Latest News

By Tony Gussin of the North Devon Gazette.

The silent earth of Exmoor has given up some of its secrets in the form of a prehistoric home dating back 3,500 years.

Members of the North Devon Archaeological Society were thrilled to uncover the remains of a Bronze Age round house as they carried out a two-week excavation at a site near Parracombe.

It was the third year a dig has taken place on the site, and last year the team uncovered an almost complete prehistoric pot, now on display at the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon.

But although nothing as intact was found this time, the group was still delighted when members uncovered a series of stone clad ‘post holes’ clearly marking out where the walls of a round house once stood.

Similar to a replica which can be seen near Braunton Burrows, the structure would have had a conical thatched roof and measured around 30 feet across.Continues...

More at theherald.co.uk/news/21875.html

The body of an Iron Age woman in her early twenties has been excavated from beneath a jewellery workshop at Minehowe. Archaeologists believe the ‘eoteric and mystical nature’ of metal working during this period would account for her presence, but it’s all rather mysterious at the moment and they are searching for more evidence about her life and death. She lay on her back, hands by her sides, with a piece of decorated antler lying on her chest. Nick Card, from the local archaeological trust, states in the article that it is an ‘unique burial’. Fragments of bodies have been found in sites before, but not a complete skeleton. The woman had one toe-ring decorating each foot: this is also an extremely rare aspect to the find.

A second timber circle, 300 years older, was found near Seahenge. Instead of being composed of plain wooden posts, parts of it could have been decorated with carvings. The hypothesis is linked to the discovery of a carved wooden figure called the ‘Dagenham Idol’ (pictured on the website). The story will also be explained in the September issue of British Archaeology magazine.

Also see the Times at
https://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,61-1224115,00.html

Two long articles can be found at the EDP24 site
here.

The mound of Snusgar in Sandwick is the site of a new excavation focusing on the history of human settlement around the Bay o’ Skaill.

See Orkneyjar for full details

A rare Iron Age burial is causing great excitement among the experts working at Minehowe — and as usual has raised more questions about life around the Iron Age site.

Archaeologists returned to the Tankerness site last week and by Monday had discovered a complete human skeleton buried in the floor of the metalworking structure outside Minehowe’s circular ditch.

See Orkneyjar for full details

From BBC’s Newsround page:
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/animals/default.stm

Badgers are getting into a heap of trouble near the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge.
The nocturnal burrowers are digging into ancient burial mounds at the site about five miles away from the stones.
The Ministry of Defence, which owns the land, is trying to shift the snuffly diggers to areas of less import.
Big fences are being considered to stop the badgers returning to their setts, or burrows. Killing the creatures has been ruled out.
English Heritage, which looks after sites of historical interest, has said: “Culling badgers has not been considered by English Heritage and is not our policy.”
English Heritage is now conducting research to find out more about the impact the badgers are having on the area.

Venue – Hemsley Arts Centre
Date 26th Sept 2004
Time 10:00-17:00hrs

Speakers include
John Dent – The Rudston Neolithic Monuments
Stephany Leach – Re-analysis of human skeletal remains from the Windy Pits
Graeme Lee – Aerial archaeology & the NYM
Gerry McDonnell – Ironworking in Ryedale
Rodney Mackey – I.A. cart burials & reconstructions.
Terry Manby – B.A. barrow excavations
Dominic Powesland – Geophysical research on the Wolds & Vale of Pickering
Ian Stead – Beyond Yorkshire
Peter Wilson – The Beadlam Villa & the Romano British period in Ryedale.

Tea & coffee

ALL FOR A TENNER – EXCELLENT VALUE!

Contact
Graeme Lee
Archaeological Conservation Officer
NYMNPA
The Old Vicarage
Bondgate Helmsley
YO62 5BP

Tel 01439 770657
[email protected]

from BBCi
Druids tried to spiritually clean them but now it is a vet’s turn to see if he can physically restore them to health.
The ancient Rollright Stones on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border have been off-colour ever since vandals daubed them in bright yellow paint.

Hi-tech ultrasound equipment used by vets to clean plaque from animals’ teeth is now to be used in an attempt to restore the stones. It is hoped the device will leave rare lichen on the stones untouched. Continues...

Heritage campaigners fighting to stop the destruction of the massive Thornborough henge complex this week delivered more than 600 written objections to the planning department of North Yorkshire County Council in Northallerton, northern England.
     The letters – which were delivered in a wheelbarrow – are as a result of a local, national and international campaign being co-ordinated by George Chaplin, the Thornborough Campaign co-ordinator for Heritage Action.

read more....

More national publicity for the threatened henge complex. Mr Chaplin puts the case in Martin Wainwright’s article at:
‘Diggers threaten ancient monument‘
guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1276469,00.html

More at
The Western Mail

A 24-year archaeological dig which has transformed Wales’ view of the Iron Age is to be wound up.
...secret stashes of sophisticated artefacts such as querns for grinding corn, spindle whorls for weaving, brooches, spear heads and horse harnesses [were found, and] painstaking sifting at the student training ground each summer has also unearthed several high-class Roman-style goods. This year 50 students led by Harold Mytum, of York University, have already found an almost perfectly preserved fifth-century-BC bowl, as well as glass beads.

“To me this site is very important,” said Dr Mytum yesterday. “It’s the only example of this sort of fort that’s been excavated very extensively. It’s revealed that they are very much more complicated in their design and construction than people thought.

“In Britain it’s up there with two or three other major Iron Age sites people know about such as Danebury in Hampshire. Although it was on the fringes, excavations show that it was not out of touch with the rest of the country. It’s made important changes to our perceptions of Iron Age Britain. It was on coastal trading routes and not perceived as a marginal area.”

A HUGE number of objections are being delivered to County Hall today, protesting against a quarry firm’s bid to extend its operations near the ‘Stonehenge of the North’.

Thornborough Henge campaigners hope to have collected a massive 1,000 individual letters of objection against Tarmac Northern Ltd’s plan to extend their sand and gravel extractions at Nosterfield Quarry.
The Friends of Thornborough and Heritage Action have also collected thousands more signatures on petitions, including on the internet, protesting against the threat to the prehistoric site, near Bedale.
Today they will be using a wheelbarrow to take the objections to North Yorkshire County Council which is set to decide on the issue.
Speaking of the massive support, George Chaplin, Heritage Action’s Thornborough Campaign co-ordinator and member of the Friends of Thornborough, said: “We have really upped the ante; we want to make a splash and show the powers that be some clear confirmation of the level of support.
“We feel that by presenting the council with more objections than it has ever received for any application, we can send a clear message about the strength of public concern.”
The campaign involved members visiting houses throughout the area and asking residents if they were interested in giving their support and writing a letter of protest.
Houses in Masham, Thornton Watlass, Newton-le-Willows, Well, Thornborough and Crayke Hall were all targeted and by Wednesday the group had already received around 600 letters with the promise of more to come.
Around ten per cent of the protest letters are from abroad, reflecting the international interest in the site, and an online petition has so far gained 3,300 signatures.
Although the statutory period for consultation officially ends tomorrow, people can still object to the application up to September 30.
Mr Chaplin said: “Once the statutory period is over we intend to concentrate on the quality rather than quantity of the objections as well as continuing the process of gaining international recognition for the Thornborough Henges.
In a statement, Tarmac Northern estates manager Bob Nicholson said the company shared the public’s concern for local heritage and the need to protect the area of the henges.
“We have announced that we do not intend to go ahead with any planning application to excavate the area surrounding the protected henges, pending the outcome of a detailed English Heritage study which will reveal the extent of the area’s competing land uses,” he said.
“We have also explained that by progressing our application to excavate sand and gravel at nearby Ladybridge Farm in the meantime we will be uncovering artefacts which would otherwise be left undiscovered, or worse, damaged by modern agricultural practices.
“In fact, Tarmac has an exceptional record in the recovery and protection of important archeological finds.
“We also continue to operate an open door policy with all local interest groups and the relevant statutory authorities to ensure we work together to find a solution which protects our local heritage at the same time as drawing on much-needed resources for the region’s construction industry.”
Mr Alwyn Shaw, the county council’s principal minerals and waste planning officer, could not confirm whether the number of objections was a record for such an application, as claimed by the campaigners.
“Everybody is entitled to make their views be known and we will look at them, read them, and present a summary of them to the planning committee,” he said.
“This is a controversial application and there has been a lot of concerns, as there is with a lot of quarry and waste applications. They attract local interest.”
Mr Shaw said a preliminary report would go before committee in October, and he believed a recommendation would be made that councillors undertake a site visit, probably in December.
“We would then have the full report with the full details and all representations heard. We accept that it is a difficult decision and we have to acknowledge people’s concerns.”

northallertontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=22&ArticleID=831525

From an article by John Lichfield in the Independent. More at:
news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=546468

The bison turning its head to lick its flank, carved with extraordinary precision from a reindeer antler, might have been made yesterday. Even the animal’s tongue, a couple of millimetres long, is visible.

The mint-fresh small carving, among the most celebrated and startlingly beautiful examples of palaeolithic art, was made 12,000 years ago. Since its discovery in the Dordogne, in south-west France, it has rarely been seen in public. It went on permanent, public display this month for the first time.

The “licking bison” has spent most of the past century locked away, appearing only for occasional exhibitions. The pre-history museum at Les Eyzies has made a policy decision to show original artefacts, rather than copies, wherever possible.

The bison se léchant is among 18,000 objects – many never shown before – in France’s Museum of Pre-history, which opened this month in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, in the Dordogne. The museum, 20 years in the planning, arguing and making, is a triumph. It is attracting more visitors than can be comfortably handled in the village which calls itself, with some justification, the “capital of pre-history”.

Local wits decorated the hill figure last week to leave no doubt about his sex. They also gave him a smiley face and decorated the staffs as flags, using white paint.

Sussex Past, the organisation responsible for the Long Man’s maintenance, is investigating the vandalism. Their spokesman Chris Munns said, ‘The extra lines were made with some kind of paint, so we should be able to strim them out.‘

The outline is actually marked with large white stone blocks, rather than being cut into the chalk itself.

(gleaned from ‘Eastbourne Today‘)

The Conishman 29th July 2004 CE

One of West Cornwall’s most famous stone circles might have to be re-named, following the re-positioning of fallen and leaning stones.

The Nine Maidens stone circle at Ding Dong (pictured) now has eleven stones standing upright, after archeologists re-erected standing stones that had long fallen and were lying on their side in thick undergrowth. Two stones have now been put back into place, making the circle, which originally had 22 stones, the most complete it has been for years.

Work to restore and repair the prehistoric stone circle has now been completed, following a joint project between the county council’s Environment and Heritage Service, Defra and the Nine Maidens Commoners.

The Nine Maidens Stone Circle, on the northern fringe of Madron between Ding Dong and craggy Carn Galver, underwent extensive works including scrub clearance, drainage improvements and footpath repair.

The two fallen stones were re-erected after a preliminary excavation to locate their original sockets.

When first recorded in the mid 18th century, there were 19 stones surviving of an original ring of 22.

Until the recent renovation there were only six standing upright, three were leaning heavily and two were completely fallen.

Other prehistoric monuments surviving close to the stone circle include the stump of a standing stone and several Bronze Age barrows, as well as the famous Men an Tol.

Together they indicate that this area was an important focus in prehistoric times. The erosion of the monument and surrounding area has been caused by visitors and trail bike users. Paths leading into the circle had become eroded and muddy while thick gorse had grown over parts of the circle.

Anne Preston Jones, of the County Council’s archeological unit, said the name of the circle would not have to be changed as it did not refer to the number of standing stones.

She explained: “Many circles in Cornwall are called ‘Nine Maidens’, as the figure nine was always considered magical and mystical. The name doesn’t really have anything to do with the number of stones in the circle.”

CAMPAIGNERS delivered a wheelbarrow full of objections against more quarrying near an ancient monument in North Yorkshire yesterday.

About 550 letters were handed to the county council from protestors fighting plans to extend the Nosterfield Quarry, close to Thornborough Henges, near Ripon, North Yorkshire.

Campaign group Heritage Action says the proposal by Tarmac Northern would destroy a significant archaeological site.

George Chaplin, Heritage Action campaign co-ordinator, said: “This is the most important monument between Stonehenge and the Orkneys and we expect it to be a long campaign.

“This is just an initial show of concern.

“Thornborough Henges has been woefully under-recognised as a site of importance and we aim to move forward with a national campaign to build awareness.

“Our work will be going on all summer. We have meetings set up all over the place to spotlight the issue.”

The site is said to contain the greatest concentration of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age henges – or circular monuments – in the country.

It is thought the henges may have been the most important sacred site in Britain 5,000 years ago and English Heritage has backed the protest campaign.

The county council expects to produce a preliminary report for consideration by councillors in September. This is likely to recommend a site visit and it could be December before any decision is taken.

thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_north_east/northallerton/news/NEWS2.html

Edited from “Iron Age ‘nerve centre’ uncovered on hill” by Angie Brown, The Scotsman
thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=863592004

New findings at Traprain Law, near Haddington, include the first coal jewellery workshop unearthed in Scotland as well as hundreds of artefacts giving new insight into life in the 700BC-AD43 era. Experts who have been working on the site for several weeks are now able to paint a picture of a densely populated hilltop town which was home to leaders of local tribes, following the discovery of multiple ramparts, Roman pottery, gaming pieces, tools and beads.

Fraser Hunter, the curator of Iron Age and Roman at the National Museums of Scotland (NMS), said pottery found at the site proved that in AD80-400 Traprain Law’s inhabitants had regular contacts with Roman visitors, highlighting the importance of the area.

“The finds confirm the importance of Traprain in the Iron Age. This was a major craft centre, with jewellery being cast in bronze and carved out of oil shale. The whole site is more complex and densely fortified than we originally thought. Our finds show it was the power centre of East Lothian from the multiple ramparts we have found and the fragments of Roman objects which tell us this site was important as it had affiliations with the Romans.

“Our excavations confirm that the site thrived during the Roman period, with the inhabitants having access to a wide range of Roman goods which are otherwise very rare in Scotland. We are also very excited to find a workshop where cannel coal was carved into jewellery. We knew this vegetable-based coal was used to make bangles and beads but nobody had ever found a workshop where it was made.

“It brings the Iron Age to life to know where they stood making these objects and gives us a vivid insight, which we have not had until now.”

Experts at the latest excavation, the largest since 1923, have also produced the first detailed plan of the hill using new global positioning satellite equipment to chart the 50 hectare area.

by Lynn Jackson, from This is East Dorset

AN AMBITIOUS project to uncover ancient archaeological remains dating back to the Bronze Age is due to start in east Dorset next month.

A team led by archaeologists from Bournemouth University plans to investigate a number of round barrows from around 2000BC at Knowlton Circles, south of Cranborne, as well as other ancient monuments along the Allen Valley.

Historians believe this part of Dorset was heavily occupied 4,000 years ago, but very little is known about how these early people lived.

Project leader John Gale, who is organising this summer’s dig with both university students and local volunteers, said: “It could be very exciting. There are hundreds of round barrows in this area, although many are hard to spot on the surface.

“Ancient monuments on Cranborne Chase have been relatively well studied but there’s been very little excavation work carried out in the Knowlton area and along the Allen Valley.

“The last major dig in this part of Dorset was sometime in the 1890s, but since then it’s hardly been looked at.”

As well as Bronze Age remains, archaeologists have also unearthed evidence of a nearby Romano-British settlement dating back to the first century AD.

Now, the university-led team hopes to do more exploratory work on this widespread site, with a view to carrying out excavations over the next four years.

Students and volunteers are set to start the dig on August 9, and will be on site six days a week, with Saturdays off.

Visitors are welcome to come and see how the work is progressing.

Published 27 July 2004

I have received the following and thought it suitable for inclusion here:

I understand that the White Horse Stone in Kent UK is important to your religion and I am writing to tell you of a threat to it and the immediate environment.

Orange wants to install a 15 metre mast within feet of the Stone and adjacent to the Pilgrim’s Way. They say it is temporary but once installed I don’t think it will ever be removed.

The mast if given planning permission will be in the hedgerow next to the Cursing field where the Stone stands too.

It is an area of natural Beauty and the White Horse Stone is an Ancient Monument.

If you can please write to:

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
Attn: Steve Humphrey
Director of Planning and Engineering Services
Gibson Building
Gibson Drive
Kings Hill
West Malling, Kent
ME19 4LZ

Please quote the Application No: TM/04/02250/FL

If a lot of letters are received it will go to a committee to be
considered instead of being nodded through by an officer from planning.

Comments and objections must be received by 2nd August. (That is this coming Monday).
The person dealing with this is Jill Thompson her phone number is 01732 876234. her email is [email protected]

Hengest Thorsson
Internet Information Officer
The Odinic Rite

From BBCi, 22 July 2004
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3915397.stm

Excavations are set to begin at what experts have described as one of the most important archaeological sites in Scotland.
They are trying to discover exactly how much damage was done by a major fire at the site last year.

The dig is taking place on Traprain Law, a hill near East Linton in East Lothian.

The area is noted as having been a major population centre in the late Bronze Age, 3,000 years ago.

In 2003, a fire started by a discarded cigarette end burned through grass and vegetation, damaging some historical remains and exposing others to potential erosion.

It left an unstable mixture of soil, mud and ash.

Investigators are now examining the worst affected areas hoping to carry out rescue and rehabilitation work.

Among the early finds in the current operation have been parts of a mediaeval building, as well as ancient tools, pottery and beads.

In the period AD 80 to 400 Traprain Law’s inhabitants had regular contacts with Roman visitors.

A huge hoard of Roman silver items was found on the hill in 1919.

July 19, 2004
form icNorthWales

EXPERTS have been brought in to help turn ancient bronze age copper workings in North Wales into a major tourist attraction.

Focus for the Copper Mountain project, which includes the old port of Amlwch in Anglesey, will be the historic Mynydd Parys mines and open cast sites. These played a major part in launching the industrial revolution in Britain and western Europe.

Now the mountain will be at the centre of a two-pronged bid to get visitors rolling in.

The Amlwch Industrial Heritage Trust has taken on consultants Gifford and Partners to draw up a detailed conservation management plan. The brief is to outline a programme of repair and restoration.

Another company, Parkin Heritage and Tourism, will draw up a development study and business plan.

The two reports will form the basis for future bids for funding.

On July 27 a team from Gifford will be setting up a day-long surgery at Amlwch Town Hall to get local opinions.

Project archaeologist Babita Sharma said: “We hope to speak to people to understand how they feel about their unique heritage.”

At last this excellent resource is officially available! Here is the Press Release from the RCAHMW:

What is COFLEIN?
Coflein is the online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW) – the national collection of information about the historic environment of Wales.
The name is derived from the Welsh cof (memory) and lein (line).

Coflein contains details of many thousands of archaeological sites, monuments, buildings and maritime sites in Wales, together with an index to the drawings, manuscripts and photographs held in the NMRW archive collections. Sites can be displayed on Ordnance Survey maps and ordered geographically, as well as by text queries. The data can be searched by location (place-name, area or Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 map sheet), by type (the classification or function of a site, monument or building) or by keyword.

rcahmw.gov.uk/coflein.shtml

16 July 2004, from 24hourmuseum.org.uk

Yorkshire campaigners opposing the proposed planning application by Tarmac Northern to quarry close to Thornborough Henges in North Yorkshire, say the application contravenes the local council’s policy on quarrying in the area.

Heritage Action claim that North Yorkshire County Council’s ‘Minerals Action Plan’, which regulates mineral extraction and quarrying in the region, recommends a reduction in the supply of sand and gravel from the county by 500, 000 tonnes per year.

This they maintain is not consistent with Tarmac’s proposed plans to quarry the nearby Ladybridge area. Continues here...

Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of a Roman fort and a Stone Age settlement near a pub in Chesterfield.
Experts were called in when developers discovered the artefacts on land underneath the Old Feather’s Pub on Lordsmill Street.

Some of the pottery dates back to the 1st Century AD.

Maria Barnes from Chesterfield Museum said the discovery indicates the town’s Roman settlement was larger than previously thought.

“Most of the evidence of Roman settlement is the centre of Chesterfield and this gives us proof that the civilian settlement around the fort extends further south than we previously thought,” she said.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/3891829.stm

A decision on plans to quarry near an ancient monument known as “Britain’s best kept prehistoric secret” will not be rushed, North Yorkshire Council has promised.

The council is considering an application by Tarmac Northern to extract sand and gravel from Ladybridge Farm at Nosterfield, near Ripon, which is within a mile of Thornborough Henges – three 5,500-year-old ancient monuments forming part of a sacred landscape across North Yorkshire.

English Heritage is among the opponents of quarrying until more archaeological investigations are carried out.
The council is waiting for archaeological information from Tarmac, which will form part of the company’s environmental statement in support of its plans.

Tarmac has sought to reassure local people, including the Friends of Thornborough Henges, who oppose any further quarrying, that the Ladybridge Farm application for an 111-acre quarrying extension would not damage the area’s archaeology.

Simon Smales, North Yorkshire’s assistant director (planning and countryside unit), responded to Friends’ criticism over the council’s handling of the planning application, saying it would be determined in the same way as any other scheme. He said: “Far from putting anyone at a disadvantage, the county council is providing everyone who has an interest in this particular application a period of time far in excess of that required by law to formulate their views and provide their comments.
“The county council must strike a balance between complying with the relevant legislation, the efficient handling of a planning application and obtaining the views of those people who are affected by, or have an interest in, a proposed development.”
Mr Smales said the usual 21-day period for responses had been extended by a week to July 30 and the Friends had been told the council would accept representations received up to September 30.

Planning officers are not expected to prepare a report for councillors before late October and a site visit would follow.

See snipurl.com/7rz8 for the original article by Julie Hemmings, as published on 14th July 2004 on the YorkshireToday web site.