A farmer has been fined £18,000 for destroying a Neolithic site on Skye.
Duncan MacInnes used the earth from Upper Tote Cairn to help with a shed-building project elsewhere on his land.
Full report can be read here.
Latest News
December 15, 2021
December 7, 2021
theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/07/stonehenge-exhibition-british-museum
The aim of the exhibition is to set Stonehenge into the context of an era during which there was great social and technological change. It will include the Nebra sky disc on loan from Halle Museum in Germany.
November 21, 2021
Meath man and UCD professor well known for his research of passage tomb builders
George Eogan, who was widely seen as one of the leading archaeologists of his generation, has died aged 91.
Professor emeritus of celtic archaeology at University College Dublin (UCD), he had a particular interest in the Neolithic and Late Bronze Age studies and was the director of the Knowth excavations for more than 40 years.
He was well known for researching the passage tomb builders of Ireland and Western Europe and authored and co-authored volumes of the Excavations at Knowth series as well as several other books.
He died on Thursday at Our Lady’s Hospice following what his family described as a long and happy life.
In a tribute, the UCD School of Archaeology said Prof Eogan’s contribution to his field and to people’s understanding of Ireland’s past was immeasurable.
Having begun his academic pursuits with a PhD on late bronze age swords, Prof Eogan would go on to lead activities at Knowth for decades.
“He used his extensive international travels and decades of connections with museums to develop a unique understanding and insights into the things of Bronze Age Europe in particular,” his former university said.
More: irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/knowth-archaeologist-prof-george-eogan-dies-aged-91-1.4733265
November 8, 2021
A site on the banks of an Aberdeenshire river has been found to be a hotspot of prehistoric activity.
More info :
November 2, 2021
A three-dimensional reconstruction has depicted how a significant Scottish Pictish fort may have looked more than 1,000 years ago.
More info :
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-59121017
October 26, 2021
Archaeologists believe fingerprints on fragments of clay found in Orkney were left by experienced potters and their young apprentice 5,000 years ago.
More info :
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-59036887
October 22, 2021
- with ‘significant archaeological, conservational and ecological value’
Lydia Stangroom
October 22, 2021
Your eyes do not deceive you. Upon first glance, the ancient monument known as Hembury Fort Cross could well be mistaken as just a verdant hilly slope coated in trees. However, there’s a lot more to it than first meets the eye.
Granted, buyers searching specifically for an Iron Age hillfort may be scarce. Maybe you didn’t even know you were a buyer searching specifically for an Iron Age hillfort until now. Maybe you didn’t know what a hillfort (or ‘hill fort’ if you prefer— both terms are used) was until now; you wouldn’t be alone. Either way, Hembury Fort Cross is sure to cause intrigue.
It’s certainly not the normal sort of thing you’ll see on the property portals, not least because there is no form of dwelling included within the 38.8-acre area at Hembury Fort Cross, near Honiton, Devon, which is currently on the market via Savills at a guide price of £100,000. But digging a little deeper unearths a fascinating history.
October 8, 2021
“More than half a million aerial images of historical sites in England have been used for a new mapping tool.
Photographs and 3D laser scans have been taken over the past 30 years to uncover “hidden archaeological landscapes”, Historic England said.
Sites include 6,000-year-old long barrows, Roman camps such as those on Hadrian’s Wall and 20th Century areas linked to the world wars.
The map covers more than half of the country.”
More here (BBC website):
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-58817448.amp
October 6, 2021
Plans have been announced for a new visitor centre at Dunnottar Castle, near Stonehaven.
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-58804765
September 29, 2021
A council is being advised to approve a request to extend the operational life of a wind farm near an ancient hill fort site in the Borders.
More :
September 14, 2021
September 10, 2021
Size of telephone box, coffin thought to be 4,000 years old and includes well-preserved axe among remains
More info :
theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/10/rare-bronze-age-coffin-found-golf-course-pond-axe
September 8, 2021
Archaeologists have returned to the site of an ancient Welsh hillfort in a bid to uncover more of its secrets before being lost to the sea.
More info :
September 5, 2021
The community dig at Swartigill on the Thrumster Estate is under way again and volunteers can help uncover this very unique Iron Age structure.
More info :
johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/pictures-unique-iron-age-structure-is-further-uncovered-nea-250022/
September 3, 2021
IRISH ARCHAEOLOGISTS have made an incredible discovery in Cork, having unearthed the foundations of a house from the Neolithic era.
The ancient house is believed to be 5,700 years old, and was likely the home of a family from one of the earliest farming communities to have settled in the south of Ireland.
The house, dating back to approximately 3,700 BC, was unearthed following recent excavations by archaeologists after Cork County Council began two road realignment projects between Mallow and Mitchelstown in north County Cork.
August 21, 2021
An excavation is now underway at Drumadoon on the Isle of Arran after the site of a possible Neolithic cursus monument was earlier detected by an aerial laser scan.
Cursus monuments were typically formed of a long avenue, formed by two parallel mounds of earth – or wooden posts in the earliest cases – which stretch for some 800 metres at Drumadoon.
The stone circle is about a mile away......
August 12, 2021
Dairy farming could have been happening in Wales as early as 3,100BC, according to new research.
Shards of decorated pottery taken from the Trellyffaint Neolithic monument near Newport, Pembrokeshire, were found to contain dairy fat residue.
The residue could only originate from milk-based substances such as butter, cheese, or more probably yoghurt.
George Nash, of the Welsh Rock Art Organisation, said it was the earliest proof of dairy farming in Wales.
August 5, 2021
Islanders are being asked to help move 500 tyres to protect a 5,000-year-old prehistoric site.
More info :
August 3, 2021
Red markings on a stalagmite dome in a cave system in southern Spain were created by Neanderthals more than 60,000 years ago, a new study says.
The staining was applied by a process of splattering and blowing about 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe, the research suggests.
An earlier study attributing the markings to the extinct cousins of modern humans was questioned.
Some experts argued the staining in the Cueva de Ardales occurred naturally.
But a new study published in the journal PNAS supports the view that the red ochre pigments discovered in three caves in the Iberian Peninsula are a form of Neanderthal cave art.
It states that the deposits stand out from other natural materials sampled in the caves because of their unusual colours and textures.
A Perthshire tourist attraction, devastated by fire in June, has been given £51,000 towards its recovery.
More info :
July 30, 2021
The government’s decision to approve the Stonehenge tunnel has been quashed following a judicial review.
The government will now need to consider what to do next.
Full text of the court’s judgment here:
July 19, 2021
A BRONZE Age piece of artwork, suspected to be the oldest in Shropshire, has been discovered in Whixall.
The artwork, which has been carved onto a large Permio-Triassic new red sandstone block, shows markings that may connect it with burial chambers or sacred sites.
The discovery was made by James and Jasmine Dowley, of Whixall, while excavating a driveway.
The monolith is in a fine but weathered condition, and is thought to be potentially of regional and national importance.
Peter Reavill from the Portable Antiquities Scheme and local archaeologist Dr George Nash helped appraise the monolith, which is now up for auction later this year.
July 15, 2021
A bid has been lodged to extend the operational life of a wind farm near an ancient hill fort site in the Borders.
More info :
July 6, 2021
Musician Erland Cooper has released a new album each year for the past three years – inspired by the history and landscape of Orkney.
More info : bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-57729921
June 25, 2021
Dilemma of finding it hard to part with ‘problematic stuff’ we no longer need could date back more than 2,000 years
More info :
theguardian.com/science/2021/jun/22/iron-age-people-emotionally-attached-objects-researcher