,” he said. “It is the main association of the town and one of the key things people think of when they think of Westbury. The horse in its current state lets the town down badly. It needs to be sorted out sooner rather than later.”

From
This Is Bath.