'The Propped Stone', which is a much better description for these stones. Taken from 'Stone Worlds' book by Barbara Bender, Sue Hamilton and Chris Tilley.
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4,000-year-old Dartmoor burial find rewrites British bronze age history
Stone box contains earliest examples of wood-turning and metal-working, along with Baltic amber and what may be bear skin
Some 4,000 years ago a young woman's cremated bones – charred scraps of her shroud and the wood from her funeral pyre still clinging to them – was carefully wrapped in a fur along with her most valuable possessions, packed into a basket, and carried up to one of the highest and most exposed spots on Dartmoor, where they were buried in a small stone box covered by a mound of peat.
The discovery of her remains is rewriting the history of the bronze age moor. The bundle contained a treasury of unique objects: a tin bead and 34 tin studs, which are the earliest evidence of metal-working in the south-west; textiles, including a unique nettle fibre belt with a leather fringe; jewellery, including amber from the Baltic and shale from Whitby; and wooden ear studs, which are the earliest examples of wood turning ever found in Britain.
The site chosen for her grave was no accident. At 600 metres above sea level, White Horse hill is so remote that getting there even today is a 45-minute walk across heather and bog, after a half-hour drive up a military track from the nearest road. The closest known prehistoric habitation site is far down in the valley below, near the grave of the former poet laureate Ted Hughes.
Analysing and interpreting one of the most intriguing burials ever found in Britain is now occupying scientists across several continents. A BBC documentary, Mystery of the Moor, was first intended only for local broadcast, but as the scale of the find became clear, it will now be shown nationally on BBC2 on 9 March.
Scientists in Britain, Denmark and the Smithsonian in the US have been working on the fur. It is not dog, wolf, deer, horse or sheep, but may be a bear skin, from a species that became extinct in Britain at least 1,000 years ago.
"I am consumed with excitement about this find. I never expected to see anything like it in my lifetime," Jane Marchand, chief archaeologist at the Dartmoor National Park Authority said. "The last Dartmoor burial with grave goods was back in the days of the Victorian gentleman antiquarians. This is the first scientifically excavated burial on the moor, and the most significant ever."
It has not yet been possible definitively to identify the sex of the fragmented charred bones, though they suggest a slight individual aged between 15 and 25 years.
"I shouldn't really say her – but given the nature of the objects, and the fact that there is no dagger or other weapon of any kind, such as we know were found in other burials from the period, I personally have no doubt that this was a young woman," Marchand said. "Any one of the artefacts would make the find remarkable."
Although Dartmoor is speckled with prehistoric monuments, including standing stones, stone rows, and hundreds of circular hut sites, very few prehistoric burials of any kind have been found. What gives the White Horse hill international importance is the survival of so much organic material, which usually disintegrates without trace in the acid soil.
Apart from the basket, this burial had the belt; the ear studs – identical to those on sale in many goth shops – made from spindle wood, a hard fine-grained wood often used for knitting needles, from trees which still grow on the lower slopes of Dartmoor; and the unique arm band, plaited from cowhair and originally studded with 34 tin beads that would have shone like silver. There were even charred scraps of textile that may be the remains of a shroud, and fragments of charcoal from the funeral pyre.
Although tin – essential for making bronze – from Cornwall and Devon became famous across the ancient world, there was no previous evidence of smelting from such an early date. The necklace, which included amber from the Baltic, had a large tin bead made from part of an ingot beaten flat and then rolled. Although research continues, the archaeologists are convinced it was made locally.
The cist, a stone box, was first spotted more than a decade ago by a walker on Duchy of Cornwall land, when an end slab collapsed as the peat mound that had sheltered it for 4,000 years was gradually washed away. However, it was only excavated three years ago when archaeologists realised the site was eroding so fast any possible contents would inevitably soon be lost. It was only when they lifted the top slab that the scale of the discovery became apparent. The fur and the basket were a wet blackened sludgy mess, but through it they could see beads and other objects. "As we carefully lifted the bundle a bead fell out – and I knew immediately we had something extraordinary," Marchand said. "Previously we had eight beads from Dartmoor; now we have 200."
The contents were taken to the Wiltshire conservation laboratory, where the basket alone took a year's work to clean, freeze dry, and have its contents removed. The empty cist was reconstructed on the site. However, this winter's storms have done so much damage the archaeologists are now debating whether they will have to move the stones or leave them to inevitable disintegration.
The jewellery and other conserved artefacts will feature in an exhibition later this year at Plymouth city museum, but although work continues on her bones, it is unlikely to answer the mystery of who she was, how she died, and why at such a young age she merited a burial fit for a queen.
Maeve Kennedy
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/mar/09/dartmoor-burial-site-bronze-age-history
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Bronze Age rock art uncovered in Brecon Beacons
Rare, prehistoric rock art which could be more than 4,000 years old has been discovered in the Brecon Beacons.
The Bronze Age discovery was made late last year by national park geologist Alan Bowring.
Experts claim the stone probably served as a way marker for farming communities.
Similar stones have been found in other parts of Britain but they are thought to be rare in mid Wales.
Its exact location in the Brecon Beacons is being kept a secret and news of its discovery comes after archaeologists found a similar ancient rock in the Scottish Highlands.
The Welsh stone is about 1.45m (4ft 9in) long and half a metre (1ft 8 in) wide, with 12 cup (hollow) marks of various shapes and sizes on the face.
It now lies flat on the ground but experts say it could have once stood upright.
There are no other later prehistoric standing stones within this part of Wales that are cup marked, making this one rather unique”
Mr Bowring was working on land maintained by the National Trust when he spotted the rock.
Sensing it was unusual, he sought advice from national park archaeologist Natalie Ward, who had experience of recording similar artefacts in the north of England.
"I often find myself working and walking in remote locations, and encountering hidden features in the landscape of south and mid Wales that few others will have seen," said Mr Bowring.
"But this chance discovery, made whilst looking for clues to the site's exciting geological history, appears to be significant in our understanding of human cultural history in the region."
The National Trust's own archaeological survey had already highlighted Bronze Age features in the area, giving some context to the stone's past.
Dr George Nash, archaeologist and specialist in prehistoric and contemporary art at Bristol University, confirmed Mr Bowring had discovered the first prehistoric rock engraved panel recorded in the Brecon Beacons.
Dr Nash added that based on the shape of the stone and its engravings it probably came from the early to middle Bronze Age period - 2500 BC to 1500 BC - and it probably served as a way marker.
"We might have been able to predict a discovery of this kind considering the large amount of prehistoric ritual sites in the Brecon Beacons but this is the first evidence of prehistoric rock art to be ever recorded [in the Beacons]," Dr Nash said.
"There are no other later prehistoric standing stones within this part of Wales that are cup marked, making this one rather unique."
He said the cup marks were the most common later prehistoric rock art form in Britain and Europe, but their occurrence in mid Wales was rare.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-26452022?
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National experts talk about Oswestry hillfort’s future
TV archaeologist Stewart Ainsworth has claimed ancient hillforts should be “treasured” – and insisted surrounding fields should also be protected from development.
The Time Team archaeologist said areas surrounding the likes of Oswestry’s Iron Age hillfort – which he described as “spectacular” – were just as important as the hills due to their historical and religious significance.
He made the comments while attending a seminar event at Oswestry Memorial Hall, which was held by campaigners fighting plans to build 117 homes near the town’s hillfort.
More than 100 people attended to hear a number of expert speakers from across Europe discuss the the context of the hillfort, its historical significance and some of the archaeological finds made at the site.
The homes off Whittington Road have been included in Shropshire Council’s Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev) plan, which will see more than 20,000 homes built across the county by 2026. Two further proposals to build homes near the hillfort were last week omitted from the planning blueprint, which had initially proposed about 200 homes would be built in the area.
Mr Ainsworth, a regular on the Channel 4 programme, said: “This is a spectacular hillfort. One of the impressive things about it is there are some unusual features which we don’t quite understand, which makes it unique and really quite unusual.”
“It’s important that we treasure the past. The zones around the hillfort, the penumbra, are just as important as the hill. Even in prehistory these areas had meaning for religion and history.”
Mr Ainsworth, who lives in Chester, has been studying Iron Age hillforts for 40 years and said he had long had an interest in the hillfort in Oswestry. “I’ve got a professional and personal interest in any development which potentially affects a major Iron Age centre,” he said.
Among the speakers at Saturday’sevent was Dr George Nash, professor of archaeology and anthropology at IPT in Portugal. He said: “Judging by the audience that turned out, clearly there’s an opposition against this ridiculous planning proposal. We’ve got to keep our green and pleasant land free of development for future generations.”
Maggie Rowlands, one of the organisers of the seminar, said: “We had a fantastic turnout. ”
Town councillors are due to meet tomorrow to form a response to the proposals.
http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/02/24/national-experts-talk-about-oswestry-hillforts-future/
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Excavation of Low Hauxley Bronze Age Cairns
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Prehistoric forest arises in Cardigan Bay
Skeletal trees of Borth forest, last alive 4,500 years ago and linked to lost kingdom of Cantre'r Gwaelod, appear at shoreline.
A prehistoric forest, an eerie landscape including the trunks of hundreds of oaks that died more than 4,500 years ago, has been revealed by the ferocious storms which stripped thousands of tons of sand from beaches in Cardigan Bay.
The forest of Borth once stretched for miles on boggy land between Borth and Ynyslas, before climate change and rising sea levels buried it under layers of peat, sand and saltwater.
Scientists have identified pine, alder, oak and birch among the stumps which are occasionally exposed in very stormy winters, such as in 2010, when a stretch of tree remains was revealed conveniently opposite the visitor centre.
The skeletal trees are said to have given rise to the local legend of a lost kingdom, Cantre'r Gwaelod, drowned beneath the waves. The trees stopped growing between 4,500 and 6,000 years ago, as the water level rose and a thick blanket of peat formed.
This year a great swath of the lost forest has been revealed. Last month archaeologists also found a timber walkway nearby, exposed by the storms. It was discovered by Ross Cook and Deanna Groom, from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, who went beach walking in the wake of the storms to check for any new finds. It was made from short lengths of coppiced branches, held in place with upright posts.
It has been dated to between 3,100 and 4,000 years old, built as the local people found ways to cope with living in an increasingly waterlogged environment.
Two years ago human and animal footprints were found preserved in the hardened top layer of peat, along with scatterings of burnt stones from ancient hearths.
A £13m coastal defence system to protect the modern village was opened in 2012, but as the recent exposure of the spectacular prehistoric landscape proves, the coast is still being scoured bare by storms and flood tides.
By Maeve Kennedy
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/20/prehistoric-forest-borth-cardigan-bay-wales
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The monument includes a cist situated near the summit of Whitehorse Hill. The cist was, until 2001, visible in the edge of an irregularly shaped island of peat standing above its surroundings. Only the western edge of the cist was exposed, the remainder, including the cist's original contents, being sealed beneath peat deposits. The cist measures 0.3m deep by 0.4m wide and its capstone remains in its original position. Early in 2001 a protective drystone wall measuring 3m long by 0.9m high was built in front of the western edge of the cist, which as a result is no longer visible. The drystone wall is included in the scheduling. This cist stands at a considerable height above sea level and, perhaps as a consequence, no broadly contemporary settlements are known to survive within its vicinity.
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Dartmoor tomb treasure hoard uncovered by archaeologists
Still in the news, though we have missed the tv show last night ;(
Archaeologists from around the UK have been examining a hoard of treasures unearthed in a 4,000-year-old tomb on Dartmoor.
Prehistoric jewellery, animal pelts and beads made of amber were among the finds about two years ago in the burial chamber.
The chamber, known as a cist, was found on Whitehorse Hill, near Chagford.
Dartmoor National Park archaeologists have called it the most important ancient find on the moor.
When they levered off the chamber's lid they discovered an intact burial of cremated remains.
Coiled bag
The coiled bag has been specially cleaned
It was wrapped in an animal pelt, containing a delicate bracelet studded with tin beads, a textile fragment with detailed leather fringing and a unique coiled bag.
Jane Marchand, Dartmoor National Park's chief archaeologist, said: "Visibly it's not as impressive as Stonehenge, but archaeologically it's just as important.
"It was incredibly exciting to lift the lid and a bead fell out."
At the Wiltshire Conservation Lab, the team had the delicate task of trying to reveal the secrets of the coiled bag containing rare beads.
Just eight beads have been found on Dartmoor in the last 100 years.
"We're awaiting DNA results on the pelt so we can identify what animal it might have come from.
"Amazing doesn't really do them justice. It's the most extraordinary assortment of finds with tin beads and wooden ear studs."
Archaeologists say the discovery also points to the earliest evidence of tin found in the South West.
Mystery of the Moor, a BBC Inside Out South West programme, is on BBC One on Friday at 19.30 GMT.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-26081571?
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Project will create digital archive of historic cave drawings
Archaeologists have revealed the initial results of a project to preserve ancient cave drawings in a Fife town.
Wemyss Caves hold the largest collection of Pictish carvings in north-west Europe.
However, they are under constant threat from coastal erosion.
The project, a joint effort between St Andrews University, York Archaeological Trust and a local community group, aims to scan the images and save them for future generations.
The academics will showcase their findings online to reach a wider audience.
The community conservation group wants to turn the caves into a prominent tourist attraction before they are destroyed forever.
A virtual tour of the caves will be accessible online from April.
http://news.stv.tv/tayside/263035-wemyss-caves-project-to-create-digital-archive-of-carvings/?
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The Marlborough Mound; A further Neolithic Monumental mound by the River Kennet
Full report on: The Marlborough Mound, Wiltshire. A Further Neolithic Monumental Mound by the River Kennet.
Authors: Jim Leary, Matthew Canti, David Field, Peter Fowler, Peter Marshall and Gill Campbell
Prehistoric Society.
Open Access on Cambridge Journal till the 28th February
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Trefael Stone burial site 'much older than previously thought'
Fascinating news from Wales.....
A ritual burial site in Pembrokeshire may have been in use 10,000 years ago - almost twice as far back as expected, said archaeologists.
The Trefael Stone near Nevern was reclassified as a Stone Age burial chamber after its capstone was studied.
But a three-year dig has since found beads dating back much further, perhaps to the Neolithic or Mesolithic periods.
Dr George Nash said the carbon dating of bones found there also suggested it was used as recently as 1,900 BC.
Bristol University and the Welsh Rock Art Organisation excavated at the site from 2009 and had permission to examine 1.9kg of cremated human bones.
Dr George Nash, who headed the dig, said that rather than trying to pinpoint a single moment in time, the excavation had revealed a site which was of symbolic significance to ancients for millennia.
He said: "The best comparison I can come up with is with a medieval churchyard.
"When you walk around it, the most obvious examples of graves from about 100 years ago, but when you search a little further you can see the evidence of older burials, and how the site has altered and evolved over the centuries.
"Why this site, or any other, became of such significance is still under debate."
However, the best theory appears to be that sites such as these symbolised the periphery of prehistoric territories where hunter-gatherers would have met to trade and negotiate.
"Because they would have come back there generation after generation, it became ingrained in their collective psyche as a place of almost romantic importance," said Dr Nash.
For centuries the Trefael standing stone was largely disregarded as just one of hundreds of similar Bronze Age monuments.
Yet closer analysis of its distinctive cup marks now indicate that they loosely match the pattern of stellar constellations.
This would only make sense if, rather than standing upright, it had originally been laid flat as a capstone which would have once been supported by a series of upright stones.
Dr Nash believes the Trefael Stone in fact topped a Neolithic burial chamber, probably a portal dolmen, which is one of western Britain's earliest burial monument types.
"Many years ago Trefael was considered just a simple standing stone lying in a windswept field, but the excavation programme has proved otherwise," he said.
"It suggests that Trefael once lay in the heart of a ritualised landscape that was in operation for at least 5-6,000 years.
"The geophysical survey has shown that most of the area within a 1km (0.6 mile) radius of the site has significant archaeological remains beneath the soil, including at least seven probable barrows and a number of later prehistoric enclosures.
"The discovery of human remains and their subsequent date range is the icing on the cake."
Archaeologists at the Trefael Stone The team dug at the site for three years to discover its secrets
Though after 6,000 years of continuous use, Trefael appears to have been abandoned shortly after the date of the human remains unearthed there.
Dr Nash said: "We'll never have all the answers. It's amazing that we've found this much in the notoriously acidic Pembrokeshire soil, which normally destroys any ancient artefacts.
"But it's not surprising that the significance of Trefael seems to have fallen away after the mid-Bronze Age. It ties in with what we know of
similar burial sites around Europe.
"As the importance of metal grew, those who controlled the natural resources became ever more powerful.
"So Bronze Age Wales moves away from the democratised society of mass ritual burials, to one where power is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small warrior elite."
The Trefael Project is run by members of the Welsh Rock Art Organisation, a non-profit research body specially interested in researching and promoting prehistoric rock art in Wales.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-25689652
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A city centre mini-megalith or folly
"In 1918 this house became the Prince of Wales Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers, and to mark its opening the stone folly in the front garden was donated by Miss Cory of Duffryn House. The folly is made of Radyrstone and is a replica of a Megalithic Burial Chamber contained within the Maes-y-Felin Cromlech (or Chambered Long Barrow) near St Lythans, South Glamorgan, which dates from the Neolithic period (C. 3000 B.C.)"
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Science: Orkney – hot spot of the Stone Age
Evidence shows that Britain’s megalithic monuments started on these islands about 5,200 years ago, along with new styles of architecture and pottery
The Orkney Islands, off Scotland’s north coast, are famous for their wealth of Stone Age monuments. Until recently, these had been seen as the peripheral flowering – in a cold, wet and remote location – of a culture that had spread north from a more hospitable climate.
But the latest archaeological evidence, described in the journal Science this month, shows that Britain’s megalithic monuments really started on Orkney’s Mainland Island about 5,200 years ago, along with new styles of architecture and pottery. From there the innovations swept south across the British Isles, culminating hundreds of years later in Stonehenge and Avebury in Wiltshire.
“We’re looking at a fairly major transformation across Britain – the impact of a whole way of life, religious and social, which comes out of Orkney,” says Michael Parker Pearson of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. “Orkney was a place of synthesis, where the Neolithic worlds came together.”
Although most of Orkney’s Neolithic monuments, such as the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness, have been famous for centuries, new discoveries are coming from a vast complex of stone buildings, the Ness of Brodgar, that had been buried for millennia until excavation started less than a decade ago.
The Ness of Brodgar was built about 3200BC on the middle of a narrow isthmus dividing freshwater and saltwater lochs. It included a dozen or more buildings with outer walls up to four metres thick and inner walls incised with mysterious butterfly-like patterns. The central gathering hall, 500 sq m in area, had a cross-shaped inner sanctum.
Carbon dating of organic material found at the Ness suggests that the complex was used for about 1,000 years. Activities included feasting on a huge scale, judging from the number of cattle bones found on the site and pottery with residues of beef and dairy fats. It must have been a gigantic ceremonial centre, not only for the 10,000 or so people believed to have lived on Neolithic Orkney but probably also for outsiders who made a perilous voyage by boat from the mainland.
Archaeologists say the combination of stone circles and earth henges that is so characteristic of British Neolithic monuments – and unknown elsewhere in Europe – is seen on Orkney at least 100 years earlier than the rest of Scotland or England. The Grooved Ware style of incised pottery associated with henge monuments also appeared on Orkney before anywhere else. So did a distinctive style of housing – with a central hearth, stone beds and an area for storing household goods. But why such a remote spot became Britain’s hotbed of cultural innovation 5,000 years ago remains a mystery.
Hopefully the link works as it is the FT...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/3449dde2-7800-11e3-afc5-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2q4zsn300
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Before Stonehenge - Did this man lord it over Wiltshire's sacred landscape?
What they have discovered sheds remarkable new light on the people who, some 5500 years ago, were building the great ritual monuments of what would become the sacred landscape of Stonehenge.
A leading forensic specialist has also used that prehistoric Briton's skull to produce the most life-like, and arguably the most accurate, reconstruction of a specific individual's face from British prehistory.
The new research gives a rare glimpse into upper class life back in the Neolithic.
Five and a half millennia ago, he was almost certainly a very prominent and powerful individual - and he is about to be thrust into the limelight once again. For his is the prehistoric face that will welcome literally millions of visitors from around the world to English Heritage's new Stonehenge visitor centre after it opens tomorrow, Wednesday. The organisation estimates that around 1.2 million tourists from dozens of countries will 'meet' him as they explore the new visitor centre over the next 12 months.
The new scientific research has revealed, to an unprecedented degree, who this 'face of prehistory' really was.
He was born around 5500 years ago, well to the west or north-west of the Stonehenge area, probably in Wales (but conceivably in Devon or Brittany)
Aged two, he was taken east, presumably by his parents, to an area of chalk geology - probably Wiltshire (around the area that would, 500 years later, become the site of early Stonehenge). However, aged 9, he then moved back to the west (potentially to the area where he had been born) - and then, aged 11, he moved back east once more (again, potentially to the Stonehenge area).
Aged 12, 14 and 15, he travelled back and forth between east and west for short durations and at increased frequency. Scientists, analysing successive layers of the enamel in his teeth, have been able to work all this out by analysing the isotopic values of the chemical elements strontium (which changed according to underlying geology) and oxygen which reflected the sources of his drinking water.
He grew into a taller than average man, reaching an adult height of 172 centimetres. In Neolithic Britain, the average height for adult males was 165 centimetres, while in Britain today it is 176. He probably weighed around 76 kilos (12 stone) and had fairly slender build. Throughout his life, he seems to have consumed a much less coarse diet than was normal at the time . His teeth show much lighter wear than many other examples from the Neolithic. He also had a much higher percentage of meat and dairy produce in his diet than would probably have been normal at the time.
By analysing nitrogen isotope levels in his teeth, a scientific team at the University of Southampton, led by archaeologist Dr Alistair Pike, have worked out that he obtained 80-90% of his protein from animals - probably mainly cattle, sheep and deer.
A detailed osteological examination of his skeleton, carried out by English Heritage scientist, Dr Simon Mays, has revealed that he probably led a relatively peaceful life. The only visible injuries showed that he had damaged a knee ligament and torn a back thigh muscle - both injuries, potentially sustained at the same time, that would have put him out of action for no more than a few weeks.
There is also no evidence of severe illness - and an examination of hypoplasia (tooth enamel deformation) levels suggest that at least his childhood was free of nutritional stress or severe disease. Hypoplasia provides a record of stress through a person's childhood and early teenage years.
But he seems to have died relatively young, probably in his late 20s or 30s. At present it is not known what caused his death.
However, he was probably given an impressive funeral - and certainly buried in a ritually very important location.
Initially his body was almost certainly covered by a turf mound but some years or decades later, this mound was massively enlarged to form a very substantial mausoleum - one of the grandest known from Neolithic Britain. He was the only individual buried there during his era - although a thousand or more years later, several more people were interred in less prominent locations within the monument.
This great mausoleum - 83 metres long and several metres high - was treated with substantial respect throughout most of prehistory - and can still be seen today some one and half miles west of Stonehenge. Fifteen hundred years after his death, his tomb became the key monument in a new cemetery for the Stonehenge elites of the early Bronze Age.
All the new evidence combines to suggest that he was a very important individual - a prominent member of the early Neolithic elite.
The research into his life has yielded a number of fascinating new revelations about that period of British prehistory.
First of all, it hints at the degree to which society was stratified by this time in prehistory. Far from being an egalitarian society, as many have tended to think, the evidence points in the opposite direction. Most early Neolithic people were not given such grand mausolea . The type of monument which was constructed over his grave (known to archaeologists as a long barrow) was primarily a place of ritual, not just a place associated with burial. By having one erected over him, he was being given a very special honour.
Of the 350 such long barrows known in Britain, it is estimated that 50% had no burials in them at all, that a further 25% had just one person buried in them - and that most of the remaining quarter had between five and 15 buried in each of them.
Secondly, it shows, arguably for the first time, that high social status in the early Neolithic was already a matter of heredity. The isotopic tests on the man's teeth show quite clearly that his privileged high meat diet was already a key feature in his life during childhood.
Thirdly, the scientific investigation suggests that at least the elite of the period was associated with a very wide geographical area. In other words, they were not simply a local elite but, at the very least, a regional one. The fact that he seems to have moved back and forth between the west of Britain (probably Wales) and the southern chalklands (probably the Stonehenge area) every few years, at least during his childhood and teenage years, suggests that his family had important roles in both areas.
Given the ritual significance of the Stonehenge area, even at this early stage, it is possible that he and his father and other ancestors before him had been hereditary tribal or even conceivably pan-tribal priests or shamans in a possibly semi-nomadic society. It is also likely that such people also played roles in the secular governance of emerging political entities at the time.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/before-stonehenge--did-this-man-lord-it-over-wiltshires-sacred-landscape-9008683.html
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Iron age hill fort threatened by plans to build 200 luxury homes
Update:
Protesters in Shropshire say housing for 'affluent commuters and rich retirees' will ruin a site of national importance and set back archaeological research.
Old Oswestry is one of Europe's best preserved iron age hill forts, a site that has existed for more than 3,000 years and can be seen for miles around.
The war poet Wilfred Owen completed his army training on the grassy mounds of Old Oswestry, which is also said to be the birthplace of King Arthur's wife, Guinevere. It is likely that the Shropshire lad himself, AE Housman, would have spent time admiring the views from the fort's majestic summit on the Shropshire-Wales border.
Now, in what critics say is a result of the government's new planning policy, proposals have been drawn up to build almost 200 luxury homes next to the ancient site, angering local residents and heritage groups. Some 6,000 people have signed a petition opposing the development, part of the county council's plan to build 2,600 homes by 2026 to comply with government targets.
One of 25 hill forts in Shropshire, Old Oswestry has a series of perimeter ditches, formed between ramparts, that were designed to slow down attackers. An archaeological survey in 2010 found man-made structures in fields to the north-east of the fort. Two years ago the discovery of an iron age road, thought to connect The Wrekin, near Telford, with fields near the site, indicated that there was likely to be important evidence of past cultures buried under the soil.
"If houses go up, access to important archaeology and further understanding of iron age culture will be lost indefinitely under bricks and concrete," said Neil Phillips of Hands Off Old Oswestry Hillfort (Hoooh). "The sprawling infrastructure of the housing masterplan, with houses, roads, gardens, link paths and car parking, will severely erode a large part of the green farmstead setting which is an integral part of Old Oswestry's appeal."
English Heritage, which describes Old Oswestry as "a site of great national importance, one that helps to define our national story and identity", has joined Oswestry town council in opposing the scheme, which locals say will do little to ease housing problems. They claim that the 188 homes planned for up to three sites around the fort will be expensive, low-risk developments "for affluent commuters, rich retirees, country retreat investors and holiday cottage landlords". The development will be studied closely by the likes of the National Trust, which has warned that the government's new "pro-development" planning framework will result in a glut of upmarket homes being built on greenfield sites because these offer the best returns for construction firms.
Campaigners have questioned the basis for the council's new homes target. "Shropshire council has acknowledged that the 2,600 figure is both arbitrary and inexact," said John Waine from Hoooh. "This is the sand on which they seem willing to allocate new homes, setting a precedent for future build around this and other Shropshire heritage sites."
Local people have pressed their MP, environment secretary Owen Paterson, to raise their concerns. A spokeswoman for Paterson said: "He never becomes involved in planning decisions, which are entirely the responsibility of Shropshire council. However, he always passes on the concerns of any constituents who contact him to the leader of Shropshire council."
A council spokesman said it was awaiting a response from local groups before commenting further: "We understand that the town council is to meet with representatives of English Heritage in early December and we expect a formal view from them shortly afterwards
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/24/old-oswestry-hill-fort-housing-threat
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Council approves donkey sanctuary on ancient site
Kerry County Council last night confirmed it had given the go-ahead for a donkey sanctuary and roadway now under construction in a unique Bronze Age valley near the Conor Pass which contains dozens of archaeological monuments.
The council said it had made its ruling “based on the information” it was given. No archaeological survey was demanded by the council.
The donkey sanctuary is within an archaeological complex of recorded monuments and the proximity to the monuments is causing concern.
Archaeologists from the National Monuments Service and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht are on their way to the Loch a Dúin valley near Cloghane amid concerns the development may be too close to a large fulacht fiadh (a Bronze Age cooking pit) and other archaeological monuments.
The council was approached by the proposer of a donkey sanctuary about whether permission would be required. The council said as the shed and road were agricultural in nature no planning was needed.
Kerry County Council last night issued a statement saying “based on the information it had received” it had decided the works did not need planning.
The valley in question has 90 monuments including fulachtaí fiadh and 12km of pre-bog field walls dating from the Bronze Age.
More than half a kilometre of roadway has been constructed and work has begun on the donkey sanctuary. Much of the valley — apart from a small forested section — is a special area of conservation, including Scorid River. Forestry and fisheries officials have also visited the site.
A statement from the council last night read: “Based on the information received and the nature of the development, a certificate of exemption was issued, confirming that the development, as proposed, did not require planning permission.
“An initial inspection of the site has been undertaken by the council’s planning staff and the county archaeologist to determine if the development is being carried out in according with the exemption issued. The matter has also been referred to the National Monuments Section of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.”
The council said it would be carrying out further detailed inspections and will contact the developer in the coming days.
An archaeologist who has part-surveyed the valley said the entire area with its structures thousands of years old was to the Bronze Age what the Céide Fields in Mayo were to the Stone Age in terms of significant monuments.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/council-approves-donkey-sanctuary-on-ancient-site-249042.html
Conor Pass; http://www.dingle-peninsula.ie/conor.html
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New £1m Hengistbury Head visitor centre nears completion
WORK to create a brand new £1million Hengistbury Head visitor centre is almost complete and it will be welcoming visitors from December 14.
Construction work has taken place over the last year at the thatched barn adjacent to the Iron Age Double Dykes.
Once open, the new centre will offer an exhibition area for archaeology, ecology and geology, a dedicated space for learning and community use, outdoor learning areas, wildlife garden, toilets, a shop and work space for centre staff, volunteers and other community groups.
The work has included an eco-build extension to the existing barn cottage which has a range of environmentally-friendly features, including a green roof, solar panels and straw bale walls.
The new centre will give the public the opportunity to see and handle some of the archaeological collections unearthed at Hengistbury Head over the past 100 years. Residents will also be able to get involved as heritage volunteers in the running of the centre and nature reserve.
Stuart Clarke, conservation and countryside manager at Bournemouth council, said: “This is a really exciting project for Hengistbury Head and we look forward to welcoming visitors to explore the new centre which promises to be a fantastic resource for the area.
. .
“Hengistbury Head attracts more than one million visitors every year and for the first time, we will have a unique and dedicated visitor centre where members of the public will be able to come and learn about the area’s rich heritage, including the wildlife, geology and archaeology that can be found here.”
The centre will be open from December 14 until January 5, 2014 before closing for the fit-out to be completed. It will then open fully on February 1, 2014.
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/10763529.New___1m_Hengistbury_Head_visitor_centre_nears_completion/
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Kilmartin Museum project is next for Scots architects
Reiach and Hall, one of Scotland's leading contemporary architectural practices, has won the commission to design the £3 million museum housing some of the country's oldest known artefacts.
The Kilmartin Museum in Argyll, near the site of Dunadd hill fort, seat of the first recorded kingdom in Scotland, is to be transformed, with new museum and gallery spaces, an education centre, a café and expanded storage areas.
The commission follows the Edinburgh firm's success in securing the contract for the new Bannockburn visitor centre, a £9.1m project funded by the National Trust for Scotland in partnership with Historic Scotland, due to open next year. Acclaimed recent commissions include the Pier Arts Centre in Orkney and Forth Valley College in Stirling.
Dr Sharon Webb, director of the Kilmartin Museum, said: "We are a victim of our own success - our archaeological collections have grown hugely over the last 10 years and we need more space to care for them and ensure people can enjoy and understand them."
David Anderson, senior associate at Reiach and Hall, said: "What makes the job interesting is working with passionate clients who care very deeply about what they do.
"Neolithic Orkney is very well known, but Kilmartin, where pieces of pottery have been found that pre-date anything found at Stonehenge, is now coming into the spotlight."
Kilmartin Glen in mid-Argyll, 90 miles west of Glasgow, contains more than 800 historic and prehistoric monuments, cairns, standing stones, stone circles and rock art, some dating back 5000 years.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/kilmartin-museum-project-is-next-for-scots-architects.22522406
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Carl Wark: Prehistoric Ritual Enclosure or Dark Ages Battlefield?
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Archaeologists to reconstruct 5000 year old monument near Camborne
Archaelogists are to finally start work on reconstructing Giant’s Quoit, a Stonehenge-like structure built 5,000 years ago by early man living near Camborne.
Following three years of fundraising the ancient scheduled monument is being restored with final excavations taking place between October 21 and 31 with an open day scheduled for the 27th.
“Weather permitting we anticipate the erection of the first support stone, or orthostat, during the morning of 31st October,” said Pip Richards, director of the Sustainable Trust.
The Sustainable Trust, which owns the field, known as Cromlech Parc or Frying Pan Field, has £55,000 funding to carry out the work, which has been approved byEnglish Heritage.
Ms Richards added: “Restoration to the second and third orthostats (standing stone) will be in spring with the capstone placed near midsummers day in 2014.”
There will also be educational and outreach events taking place throughout this period.
She added: “We are delighted with this long awaited news and are looking forward to fulfilling our ambition to restore this unusual iconic monument.
“Bringing Neolithic history into focus through what was once considered just a pile of old stones, and giving the local community something to be proud of, makes us happy to undertake the work. So much good feeling and encouragement was engendered during the last phase of the project, it makes it all worthwhile.
“We can only guess the original uses prehistoric man had for these monuments. Burials and ancestor worship are thought to have occurred here.
“This is the only such monument in the area, as most of the existing quoits are on the moorlands of west Penwith.”
Volunteers have also pledged to carry on the work after taking part in the first phase of archaeological investigations last year.
A film, depicting the site’s history and archaeological significance is being made, and a bi-lingual ballad is also being commissioned along with the creation of a special App to help guide visitors around the site.
Several exhibitions and talks will be held along with education days for schools once the work has been completed.
The Sita Cornwall Trust is funding the excavations and restoration, and the Heritage Lottery Fund are funding the education and outreach side of the project.
The Sustainable Trust also thanked the re also grateful to the Tanner Trust, Cornwall Heritage Trust, The Council of British Archaeology and Cornwall Archaeological Society, for making the project possible.
Ms Richards added: “Support has also come from the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies & Camborne Old Cornwall Society. Without this diverse interest, the larger bids would not have been forthcoming.”
Taken from ThisisCornwall
http://tinyurl.com/op4755u
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New Stonehenge visitor centre to open on December 18
English Heritage announced today that the first phase of the long-awaited improvements to the setting and visitor experience of Stonehenge will be launched to the public on Wednesday, December 18.
Visitors will be welcomed at a new visitor building, located 2.1km (1.5 miles) to the west of Stonehenge.
For the first time ever at the site, they will be able to learn more about this complex monument in a stunning, museum-quality permanent exhibition curated by English Heritage experts.
A 360-degree virtual, immersive experience will let visitors ‘stand in the stones’ before they enter a gallery presenting the facts and theories surrounding the monument through various displays and nearly 300 prehistoric artefacts.
The archaeological finds on display are on loan from the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, and the Duckworth Collection, University of Cambridge. All were found inside the World Heritage Site and many are on public display for the first time.
Set in Stone? How our ancestors saw Stonehenge, will be the first special temporary exhibition. It will chart more than 800 years of ideas and debate - from 12th-century legends to radiocarbon dating reports in the 1950s - on who built Stonehenge and when, and features objects on loan from many national museums.
Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage, said: “English Heritage announced today that the first phase of the long-awaited improvements to the setting and visitor experience of Stonehenge will be launched to the public on Wednesday, December 18.
Visitors will be welcomed at a new visitor building, located 2.1km (1.5 miles) to the west of Stonehenge.
For the first time ever at the site, they will be able to learn more about this complex monument in a stunning, museum-quality permanent exhibition curated by English Heritage experts.
A 360-degree virtual, immersive experience will let visitors ‘stand in the stones’ before they enter a gallery presenting the facts and theories surrounding the monument through various displays and nearly 300 prehistoric artefacts.
The archaeological finds on display are on loan from the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, and the Duckworth Collection, University of Cambridge. All were found inside the World Heritage Site and many are on public display for the first time.
Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage, said: “This world famous monument, perpetually described as a mystery, finally has a place in which to tell its story.
“The exhibition will change the way people experience and think about Stonehenge forever - beyond the clichés and towards a meaningful inquiry into an extraordinary human achievement in the distant past. It will put at its centre the individuals associated with its creation and use, and I am very proud with what we have to unveil to the world in December.”
Visitors will have a heightened sense of anticipation when they arrive at the visitor building as Stonehenge is not immediately visible; it will only emerge slowly on the horizon during the 10-minute shuttle ride to the monument.
At the stones, there will be opportunities to walk and explore the surroundings of the monument including the Avenue, Stonehenge’s ancient processional approach, guided by new interpretation panels specially developed with the National Trust. The Avenue will have been reconnected to the stone circle after being severed by the A344 road for centuries, the whole area will be free of traffic, and newly sown grass will be establishing on the former route of the road.
The new visitor building, designed by leading practice Denton Corker Marshall, is reaching the final stages of construction and interior fit out has started. It is a low key structure featuring many enhancements over what is on offer now, including:
• an environmentally sensitive and fully accessible building with a high BREEAM rating (the industry standard assessment system for sustainable building design and construction). There are a number of green features such as an open loop ground source heating system, mixed mode ventilation and a treatment system for recycling grey water;
• dedicated education space;
• a bright and spacious café with indoor and outdoor seating for up to 260;
• a bigger shop;
• a visitors’ car park with space for 500 vehicles and 30 coaches;
• ample toilets, including disabled toilets;
• a pre-booked timed ticket system to help minimise queues and avoid over-crowdedness at peak times; and
• new, downloadable and hand held free audio guides in 10 languages
In Easter 2014, visitors can look forward to the opening of a group of reconstructed Neolithic houses. The Neolithic houses are the highlight of the outdoor gallery and will be built from January 2014 onwards by volunteers based on houses where the builders of Stonehenge may have lived, complete with furniture and fittings.
The final phase of the project – the restoration of the landscape around Stonehenge – will be completed in the summer of 2014. Work to demolish the existing facilities and return the area to grass will begin immediately after the new visitor centre has opened and will continue for a few months.
The £27-million Stonehenge Environmental Improvements Programme is the largest capital project ever undertaken by English Heritage.
It is financed almost entirely by Heritage Lottery Fund money (£10m), English Heritage commercial income and philanthropic donations including significant gifts from the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Linbury Trust and the Wolfson Foundation.
From December 18, entrance to Stonehenge will be managed through timed tickets and advance booking is strongly recommended. Online booking opens on December 2 at www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge
http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/headlines/10706335._/
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Mold gold cape: Bronze Age site's 'exciting' new finds
An archaeological dig on the site where a priceless Bronze Age gold cape was found has unearthed new finds.
It had been thought nothing was left at the site at Mold, Flintshire after it was last excavated in 1953.
But a community dig led by archaeologists has now turned up tiny burned fragments of bone and small pieces of pottery.
They could turn out to be older than the Mold Gold Cape which was made 3,700 years ago from a single sheet of gold.
The cape, which was discovered in 1833, is one of the British Museum's most prized artefacts and it has been on show at Cardiff and Wrexham this summer.
It was found with a skeleton in a burial site.
The latest discovery could mean the site had some significance further back than many expected, according to archaeologist Mark Lodwick, who is finds co-ordinator for Wales for the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
This manages artefacts unearthed by the wider community.
"The cape is one of Britain's, one of Europe's best artefacts in fact, it's a fantastic object," said Mr Lodwick.
"But the site where it was found has been neglected somewhat and it has been great to work with the community to fill in some of the gaps".
Mr Lodwick, who is normally based at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, has been working with colleague Alice Forward, a community archaeologist and they believe the community dig may have unearthed fragments which pre-date the cape.
"We might have small remnant pieces of the early Bronze Age monument," he said.
"We've got to take them back to the museum for proper examination but at the moment it's looking very exciting."
"What we might have is earlier use of the land."
A suspected burial site belonging to the early medieval period, is also thought to have been discovered nearby.
But it will not be excavated during this dig as the whole excavation site is to be closed on Saturday.
And Mr Lodwick said that may mean experts returning to the site in the future to explore further.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-24179680
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Excavation may reveal secret of the Hurlers
Note; do check both photos, as one shows the 'crystal' pavement found in 1935...
Bronze Age crystal pavement described as "unique" by archaeologists is to be uncovered for the first time since the 1930s.
The monument, at the Hurlers stone circle on Bodmin Moor, is believed to be the only one of its kind in the British Isles. Scientists and historians hope that by studying it they will gain a better understanding of early civilisations.
Organised by the Caradon Hill Area Heritage Project, "Mapping the Sun" will be led by a team from Cornwall Council's Historic Environment department. Archaeologists will be setting up at the site close to the village of Minions this weekend and the excavation will be open to the public between Tuesday and Saturday.
Described as a community archaeology project, a range of activities will take place throughout the week. These will include astronomy workshops with Brian Sheen from Roseland Observatory, a sunrise equinox walk, a geophysical survey, a display of Bronze Age artefacts and an exhibition of archive photographs. There will also be opportunities to actually lend a hand in the delicate task of excavating the pavement.
The only time the 4,000-year-old causeway is thought to have been uncovered since it was originally laid took place 75 years ago, when workmen stabilised the site and re-erected a number of stones.
The existence of the quartz pavement only came to light again when Cornwall archaeologist Jacky Nowakowski was undertaking unrelated research at an English Heritage store in Gloucestershire. As she looked through files, Jacky came across an unpublished report and photographs from the Ministry of Works' excavation of the Hurlers in 1938.
"I couldn't believe it," she said. "I'd certainly not seen anything like it before. A feature such as this, which suggests a possible linking of the circles, is very unusual. The pavement is nationally unique as far as I know."
Internationally renowned for its line of three impressive stone circles, the Hurlers' original use has long been the subject of speculation and argument. Some believe its alignment mirrors the celestial bodies that make up Orion's Belt, while others claim it was used for religious purposes. Whatever the truth, there is no doubt that it was of major importance to the people who inhabited the moor 4,000 years ago.
The entire area around the Hurlers is peppered with archaeology. From a burial barrow, which contained the Rillaton Gold Cup, to Stowes Pound hill fort, Minions Mound to Long Tom, medieval streamworks to 19th century engine houses, the landscape is of enormous interest to historians. Jacky Nowakowski will explain many of the features when she leads a two-hour walk around the ancient monuments next Monday and Friday.
"I really hope the entire project and the series of linked events at this multi-faceted site will excite people," she said. "Our role will be to inform people about the site and to learn more about why it was built. Our other role is to help safeguard it for the future."
One important aspect of the dig will be to attempt to accurately date both the circle and pavement.
Jacky and her team have been given permission to excavate a portion of the original layer beneath the pavement in order to gauge whether it is contemporary with the circles. She said the discovery of pollen or other material will assist in dating the monument.
Mapping the Sun has been organised by Iain Rowe, of Caradon Hill Area Heritage Project. Iain, who had to obtain special permission from the Secretary of State for the Environment, said he was grateful to everyone involved in bringing it to fruition.
"We've had great support from the Duchy, which owns the site, English Heritage, which leases it, and Cornwall Heritage Trust, which manages it," he said. "We've also had a lot of help from commoners, graziers and local people.
"It promises to be a very interesting week because no-one is sure what will be revealed and what we may learn about the pavement's origins."
The site would be backfilled and the ground fully restored following next week's excavation. "There will be no sign we have been there," he added.
For full details of the week's events, visit caradonhill.org.uk
http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Excavation-reveal-secret-Hurlers/story-19797335-detail/story.html#ixzz2erry7bkA
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New tomb and passage found at Newgrange
ARCHAEOLOGISTS who discovered a new passage tomb near Newgrange want it declared a national monument.
Using light detection and ranging imaging known as LiDar, an underground passageway and several other previously undetected features have been discovered near the river Boyne, Co Meath, on private land south-west of Newgrange.
The LiDar imagery showed a mound with a circular enclosure, while further work involving new technologies, known as magnetic radiometry and resistivity, unveiled a definite passage, leading northeast out of the newly discovered tomb.
PROBING
It is the first discovery to be made without any archaeological digging, instead being found through use of LiDar and other "ground-probing techniques." The archaeologists who made the discovery, led by Kevin Barton, are calling on the Minister for Heritage, Jimmy Deenihan, to declare the site a national monument.
Because the new discovery is on private ground, the team of archaeologists need the Minister to do this as without Government designations, an excavation would be impossible.
In order to fully understand the results of the LiDar study, which was performed in and around the Bru Na Boinne UNESCO Heritage site, archaeologists feel a fully comprehensive excavation would be necessary.
Activist group 'Save Newgrange' are backing the archaeologists' request to the minister, as well as requesting that Meath County Council include the new findings in the Management Plan for the World Heritage Site. Vincent Salafia, spokesperson with Save Newgrange, says that there is an obligation to allow an excavation of the site, as well as a council obligation to include findings in the management plan.
"With this exciting discovery, the onus is on the Minister to obey the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and fully protect the site.
"The State is under a duty to fully investigate the entire World Heritage Site, and to give the monuments the highest legal protection possible, which is national monument designation under the National Monuments Act," he said.
The results of a full scale excavation could lead to an expansion of Newgrange and could halt any further plans for an N2 Bypass of the site, which would be critical if there were any more requests from local council to build the motorway.
In 2012, An Bord Pleanala refused an application for the bypass because of proximity to the monument. Local politicians, however, are still hoping to procure a bypass.
http://www.herald.ie/news/new-tomb-and-passage-found-at-newgrange-29568097.html
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'Early Pictish Royal remains' discovered at Rhynie
The remains of what it is thought could be a member of early Pictish royalty have been discovered during an archaeological dig in Aberdeenshire.
The discovery at Rhynie was made by teams from the universities of Aberdeen and Chester.
The remains were found in a carefully made sandstone grave, which the experts believe suggests the person was of high status.
It is the first time remains of a body have been uncovered at the site.
Project leader Dr Gordon Noble, of the University of Aberdeen, said: "We found elements of the legs, pelvis and jaw bone which we recovered and are now analysing in the lab.
"It's extremely rare to find any human remains from this era in the north east of Scotland as the soil in this part of the world is so acidic.
"One of the graves had been carefully made from split sandstone slabs to create a cist and the stone lining and collapsed capstones helped to preserve skeletal material.
"Unlike Anglo-Saxon areas to the south, the tradition in Scotland was largely for unfurnished burial so we didn't expect to find rich grave assemblages."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-24018459
A longer article in Past Horizons in the link below featuring the Craw Stane image by David Connolly.
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2013/pictish-burials-found-at-royal-rhynie-site
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Ham Hill fort dig reveals 2,500-year-old human remains
Human remains more than 2,500 years old have been found in the UK's largest Iron Age hill fort in Somerset.
Archaeologists from Cardiff and Cambridge universities began excavating Ham Hill two years ago when a trial dig revealed an Iron Age skeleton.
The latest remains have been found near the edge of the hill fort, revealing signs of violent conflict.
And other bones and skulls found in the interior section mainly belonged to young women in their 20s.
The project is in its third and final year and the excavation is due to finish in mid-September.
The dig area is in the centre of the hill fort, also known as the enclosure, and two trenches around the perimeter where there are earthen ramparts [defences].
Dr Marcus Brittain, from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, said of the centre of the hill fort: "There's an enormous amount of bodies starting to emerge, many of which are young ladies in their 20s.
"There's a lot of human heads as well which is rather unusual - there are five so far.
"We're starting to think these bodies are associated with funerary practice but also at a particular time in the hill fort's history when conflict was rife.
"It was gruesome to imagine that people would have had daily, probably unavoidable contact with the remains of the dead - quite possibly of friends and family members."
The remains were excavated from grain pits but are not thought to be complete skeletons.
Other remains were found near the ramparts.
The ramparts date back to about 1,000BC, but archaeologists have dug back to the layer which equates to 100BC, when the Romans first started invading Britain.
"The human remains which we are starting to find, they've got cut marks.
"They're very fine cut marks but it is potentially illustrating that there has been some unpleasant and violent conflict in that transitional period between the inhabitants and perhaps the incoming Romans," Dr Brittain said.
They have also found metal arrowheads and body armour dating back to Roman times.
Once the dig is complete, the human remains will be taken to the Cambridge Archaeological Unit for further research.
An open day for the site is planned for 7 September
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-23928612
Also of course Past Horizons.....
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2013/excavations-underway-at-the-largest-hillfort-in-britain
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Earliest Bronze Age sheepskin is found in the Highlands
ARCHAEOLOGISTS are claiming a highly significant discovery in the Highlands in the form of a 4000-year-old sheepskin that is believed to be the earliest surviving example in Britain.
It was recovered from a burial cist in Spinningdale, on the east coast of Sutherland, which was discovered when a septic tank was being installed in 2011. Since then archaeologists have been undertaking a sophisticated analysis of what they found and are only now publishing the resulting data.
Glasgow-based Guard Archaeology, which provides commercial archaeological services, found a Bronze Age burial site containing a skeleton in a crouched position, with the remains of a sheepskin that may have been wrapped around the body.
It was found in a stone cist, built within a substantial pit. The skeleton was that of a middle-aged adult female, aged 35-50 and with signs of spinal joint disease.
Iraia Arabaolaza, who led the Guard team, said: "A radiocarbon date of 2051-1911 BC and 2151-2018 BC was obtained from a bone and charcoal fragments respectively, placing the cist in the early Bronze Age period.
"A tripartite food vessel urn, of Early Bronze Age date, was placed to the west of her skull, but what made this burial a particularly extraordinary site was the discovery of sheepskin and wool recovered from under the skeletal remains.
"The sheepskin around the left arm is the first sample of this kind in Scotland and is the first known example discovered from a Bronze Age burial in Britain.
"There have been two other samples of Bronze Age wool found in the British Isles, but none of potential sheepskin are known. Findings of hide or fur are few and far between in Britain but are often associated with 'rich burials' of adult inhumations."
It is believed the sheepskin survived because the depth of the pit had put it under or near the water table, allowing the material to survive as it had not been exposed to a greater degree to the air..
Ms Arabaolaza said the radiocarbon dating of the cist corresponded with the date of the food urn buried with the body. The vessel contained carbonised material of non-botanical origin, unidentified cremated bone and part of a small ring.
He added: "These were probably placed to assist the individual's journey into the next world and indicate belief in the afterlife."
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/earliest-bronze-age-sheepskin-is-found-in-the-highlands.22000015
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New chapter for Lough Gur as site is redeveloped.
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Low Hauxley dig reveals evidence of ancient tsunami
Evidence has been uncovered of a huge tsunami, which cut Britain off from the rest of Europe 8,000 years ago.
Excavations at Low Hauxley, near Druridge Bay in Northumberland, have unearthed material, which experts say, was deposited by the giant tidal wave.
The dig is part of a £300,000 project investigating a Bronze Age burial mound - or cairn.
Lead archaeologist, Dr Clive Waddington, described the site as a "staggering find".
During the Mesolithic period - in about 6,100 BC - Britain broke free of mainland Europe for good, after landslides in Norway triggered a huge tsunami.
The water struck the north-east of Britain and travelled 25 miles (40km) inland, turning low-lying plains into what is now the North Sea.
'Catastrophic event'
Dr Waddington said the Low Hauxley site was the most southerly point on the British Isles where evidence of the tsunami had been found.
He said: "The deposits we have found are in a gravel-type layer with quite large blocks of stone dating back about 8,000 years.
"This material was dumped by the sea in what was a catastrophic event at the time.
Dr Clive Waddington Dr Clive Waddington said the site was a "staggering find"
"We hope this discovery will flesh out the story of how Britain became an island as well as tell us about what the environment was like at that time here in Druridge Bay."
The project is a partnership between the Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Derbyshire-based Archaeological Research Services Ltd (ARS), with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Philippa Cockburn, of ARS said the deposits amounted to "impressive new evidence" of how Britain was formed.
She said: "The deposits are in the form of water-rounded pebbles and rocks which are below Mesolithic soil at Low Hauxley.
"The soil contains thousands of flint tools which, based on their shape and method of manufacture, date to around 6,000 BC. This means that the tsunami debris situated below it must date to immediately before this period.
"Prior to this event, Britain was connected from an area around the Wash over to the low countries. But due to the effect of the tsunami in combination with rising sea levels, Britain became an island."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-23779202
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There is a book of poems written by Jeremy Hooker, "The Soliloquies of a Chalk Giant", in which our giant appears, rather sadly at times. The last verse on one of the poems is below...... As he is a disputed giant on TMA, legends will abound of course.
"The god is a graffito carved on the belly of the chalk,
his savage gesture subdued by the stuff of his creation.
He is taken up like a gaunt white doll by the round hills,
wrapped around by the long pale hair of the fields."
But Jeremy Hooker went on to speculate about the naming of this giant, and to quote him, I have found something I wrote ages ago, his book was borrowed from the library some years back..
If as Hooker says, he comes from this time than he must be Helith - "In which district the god Helith was once worshipped" This comes form an old document, and is part of his legend. Helith, an iron age god who takes his name from Hercules. Romano-Britains would have adopted and changed the old roman god to fit their own religion.
Augustine's mission in 601 AD seemed to have renamed him as Cerno El, the pagan saxons renaming him as Heil. But apparently during the saxon period he shared his valley with another god whose neophytes purified the waters that had long been sacred.
But to conclude, here is Hooker's meaning for the words Helith....
"Helith; that is holy stone - or a corruption of Helios, maybe the sun. A sunstone, pediment in earth. The ground is dense with holy names; Elwood, Elston hill, Elwell, Yelcombe (y l cwm). Was there a standing stone on Elston Hill before Helith was fleshed out below the Trendle: Where beth they, beforen us weren? Make your enquiry of the dust, I make no enquiry there. Give me a living name"
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Geographical facts and numbers of stones in the three stone circles, collected whilst following Daniel Gumb's history...
The Hurlers consist of three rings of stones, they stand on the open moor one and a half miles west of Upton Cross, just west of Minions. The stone circles are set on a line north east, south west and if we work north to south the dimensions are as follows diameter 110ft with 13 standing stones, 135 ft with 17 standing stones and 105 ft with 9 standing stones. The rings can be studied carefully and it can be seen that each ring would have had many more stones at one time, probably between twenty five and thirty five each. The group lies on a route way between the rivers Lyhner and Fowey and are aligned with a number of monuments close by, the cairns on Caradon and stone rows on one axis and long toms cross and Rillaton barrow on the opposite axis. It has been confirmed that the stones had been placed in pits with stones packed around them. They had been hammered smooth and the chippings strewn over the interior. Little was found in the stone circles. The central circle contained an upright stone placed off centre and the northern circle had been paved with granite blocks. Between the central and southern circle lay another patch of paving and a small pit. To the south west, 120 metres away are two more standing stones. known as The Pipers, possibly the remains of another circular monument or an alignment running down to the river Fowey. It is highly likely that the circles were built over a lengthy time span and a single site might retain its significance for centuries. Perhaps the central circle was at the nucleus of a monument collection of different dates.
Taken from.... Daniel Gumb's Country Deborah Bennett
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/danielgumb.htm#myself
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Cardiff Iron Age hill fort 'was a centre of power'
Early results from an archaeological dig at an Iron Age fort in Cardiff suggest it may have been the region's centre of power, experts have said.
A team from Cardiff University has spent the last month excavating Caerau hill fort near Ely.
It is smaller than its contemporaries at Pentyrch and Pontprennau and had been thought to be inferior in status.
But structures and artefacts so far unearthed suggest the fort remained important well into the Roman era.
Until now it has been thought that the fort was purely a stronghold of the Silurian tribe who inhabited this part of Wales from around the 5th Century BC, falling into disuse once they were finally defeated by the Romans, circa 75 AD.
However the initial dig this summer has uncovered a considerable amount of new information, including three Iron Age roundhouses and a stone-built pathway that runs around the edge of the hill fort, suggesting to the experts a possible domestic and/or political dimension.
Also, the mix of Silurian and Roman artefacts may indicate that the fort was occupied much later than had been thought, and that the two groups might have mingled there.
Dr Oliver Davis, from the university's School of History, Archaeology and Religion, said: "People think of these sites as defensive structures, but our attention is turning to whether the people who lived there were actually developing a community or collective identity for themselves.
"Our community excavations show that occupation at the site continued until at least the third century AD, well into the Roman period.
"Domestic life is indicated by the discovery of simple tools and ceramics from all periods.
"A glimpse of the personality of the inhabitants is provided by the discovery of a glass bead of Iron Age date and an enamelled disc brooch of Roman date.
"Both these objects indicate that individuals were concerned with their appearance, and that life in the past was a little more colourful than we sometimes think.
"Over the past month the team has also examined the inner of the three ramparts that surround the hill fort. These ramparts and their associated ditches were unlikely to have been built just for defence."
But as well as colour from the past, Dave Horton, of the community organisation Action in Caerau and Ely, said the way local residents have had a hand in the discoveries has also lent a little colour to the present.
"The last few weeks have seen a whirlwind of activity in Ely and Caerau focused around our beautiful iron-age hill fort," he said.
"Literally hundreds of local people have visited the site and have dug together, learned new skills, shared local knowledge, and have celebrated together with a fantastic Iron Age hog roast."
"We have all walked down the hill to our homes with a different perspective. We have found new pride in the history of our community."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-23384979
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Extract taken from a paper read to the (archaeology) society April 5th 1832
"At the north end of the parish of Ashdon, in Essex, are certain artificial mounds. They consist of a line of four greater barrows, and a line of three smaller barrows, at the distance of between 70 and 80 feet in front of the others.
“The situation of these mounds is remarkable. They stand on a general acclivity in face of Bartlow church, the country gradually rising around them like an extended amphitheatre.
“Between the hills and the church is a hollow to the north, down which runs a little brook that divides the parishes of Ashdon and Bartlow, forming the boundary of the counties of Essex and Cambridgeshire.
“Though the hills do not belong to the parish of Bartlow, which is in Cambridgeshire, nor to the hamlet of Bartlow which is in Essex, still, from the received interpretation of the Saxon word Low, a barrow, it is clear that they give their name to the place, a proof of their antiquity”.
Should they be on TMA these early Romano-British mounds, unique of course, and large. But in truth they have to be seen just to say 'wow'.
Second visit and we always start from the church, past the Three Hills pub/hotel, turn right at the cross roads and the church will be on your right. Stand and admire the round towered church, note the two paths that run through the church yard, one will lead you to christianity, the other to a pagan past.
The remaining three mounds are surrounded by tall trees, an ecosystem has evolved in this large glade the chalk mounds are covered in long grass and wild flowers, this is what enchants the place. Butterflies dance at your feet, there is a surfeit of these dark brown creatures, damselflies and dragonflies from the nearby stream, bees buzz busily round the plants.
The three mounds so steeply sided protect the plants, Silbury comes easily to mind with the largest mound, at 45 foot high, though the Bartlow mound misses the mark it still comes second, you can read the history here.....
http://www.sheshen-eceni.co.uk/bartlow_info.htm
I suspect winter would be the best time to visit, shorn of the natural vegetation, but summer has the added highlight of a vibrant ecosystem on these mounds.
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Volunteer army drafted to map every ancient hill fort
Archaeologists are drafting a volunteer army to help map every ancient hill fort across Britain and Ireland.
It is part of a project to create an online atlas of around 5,000 of these Iron Age monuments.
Prehistory enthusiasts are being asked to identify and record features such as ramparts, ditches and entrances.
Prof Ian Lock, of Oxford University, said: "We want to shed new light on why they were created and how they were used."
Despite their large numbers there has been little academic work on hill forts, how they were used and how they varied across Britain and Ireland, the researchers say.
Prof Lock, who has studied and excavated a number of the forts in England, said that despite their name archaeological evidence suggests they were not primarily used for military purposes.
"We have found pottery, metalwork and evidence of domestic activities like spinning and weaving, also of agriculture, crops like wheat and barley and of keeping pigs, sheep and cattle," he told BBC News.
Researchers believe they may have been meeting places for religious festivals or market days.
The oldest hill forts are in Ireland and Wales and are up to 3,000 years old. Many were abandoned after the Romans arrived in Britain, but in areas that the Romans did not occupy they were used for longer.
The research team want information not only on well-preserved forts but also on sites where only crop marks indicate their existence. The idea is to build a free online database.
"We are hoping that local archaeology societies will get involved," said Prof Lock.
Citizen science
"Rather than going to a hill fort on your own, it would be better, with a group of people, to talk about what you are looking at, which should make it easier to identify the various details," he said.
Segsbury Camp hill fort Segsbury Camp, in Oxfordshire, has large ramparts around it but others only exist as crop marks
Dr Jon Murden, director of the Dorset museum in Dorchester, which is owned and run by the county's natural history and archaeological society, told BBC News: "We would love to be involved.
"There are at least 50 hill forts to explore and understand on the South Dorset Ridgeway alone."
Volunteers will be able to feed information on their local hill fort into an online form on the Atlas of Hillforts project website from Monday.
"We are keen to see what the citizen science approach may reveal," said Prof Ian Ralston, of Edinburgh University, the project co-director.
"We hope that the public, including archaeological societies, will get behind this project as it should lead to the discovery of new sites and new information about sites that are considered to be well known. We expect the results of this project to change our vision of these iconic monuments."
The four-year project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The maps will be freely available to the public, searchable by region and linked to Google Earth to show the hillforts in the context of the landscape.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-23203500
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Mr.Hamhead doing a pretty cool job of advertising Bodmin Moor...
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http://northstoke.blogspot.co.uk/
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