Showing 1-20 of 61 news posts. Most recent first | Next 20 
Attack on Men Scryfa (late May 2023)
From the CASPN website:
On Thursday 1st June, CASPN received a very concerning message from a member of the public that there had been an attack on Mên Scryfa, an inscribed stone that stands below Carn Galva (& probably formerly a Bronze Age menhir). Someone had poured petrol (or similar liquid) over the top of the stone and set it on fire – blackening the top part of the stone’s north side and burning off all the lichen from that part of the stone. In addition, someone had also dug around the base of the stone to a depth of about 20cm (4”).
CASPN immediately contacted the police and other authorities to report this mindless act of vandalism against a scheduled monument. I visited Mên Scryfa on Friday to see the damage for myself – and am just so shocked and disappointed that anyone would want to do such a thing to one of our precious ancient sites.
James Kitto
Chair of CASPN
* Postscript: We now know that this dreadful attack took place before the afternoon of Sunday 28th May. Any further information may be shared with CASPN or reported to the police.
https://cornishancientsites.com/2023/06/12/attack-on-men-scryfa/
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Prehistoric stones destroyed for DIY store
Around 40 standing stones thought to have been erected by prehistoric humans 7,000 years ago have been destroyed near a famed archaeological site in northwest France to make way for a DIY store, an angry local historian has revealed.
But local archaeologist Obeltz believes local authorities failed to properly investigate.
"There weren't archaeological excavations in order to know if the stones were menhirs or not," he said.
"We're witnessing a series of failings. The state no longer protects our fellow citizens or our heritage. Appalling," far-right leader Marine Le Pen said on Twitter.
When contacted, the Mr. Bricolage group said it "sincerely regretted the situation" but pointed to authorisations for its store granted last year.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230608-anger-as-pre-historic-stones-destroyed-for-french-diy-store
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Kent's Cavern up for sale
"Kents Cavern, described as ‘the most important prehistoric cave complex in Britain’, is up for sale for £2.5m
It is billed by the estate agent as “Britain’s oldest home” and includes a network of caves featuring stalagmites and stalactites, a collection of full-size (replica) ice age animals, and an acre of woodland trails.
Kents Cavern in Devon, which has been open to the public since the 19th century and in the ownership of the same family for 100 years, is up for sale for a very modern-sounding £2m to £2.5m."
[Continues at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/11/devon-bolt-hole-caves-for-sale-billed-as-britains-oldest-home]
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Historic England releases map based on 500,000 aerial pictures
"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):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-58817448.amp
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Greenstone platform found at Trethevy
An archaeological excavation at Trethevy Quoit near Darite has made an exciting discovery which means that our understanding of the prehistoric site will have to be reassessed.
Between 9th and 13th July, more than thirty volunteers took part in the dig, which was supervised by Andy Jones and Ryan Smith of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit.
A geophysical survey had been undertaken in the field around the monument earlier this year and recorded a number of below-ground anomalies, which were targeted through excavation.
The largest below-ground feature was positioned close to the Quoit itself and, on investigation, this was found to be a significant platform of greenstone. The material had been quarried locally and brought to the site. It was clearly an integral part of the monument.
http://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/exciting-discovery-at-trethevy-quoit-archaeological-dig/
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Barrow discovered near Looe
An Archaeologist at The Australian National University (ANU) has discovered a prehistoric Bronze-Age barrow, or burial mound, on a hill in Cornwall and is about to start excavating the untouched site which overlooks the English Channel.
The site dates back to around 2,000 BC and was discovered by chance when ANU Archaeologist Dr Catherine Frieman, who was conducting geophysical surveys of a known site outside the village of Looe in Cornwall, was approached by a farmer about a possible site in a neighbouring field.
"He told us about a 'lump' on his land and that nobody knew what it was, so he asked us to take a look at it," said Dr Frieman, who is a Senior Lecturer in the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology.
"So we ran our equipment over a 1,600 metre square area and sure enough we found a quite obvious circular ditch - about 15 metres across - with a single entrance pointing south east and a bunch of pits in the middle.
More here: https://phys.org/news/2018-03-archaeologist-cornish-barrow-site.amp?__twitter_impression=true
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Cadw to remain in Government
The Welsh Government’s historic environment service Cadw will remain part of Welsh Government for the foreseeable future, Culture Minister Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas confirmed today.
As a government division, Cadw has put a greater focus on diversifying its appeal over recent years, becoming more economically sustainable and improving its ‘big 10’ attractions – something which has paid dividends, with record attendance numbers in 2017, up 8.4% on the previous summer.
Earlier this year a steering group report (Historic Wales – A roadmap towards Success, Resilience and Sustainability for the Heritage of Wales) included a specific recommendation relating to the future governance of Cadw. A robust business case was then taken forward to identify the best option.
The business case considered the steering group’s recommendations that Cadw should become ‘a charitable body or an executive agency outside of Welsh Government’. This was measured against the status quo, undertaking an in depth analysis of the functions of Cadw and the drivers for change.
The case was taken to Cabinet colleagues in October, with Dafydd Elis-Thomas happy to implement the decision to accept its core recommendation that the successes of Cadw are best built on and developed from within Government.
The Culture Minister said:
“I have long admired the good work done by Cadw in showcasing some of the magnificent heritage we have here in Wales, opening it up for all to enjoy.
“This has been done largely from within Government, and whilst it was appropriate at this juncture to explore all avenues as to how we can build on this success, I’m pleased to implement Cabinet’s decision to accept the business case’s clear recommendation that Cadw should remain part of Welsh Government.
“But it is also imperative that Cadw looks to evolve and progress, keeping up with best practices and having the flexibility and courage to make the best decisions for all its stakeholders and for the thousands of historic sites that comprise our unique historic environment.
“On this basis, I’m equally pleased to accept recommendations relating to increased autonomy for Cadw in certain aspects. These include establishing a formal system of delegation and internal freedoms, making best use of strategic partnerships between national organisations and establishing an internal operating board.
“These recommendations will maximise the contribution that Cadw can make to an accessible and well-protected historic environment for Wales. In particular they will help ensure that the public continues to have the best possible quality monuments, attractions and events to enjoy.”
Cadw is the Welsh Government’s Historic Environment Service, working for an accessible and well-protected historic environment for Wales. It looks after and opens to the public 129 monuments across Wales. Of these, 29 are staffed sites and the remainder are free open-access sites.
http://gov.wales/newsroom/culture-tourism-sport/2017/171121-cadw-to-remain-in-government/?skip=1&lang=en
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Archaeologists unearthing secrets of ancient hillfort in Oldbury-on-Severn
Little is known about the Iron Age fort, with mysteries and theories around when it was built and why it was built on the low land rather than, as the name suggests, on a hill.
The two-week excavation dig, which is being led by archaeologists DigVentures and A Forgotten Landscape, a South Gloucestershire Council-funded landscape partnership, is hoping to turn back the hands of time to find out more about the purpose of the hillfort.
More here:
http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/15375035.Archaeologists_unearthing_secrets_of_ancient_hillfort_in_Oldbury_on_Severn/
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Grime's Graves to open a second pit to the public
A challenging descent by ladder, winch and harness into a prehistoric underworld will open to the public for the first time this year, allowing exploration of shafts and galleries cut deep under Norfolk heathland more than 4,000 years ago.
The extraordinary surface landscape of Grime’s Graves, pockmarked with hundreds of shallow depressions, puzzled people for many centuries until they were identified about 150 years ago as neolithic flint mines.
More at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/06/prehistoric-norfolk-mine-grimes-graves-to-open-second-pit-to-public
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Wales heritage bodies reject formal merger
Welsh heritage bodies have rejected a formal merger of any of their functions.
But government-controlled Cadw will become independent in recommendations to Economy Secretary Ken Skates.
An independent review of National Museum Wales (NMW) will also be held and will be published by the summer.
It follows strong opposition to proposals to merge some commercial functions of heritage bodies into a new organisation Historic Wales.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/38841763?client=safari
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Prehistoric tombs may have enhanced astronomical viewing
Astronomers are exploring what might be described as the first astronomical observing tool, potentially used by prehistoric humans 6,000 years ago. They suggest that the long, narrow entrance passages to ancient stone, or 'megalithic', tombs may have enhanced what early human cultures could see in the night sky, an effect that could have been interpreted as the ancestors granting special power to the initiated.
Full story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160629221836.htm
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Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave art 10000yrs older than thought
"Some of the world's oldest prehistoric artwork, located in the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave in southeastern France, is actually 10,000 years older than previously thought, researchers said Tuesday.
The red and black cave drawings contained in the cave are more than 30,000 years old, according to a radiocarbon dating study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal."
More here:
http://rfi.my/20ACLug
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Largest Neolithic site in Wales found on Ynys Mon
More than 2,000 artefacts possibly dating back as much as 6,000 years have been discovered on the site of a new school in Anglesey .
It is the largest ever Neolithic discovery in Wales after being discovered by archaeologists investigating the site at Llanfaethlu.
The ruins of three buildings have also been uncovered by the CR Archeology team who have been on site since November 2014.
Archeologist Cat Rees told the Daily Post : “Until about 50 years ago all we knew about this period in North Wales came from the megalithic tombs and chance finds but this changed with the discovery at Llandegai, Bangor of a single house.
'Unlike anything else in North Wales'
“To date less than five have been found in the whole of North Wales.
“This settlement (at Llanfaethlu) has the best preserved houses and is the only one which has more than one house.”
Speaking from the site Matt Jones said: “The number and quality of artefacts is unlike anything else in North Wales.
“The main excavation started and we found one building, which we originally thought was it.
“That alone was fantastic but we soon discovered two others, this may have been a village.”
Cat continued: “So far we can tell from the finds that people were using the site for at least 1,000 years and we have found more than 2,000 flint, stone and pottery artefacts.
“We also have burnt hazelnuts, acorns and seeds which will allow us to radiocarbon date the site and reconstruct the Neolithic diet.”
Archaeologist Vicky Hudson and Matt Jones.Archaeologist Vicky Hudson and Matt Jones.
Matt said there was even a chance the site may have been a stone axe factory, with high-quality stone from Penmaenmawr discovered.
But the dig almost never happened when a pit group was initially discovered in a small evaluation trench.
But the group returned to examine a larger area as the houses extended beyond the excavation limit.
'Discoveries have been astonishing'
Cat said Anglesey Council have been "so supportive" of their discoveries.
“The council backed us and the discoveries have been astonishing, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
In April last year a mysterious copper artefact was discovered at a Neolithic tomb near Brynsiencyn.
Neolithic pottery found at the site.Neolithic pottery found at the site.
The find was able to add weight to one of archeology’s burning questions on whether or not there was a British Copper Age.
Anglesey is rich with ancient monuments with approximately 30 Neolithic and Bronze age burial chambers on the island, several ancient settlements and standing stones.
The find at Llanfaethlu however is unlike any other in terms of the number of artefacts which will now be analysed and soil to be carbon dated.
CR Archeology, who will wrap up the site in the next few days have had locals visit the site every week and held public talks on their discoveries.
Pupils from the schools which the Llanfaethlu super school will replace have also been to visit.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/largest-ever-neolithic-site-wales-10269341
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Bronze Age trackway unearthed on Cleethorpes beach
A prehistoric trackway that could be more than 4,000 years old has been discovered on a beach in Cleethorpes.
The wooden track would have been used to cross a boggy landscape and is believed to be from the early Bronze Age, said archaeologists.
It was found during a coastal survey for a project into threatened archaeological sites.
More on BBC website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-33732116
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Showing 1-20 of 61 news posts. Most recent first | Next 20 |
"The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing beck, the silent forest; always there will be the exhilaration of the summits. These are for the seeking, and those who seek and find while there is still time will be blessed both in mind and body." Alfred Wainwright
"The movers move, the shakers shake, the winners write their history. But from high on the high hills, it all looks like nothing." Justin Sullivan
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