Kammer

From an article on BBC News web site:

A Bronze Age gold disc used as an item of adornment at a burial 4,000 years ago has been declared treasure trove by a coroner at Aberystwyth.

The disc dating back 4,000 years was discovered at Cwmystwyth Mines near Aberystwyth – and is only the third known piece of gold from the Bronze Age discovered in Wales.

In November, the inquest had to be adjourned because the disk was not presented in court by representatives of the National Museum of Wales.

The find – roughly the size of a milk bottle top – is said to be as significant as the famous Mold cape – thought to have been worn as a garment for religious ceremonies by a great authority.

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Here’s an interesting article by Madhusree Mukerjee, published on ScientificAmerican.com. This site has a very draconian copyright statement, so I’ve paraphrased a bit of text as a taster:

The Goseck Circles are the remains of a henge-like monument, visible only as crop mark in a field, near the town of Goseck in Germany. Archaeologists published their first findings in August having first discovered the site from the air.

The Goseck Circles are thought to be Neolithic, dating back to 4900 BCE, taking the form of four concentric circles, a mound (or bank?), a ditch and two wooden palisades. Three palisade gates faced north, southwest and southeast. The article describes an alignment with the Winter Solstice sunrise between the centre of the circles and the southern gate.

Last year an etched disk known as the Nebra disk was found 25km from the circles, reinforcing the theory that the site may have been used as a very early observatory.

Scientific American: Circles for Space [ ARCHAEO-ASTRONOMY ]
German “Stonehenge” marks oldest observatory

From an article on Ananova:

Archaeologists have discovered an arc of buried megaliths that once formed part of the great stone circle at Avebury in Wiltshire.

The National Trust says the existence of these enormous stones, originally constructed more than 4,500 years ago, has remained a puzzle for the last 300 years.

Visitors to Avebury will see most of the standing megaliths in the western half of the stone circle.

The famous map of Avebury drawn up by William Stukely in the 1720s showed that many of the stones in the south east and north east quadrants of the circle were missing.

Now, the first ever geophysics survey of these areas of Avebury, carried out by the National Trust, has revealed that at least 15 of the megaliths lie buried in the circle itself.

More from Ananova...
The same story in the Independent...
The same story on the BBC News site...

From an article on BBC News web site:

An ancient gold disc which was used as an item of adornment at a burial 4,000 years ago has been discovered in Ceredigion.

Experts say the priceless sun disc is the first one of its kind to be found in Wales and only the third known piece of gold from the Bronze Age uncovered here.

The disc found by chance by an archaeologist digging at Copa Hill at the Cwmystwyth Mines – 10 miles outside Aberystwyth – was the subject of a treasure trove inquest heard by Ceredigion coroner on Tuesday.

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From an article on BBC News web site:

Our human ancestors may have taken a close interest in dental hygiene.
Palaeontologist Dr Leslea Hlusko, of the University of Illinois, claims to have evidence ancient man used rudimentary tooth picks.

She has shown that curved grooves found on fossil teeth dating back 1.8 million years could be the result of erosion caused by repeated rubbing with grass stalks.

Sceptics argue today’s toothpicks leave no such marks, but Dr Hlusko said grass is more abrasive.

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From an article on the BBC News web site:

UK museums and universities could soon have to repatriate many of the human remains in their collections to indigenous peoples around the world.

MPs were told on Tuesday that a working group that has been looking into the issue will recommend a panel be set up to oversee the return of collections.

Campaigners have pressurised curators to hand over old bones so that they can be buried in their tribal homelands.

Some scientists have resisted the calls because they still study some material.

They have argued that this research has provided invaluable information about human origins and evolution.

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From an article by David Whitehouse, published on BBC News web site:

A keen-eyed archaeologist claims to have found some of the oldest artwork ever – carved faces 200,000 years old.

The human images were found in 2001 by Pietro Gaietto on an expedition through the Borzonasca district of Italy.

He claims the rock has been sculpted into faces that look in opposite directions; one is bearded with what Gaietto calls an “expressive face”.

If this is genuine, the artist would have been an extinct human species that died out about 150,000 years ago.

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From an article by David Prudames, published on www.24hourmuseum.org.uk:

Using laser scanning technology to study Europe’s most famous ancient monument, a team of computer experts and archaeologists has discovered carvings of two axe heads on Stonehenge.

The most hi-tech investigation of the monument to date, the study was carried out between 2002 and earlier this year by a team from Wessex Archaeology and Archaeoptics Ltd.

Although similar carvings were first found at Stonehenge 50 years ago, they have never been fully surveyed or studied.

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From an article in the St Albans Observer by Claire Ling:

A rare coin that was made in St Albans 2,000 years ago is expected to fetch up to £1,300 when it goes up for auction in London. The Iron Age coin was struck in Verulamium [sic] between 10BC and 25 BC and horse-riding Celtic warriors are depicted.

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* Verlamiom = Pre-Roman Verulamium

From an article by Alan Hamilton, published in The Times, on 3rd September 2003:

Cryptic runic symbols discovered on a block of granite in Norfolk, initially thought to be of huge archaeological significance, have been found to be just eight years old.

The two-tonne rock, imported from Norway in the 1980s to strengthen sea defences at Gorleston-on-Sea near Great Yarmouth, was exposed this year by high tides. It was engraved with intertwined serpents and runic symbols which, it was felt, had a definite 2,000-year-old Norse look about them. Dr John Davies, chief curator for North Norfolk Museums, declared it unlikely to be a fake.

“It looks genuine; not the sort of design someone would doodle,” he said. The town’s local newspaper reported a “potentially very important discovery” — but the sculptor then confessed. Barry Luxton, 50, an unemployed construction worker with an interest in druids, said that he cut the design with a hammer and chisel over three days in 1995 to coincide with May Day celebrations.

“It is hilarious that they were taken in,” he said yesterday. “I certainly did not intend to deceive anyone.”

The newspaper carries a photo of the Mayor of Great Yarmouth proudly studying the carving, and another of Mr Luxton carving the symbol (page 11). Great stuff!

The Ananova version of the same article is also entertaining.

From an article on the Ananova Web site, published 8th July 2003:

Archaeologists have discovered the bones of a human who lived 25,000 years ago, in a cave on the outskirts of Beijing.

The bones were found in the village of Zhoukoudian near the site where the Peking Man fossils were discovered.

Excavations began in the cave in 2001 after forestry workers discovered fossilised animals there.

Read the full article...

From an article on the thisisDevon Web site, published 27th June 2003:

A prehistoric standing stone – one of the vital features of Cornwall’s Bronze Age landscape – was returned to its original site yesterday after being restored. Gun Rith Menhir, a 12ft granite stone, fell over in January and has since been in the care of archeologists.

Investigations carried out on the stone, and the circumstances surrounding its fall, revealed that it had been loose for more than 30 years and was set less than one foot in the ground.

Read the full article...

This news item was originally flagged up on the TMA Forum by Phil, but I thought it was worthy of a posting on the main site (we don’t get enough good news here, so I thought it might cheers us up a bit).

From an article on the BBC News Web site, published 11th June 2003:

Three fossilised skulls unearthed in Ethiopia are said by scientists to be among the most important discoveries ever made in the search for the origin of humans.

Read the BBC News Article | Read the Ananova Article

From an article on the BBC News Web site, published 5th June 2003:

Draft plans for a £193m road development around Stonehenge have been published – but there are still divisions over the details.

It is hoped that the re-routing of the A303 road, and a £57m visitor centre, will rescue the World Heritage site from its label as a national disgrace.

Read the BBC News Article | Read the Ananova Article

From an article on the BBC News Web site, published 10th February 2003:

The Bronze Age cairns at Dunkery Beacon on Exmoor have been daubed with pro-hunting graffiti and a viewpoint indicator has been damaged.

The words “no hunt-no deer” were sprayed over the cairns, between mid-afternoon on Sunday and early Monday morning.

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From an article by David Prudames, published on the 24 Hour Museum Web site (www.24hourmuseum.org.uk) on 15th January 2003:

Vandals have inflicted further damage on the Maiden Bower Iron Age fort in Bedfordshire.

English Heritage carried out an initial investigation of the damaged site near Dunstable on January 8, but have since been informed by the police of more damage, apparently caused over the weekend.

The original attack is thought to have occurred before Christmas when vandals used a stolen mechanical digger to damage earthworks surrounding the Iron Age fort and cut a number of holes from its centre.

It is believed the damage was caused by off-road motorcyclists, who, according to local sources, have been using the site for some time.

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From an article by David Prudames, published on the 24 Hour Museum Web site (8th January 2003):

Archaeologists in Bedfordshire are angry after discovering serious damage to the remains of an Iron Age fort near Dunstable just before Christmas, apparently caused by a mechanical digger.

Considered to be one of the most significant Iron Age monuments in the county, the Maiden Bower site was left scarred in what appears to be an act of vandalism.

It is believed a mechanical digger found at the scene was used to cause severe damage to surrounding earthworks and create a number of holes inside the fort.

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On Saturday at 2pm David Browne and Toby Driver, authors of the excellent RCAHMW publication on Pendinas, will be leading a tour of the hillfort. If you are interested in coming along, it all kicks off at 2pm by the monument on the top. Toby has told me they have some new theories about the design and arrangement of the defences, so it should be an interesting (if you’re a hillfort enthusiast). Hopefully the weather will improve before then!