moss

Update for 2014.

Pre-history may have to be re-written following a recent dig by university students near Stonehenge.

Signs of human habitation 8,000 years ago have been discovered by Archaeology MA students from the University of Buckingham, led by senior research fellow David Jacques.
Mr Jacques said: “This year we’ve found burnt flint – a sign that people had made fires, so were in the area, around 8,000 years ago.

“The finds will have to be carbon-dated to get a precise date.

“It’s been wonderful that the first ever University of Buckingham archaeology students have unearthed mesolithic tools as part of the team of volunteers at the dig.”

The archaeologist, who is leading the new Archaeology MA course at the university, has just completed a two-week dig at Vespasian’s Camp, a mile from Stonehenge, at which MA students and University of Buckingham staff worked as volunteers, sifting through remains.

A number of ancient flint tools were among the finds.

More than 12,000 items from the mesolithic era (8000 – 3500BC) have been uncovered, including hunting tools, the cooked bones of aurochs – a gigantic cow-like animal – deer, wild boar, and even toads’ legs.

The finds have revealed that the site was in use continually for over 3,000 years, and could even be the reason why Stonehenge is where it is.

Mr Jacques suspects the site will contain evidence of settlements, which would be some of the earliest ever found in the UK and would completely change our understanding of this era.

Mr Jacques appeared on TV this year in BBC 1’s Operation Stonehenge and BBC 4’s The Flying Archaeologist.

And the MA students working alongside him at the dig a fortnight ago found themselves being filmed for a forthcoming episode of Horizon.

Digs at the site over the last few years have already yielded a staggering 32,000 artefacts dating from as far back as 7500BC.

Last year, the dig resulted in 8,000-year-old burnt frogs’ legs being found, revealing the delicacy was originally English and not French.

Earlier this year, carbon dating of finds from the dig led to the revelation that Amesbury is the oldest town in the country.

A previous public lecture by Mr Jacques at the university drew a packed audience.

Following the latest dig, Mr Jacques is returning to deliver another public lecture on Thursday, November 13.

The free event will take place at 6.30pm, in the Chandos Road Building, as part of the university’s autumn concert and lecture series.

In the lecture, Mr Jacques will unveil startling new evidence showing how the mesolithic period influenced the building of Stonehenge.

The lecture will focus on the area around the dig, Blick Mead, which features a natural spring, which would have attracted settlers to the area.

The warm spring water has caused stones to turn a bright puce, a colour of stone not found elsewhere in the UK.

David Jacques was elected a Fellow of the Society of the Antiquaries (FSA) in recognition of the importance of his discoveries there.

buckinghamtoday.co.uk/news/more-news/groundbreaking-finds-by-stonehenge-team-1-6390477

Evidence of prehistoric man and the woodland clearances of the Iron Age are found at the site of two hillforts near Edinburgh

Peat from a bog near Edinburgh contains 11,500-year-old vegetation and glimpses of the impact made by humans on the landscape from as far back as the Neolithic period, say experts who have foraged seven metres into the earth across parts of a site previously known for prehistoric settlements.

Ravelrig Bog, where an early Iron Age palisaded homestead was found during preparations for a quarry extension, contains two hillforts. Kaimes Hill offers evidence of human activity from the Mesolithic period, while the unexcavated Dalmahoy Hill is thought to have been occupied during the pre-Roman Iron Age and early medieval times.

Woodland resources for fuel and building material, found at the homestead, have been radiocarbon dated to between 400 and 800 BC.

“The bog started out as a small lochan [lake] within a rocky hollow that was formed at the end of the last glacial period,” says archaeobotanist Susan Ramsay, discussing pollen analysis on the Ravelrig core as part of a report concluding that there is “plentiful archaeological evidence” of the people who once roamed the region.

“Aquatic plants gave way to marshland and finally raised Sphagnum bog as natural succession progressed.

“During the early Holocene, the woodlands of the area were dominated by birch, hazel and willow but developed into mixed oak, elm and hazel woodlands by the mid-Holocene.

Most previous studies of the vegetation history of central Scotland have concentrated on the last 3,000 years of environmental history.

“This has tended to be because extensive industrial and agricultural activity in the central belt of Scotland, which was the industrial heartland of the country, has removed many potential sites of palaeoenvironmental importance over recent centuries, and so there have been few chances to construct a pollen diagram from this region that covers most of the Holocene period.

“The presence at Ravelrig Bog of an area of deep peat in an area that has a rich archaeological record and is also located close to agricultural land provided a unique opportunity to study the effects of human activity on the environment of this part of Scotland.”

An initial survey, in 2007, revealed the incredible scientific potential of a core deposit covering more than 10,000 years of history.

“Previous studies have suggested that the first major woodland clearances in central Scotland occurred in the pre-Roman Iron Age, with the cleared agricultural landscape being maintained throughout the Roman period,” says Ramsay.

“However, at Ravelrig, human impact on the landscape is recorded from the Neolithic period onwards, with increasing woodland clearance and agricultural activity in the Bronze Age and a peak in activity in the pre-Roman Iron Age.

“Pastoral agriculture was the dominant form of farming in the area, although there is evidence for the cultivation of cereals from the later Bronze Age onwards.

“These periods of agricultural intensification appear to correspond with known periods of occupation at the nearby hillforts.”

A slight decline in agriculture between 250 BC and AD 150 could have followed the abandonment of Dalmahoy and the Roman invasion.

“Birch pollen levels increased significantly, suggesting that land that was previously farmed was abandoned and was gradually colonised by birch woodland,” says Ramsay.

The birches gave rise to the oak and elm trees which later colonised the woods.

A slight increase in activity, between AD 400 and 600, could show that the hill fort was set for reoccupation during the early medieval period, although the subsequent 850 years saw alder and birch growth take over, chiming with evidence from other sites in central Scotland at the time.

“It is not clear what the cause of this agricultural decline might be but further work may be able to determine a more precise date range for this event,” believes Ramsay.

“It has been suggested that there were some reversions to a colder and wetter climate during the sixth to ninth centuries AD, which could explain why areas once suitable for agriculture perhaps became too wet to grow crops and agriculture had to be moved to sites with better drainage.
“This explanation could account for the significant increase in alder – a tree of wetter areas and river banks that is seen at Ravelrig during this period.

“The last major episode of woodland clearance began around AD 1450, with the cleared landscape continuing until the present day.”

The full results of the research, funded by Tarmac Ltd have been published at archaeologyreportsonline. com.

taken from: culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art503348-bog-material-reveals-years-of-scottish-history-at-prehistoric-hillforts-near-edinburgh

More fascinating discoveries.... by Richard Moss in Culture24

A hoard of rare bronze fittings from a 2nd or 3rd century BC chariot, which appears to have been buried as a religious offering, has been found at the Burrough Hill Iron Age hillfort, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.

Students from the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History found the remains during their ongoing excavation of the site while digging a pit near the remnants of a house within the hillfort.

A group of four students found a piece of bronze in the ground before uncovering a concentration of further parts very nearby.

The artefacts, which as a group are covered by the Treasure Act, were soon identified as a matching set of bronze fittings from a mid to late Iron Age chariot. They appear to have been buried in a box together with a series of tools and accoutrements.

After cleaning, decorative patterns became visible in the metalwork – including a triskele motif showing three waving lines, similar to the flag of the Isle of Man. It is thought the chariot would have belonged to a high-status individual, such as a “noble” or “warrior”.

One of the students, Nora Battermann, described the moment she and her colleagues found the remains.

“Realising that I was actually uncovering a hoard that was carefully placed there hundreds of years ago made it the find of a lifetime,” she said. “Looking at the objects now they have been cleaned makes me even more proud, and I can’t wait for them to go on display.”

The pieces appear to have been gathered in a box, before being planted in the ground upon a layer of cereal chaff and burnt as part of a religious ritual. The chaff might have doubled as a “cushion” for the box and also the fuel for the fire.

After the burning, the entire deposit was covered by a layer of burnt cinder and slag – where it lay undisturbed for more than 2200 years until the team uncovered it.

Dr Jeremy Taylor, Lecturer in Landscape Archaeology at the University’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History and co-director of the Burrough Hill field project, confirmed the finds were a matching set of highly-decorated bronze fittings from an Iron Age chariot.

“This is the most remarkable discovery of material we made at Burrough Hill in the five years we worked on the site,” he added. “This is a very rare discovery, and a strong sign of the prestige of the site.

“The atmosphere at the dig on the day was a mix of ‘tremendously excited’ and ‘slightly shell-shocked’. I have been excavating for 25 years and I have never found one of these pieces – let alone a whole set. It is a once-in-a-career discovery.”

The School has led a five-year project at Burrough Hill since 2010, giving archaeology students and volunteers valuable experience of archaeological excavations.

John Thomas, co-director of the project, added: “It looks like it was a matching set of parts that was collected and placed in a box as an offering, before being placed in the ground. Iron tools were placed around the box before it was then burnt, and covered in a thick layer of cinder and slag.

“The function of the iron tools is a bit of a mystery, but given the equestrian nature of the hoard, it is possible that they were associated with horse grooming. One piece in particular has characteristics of a modern curry comb, while two curved blades may have been used to maintain horses hooves or manufacture harness parts.”

The parts have been taken to the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History for further analysis and will be temporarily displayed at the Melton Carnegie Museum, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, from Saturday October 18 until Saturday December 13.

More information about the Burrough Hill project at www2.le.ac.uk/departments/archaeology/research/projects/burrough-hill

culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art502651-archaeologists-make-once-in-a-career-discovery-of-bronze-remains-of-iron-age-celtic-chariot-at-hillfort

The first excavations on Skomer, in Pembrokeshire, have revealed huge burn mounds made by hungry prehistoric settlers

A cattle tooth left in a cooking mound and fire-cracked stones used for boiling water have paved the prehistoric way to dating the sweeping settlement of Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire, where archaeologists say the ancient, well-preserved field systems date from between 520 to 458 BC.

This was the first time archaeologists had been allowed to excavate on the island. Opening a trench, they aimed to explore the “long and complex” history of settlements and farming on Skomer, informed by three years of careful research by wildlife and science experts and universities.

“Already we have discovered previously unknown Neolithic and Bronze Age ritual stone settings, and demonstrated that the field systems may date back to at least the later Bronze Age.

“But despite half a century of modern archaeological interest, we still had no scientific dates for the roundhouses and fields on Skomer.

“It was decided to target a prehistoric burnt mound or cooking mound of fire-cracked stones, which stands immediately outside one of the paired roundhouses.

“This mound built up from numerous cooking episodes in the adjacent house. Our excavation discovered a cattle tooth from within the mound of stones, which has now been radiocarbon dated to the late Iron Age.

“Beneath the mound we found a sealed land surface containing Neolithic or Bronze Age worked flint tools.

“A second radiocarbon date from blackthorn charcoal, in the upper soil layers, gave an early Iron Age date, possibly from burning and clearance on the land, which showed our burnt mound and the houses it belongs to arrived after the early Iron Age.

“Both dates are accurate to within 62 years.”

The boiled water took around three hours to cook a joint of meat. The burnt mounds outside the roundhouse clusters are said to be “huge”, dominating the Iron Age landscape alongside the conical thatched house roofs.

“Skomer is a fragile protected landscape, and our archaeological research to date has focussed on non-invasive investigation of the prehistoric fields and settlements,” said Dr Driver.

“This has included new aerial photography, airborne laser scanning, ground geophysics and walkover surveys.

“These new dates confirm pre-Roman settlement on Skomer. Even so, the burnt mound covers a substantial earlier field wall showing that the island was already well settled and farmed in previous centuries.”

As well as its huts and fields from the prehistoric period, the island is well-known for its puffins and breeding seabirds.

culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art501691-archaeologists-find-prehistoric-cattle-tooth-within-mound-of-iron-age-stones-in-skomer

Some of the most high status pieces of prehistoric ‘bling’, prized by Stonehenge’s Bronze Age social elite, are likely to have been made by children, according to new research.

An analysis of objects, found near the ancient stone circle, shows that the ultra-fine craftwork involved such tiny components that only children or myopic (short-sighted) adults could have made them.

The research into the human eyesight optics of micro-gold-working in the Bronze Age has considerable implications for more fully understanding the nature of society in Western Europe some 4000 years ago.

“The very finest gold work involved the making and positioning of literally tens of thousands of tiny individually-made components, each around a millimetre long and around a fifth of a millimetre wide,” said David Dawson, Director of the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes where the world’s finest prehistoric micro-gold working achievements are on display as part of a major permanent exhibition of Bronze Age gold treasures.

“Only children and teenagers, and those adults who had become myopic naturally or due to the nature of their work as children, would have been able to create and manufacture such tiny objects,” said a leading authority on the optics of the human eye, Ronald Rabbetts, who has been assessing the human eyesight implications of Bronze Age micro-gold-working – implications that are examined in detail in a BBC Two documentary ‘Operation Stonehenge’, this evening, Thursday.
“The implication is that there would almost certainly have been a small section of the Bronze Age artisan class who, often as a result of their childhood work, were myopic for their adult life. They would therefore have been unable to do any other work apart from the making of tiny artefacts and would have had to be supported by the community at large,” he said.

The Stonehenge area object with the largest number of ultra-small gold components is a dagger made in around 1900 BC – and now on display in Devizes’ Wiltshire Museum. Crafted more than 1100 years before the invention of the first magnifying glass, the dagger’s 12 centimetre long handle was adorned with up to 140,000 tiny gold studs – each around a millimetre long and around 0.2 of a millimetre in diameter. Even the heads of each stud are just a third of a millimetre wide. They were set, with great manual dexterity and remarkable skill, into the surface of the wooden dagger handle – with more than a thousand studs neatly embedded in each square centimetre.

The prehistoric gold micro-working process appears to have had at least four stages. First, Bronze Age craftsmen manufactured lengths of extremely fine gold wire, almost as fine as a human hair. Then they flattened the end of a piece of wire to create the first stud-head – and cut the wire with a very sharp flint or obsidian razor a mere millimetre below the head. This delicate procedure was then repeated literarily tens of thousands of times – to decorate just one dagger handle! Next, a tiny bronze awl with an extremely fine point was used to create minute holes in the dagger handle in which to position the studs. Then a thin layer of tree resin was rubbed over the surface as an adhesive to keep the studs in place.

Each stud was then carefully placed into its miniscule hole – probably with the help of a very fine pair of bone or wooden tweezers, because the studs are too small to have been placed in position directly by the artisan’s fingers.

“We estimate that the entire operation – wire manufacture, stud-making, hole-making, resin pasting and stud positioning – would have taken at least 2500 hours to complete,” said David Dawson.

The dagger – and another probably less decorated similar weapon found with it – are believed to be the only such ultra-fine micro-worked artefacts to have survived from the prehistoric period anywhere in the world. But the high level of skill involved suggests that it was not a one-off creation, but was instead probably a product of a wider micro-gold-working tradition in at least part of Bronze Age western Europe. It is likely that the tradition was centred in Brittany in what is now western France.

It is also conceivable that Bronze Age craftsmen used comparable micro-working skills to create ultra-fine textiles.

The gold-studded daggers were discovered in 1808 inside Bush Barrow, a substantial Bronze Age burial mound, located almost a thousand metres from Stonehenge. However, it is only now that the eyesight and other human implications of its manufacture have been examined in detail.

independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/stonehenges-most-intricate-archaeological-finds-were-probably-made-by-children-9738993.html

Archaeologists are inviting the public to witness the excavation of a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age burial mound

Emmet’s Post, named after one of several pillars built to divide Lee and Shaugh Moors in 1835, is being investigated as part of a government-approved quarry expansion on the edge of Dartmoor.

The mound of the post, on the boundaries of a china clay pit, was confirmed as a Bronze Age bowl barrow during a dig in 2011. Oxford Archaeology have been granted Scheduled Monument Consent by English Heritage in a bid to discover how the site was constructed and used over the centuries.

‘‘The barrow at Emmets Post, with its slightly hollowed-out top, is not the best-preserved of these Bronze Age monuments,” said Andrew Josephs, an archaeologist for Sibelco, the minerals firm paying for the project.

“The excavation has the potential to further characterise the full extent of the barrow and potential ditch, possibly identifying buried surface deposits and phased construction horizons.

“Environmental remains will add to the regional studies of the wooded prehistoric landscape that was very different to that today.”

Having offered a limited number of volunteer placements at the start of the project, which began on September 1 and will run until September 26, the team are inviting enthusiasts to enjoy an open day on Sunday (September 21), when experts will answer questions and discuss the Post’s history at the site.

Visitors can reach the barrow via a 1.5-mile unfenced single road track from Cadover Bridge. There is a small car park nearby, and waterproofs, warm clothes and stout footwear are recommended.

culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art499019-Public-invited-to-see-excavation-of-4000-year-old-bronze-age-barrow-on-dartmoor-edge

Derby Telegraph
By Kelly Tyler

The Nine Ladies stone circle at Stanton Moor, near Bakewell, was mysteriously draped in pink fabric.

The striking dressing of the Nine Ladies monument, believed to have been built more than 4,000 years ago, was spotted by a walker on Monday.

A cryptic note left at the circle signed by the “Spirit Wrestlers” said the gritstone blocks were decorated as an “act of love and gratitude for their eternal being”.

English Heritage, which owns the site at Stanton Moor, near Bakewell, said it is not known exactly why the material was placed over the stones.

A woman who came across the unusual sight said: “As I approached I thought the stones had been – as had happened a few months ago – vandalised with pink paint.

“However, as I neared the stone circle, it was apparent the Nine Ladies had been seemingly dressed in a bright pink fabric.

“A note had been left in the middle of the stones referring to the earlier attack and also the troubles in the world today. Interesting, I thought, if not a little strange.

“This is the Nine Ladies though, I suppose, so anything is possible.”

The ancient monument dates back to the Bronze Age and is popular with walkers and pagan worshippers.

The stones were traditionally believed to be nine ladies turned to stone as punishment for dancing on Sunday.

The site was vandalised in March this year by offenders who sprayed yellow and green paint on the rocks.

A note left at the spot said the stones were wrapped as a “direct response to an act of vandalism on the Nine Ladies some months ago and the knowledge that the Universe must be realigned.”

It went on to say: “The consequences of our actions will only become apparent over time.

“Do something to make the world a better place, whether this act is large or small matters not.

“Doing it is what drives us forward. Whatever next?”

An English Heritage spokesperson said: “Having been contacted about the sighting of pink material on the stones earlier yesterday, we visited the site to investigate this afternoon and it would appear it has since been removed without trace.

“We are not treating this as an act of vandalism”

derbytelegraph.co.uk/English-Heritage-satisfied-pink-drapes-Ladies/story-22870940-detail/story.html

Mounting evidence suggests Neanderthals were not the brutes they were characterised as decades ago.

But art, a high expression of abstract thought, was long considered to be the exclusive preserve of our own species.

The scattered candidates for artistic expression by Neanderthals have not met with universal acceptance.

However, the geometric pattern identified in Gibraltar, on the southern tip of Europe, was uncovered beneath undisturbed sediments that have also yielded Neanderthal tools.

Details of the discovery by an international team of researchers has been published in the journal PNAS.

There is now ample evidence that Neanderthal intellectual abilities may have been underestimated. Recent finds suggest they intentionally buried their dead, adorned themselves with feathers, painted their bodies with black and red pigments, and consumed a more varied diet than had previously been supposed.

One of the study’s authors, Prof Clive Finlayson, director of the Gibraltar Museum, said the latest find “brings the Neanderthals closer to us, yet again”.

Continued on the link below...

bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28967746

This is a tentative guess for this news item in Ardnamurchan...

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of at least two bodies in a Bronze Age burial cist in a remote area of the west Highlands.

They were previously aware of one body in the ancient grave on the Ardnamurchan peninsula but they have now found more bones than could belong to another person.

A skull found during an earlier archaeological dig at Swordle in 2010 was dated as being from around 1700BC.

And the bones discovered during the Ardnamurchan Transition Project team’s visit to the area this summer have now been sent away for radiocarbon dating.

Team leader Ollie Harris, who is a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Leicester, described the latest discoveries as both “interesting” and “exciting”.

He said: “In the majority of Bronze Age cists, we would expect to find one person buried in a crouching position on their side, but examining the remains in this cist strongly suggests the presence of two or more people.

“This was an exciting find. One of our main aims this year was to find out about what we thought was a single body, so to come back and find probably two people is very interesting as it offers a different perspective on Bronze Age burials.”
He added that they also found another jet bead in the grave. Three were found in 2010 and they are believed to be part of a necklace.

They also unearthed a flint scraper, which they believe to have been used for removing fat from hides, and small pieces of flint debitage, which is the waste material produced in the making of early stone tools.

The cist was found under a pile of rocks known as Ricky’s Cairn.

While at Swordle this year, the team also excavated the Neolithic tomb of Cladh Andreis, a 200ft long mound of rocks leading from the tomb, which they describe as the tail of the monument, and a small Bronze Age cist cut into the side of the tail.

Mr Harris said the small Bronze Age cist had been a new find this year.

He said: “This cist had been heavily robbed. There were just a few scraps of bone in it, but we are hoping we can get a radiocarbon date from them.”

He added that they had previously worked on Cladh Andreis, which was built around 3,700BC, from 2006 to 2010.

“This year we found bits of teeth, human remains from various bodies and a leaf-shaped arrowhead,” said the archaeologist.

pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/314656/remains-of-at-least-two-bodies-found-in-ancient-grave/

A Neolithic ditch which became a huge funerary monument when it was enlarged with an outer ring during the Bronze Age has been found on housing development grounds in Kent.

Archaeologists suspect a “sacred way” could have led to a henge 6,000 years ago at Iwade Meadows, to the west of the Kent industrial town of Sittingbourne.

Positioned on a north-west slope, the 30-metre diameter structure is one of several prehistoric monuments on a north-west slope above the Ridham fleet stream running through the centre of the site.

“Its purpose is not known,” says Dr Paul Wilkinson, of excavators SWAT Archaeology.

“But it may be that the monument was reused as an enclosure for stock management at this time or could formally have been used as a ‘sacred way’ leading to the Neolithic ‘henge’.

“The monuments are in a location that would have formerly had extensive views to the Swale Estuary and the Island of Sheppey beyond.

“The archaeological evidence suggests that the outer ditch may have originated in the Neolithic and been later transformed in the Bronze Age into a funerary monument with the addition of the inner ring.”

Archaeologists now hope to determine the exact date, phasing and character of the monuments.

“The outer ring has an entrance facing north-east suggesting that it may have originated as a henge-type monument – a ceremonial gathering place of which Stonehenge is our most well known example,” says Dr Wilkinson.

“The inner ring appears to be later and is an unbroken circuit. This may be associated with a Bronze Age burial, as a barrow, though no burials have yet been found.

“A second smaller monument lies close to the larger rings and may be a secondary barrow dating to the Bronze Age.

“While the monuments may have fallen out of use for their primary function by the middle Bronze Age they seem to have still been significant landscape features, as a track from the north-east is seen to have been extended to the causeway entrance of the outer ring.

“The importance of the location in the Neolithic period is reinforced by the rare findings of a series of pits close to the monuments that may indicate the area was being used before the construction of the monument or represents activity associated with it.”

culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art494192-Archaeologists-compare-Neolithic-Kent-site-Stonehenge-Bronze-Age-funerary-monument

An Iron Age hill fort has been bought by the National Trust for £450,000.

Built more than 2,000 years ago, Hambledon Hill, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, stands at 190m (620ft) and spans the size of 50 football pitches.

The trust, which takes over management of the site, said its historical uses included communal occupation, farming, feasting, conflict and burial.

Money to buy the hill fort came from a Natural England grant and a legacy gift left to benefit Dorset countryside.

.............................................

Hambledon is the first hill fort acquired by the trust in Dorset for 30 years and joins its six other sites, including Hod Hill, Lamberts Castle, Badbury Rings and Pilsdon Pen.

It had been owned for the past 30 years by conservational charity Hawthorn Trust, which was looking to sell, and managed by Natural England as a National Nature Reserve.

The National Trust said it decided to buy the site to secure its future and ensure maintenance and access for the public was maintained.

Jerry Broadway, a National Trust volunteer working on Hambledon Hill, said: “When I come here I feel like someone would when they go into St Paul’s Cathedral.

“When there is no-one else around and I sit on the top of the hill looking at the view I feel very privileged. And to play a small part in looking after the hill is a good feeling.”

The nationally-important chalk grassland is also home to at least five species of orchids, while 28 species of butterfly have been recorded at the site over the years.

From its summit visitors can see across three counties – Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-28674113

Carwynnen Quoit is standing proud again for the first time in half a century thanks to the efforts of a community group. Eminent Cornish archaeologist Professor Charles Thomas explains the ancient monument’s significance.

Today in Cornwall and Scilly the remnants of what are seen as Neolithic burial monuments, mostly excavated or ruined, involving large granite uprights and capstones and usually seen as having been enclosed in large kerbed mounds or cairns, are known by various names.

These include quoit, referring to capstones, and an English word for the small stone discs or horseshoes used in an old-style throwing game. They also include and cromlech, which is sometimes seen as “grambla”, an obscure dialect word shared with Welsh.

Its original sense was “curved-slab”, referring – like quoit – to a capstone.

In the last few years, thanks to Pip Richards of the Sustainable Trust and her archaeological colleagues, excavations and public involvement by schools and community groups have reached a most exciting stage at Carwynnen, the high ground in the southern part of Camborne parish. Readers will already know this as it has been well-reported in the WMN.

I write as a Camborne man, born in 1928, who well recalls the Carwynnen monument before its last collapse – possibly as a result of an earth tremor – in 1948. The monument, when complete, had three large local granite uprights and a vast granite capstone slab. It stands in what has long been called Frying Pan Field and was still nicknamed when I was a boy as The Devil’s Frying Pan. The implication, possibly overlooked until now, is that Carwynnen Quoit, as we may call it, was – unlike similar and contemporary Neolithic monuments in West Penwith such as Lanyon Quoit, Chun Quoit, Zennor Quoit and others – never contained in a large mound or cairn with stone-kerbed circumference and a low entrance passage.

Carwynnen was not necessarily unique in all of Cornwall, but radically different.

I don’t want to anticipate the findings of a report to be published by senior archaeologists Jacky Nowakowski and James Gossip, who are in charge of the exploration. What I stress is that this upland sector of Cornwall’s central east-west ridge has a general name of Carwynnen (Cornish: the light-coloured, or granitic, rocky hill) and that, despite centuries of mining and farming, it’s still riddled with standing stones, the odd stone circle, clusters of stone huts and early field-systems. Trial sections now dug in Frying Pan Field imply scattered Neolithic activity all around.

My guess is that those “frying pan” names date from the 16th or 17th centuries when English overcame spoken Cornish and that, before then, the monument itself was most probably cromlech. If so, the name would arise from the large, always visible, capstone. The conclusion is that Carwynnen Quoit was never contained in a vast mound of stones and earth and never so concealed. It was, if you like, open-air. From the Neolithic beginning, people could walk between the uprights, walk below the capstone, on a kind of neat circular paving, upon which they might place small offerings.

In other words, it was never built as a Neolithic burial mound. Effectively it was some kind of religious monument or a temple. Why, where and when it was made are questions still left with the archaeologists.

Now that the capstone has been replaced, the field tidied and sign-boarded, it is a temple once again.

Again as a Camborne man, whose family – from West Penwith – settled up there on the Carwynnen ridge in the 1680s, I find all this exciting beyond words. And I hope, readers of the WMN, will follow what happens next with equal attention.

westernmorningnews.co.uk/quoit-place-worship-burial/story-21465028-detail/story.html

Experts say the find is highly unusual as it is the first time coins from these two separate civilisations have been buried together

A precious hoard of Roman and Late Iron Age coins has been discovered in a cave where it has lain undisturbed for more than 2,000 years.

The treasure trove was unearthed after a member of the public stumbled across four coins in the cave in Dovedale in Derbyshire’s Peak District.

The discovery prompted a full-scale excavation of the site.

Experts say it is the first time coins from these two separate civilisations have been found buried together.

Archaeologists discovered 26 coins, including three Roman coins which pre-date the invasion of Britain in AD43, and 20 other gold and silver pieces which are Late Iron Age and thought to belong to the Corieltavi tribe.

Although Roman coins have often been found in fields, this is understood to be the first time they have been unearthed in a cave.

The cache has been declared as “treasure”.

National Trust archaeologist Rachael Hall said: “The coins would suggest a serious amount of wealth and power of the individual who owned them.
“Coins were used more as a symbol of power and status during the Late Iron Age, rather than for buying and selling staple foods and supplies.

“Was an individual simply hiding his ‘best stuff’ for safe keeping? Or perhaps speculating, in the hope that the value would increase in the future, like a modern-day ISA?”

She said the situation of the cave could not be ignored.

‘Exciting find‘
“Could it have been a sacred place to the Late Iron Age peoples that was taboo to enter in everyday life, making it a safe place that would ensure that person’s valuables were protected?”

The largest hoard of Iron Age gold and silver coins ever found in Britain was discovered by an amateur archaeologist in 2000 near Hallaton in Leicestershire.
More than 5,000 coins, jewellery and a silver-gilt Roman parade helmet were among the treasures discovered during that excavation.

The British Museum’s curator of Iron Age and Roman coins Ian Leins said that while this latest find at Reynard’s Cave and Kitchen did not quite match the Hallaton discovery, it was “exciting”.

For the first time, the National Trust enlisted the help of wounded ex-soldiers returning from Afghanistan to assist with the excavation.

The coins have been cleaned by conservation specialists at the British Museum and University College London and will go on permanent display at Buxton Museum later this year.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-28189287

University of Leicester archaeologists have been uncovering the past and this summer will be undertaking the final season of excavations at Leicestershire’s finest Iron Age hillfort.
The nationally important hillfort, marked by dramatic earthworks, located near Melton Mowbray has been the setting for a five year research project which has helped redefine understanding of the hillforts use with the help and support of English Heritage and landowners the Ernest Cook Trust.

Located between Burrough on the Hill and Somerby, south of Melton Mowbray, it is one of the most striking and historic features in the landscape of eastern Leicestershire. The well-preserved Iron Age hill fort dramatically crowns a steep-sided promontory of land reaching 210m (690 ft), with superb views.

Dr Jeremy Taylor, co-director of the excavations, said: “Before the current project began there was little known about Burrough Hill, with only small scale excavations in the 1960s and 1970s to go on. As a result of the University of Leicester led excavations since 2010 we now have a fuller understanding of the nature of the hillforts occupation over time and the prestige of the hillfort residents during the Iron Age.”

The excavations have revealed evidence of life on Burrough Hill from at least the Early Bronze Age, with last year’s work identifying a small building and monument containing stone tools and pottery dating to around 2800 BC. The hillfort appears to have been constructed during the Iron Age, around 500 BC, and used throughout the later Iron Age and into the Roman period. The excavations have shown that Burrough Hill continued to be used well into the Roman period, identifying evidence for a Roman farmstead dating to the 3rd-4th century AD.

This final year of the project aims to investigate a possible second entrance into the hillfort and more about the life of its inhabitants in order to bring to a conclusion what has a been a very succesful series of excavations.

John Thomas, project co-director said: “We have been surprised by the quantity and quality of the information we have uncovered. It has really painted a new picture of life at Burrough Hill and helped to fit the hillfort into a wider view of Iron Age life across the county that we have steadily developed through other excavations over several decades. Now we can compare Burrough Hill not only to contemporary sites in the East Midlands, but also other nationally important hillforts such as Danebury and Hunsbury.”

Thomas added: “We would like to share the results of our work with as many visitors as possible seeing as this is the last chance for people to view the excavations in progress. We run a programme of school visits during our time here, which has been supported by generous grants from the Ernest Cook Trust. This year has proved particularly popular due to the changes in the National Curriculum to include prehistory in primary school teaching. The open days we have held over the last few years have been
fantastically well supported and it is good to see the hillfort full of people who are excited about the discoveries we are making about one of our regions finest prehistoric monuments.”

sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140623092301.htm

A four-year campaign to dig a 21-barrow set of graves, declared as a set of Scheduled Ancient Monuments and aligned in a style linked to Stonehenge, has begun at one of Britain’s largest and most intriguing mixed cemeteries.

Archaeologists hope to discover the origins of the cemetery on Petersfield Heath, where the early Bronze Age burial mounds are set in a style more typically associated with Wessex.

The style of the burial mounds is more commonly seen is Avebury, Stonehenge and Wessex.

The build, environmental impact, social implications and living conditions of the barrows will be examined in a series of dig seasons expected to begin in September.

Geophysical and topographic surveys, documentary research and palaeo-environmental studies will also take place under plans backed by a £100,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant and a £20,000 investment from the South Downs National Park Authority.

Volunteers of all ages will be invited to take part in the excavations.

culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art488124-Archaeologists-excavating-Bronze-Age-cemetery-Hampshire

Work to rebuild a collapsed ancient Cornish monument has been completed on the day of the summer solstice.

Carwynnen Quoit, or Giant’s Quoit, a 5,000-year-old burial chamber near Troon, collapsed in 1966.

The burial chamber had fallen apart but, with help from archaeologists, it is standing proud once again.

Replacing the capstone was the last piece of work carried out by owners the Sustainable Trust, which bought the site in 2009.

Leading architect on the project, Jacky Nowakowski said: “It’s a magical moment to get to this stage in the project.

“I feel exhilarated to bring the capstone home and make the monument complete again.

“A lot of people have come together to bring an ancient monument back to life, so today’s a real celebration of that amazing achievement.”

The ancient granite monument is believed to date as far back as the Neolithic period.

The Cornwall Sustainable Trust and Cornwall Heritage Trust employed professional archaeologists to help research and rebuild it.

Initial work saw two support stones replaced in their original Neolithic footings but the third stone had to be adjusted to comply with health and safety regulations.

The main capstone measuring 3.3m (11ft) long, 2.5m (8ft) wide and 30cm (1ft) thick was dropped into position by a large crane.

According to the trust, Carwynnen Quoit is among 12 similar monuments around the county.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-27945128

A PREHISTORIC tomb discovered on North Dartmoor is slowly revealing its ancient secrets, as final analysis work on the artefacts found within nears completion. In August 2011, excavation work began on a cremation burial chamber discovered on Whitehorse Hill near Fernworthy Forest. Co-ordinated by Dartmoor National Park Authority with funding from English Heritage, the excavation has revealed an internationally important collection of early Bronze Age organic remains and artefacts. The find is now considered to be the most important assemblage of prehistoric grave goods ever recovered in South West England. The survival of organic remains is also seen to be of international importance. The assessment of the cremated human remains has revealed that these represent no more than one individual, with an age at death of about 15 to 25 years old. The gender is unknown. The overall impression is of a small, gracile person. A number of small textile fragments were recovered from the cremation, their charred state suggesting that the textile accompanied the body into the cremation, maybe worn as clothing, or added as a shroud or used to bind the body. Analysis of the skilfully-made textile and animal skin object found in the cist has revealed that this is a band of textile made from finely woven nettle fibre. Stitched to the outer edges of this were two rows of leather binding with a fringe of outward pointing leather triangles made from thin calf skin. This object seems to be unique in North Western Europe, its fine decorative work suggests it was an item to be worn, possibly as a sash or belt. An arm band was also found within the tomb, with domed rivets made of tin and fibres made from cow hair. The use of tin for decorative objects is exceptionally rare within prehistoric burial contexts in Britain and despite tin being a locally available resource on Dartmoor, this is the first time it has been found within a prehistoric archaeological context. Cow hair was also used to make a basket containing the majority of over 200 beads discovered, by far the largest number of beads found from a single Bronze Age discovery in South West England. Seven of those beads discovered are made of amber. Amber is an exotic resin from the Baltic, associated with supernatural powers and used as an amulet. The presence of these beads strongly suggests that this was a high status burial. There are also 92 individually perforated disc or sphere-shaped shale beads. The shale has been identified as coming from Kimmeridge in Dorset. Other discoveries within the cist include four wooden studs, probably used in ears or elsewhere on the body, or set into leather belts or clothing, two wooden stakes, some fragments of a copper alloy, and an animal pelt. The analysis work has been funded by English Heritage, the Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon County Council and a number of other organisations and private individuals. It has been carried out by specialists from English Heritage, British and European Universities and the British Museum. The painstaking conservation work, which was undertaken by the Wilshire Conservation Service, Chippenham has also finished and the artefacts will soon be transferred to the Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, with a major exhibition ‘Whitehorse Hill: A Prehistoric Dartmoor Discovery’ planned at the museum from September 13 to December 13.

tavistock-today.co.uk/News.cfm?id=18562&headline=Ancient%20tomb%20gives%20up%20its%20secrets

Another housing development!

Five Neolithic houses have been recreated at Stonehenge to reveal how the ancient monument’s builders would have lived 4,500 years ago.

The single-room, 5m (16ft) wide homes made of chalk and straw daub and wheat-thatching, are based on archaeological remains at nearby Durrington Walls.

Susan Greaney, from English Heritage, said the houses are the result of “archaeological evidence, educated guess work, and lots of physical work.”

The houses open to the public, later.

The “bright and airy” Neolithic homes are closely based on archaeological remains of houses, discovered just over a mile away from Stonehenge.

Dated to about the same time as the large sarsen stones were being erected, English Heritage said experts believe they may have housed the people involved with constructing the monument.

Excavations at Durrington Walls, not only uncovered the floors of houses but stake holes where walls had once stood – providing “valuable evidence” to their size and layout.

“We know for example, that each house contained a hearth and that puddled chalk was used to make the floor,” said a spokesman for English Heritage.

“And far from being dark and primitive, the homes were incredibly bright and airy spaces with white chalk walls and floors designed to reflect sunlight and capture the heat from the fire.”

‘Labour of love‘

Using authentic local materials including 20 tonnes of chalk, 5,000 rods of hazel and three tonnes of wheat straw, it has taken a team of 60 volunteers five months to re-create the homes.

Susan Greaney, a historian at English Heritage, said it had been a “labour of love” and an “incredible learning experience” for the volunteers.

“One of the things we’re trying to do at Stonehenge is to re-connect the ancient stones with the people that lived and worked in the surrounding landscape,” she said.

“Now visitors can step through the door of these houses and get a real sense of what everyday life might have been like when Stonehenge was built. ”

They are furnished with replica Neolithic axes, pottery and other artefacts.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-27656212

Well there is going to plenty of news on this front from now on, 700 houses to be built near Purton. Swindon is looking for a further 60,000 new houses to be built in the future...

A small Iron Age settlement has been found during excavations at the site of a new housing development near Swindon.

A number of “round houses” with hundreds of pits for storage are among the discoveries at Ridgeway Farm, where Taylor Wimpey is building 700 homes.

Other items found include loom weights for weaving, quern stones for grinding corn and various personal items.

Andrew Manning from Wessex Archaeology, which is carrying out the work, said the find was of local significance.

He added that some evidence of Roman life, notably a large clay quarry pit, had been unearthed as well.

The archaeological digging is expected to continue for a further three weeks.

A Taylor Wimpey spokesman said: “We scheduled the archaeological investigation into our programme of work, as it is a vital step of the process.

“The work will continue until our contractors are completely satisfied that they have thoroughly investigated and recovered everything which they need for further analysis.”

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-27515176

Protection for the ‘Heart of Neolithic Orkney‘

The impact of renewable energy projects on the world-famous Skara Brae monuments in Orkney is being researched as part of a new management plan aimed at protecting the site.

Five thousand years ago, the then residents of Orkney began constructing some extraordinary monuments out of stone.

They built a series of domestic and ritual monuments which include a beautifully-preserved domestic settlement at Skara Brae, the chambered tomb at Maeshowe, the Stones of Stenness circle and henge, and the Ring of Brodgar – a great stone circle, 130 metres across.

These important monuments are now collectively known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney (HONO) and represent one of the richest surviving Neolithic landscapes in western Europe.

Since 1999 they have been an official UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is a designation for places that are “of outstanding universal value to humanity”, and includes places as diverse and unique as the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Acropolis in Greece.

Representatives from Historic Scotland, Orkney Island Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds have now launched the Heart of Neolithic Orkney Management Plan 2014-19, which sets out how they aim to protect, conserve, and enhance the site.

The plan is the result of consultation with the various interested organisations and members of the community, which took place last year.

Part of the plan states: “An emerging issue of concern for the cultural heritage sector is the impact of climate change on the management of the archaeological resource.

“This is a global issue and one that UNESCO is concerned about for its effects on the world heritage site (WHS).
“HONO WHS is at significant risk from a variety of climate-related factors including: increases in storminess and sea level rise and consequent increases in coastal erosion; torrential rain and flooding; changes to wetting and drying cycles; changes to the water table; and changes to flora and fauna.

“The growth of renewable energy also has the potential to impact on the setting of the monument.”

In welcoming the launch of the new plan, Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs said: “Five millennia after they were built, these beautifully-preserved monuments offer us an invaluable insight into the society, skills and spiritual beliefs of the people who constructed them.

“The successful management of the site has depended on the close working relationship between the Partners, who have drawn on the experience, as well as consulting with stakeholders and members of the public, to produce this new, improved Management Plan.”

Gavin Barr, Orkney Islands Council’s Executive Director of Development and Infrastructure said: Orkney’s heritage plays an important role in life on the Islands today, by providing cultural, spiritual, economic and educational benefits.

“I’m delighted that the new Management Plan will ensure an appropriate policy context for ensuring the Sites remain relevant to modern day challenges, recognising their role in the wider sustainability of Orkney’s environment and economy.”

The site is managed and cared for by Historic Scotland who work in partnership with Orkney Islands Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in its wider management.

scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/new-project-aims-to-protect-orkney-monuments-1-3389055

Heart of Neolithic Orkney

historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/heritage/worldheritage/world-heritage-sites-in-scotland/neolithic-orkney.htm

Someone has been generous with money....

Indiana Jones wannabes can dust off their trowels in an archaeological expedition aimed at delving deeper into 5,500-year-old remains in Brighton.

Thanks to a £99,300 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, local residents are being encouraged to work on a Time Team type project

Those taking part will work with professional and skilled volunteers in finding out more about Whitehawk Hill.

The aim, according to the Latest website, is to focus on the collection of objects excavated from the Neolithic site in the 1920s and 1930s.

Experts believe the land, near Brighton racecourse, used to be used for ritual ceremonies 500 years before Stonehenge was created.

It is also thought to be one of Britain’s first farming communities.

Stuart McLeod, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund South East, said: “Whitehawk Hill holds hidden clues as to the way our ancestors lived and how the community around here developed into what it is today.

“By delving into this history, volunteers will not only expand their knowledge and learn lots of new skills, but it will also provide a unique record of the area for others to learn, enjoy and be inspired by.”

The Whitehawk Camp partnership is made up of the Centre for Applied Archaeology, University College London, Brighton and Hove City Council’s Royal Pavilion and Museums and Brighton and Hove Archaeological Society.

Over the next 12 months, a series of events will take place which will focus on the biodiversity of Whitehawk Hill and the site’s relationship with the wider downland landscape

Volunteers will also be recruited to catalogue and examine archaeological finds, undertake geophysical survey, excavate archaeological remains and carry out conservation work to the monument.

Dr Dominic Perring, director of the UCL Centre for Applied Archaeology, said: “This is what archaeology should be about: a chance for everyone to participate in the adventure of discovery on a really important site.

“There are some fantastic events planned, and we look forward to learning a lot more about what happened at Brighton in the early New Stone Age.”

Councillor Geoffrey Bowden, chair of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Economic Development and Culture Committee, said: “Whitehawk Camp, older than Stonehenge, is on our doorstep and we are delighted that, with our partners, we have been successful in securing funds to increase understanding and highlight the importance of this historical site.

“This promises to be a real community effort and there will be opportunities for people to get involved in workshops at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery to study objects excavated from the site in the ’20s and ’30s, a community excavation at the site, and a range of other activities.”

For more details visit
ucl.ac.uk/caa/whitehawk-hlf

Except they have not filled in the details yet, but there is a nice reconstruction of the causewayed enclosure....

- See more at: brightonandhovenews.org/2014/04/18/time-team-wanted-for-brighton-dig/28992?#sthash.wPhAFnLQ.dpuf

Archaeologists are ecstatic after uncovering a “really significant” Bronze Age burial site in Perthshire.

Arrowheads believed to date back to between 2,500BC and 800BC have already been found at the site of the new Crieff Primary School, and experts hope to unearth more historic items in forthcoming weeks.

One “definite” prehistoric burial site, known as a cursus — a Bronze Age ceremonial monument walkway — has been identified and archaeologists are hopeful there will be more finds to come.

Sarah Malone, a heritage officer with Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, told The Courier last night that archaeologists had been at the Crieff site since last year.

“We have been working at the site for a while and this is a really significant find,” she said.

“We have identified one definite prehistoric Bronze Age burial site here and will probably find more items.

“Last year we discovered Bronze Age arrowheads and some kists.”

Ms Malone said that archaeologists were still excavating at the Crieff site and confirmed it is part of a “Bronze Age landscape”.

“It is quite exciting,” she added.

Local historian Colin Mayall said: “That whole area is a site of great historical interest. It is the site of more than one cursus, which can date back some 6,000 years.

“Cursus are now regarded as a type of sacred walkway, with earthen walls which could have extended for miles.

“More recently it was also the ancient site of the Stayt of Crieff, where the Earls of Strathearn held their courts.

“I feel these finds are all relevant, not just in a local sense but on a national and, indeed, international archaeological stage.”

Perth and Kinross Council confirmed that excavations are currently taking place.

“Archaeological works being carried out on the site for the new Crieff Primary School have indicated the presence of what are believed to be prehistoric burials — potentially from the early Bronze Age,” a council spokesperson said.

“Further assessment of the site to confirm these initial findings is ongoing at present.”

thecourier.co.uk/news/local/perth-kinross/excitement-after-prehistoric-burial-site-found-in-new-crieff-primary-school-site-1.325269?

A cist burial spotted hanging from a cliff on the edge of Scotland came from the ceremony of a Bronze Age adult cremated swiftly after their death, say archaeologists investigating the bones of a body whose skull carried a tumour.

Cracks and warping of the remains, which belonged to someone of indeterminate gender, suggest the body was still fleshed when it was cremated in a service accompanied by a tonne of burning wood.

The bones were secured in a daring rescue mission on the eroding face of a sand cliff at Sannox, on the Isle of Arran, where experts used a mechanical cherry picker and balanced on harnesses to remove two cists.

“All the bone was uniformly white and in a similar condition, which is evidence for a hot cremation pyre reaching temperatures in the order of 650 to 950 degrees,” says Iraia Arabaolaza, who led the team responsible for the excavation.

“It is likely that the cremation occurred soon after death.

“The smaller average weight of the bones in this cist, as well as the absence of axial [head and trunk] bones, is a common trait in some Bronze Age cremations.

“The lack of remains such as substantial amounts of charcoal associated with a pyre also reinforces the idea of a selected burial.”

Some of the bones may have been kept back or lost to erosion on the cliff.

Arabaolaza says a mysterious green stain, examined once the team had moved the remains to Glasgow, could be copper – demonstrating poor preservation conditions.

A food vessel and a sharp knife, made with Yorkshire flint and found with the body, served both as tools and grave goods.

“Although the burial customs of the Scottish early Bronze Age varied greatly, across the period as well as from region to region, scale-flaked and plano-convex knives clearly represent an important tool,” says Torben Bjarke Ballin, a lithic expert from the University of Bradford.

“Flint knives frequently formed part of the period’s burial goods.

“The Scottish scale-flaked and plano-convex knives are most likely to also be sickles, and they probably carried out the same work as the crescent-shaped sickles of southern Britain.

“Although the piece from Sannox Quarry does not have any gloss, small flat chips were detached along its edge, indicating that it had been used prior to deposition in the cist.”

Beverley Ballin Smith, an archaeology researcher who works with National Museums Scotland, says the water-damaged vessel is unusual.

“In the suite of Bronze Age funeral ceramics, food vessels are not as common as beakers and urns and are less well known,” she explains.

“In mainland Scotland, they are frequently associated with cists with cremations.

“Although the Sannox pot follows some of the decorative motifs of Scottish food vessels, such as its bevelled rim and the slightly uncommon herring bone design, its decoration is in character comparable to those from the east coast.”

This symbolism from the other side of the land may prove that the objects were used in material exchanges.

“The paired and single incised half-circle motives can be mirrored in many places – not least York, Northumberland, Angus, Fife, and Kinross,” says Ballin Smith.

“In spite of its cracks, the pot is intact but there are significant areas of damage. These are mainly around the base, the body of the vessel just above it, and the bottom of the pot internally.

“The damage is partly due to a loss of surface caused by spalling and erosion of the fabric, partly because the vessel may have lain on the floor of the cist, and possibly because of how it was used and fired.

“The appearance of the vessel suggests that it may have stood in a hot fire. There is no sooting from flames, but the base of the pot indicates heat erosion.

“One interpretation could be that the vessel was positioned on the edge of the funeral pyre, perhaps in order to fire it during the cremation of the body.

“In doing so, it received damage as it was not protected from direct flames or very hot ashes.”

One of the bones from the burial – radiocarbon dated to between 2154 and 2026 B – was rounded into a button shape, suggesting an osteoma benign tumour which may not have caused its bearer “distress or symptoms” during their life.

At a time when wood was a scarce resource in Scotland, the size of the pyre shows the importance given to funerals by Bronze Age society. A “good ceremony” could have enhanced the status of the individual or their community.

Read the full report (opens in PDF).

archaeologyreportsonline.com/PDF/ARO10_Sannox.pdf

culture24.org.uk//history-and-heritage/archaeology/megaliths-and-prehistoric-archaeology/art475132-Cremated-bones-Bronze-Age-tumour-sufferer-found-hanging-from-Scottish-cliff?

An archaeological excavation of Ynys Môn’s least known Neolithic chambered tomb – Perthi Duon, west of the village of Brynsiencyn on Anglesey – has begun. The work is being carried out by a team from the Welsh Rock Art Organisation under the direction of Dr George Nash of the University of Bristol and Carol James.

Perthi Duon, considered to be the remains of a portal dolmen, is one of eighteen extant stone chambered monuments that stand within a 1.5 km corridor of the Menai Straits.

The antiquarian Henry Rowlands reports in 1723 that beneath the large capstone were three stones, possibly upright stones or pillars. However, by the beginning of the nineteenth century the monument was in a ruinous state, incorporated into a north-south hedge boundary, itself now removed.

Perthi Duon was visited by the Reverend John Skinner, parish vicar and amateur archaeologist, during his ten day tour of Anglesey in 1802. He sketched the site, then called Maen Llhuyd, and described how its cap stone and three supporters remained on the spot but had “long since been thrown prostate on the ground”.

For the current excavation, two trenches have been dug based on the results of a geophysical survey undertaken by the team in early 2012. The probable orientation of the entrance is east-west, with its concealed chamber at the western end. During Neolithic times, the dead would have probably entered the monument via the small entrance, before being deposited within the chamber, either as a cremation or as disarticulated remains.

The international team of archaeologists have so far uncovered several significant features including areas of compacted-stone cairn that would once have formed a kidney-shaped mound, surrounding the chamber of the monument.

Team director, Dr George Nash said: “This discovery, along with other excavated features clearly show this monument to be a portal dolmen, one of the earliest Neolithic monument types in Wales, dating to around 3,500 BC.

“More importantly, the architecture of Perthi Duon appears to be a blueprint for other portal dolmen monuments within what is termed the Irish Sea Province. We hope, by the end of this excavation to gain a better understanding of the burial and ritual practices that went on at this site, some 5,500 years ago.”

bristol.ac.uk/news/2014/march/anglesey-dig.html

Not sure if anyone has mentioned these, fancy having to go to Malta for the news.....

team of volunteers are recreating a piece of Neolithic history at Stonehenge in the UK.
They are building five houses to give an authentic glimpse of life at the time the World Heritage Site was constructed.
The 60-strong team – which includes a lawyer, teachers and a tour guide – are weaving hundreds of hazel rods through the main supporting stakes and thatching the roofs with hand-knotted wheat straw. Later, the walls will be covered with a daub of chalk, straw and water.
When completed in April, the three-month project will have used 20 tons of chalk as well as 5,000 rods of hazel and three tons of wheat straw.
The volunteers have also helped in the collection of the coppiced hazel, in some cases using prehistoric-style tools such as flint axes.
The houses, which are being constructed outside the newly-opened visitor centre, are closely based on the remains of Neolithic houses discovered in 2006 and 2007 just a mile from Stonehenge at Durrington Walls.
Radiocarbon dates have shown that these buildings dated from around the same time the large sarsen stones were being put up at Stonehenge, in approximately 2500BC.
Experts believe the original occupants might have been involved with the construction of, and celebrations at Stonehenge.
Remains of houses from the late Neolithic period are extremely rare in the British Isles, with others known only from Orkney and at a handful of other locations.
Those found at Durrington were remarkably well preserved and the excavation uncovered the floors of the houses and the stakeholes where the walls once stood, and provided valuable archaeological evidence for the size and layout of the recreated huts.
Each house contained a hearth. Puddled chalk was used to make the floor and the spacing of the upright stakes suggest that hazel of about seven year growth was used to weave the walls.
Susan Greaney, senior properties historian at English Heritage, said: “One of the things we’re trying to do at Stonehenge is to reconnect the ancient stones with the people that lived and worked in the surrounding landscape.
“We hope these houses will give visitors a real insight into what life was like at the time Stonehenge was built.
“They are the product of archaeological evidence, educated guess work, and a lot of hard physical work.”
English Heritage is currently looking for volunteers to work inside the completed houses which will be furnished with replica Neolithic artefacts and lit with fires.

timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140321/world/Neolithic-homes-at-Stonehenge.511549

Hope the badgers are fighting back! but.....

Historic monuments are being saved across the Whitby region thanks to the hard work of volunteers.

Working alongside landowners, the volunteer teams are playing a key part in helping the North York Moors National Park and English Heritage save the park’s 840 historic monuments.

Mags Waughman is the national park’s monument management scheme officer and she said that 99 of the monuments are at risk, while another 240 are vulnerable. Among these are a Bronze Age burial at Danby Beacon, a prehistoric field system at Eden House on the Mulgrave Estate and Allan Tofts in Goathland.

English Heritage provided a grant of £100,000 over three years, later doubled to £200,000 to tackle threats caused by coastal erosion, ploughing and badger activity. Mrs Waughman added: “The initial target was to reduce the risk to 50 monuments. The scheme is having a huge positive impact on the large number of scheduled monuments in the National Park, in terms of improving their condition and management, and in increasing the potential for visitor enjoyment.”

Thanks to the volunteers, action has taken place at 184 monuments and a new volunteer project is being carried out to monitor potentially-damaging effects by badgers.

In the past two years, 43 monuments have been removed from the English Heritage ‘at risk’ register or are expected to be, said Mrs Waughman.

A further 19 on the vulnerable list have had their status reduced.

whitbygazette.co.uk/news/environment/north-york-moors-fighting-bracken-and-badgers-1-6504073

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

theguardian.com/science/2014/mar/09/dartmoor-burial-site-bronze-age-history

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.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-26452022?

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.

shropshirestar.com/news/2014/02/24/national-experts-talk-about-oswestry-hillforts-future/

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

theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/20/prehistoric-forest-borth-cardigan-bay-wales

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.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-26081571?

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.

news.stv.tv/tayside/263035-wemyss-caves-project-to-create-digital-archive-of-carvings/?

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.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-25689652

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...

ft.com/cms/s/2/3449dde2-7800-11e3-afc5-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2q4zsn300

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.

independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/before-stonehenge--did-this-man-lord-it-over-wiltshires-sacred-landscape-9008683.html

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

theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/24/old-oswestry-hill-fort-housing-threat

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.

irishexaminer.com/ireland/council-approves-donkey-sanctuary-on-ancient-site-249042.html

Conor Pass; dingle-peninsula.ie/conor.html

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.

bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/10763529.New___1m_Hengistbury_Head_visitor_centre_nears_completion/

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.

heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/kilmartin-museum-project-is-next-for-scots-architects.22522406

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

tinyurl.com/op4755u

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

gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/headlines/10706335._/

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.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-24179680

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

thisisdevon.co.uk/Excavation-reveal-secret-Hurlers/story-19797335-detail/story.html#ixzz2erry7bkA

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.

herald.ie/news/new-tomb-and-passage-found-at-newgrange-29568097.html

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.”

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.

pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2013/pictish-burials-found-at-royal-rhynie-site

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

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-23928612

Also of course Past Horizons.....

pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2013/excavations-underway-at-the-largest-hillfort-in-britain

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.”

heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/earliest-bronze-age-sheepskin-is-found-in-the-highlands.22000015

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.”

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-23779202

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.”

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-23384979

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.

bbc.co.uk/news/education-23203500