moss

A carving believed to be Scotland’s earlist human face, dating back thousands of years, has been found on the Orkney island of Westray.

The small Neolithic sandstone human figurine is believed to be up to 5,000 years old.

Experts have described the find as one of “astonishing rarity”.

Archaeologists made the discovery – measuring just 3.5cm by 3cm – at Historic Scotland’s excavation at the Links of Noltland.

It is believed to be the only Neolithic carving of a human form to have been discovered in Scotland – with only two others said to have been found elsewhere in the UK.

The carving is flat with a round head on top of a lozenge-shaped body. The face has heavy brows, two dots for eyes and an oblong for a nose. It is thought other scratches on top of the skull could be hair.

A pair of circles on the chest are being interpreted as representing breasts, and arms have been etched at either side.

It is believed a regular pattern of crossed markings on the reverse could suggest the fabric of the woman’s clothing.

The discovery of the carving is said to be of great importance
Richard Strachan, project manager and senior archaeologist with the Historic Scotland cultural resources team, said: “The find was made by archaeologist Jakob Kainz.

“It looked like the stone had been carved. As some of the mud crumbled off he saw an eye, then another and a nose, then a whole face staring back.

“It was one of those Eureka moments, none of the archaeology team have seen anything like it before, it’s incredibly exciting. The discovery of a Neolithic carving of a human was quite a moment for everyone to share in.”

Culture Minister Mike Russell said: “This is a find of tremendous importance – representations of people from this period are incredibly unusual in Britain.

“What we are seeing here is the earliest known human face in Scotland. It once again emphasises the tremendous importance of Orkney’s archaeology and also of the Links of Noltland site.”

The building being excavated was once a farmhouse, standing in a network of fields.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8212074.stm

More news here as the dig has been extended, interestingly 10 pairs of ox horns found imbedded in a Neolithic house wall ...

news.scotsman.com/scotland/Dig-extended-after-ancient-figurine.5612733.jp

Archaeological Trust initiative aims to capitalise on area’s ancient treasures;

A new centre focusing on the brochs of the far north opened at the weekend.

Caithness Archaeological Trust has spearheaded the transformation of the former Northlands Viking Centre, at Auckengill.

It is the latest initiative to showcase the area’s ancient treasures and help secure visitor spin-offs similar to those enjoyed across the water in Orkney.

Saturday’s opening of the Caithness Broch Centre marked the completion of a £185,000 project the trust has carried out in liaison with Highland Council, which owns the building.

The focus is firmly on brochs – mysterious Iron Age stone towers whose exact purpose has still to be established conclusively.

Caithness, and the area around Sinclair Bay in particular, has one of the largest concentrations of brochs in Scotland. One of the goals for the centre is to attract more visitors to see them.

The centre has sections on the people who built and lived beside the brochs more than 2,000 years ago and the 19th-century archaeologists who first excavated the structures.

The revamp has been led by the trust, which has arranged to display a large collection from the National Museums Scotland in the centre. The 150 items include gaming pieces, painted pebbles, spindle whorls, stone balls, rings, combs and Roman pottery.

The opening included a tour of the centre and the nearby broch at Nybster led by former trust project officer Andy Heald. A treasure hunt and other children’s activities were also run.

The project has been funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Highland 2007, Highland Leader and Highland Council.

Bill Fernie, chairman of the council’s education, culture and sport committee, said: “I am very pleased that we are now able to present an important element of the history and archaeology of the north in a great new setting.

“The new visitor centre will add to the growing list of places of interest for both local people and visitors to find out about the area and its past.

“Caithness has been called Broch Central due to the many brochs and standing stones to be found – one of the largest concentrations in Scotland – and now will be able to really let people know about them.”

The Earl of Caithness, Malcolm Sinclair, who is chairman of the trust, said the project was a great example of community working.

“It is highly appropriate that Caithness should have such a high-quality attraction, given it is the broch centre of the UK,” he said.

pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1325136?UserKey=

TOMORROW marks the 175th anniversary of the discovery of Scarborough’s bronze age ancestor, Gristhorpe Man.
Now residing in the Rotunda Museum, Gristhorpe Man, the tallest prehistoric skeleton measured to date, was found by William Beswick and members of the Scarborough Philosophical Society on Thursday July 10 1834.

The museum is holding a special event next month to commemorate the finding of Gristhorpe Man, which is back in its original resting place following a move to the Department of Archaeological Sciences at Bradford University in 2005 for a series of scientific tests.

Found in a large oak coffin after workmen dug into a tumulus on a burial ground on Gristhorpe cliffs, the skeleton was found wrapped in a hide cloak. It is regarded as the best example of an oak tree trunk burial.

Blackened by a reaction between the iron in the water and the tannin in the bark of the coffin, the bones were placed in a laundry copper and simmered in a thin solution of glue made from horse bones before being air-dried for several days.

A monograph on the discovery was written by William Crawford Williamson, the son of John Williamson, the first keeper of the Rotunda Museum, and included exquisite drawings of the skull and grave goods, with details of the method of preservation and the coffin dimensions.

The coffin was displayed outside the museum until 1853, when it was moved inside after decaying.

Karen Snowden, head of collections for the Scarborough Museums Trust, said the discovery was made more remarkable by its condition. “His find was unusual for two reasons.

‘’Firstly, most oak coffins tend to have no remains, with the bones dissolving, and secondly, all the little bones on his fingers and toes are still intact.”

She said although he may not have been the bronze age warrior chief some perceived him to be, he was still a well-respected figure at the time of his death.

“When they found him they thought he was less than 500 years old. They couldn’t conceive he was more than 3,000 years old.

“He was someone of importance and definitely over 45. Unfortunately, the test only goes up to that age, so we can’t get a definite age. But he was a big man and well nourished, who led a reasonably easy life and there was no indication of suffering from his bones. He is the tallest prehistoric skeleton which has been measured known to date.
He might not be the tallest because there are many skeletons in museums, but he’s the tallest that has been measured and recorded.

“He also had a complete set of teeth, which was not uncommon, because there was no sugar.”

Buried in a big, lavish ceremony, the Gristhorpe Man had some very expensive goods with him in the coffin, including a dagger with a whale bone pommel and copper blade.

Karen said further investigations had now revealed more about his life, and tests had dispelled some theories about what he was buried with.

She said: “The horn ring they found with him now looks likely to be part of Gristhorpe Man himself as a piece of cartilage from his throat, and what was first thought to be mistletoe berries are now thought to be something more unwelcome for him, such as kidney stones, which would have been very uncomfortable.”

After being moved for seven years at the time of the Second World War, Gristhorpe Man was returned to the museum.

The story will soon hit the small screen in more ways than one.

Karen said: “Filmmakers will be here in late July and early August looking at the Gristhorpe Man and the work carried out in Bradford, and while there has been a digital reconstruction of his face, Dr Alan Ogden has produced a reconstruction that speaks in English but also in bronze age language.”

The Rotunda Museum is holding the drop-in event on Saturday August 1, from 11am to 4pm.

Scarborough News tinyurl.com/mh8axo

Bronze Age language!!

Is it or is’nt it? but one thing is interesting in this new items is that Mr.Daw wants to have a Stone Circle Museum – not quite sure how that would work....

“A QUALIFIED surveyor claims a picturesque village on the Essex/Suffolk border might boast the only proper stone circle outside the west of England.

For generations the sarcen stones at Alphamstone near Sudbury have been at the centre of hot debate as to whether they were ever part of a stone circle.

There are two stones marking the entrance to St Barnabas Church and a number of others further back near – and in – the church, but they form neither a circle nor part of a circle.

But Paul Daw, a surveyor who has visited more than 300 of the 400 or so stone circles, timber circles and henge sites in England, believes he might have found the original location of a stone circle in the churchyard using the ancient technique of dowsing.

He believes the stones which visitors to the church can see have been moved away from a once-standing circle in a corner of the churchyard.

His claims have been questioned by Suffolk County Council’s archaeology team, which said whenever it has investigated the claims of dowsers they have never found archaeological remains.

But Mr Daw said he has had successes in the past and claimed he has had positive readings at Alphamstone suggesting a near-perfect circle of 10 stones.

“The find of a stone circle in East Anglia is unique, as all of England’s other stone circles, of which there were nearly 400, all occur in the West Country, the area once known as Wessex, the Pennines and in Cumbria.

“On the eastern side of England, circular earth monuments such as henges and causewayed enclosures, and the occasional timber circle, were built during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age periods.”

Mr Daw, who is looking for funding to continue with his work and who wants to open a national museum devoted to stone circles, said he hoped there may be a possibility that part of the site which sits just outside the area of consecrated ground might be excavated in the future to see whether his findings using divining rods stands up.

Nobody from the church was available for comment at the time of going to press, but Edward Martin from Suffolk County Council’s archaeology service said while he had an open mind about dowsing’s ability to find water he had not experienced a positive result for stones or archaeological remains.

“Finding archaeological remains with dowsing doesn’t seem to work,” he said. “I would have great doubt about this being real. In south Suffolk you do get boulders which are very often used in foundations. But they would not make much of a monument because they are not huge stones. If we do get anything like that, we would have a timber circle rather than a stone circle.”

Divining rods used for dowsing have been used in various forms for thousands of years.

Scientific Dowsing has its supporters and its sceptics and research into the use of divining rods have not tended to prove it works.

During the 1960s some US Marines used dowsing to try and locate weapon stores beneath the ground.”

tinyurl.com/mlos9q

By David Leask

ITS beaches are as stunning as any in the Maldives – even if its weather isn’t.

Yet if the Orkney island of Sanday is very far from the Indian Ocean idyll, it looks set to share the same fate, as sea levels rise and storms become fiercer and more frequent.

Sanday, like the Maldives, may be “uninhabitable” by the end of the century, a leading climate scientist warned last night. More dramatically, some experts fear the long, low-lying spit of land could split into two or more islands within the lifetimes of its 500 residents.

Sanday, and neighbouring North Ronaldsay, are now seen as so-called bellwether islands. Their low elevation and exposed positions mean they will be among the first places in the western world to face the brunt of global warming, even if the most optimistic predictions come true.

Kevin Anderson, climate change expert and professor at Manchester University, said: “These islands are barometers of the changes we are all going to see if we don’t get our carbon emissions under control. What threatens them is a mix of quite small rises in sea level and a jump in the frequency and severity of storms. Storms that used to only occur occasionally will make some of these areas uninhabitable. People on these islands are vulnerable, but they will no doubt get help to relocate. Think, however, of more vulnerable people in poorer parts of the world with nowhere else to go”.

Sanday and North Ronaldsay – whose famous seaweed-eating sheep are under threat – have always suffered from the weather. Their sea defences have been breached many times. But storms, locals acknowledge, have been getting tougher and more regular. Sanday has suffered several bouts of flooding that has split one side of the island from another, albeit temporarily. “One day the waters will just stay and there will be more than one Sanday,” said one islander.

Liam McArthur, the Liberal Democrat who represents Orkney in the Scottish Parliament, was brought up on Sanday. He admits the island’s position is now “precarious”.

“There has always been a bit of gallows humour in Sanday,” he said. “My parents live in the north end of the island and I have joked we’ll need to get two ferries to see them, one to Sanday and another to the new island they will live on. The north end was cut off just two years ago.

“Obviously, we want to be hesitant about apocalyptic forecasts. But there is no doubt that, in a Scottish context, the first impact of climate change is in places like Orkney.”

McArthur, however, believes the north isles face more immediate challenges, including depopulation. The numbers on the islands north of the Orkney mainland have held steady for more than two decades, but only thanks to new migrants, many from mainland Scotland and England. New jobs can be hard to come by, he said.

Some islanders are now talking of giving land to newcomers in exchange for helping with engineering work to stave off the effects of climate change.

In North Ronaldsay – which has around 60 inhabitants, down from 500 a century ago – the stone dyke that surrounds the island could be an early victim of global warming. It was built in the 1830s to keep the island’s unique seaweed-eating sheep on shore; without it, the sheep would be lost. “It has already been replaced in parts by fencing,” said Sam Harcus, who represents the North Isles on Orkney’s council. “I think we are eventually going to have to offer people a croft and land in exchange for them giving up a day or two a week to maintain the dyke.”

Orkney’s internationally important neolithic sites are also at risk, with archaeologists now openly debating how and when they will abandon Skara Brae, the stone age village unearthed, ironically, by huge storms and now precariously nestled behind an eroding sandy beach.

Orkney’s council leader, Stephen Hagan, last night described changes in the islands’s climate so far as subtle. But he added: “There is nothing we can physically do to stop rising sea levels.”

news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Rising-seas-could-spell-doom.5319340.jp

He was a giant of a man, a chieftain who ruled with a royal sceptre and a warrior’s axe.
When they laid him to rest they dressed him in his finest regalia and placed his weapons at his side. Then they turned his face towards the setting sun and sealed him in a burial mound that would keep him safe for the next 4,000 years.
In his grave were some of the most exquisitely fashioned artefacts of the Bronze Age, intricately crafted to honour the status of a figure who bore them in life in death.
For this may have been the last resting place of the King of Stonehenge – and the treasures that are effectively Britain’s first Crown Jewels.
Now the entire hoard, recovered from the richest and most important Bronze Age grave on Salisbury Plain, is set to go on permanent display.
But 21st-century Britain has thrown up a problem that never troubled ancient man. The artefacts are so rare that they have been kept in a bank vault for the past three decades because they are too precious to put on show without extensive security.
So today the Wiltshire Heritage Museum at Devizes is announcing a £500,000 appeal to fund a secure gallery. It will allow the treasures to be displayed alongside some of the many other wonders of Stonehenge, giving a fascinating glimpse of what life was like some 1,800 years BC. .....

read on;-

tinyurl.com/r5v4ch

Published Date: 08 May 2009

By sjb

IT may have been around for millions of years, but Creswell Crags has often remained something of a mystery to generations of local people.
But all that has changed, thanks to a £14 million investment in the site to make it more visitor-friendly than it has ever been before.

Around £4.5 million of the cash has paid for a brand new on-site museum and education centre – a magnificent building created to help people to take a look at and even change their established view of pre-history in the UK

And now, with the building work completed the move into the new premises has finally begun

Anticipating the event, site manager Nigel Mills had said that pre-history had always started with the Romans, taken a brief look at Stonehenge and that was about it..........

Much more here.....

worksopguardian.co.uk/news/New-45-million-visitor-centre.5244738.jp

Apr 29 2009 By Elgan Hearn

ANCIENT artefacts, more than 2,000 years old, should be brought back to Anglesey claims an island politician.

A large hoard of Iron Age materials were discovered in Llyn Cerrig Bach, Llanfair-yn-Neubwll, in 1942.

The items are currently kept in Cardiff, but local councillor Gwilym O Jones believes the treasure troves should brought back and displayed at Llangefni’s Oriel Môn.

And the council agrees, explaining they are currently in talks on that very subject.

Cllr Jones said: “Many on Anglesey know the tale of how they were found during the extension of RAF Valley.

“I understand why the treasures were taken down to the National Museum in Cardiff.

“At the time there was nowhere secure enough on Anglesey to keep them.

“But that has changed in recent years.

“Oriel Môn was built under Government Indemnity Scheme conditions which means that it’s purpose built to keep precious artefacts secure.

“We’ve seen programmes on television and recordings made of the island’s druidic history in the last couple of years, so I feel that now is the time to campaign to bring the treasures back.

“I’m not talking about bringing them back permanently, but I feel they should here for part of the year, say through the summer months.

“I think many people would be interested in seeing them.”

“It would be of benefit to Oriel Môn to have them, as a lot of people aren’t fans of art but might like to see part of the island’s heritage.”

Chariots, weapons, tools and decorated metalwork items were cast from a causeway or island into Llyn Cerrig Bach between 300BC and AD100.

They were discovered in 1942 by William Roberts as the airfield was being extended to accommodate the US air force bomber, The Flying Fortress.

The site was investigated by Sir Cyril Fox, the then keeper of archaeology at the National Museum of Wales in 1946.

Llyn Cerrig Bach is of especial interest in its possible association with the druids.

Roman writer Tacitus chronicled the infamous confrontation between the Roman general Suetonius Paulinus and the druids of Anglesey in the mid first century AD.

Tacitus presents a graphic description of the druidic grove, grisly with the remains of human sacrifices, and the shores of the island guarded by black-clad women who screamed curses at the Romans about to destroy their sanctuary.

It is likely he was writing about Llyn Cerrig Bach.

Anglesey County Council’s head of museums, archives and culture, Pat West, said: “We have a good working relationship with the National Museum and are in negotiations with them about holding a short term exhibition of the artefact found at Llyn Cerrig Bach.

“As yet we have no set date for an exhibition but it would be in the next two to three years.”

tinyurl.com/dcpxlw

SCIENTISTS have unearthed what appears to be a mammoth wooden version of the famous Stonehenge monument at the Hill of Tara.

In a revealing new RTE documentary, many theories and insights into the country’s prehistoric past and 150,000 ancient monuments are unveiled and explained.

For the first time, people will be able to view a computer-generated recreation of what archaeologists believe was a major wooden structure -- a version of Britain’s Stonehenge -- at the ancient seat of the Irish high kings in the Hill of Tara in Co Meath.

Archaeologist Joe Fenwick revealed a LiDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) laser beam had been used to scan the ground surface to create a three-dimensional map, which revealed more than 30 monuments around Tara.

Using another technique -- described as taking an X-ray through the hillside -- archaeologists discovered the huge monument, a ditch stretching six metres wide and three metres deep in the bedrock.

The ditch, circling the Mound of the Hostages passage tomb, separated the outside world from the ceremonial centre of Tara.

It was believed the ancient architects had also surrounded the ditch with a massive wooden structure on each side -- a version of Stonehenge -- on a large scale. Its sheer size meant a whole forest would have had to be cleared to build it.

“In scale, it is comparable, for example, to Croke Park’s pitch. The Hill of Tara had enormous ritual significance over the course of 5,000-6,000 years, so it’s not surprising that you get monuments of the scale of the ditch pit circle,” said Mr Fenwick, from the Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway.

Cutting-edge technology is helping to provide a new insight into the lives of our ancestors, according to the documentary makers behind ‘Secrets of the Stones’.

Civilisation

It shows Ireland’s first civilisation began 7,000 years ago, they withstood major climatic changes and voyaged throughout Europe, returning with new religions and mementos.

An RTE spokesman said the broadcaster, along with the Department of Education, would be sending two free copies of the book accompanying the series to all second-level schools in the country.

The first part of the ‘Secrets of the Stones’ will be shown on RTE One at 6.30pm on Easter Monday.

- Louise Hogan

independent.ie/national-news/wood-you-believe-it-stonehenge-find-at-tara-1706040.html

Archaeologists say project would damage integrity of prehistoric astrological structure

Numerous prehistoric archaeological finds have been discovered around a proposed giant windfarm which the Scottish Government is said to be poised to approve.

A new publication highlights the negative impact the controversial 53-turbine Eishken windfarm would impose on the significance of the world-famous Callanish Stones complex.

Local archaeologists Margaret Curtis and her late husband Ron have extensively researched the huge Callanish complex of which the Eishken hills are a part.

Their findings, which are widely accepted by other experts, stress that Callanish is not just one stone circle but actually encompasses about 30 satellite sites in a major prehistoric astronomical observatory across the southern part of Lewis.

Their submission, entitled Callanish: Stones, Moon and Sacred Landscape, to a Scottish Government public inquiry over the £185million wind scheme has now been published.

It coincides with mounting speculation that planning permission will be announced as Enterprise Minister Jim Mather visits the Hebrides next week to discuss building windfarms and economic issues.

The Curtises calculate that many of the hills in Eishken are integral to a rare natural phenomenon which only occurs every two decades.

Instead of being linked to the sun like Stonehenge and numerous other stone circles, the Callanish landscape is now uniquely believed to be a massive astronomical observatory used to calculate the movement of the moon.

Central to the idea is a range of hills earmarked for the turbines, which resemble a woman sleeping on her back.

Last year Western Isles Council gave the go-ahead to build 13 turbines, a sub-set of a larger scheme, on Feirosbhal and Beinn Mheadhanach — two of the sites the Curtises say would harm the 5,000-year-old lunar observatory.

The size of the Eishken scheme was originally set at 133 huge machines but was slashed in a move to ease the proposal through planning and achieve speedy permission.

Building more turbines in a second phase is not ruled out.

Developer Nick Oppenheim of Beinn Mhòr Power said about 95 jobs will be created to build the scheme, but eventually only 10 staff are needed for its operation.

He will hand six sites over to a community windfarm trust established by himself, though villagers have to raise about £20million to develop their project.

One-third of the community revenues will have to be paid to a council-led Western Isles-wide development trust.

Published: 06/04/2009

pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1156810?UserKey=

THE remains of a hilltop home believed to be about 5,000 years old have been discovered on the outskirts of Edinburgh, The Scotsman can reveal.

The Neolithic roundhouse, found on a site where a quarry is due to be expanded, is one of the oldest prehistoric buildings to be discovered in the capital.

Archaeologists have hailed it as one of the most important finds ever made in Edinburgh because of its age – about the same as Skara Brae in Orkney – and unique location.

It is also expected to help fill in a largely unknown chapter in Scottish history, when farming had only recently spread to Britain from Europe.

The site, at Ravelrig Hill, near Dalmahoy, enjoys spectacular views across the Lothians and Fife, including landmarks such as Arthur’s Seat.

Experts believe the roundhouse was probably built by one of the first families of farmers to start producing their own food in the area.

Experts from Glasgow University’s Archaeological Research Division (Guard) have spent several months working in the area, which is already home to the remains of two prehistoric hill forts. The house, remains of which were found in a huge circular ditch, was surrounded by a larger egg-shaped enclosure.

Although no materials such as pottery have been discovered, archaeologists have been able to date flint recovered from the site, and the remains of an internal fireplace were found.

The site is thought to be roughly the same age as the cairn at Cairnpapple Hill, which is widely regarded as Scotland’s most prehistoric burial site and can be seen from Ravelrig Hill.

Donna Maguire, project director for Guard, said there may once have been a number of settlements on the hill, lost when quarrying began in the area more than 150 years ago.

The discovery was only made because Edinburgh City Council insisted that an archaeological dig was carried out before construction giant Tarmac was allowed to expand its quarrying operation in the area.

Ms Maguire told The Scotsman: “We had no idea we would find anything like this, so it was hugely exciting. There’s been very little like this discovered anywhere in the Central Belt. It dates from around the time of early farming but very little is known of that era in Scotland and that’s why it’s so significant.

“It was clearly built at the top of the hill because of its location overlooking the landscape. In a way, it was intended to make people see it and regard it as an important landmark.”

John Lawson, the city council’s archaeologist, said: “Although remains of buildings discovered at Cramond within the last ten years have been dated to 8,500 years ago, this is one of the most significant prehistoric sites to have been found in the wider Edinburgh area for many years.”

All materials recovered are being taken away for analysis. The discovery is not expected to delay work to expand the quarry. Tarmac has been quarrying there since 1987.

By BRIAN FERGUSON

news.scotsman.com/scotland/5000yearold-home-of-capital39s-first.5097272.jp

WALKERS in the Yorkshire Dales National Park have been urged not to use stones to build cairns or wind breaks as they are putting the countryside’s heritage at risk.

Rocks have been taken from ancient sites, including burial mounds dating back to the Bronze Age, to create cairns on routes in the Dales.

Beamsley Beacon, near Bolton Abbey, which has a large Bronze Age stone mound more than 35ft in diameter, is among the sites which have been disturbed.

Another smaller historic cairn further along the ridge at Old Pike has also lost a significant number of its stones.

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority senior conservation officer Robert White said: “There are problems at a number of historically important sites within the national park, including Beamsley Beacon near Bolton Abbey. We would urge walkers to resist the temptation to pick up stones and build cairns – wherever they are – because they can unwittingly damage ancient, historically important sites like this stone mound.” Archaeologist Yvonne Luke and the national park authority’s volunteers will dismantle modern cairns and all but one of the wind breaks at Beamsley this weekend. Repairs are also being carried out on footpaths to try to stem some natural erosion.

A poster urging people not to build cairns and explaining why will be put up on the concrete Triangulation Point.

An archaeological survey of the hilltop has been carried out and Mr White and his team are appealing for old photographs of the site to help them build a picture of what it used to be like.

Anyone who can help is asked to contact the authority’s historic environment team on 0300 456 0030.

By Paul Jeeves

yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Walkers-urged-not-to-pick.5082953.jp

ONLY a flock of birds is standing in the way of the extraction of 1.1 million tonnes of sand and gravel from a quarry extension near to the Neolithic Thornborough Henges in North Yorkshire.

Permission for Tarmac to extend the quarry at Ladybridge Farm at Nosterfield north of Ripon was granted by North Yorkshire County Council in August, but outstanding details included approval of a Bird Management Plan.

It is required because the site is within eight miles of RAF Leeming – the Tornado and Hawk fast jet base at the side of the A1 – where there are fears of a bird strike involving flocks of geese or gulls.

Archaeologists have described Thornborough Henges as the Stonehenge of the North and an action group is claiming support from the RSPB in its attempt to stop the extension, which is within a mile of the henges.

The Friends of Thornborough Henges claim that the Bird Management Plan would deter the birds which the after-use of the quarry as an environmental wetland sought to attract. Shooting, flying of birds of prey and egg-oiling to prevent breeding are all proposed to minimise large flocks.

The Friends said farmland birds in their thousands had been recorded on the site in their thousands and there would be a detrimental effect on the Nosterfield Nature Reserve.

RSPB Conservation Officer Harriett Dennison said it had concerns about the Bird Management Plan.

A decision on the Bird Plan was delegated to the council’s environment services director and planning committee chairman. Friends’ spokesman Dick Lonsdale said: “It looks as though the whole thing will be decided by two people behind closed doors.”

A Tarmac spokesman said the proposed quarry extension at Ladybridge was needed to preserve jobs. “It has been agreed that it will not harm the Thornborough Henges.”

yorkshirepost.co.uk/localnews/Fate-of-flock-of-birds.5051604.jp

PRESS RELEASE – TARA CAMPAIGNERS – Tara Landscape for UNESCO Tentative list,
Celebrations for Imbolc (Brigit’s Day) at Tara,
Campaigners appear in Court 28 January 2009

Tara campaigners nominate the Tara Landscape for Tentative List of World Heritage Sites
Tara campaigners have submitted a form to the Department of the Environment asking that the Tara landscape be place on the Tentative List of potential sites to be nominated for World Heritage Status. Minister Gormley announced his intention to update the list of potential sites – it has not been updated since 1992 and the Irish Republic has only 2 WHS at present. These are Scellig Michil and The Bend in the Boyne (including Newgrange). According to the Department’s guidelines, the submission includes details on UNESCO World Heritage criteria, a definition of what constitutes Outstanding Universal Value in a World Heritage context, an explanation of authenticity, integrity and significance on a global basis.
Campaigners have expressed concern about the integrity of the site, saying:
“The integrity of part of Tara’s core area, however, is now being adversely affected by the building of the M3 motorway through the Gabhra Valley, particularly by the Blundelstown interchange … within the universally recognised core area of Tara’s landscape. Secondary development around this interchange will undoubtedly pose a still greater threat to the integrity of this landscape in the future”.
The submission emphasises the importance of nominating the wider landscape, including the Gabhra Valley, rather than confining the World Heritage Site to the crown of the hill and says: “The Hill of Tara, therefore, represents the ritual and political focus of a larger territory or landscape”.

Imbolc (St Brigit’s Day) at Tara
Tara campaigners will celebrate the feast of Imbolc, one of the four ancient Celtic festivals of Ireland, at Tara on Sunday 1st of February. They intend to mark the festival by walking sunwards around the Hill with lights or lanterns at dusk, paying homage to the ancient festival while highlighting the continued destruction of the Tara Complex due to the works of the M3 Motorway now reaching its end phase. People are invited to gather in the Hill of Tara car park at 4.30.

Campaigners said: “This should also act as a reminder of the hubris style development which ran riot over our country for the last ten years, laying our environment, social system and economy low, something Tara protesters always warned about and which has now came true”.

A number of campaigners appeared again in Navan District Court on 28th January, only to hear that the case was to be mentioned again on 22nd April. But a date for the hearing should be decided on that date. The case will probably last a number of days as there will be about 30 witnesses and video footage will be available as evidence. A Judicial Review heard by the High Court in late 2008 was successful – the documents that had been requested by the defence lawyers were produced by the State.

Tara Campaigners have also written to all the TDs, asking that, due to the dire economic circumstances, the M3 be halted and that the Meath Master Plan be implemented instead. This would have a more sustainable, viable and environmentally-friendly option. In the present climate, continuing with the M3 is akin to economic madness.

John Farrelly 087-1276829 (Imbolc Event)
On behalf of Save Tara campaigners
savetara.com

Londonderry Sentinel
By Olga Bradshaw – 21st January 2009

MEMBERS of Newbuildings and District Archaeological and Historical Society are eagerly awaiting the results of a new survey scheduled to take place this week, to discover what lies beneath a rath which has been discovered in the village.
The Rath is located off Gortinure Road, and excitement is mounting as to what it might reveal.
The idea to excavate the site is the latest ‘baby’ for members of the village ‘Dig Committee’ – an off-shoot of the Archaeological and Historial Society, whose members include Richard Brennan, Roy Orr, John Mitchell and Roger McCorkell.
The foursome have organised an investigative three-day licenced dig of the site, which was identified on Ordinance Survey maps with a symbol for a ‘souterrain’ – a French word meaning underground.
The ordinary passer-by could be forgiven for missing the site as on the surface there is no evidence of what lies beneath, essentially it is just a flat grass field.
But, as Roger explains, all is not what it seems on the surface: “In June 2005 with the guidance of Belfast Archaeologist Firm, Gahan and Long, we carried out the dig in search of the souterrain. This is an ancient underground tunnel dating back to about 800 AD. The tunnels would have been built by local people as a place of refuge in a time when Vikings would have sailed up the River Foyle and have carried out raids on any dwellings they came across.
The dig and ‘live’ opening of the souterrain was to have been filmed by a BBC production team for a future screening of their historical programme ‘Earth Works’.
“They filmed the first day but when we failed to find the top of the tunnels they wouldn’t bring back the rest of their equipment as there would have been nothing to film. However, what we did find and was unknown to us previously was evidence of a huge Rath or ring fort,” he said.
Despite the find of the Rath it was not until 2007 that the Dig Committee decided to organise another dig – but this time they are being more scientific about it.
“We applied to the Lottery Awards for All fund and were delighted to have been awarded a total of £9,575 to cover the cost of an archaeological Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey followed by another dig.”
They are hoping that the GPR survey will identify the tops of the tunnels as well as any other unknown underground features.
“This time when we carry out the dig we will know exactly using Ground Positioning Satellite maps where to dig. We are hoping that a number a tunnels will be identified as we have talked to a number of men who had ploughed the land over the last 50 years and had pointed out more than one place where the wheel of their tractor have created and gone into a deep hole.
“The holes were covered over to let them finish the ploughing and the position was then lost. We are also hoping to discover the full extent of the Rath and maybe come across remains of dwellings or even ancient artifacts,” said Roger.

tinyurl.com/d98eft

WHILE internationally-sponsored archaeological work at Stonehenge and Durrington Walls has seized the public interest, Amesbury’s very own project has unobtrusively continued just a short distance away.

For the last three years, a small and dedicated Open University-led team of professionals, undergraduate students and local residents has been evaluating a small natural basin surrounding a spring on the western edge of the town near the Iron Age fort known as Vespasian’s Camp.

The site has been given the informal title of Blick Mead after the field name found on nineteenth century estate and tithe maps.

Their work, on private land on the margin of Abbey Parkland, has revealed a human presence from as early as the Neolithic period, through the Middle Ages to the present day.

The site occupies an area about the size of two tennis courts, and overlooks the River Avon to the south. Its proximity to the ancient Harroway trackway and the Stonehenge Avenue suggests it was close to the centre of key transport links and human movement to the area.

Peter Goodhugh from The Amesbury Society, said: “Vespasian’s Camp was probably outlined in bright white chalk in prehistory, and would have been visible for miles around, thus linking it with major barrow groups across Salisbury Plain.

“It is increasingly clear the fort would have been a most prominent marker until it was landscaped in the second half of the 18th century, when many of its ancient stories were also ‘covered over’.

“In the Saxon period, and perhaps for many centuries before, Amesbury and its environs were part of the royal estates.” Finds at this parkland site have included prehistoric flint artefacts, an Iron Age boundary formed by hedging or fencing, Roman glass, and horse bones.

A track paved with flint cobbles leading down to the water was uncovered, and a small part of the level margin of the spring-carved basin is packed with small chalk cobbles. With the spring in use for at least four thousand years, the area must have been quite a thoroughfare, and was, perhaps, a place of ritual in the Neolithic and Bronze ages, connected to the wider Stonehenge landscape.

In Roman and later periods, it may have witnessed settlement or industry.

“Many aspects of the site remain a fascinating puzzle, and only further investigation will allow the fullest possible story to be revealed,” said Mr Goodhugh.

While digs with international acclaim can command significant funding, this one has to rely on £500 a time, to allow long-weekend evaluations, with people making voluntary contributions to keep the work going.

Wider information on the project can be found on the Open University website at www.open.ac.uk/Arts/classtud/amesbury/index.

Project leader, David Jacques, will be giving a talk on the background to and progress of The Amesbury Project at the Methodist Church Hall, High Street, Amesbury, on January 23 from 7.30pm. Admission is £2.

by Morwenna Blake.. This is Wiltshire

tinyurl.com/84s5ap

The future of Shropshire’s landmark hill, including controversial plans for a huge opencast coal mine, will come under the spotlight at a public meeting.

People will also have the chance to debate whether a new visitor centre should be built at The Wrekin or whether it should be left as it is.

The open forum has been called by All Friends Round The Wrekin, a group of people who want to protect the hill for future generations. The meeting is at Wellington Civic Centre at 7pm on Wednesday.

Group chairman George Evans said: “There is a lot to discuss at the moment and we expect a big crowd.

“The lavatories at the main entrance have remained shut for many years – can we persuade, bully or shame Telford & Wrekin Council into reopening them?

“There is traffic congestion on busy weekends. Do we need more parking or fewer cars? Would shuttle buses from Wellington help?

“Do we want a visitor centre and if so, where – Forest Glen or Wellington? Should the Donkey Field be developed?

“Do we want opencast coal mining? Are we going to the public inquiry?”

Mr Evans said another issue was the huge archaeological and historic importance of the Iron Age hill fort at the summit of The Wrekin.

shropshirestar.com/2008/12/08/future-of-hill-under-the-spotlight/

Archaeological excavations have continued this summer within ‘The Heart of Neolithic Orkney’ World Heritage Site.

The Ring of Brodgar, the third largest standing stone circle in Britain and the Ness of Brodgar, its accompanying settlement site, have been the focus of an investigation funded by Historic Scotland and Orkney Island Council under the direction of Dr Jane Downes (Orkney College UHI) and Dr Colin Richards (Manchester University).

This season saw the anticipated re-opening of Professor Colin Renfrew’s 1973 trenches at the Ring of Brodgar, the impressive monument which is thought to be 4 to 4,500 years old although the date has never been scientifically confirmed.

“Although the excavations 35 years ago were undertaken to obtain dating material and establish chronology, they failed due to the limitations of available dating techniques at the time,” explained archaeologist Dr Jane Downes.

“The advanced new techniques now at our disposal mean that this time our investigations should establish when the Ring of Brodgar was built and help us learn a great deal more about it.”

Trenches were dug to the original ditch cut from bedrock by the builders of the stone circle. No artefacts were expected but a time capsule from the 1970s excavation was a surprise discovery. It is now held at Orkney Museum.

Construction of the ditch surrounding the stone circle was also under investigation. A tomography survey was undertaken to determine if the original circle contained more than the 27 megaliths standing today. The survey revealed empty sockets suggesting the original was made up of at least 60 stones.

However, archaeologists continue to seek an answer for one big question – what was this monument for?

Within viewing distance of the Ring is the Ness of Brodgar, and another excavation funded by, OIC, Orkney College, Friends of Orkney Archaeology Trust, Robert Kiln Trust completed a third season of digging.

This site offers the opportunity to learn more about daily life in Neolithic Orkney and the ties people had to the stone circles. Naturally archaeologists are keen to explore its role and significance.

“The excavation this year again emphasises the importance of this site and its pivotal role in our understanding of the use and development of Brodgar/Stenness/WHS in the Neolithic,” said site director Nick Card of the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology. “Even the dominance of the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar in the landscape seem challenged.”

This season also saw a number of exciting discoveries, including two additional non-domestic buildings within the settlement area.

Under further investigation was the massive wall extending across the Ness known as the Great Wall of Brodgar. It divides the ring from the settlement and archaeologists believe it might represent the separation of the land of the living from the land of the dead.

Artefacts numbering in the 1000s were found. These include sensational finds such as a stone polished axe and mace head and everyday objects like pottery and flint tools.

An exceptional discovery of Neolithic Art was also made. The previously rare find of purposefully decorated stone was discovered on structure walls and individual stone slabs.

The Ness of Brodgar will continue to provide insight into how these monument builders of Neolithic Orkney lived. However, archaeologists now wait for summer 2009 to see what new exciting discoveries can be made made. In the meantime results for the date of Ring of Brodgar are eagerly awaited.

For for more information about the heritage of Orkney see www.orkneyjar.com.

24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART62367.html

A community in Co Galway is outraged that a 2,000-year-old ritual stone is to be moved and taken to a museum.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley has been asked to intervene to prevent Turoe Stone from being moved to Galway City Museum.

The three-foot high oval granite monument was erected near a ring fort at Kiltullagh over 2,000 years ago and was moved a short distance to Bullaun, a few miles north of Loughrea in mid-Galway, about 150 years ago.

Experts believe it needs protection from the weather, but the Turoe Historical Society wants it to remain, with a visitor centre built on the site. The society says this would boost rural development. “The stone needs protection from weathering, but rather than removing it, this protection can be given to it on site at Turoe,” said a spokesman for the society.

© 2008 The Irish Times

irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1105/1225523373065.html

A STANDING stone that captured the imagination of the Point community has been vandalised, the ‘Gazette’ learned this week.

The Clach Ghlas standing stone is a scheduled monument, meaning that it is registered with Historic Scotland. Over the past few years has undergone extensive care and maintenance from the local community – including the establishment of pathways and the building of a small bridge courtesy of a Comhairle nan Eilean Siar community grant.

But at the beginning of this month it was discovered that the stone had been the recipient of some graffiti.

Local archaeologist Carol Knott, told the ‘Gazette’: “It’s been written on with indelible magic marker, which bleeds into the crystal of the stone and makes it slightly tricky to clean up, but the clean up will begin shortly.

A spokeswoman for Historic Scotland said: “We have been notified of the vandalism at Clachghlas and our monument warden has visited the site.

“We have published guidance on the best way to remove graffiti from stonework as the method depends on the type of stone and substance used on it and our conservators would be happy to give further advice if needed.

“Once the best method for removal has been identified we will formalise the consent needed with the owner.”

stornowaygazette.co.uk/news/Vandals-strike-Point-landmark.4646360.jp

Well this news should brighten the day up, its from the Daily Mail

My arms feel as if they have done ten rounds with a Sumo wrestler, I have a nasty gash on my left thumb, my back is in spasm and I can barely stand, having tripped myself up and rolled like a human doughnut down a precipitous slope. But this is what happens when you take on a giant, especially when it is Britain’s last and most celebrated one. I refer, of course, to the Cerne Abbas giant in verdant Dorset. The club-wielding figure, which is 180ft from head to toe and is administered by the National Trust, is carved into the hillside. It is finally due a makeover.

Thirty volunteers are restoring the giant – infamous for its gargantuan genitalia – to its old glory, re-digging its silhouette, which has been blurred by overgrown weeds and the footprints of animals, and re-chalking its outline.

No one is quite sure when the giant first appeared. Some say he is a pagan fertility symbol and that if a childless woman and her partner spend the night camping between the giant’s legs, she will be a mother within two years. Others claim that the figure represents the Greek hero Hercules, who was often depicted with a club in his right hand. Either way, there are no documents mentioning the giant before 1694 – although medieval writers had written copious amounts about the hillside itself.

Local records suggest that the giant was carved as late as the 17th century, during the Civil War, on the orders of the area’s bigwig, Denzil Holles. It was intended as a cruel parody of Oliver Cromwell, who was sometimes referred to mockingly as England’s Hercules.

Whatever the truth, when I arrive at the picturesque village of Cerne Abbas, it is clear that nearly every emporium refers to its most famous son. There is the Giant Inn, the Giant Pub, the Giant Bakery and even Giant Hairstyles. Nonetheless, locals are furious at what they call the ‘crass commercialism’ of their giant. He has been used for publicity stunts and as an advertisement for everything from condoms and jeans to bicycles.

To publicise the opening of The Simpsons Movie in July last year, a 160ft Homer Simpson was outlined in white paint to the left of the hill’s more established occupant. Enraged local neo-pagans enacted a rain dance in the hope of washing the American imposter away. The following month, a member of Fathers 4 Justice painted the giant’s sexual organ bright purple.

Drinkers in the Giant Inn mutter darkly about the giant’s revenge. ‘You have got to treat him with respect,’ says John Hodge, a local farmer. His companions nod sternly. I am then told the giant is not merely fiction, but actually existed in the flesh. According to 80-year-old Hodge, he wreaked havoc by killing sheep and cattle in the Middle Ages. But then he fell asleep on the hillside and the villagers roped him down and killed him before digging a trench, which is still visible, around his corpse.

National Trust archaeologist Nancy Grace, who has long brown plaits and looks rather like a medieval damsel-not-in-distress, is enthralled by the ancient stories. ‘No one really knows when he first appeared,’ she says. ‘But it is true that written evidence points to the 17th century when he was created as a rude cartoon of Oliver Cromwell. He must have taken ages to carve.‘
‘But would anyone really go to all that trouble just to make fun of a politician?’ I ask her. (You cannot imagine a chalk figure of our own dear Prime Minister gracing one of England’s green and pleasant hillsides, let alone one with an erection.) ‘Feelings ran much higher in those days,’ says Nancy. ‘After all, they were cutting off peoples’ heads back then.‘

We are standing at the bottom of the hill, admiring the view. I watch the workers on the hill. They look like ants. And then I join them. I am given a series of complicated directions and begin my upward and nigh-on-impossible muddy trudge. I fall down every second step. Something brown splatters in my face. I glance over at the National Trust workers and hope they haven’t noticed me. ‘Hello over there!’ shouts one of them. ‘Are you having difficulties?’ I pretend he is speaking to someone else.

Eventually, I find myself on top of the giant’s club. There, Mike Clarke, director of the National Trust, explains the makeover. Once the old chalk and detritus has been removed, 17 tons of sparkling new white chalk will be poured into the outline and then flattened. He hopes everything will be done by Sunday. To his left a woman heaves a bag of chalk onto her shoulders, panting with exhaustion. ‘It’s quite a job given his size and the fact his genitalia alone is 10ft long,’ he says.

He explains that over time, pranksters have deliberately extended his manhood’s length. The prudish Victorians, meanwhile, attempted to cover it up by planting a strategically placed bellybutton. ‘But do people really come to romance each other in the mud?’ I ask. And after that debilitating scramble up the hill? ‘Oh yes. We get a lot of calls saying people are at it in the grass.‘

Mike hands me a large sack and instructs me to dig out the old chalk, which is a rheumy grey. I shovel as much of it as I can into the sack. I look around, hopefully, for some National Trust worker to take it away to a waiting lorry.
‘What are you hanging about for?’ remarks a small, slight woman standing nearby. ‘I don’t think I can lift this,’ I confess. She laughs derisively and explains that I have to do my own hauling. My temper up, I shoulder the sack, thinking I must look less like Hercules than the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I trip on a small mound and fall over. There is now more chalk on me than on the giant. Mike sighs. ‘Try putting in the new chalk instead,’ he says.

He gives me a bag of fresh chalk and a long pipe with a flat rectangle on the bottom. I am told to lay the powder along the outline and then use this object to pack the new chalk as tightly as I can. I reach for a handful and lightly sprinkle it on the ground. ‘What are you doing?’ says Mike. ‘You’re not icing a cake. Put your back into it.’ I lift the flattener and start bashing the chalk. Mike grins at my discomfort. ‘It’s much better than going to the gym,’ he says. ‘I’ve become so fit. My partner is thrilled.’ Interesting. Will he be bringing her up there for a fertility rite? ‘Gracious, no. I’m a National Trust official,’ he says. I don’t trust him. The Cerne Abbas giant seems to have a strange effect on those who come too close to it.

Is it the revenge of the giant slain in the ancient mists of time? Is it the allure of the arcane rites recommended by erotically minded pagans who worship fertility symbols? Or could it be Oliver Cromwell having the last laugh on monarchist modern Britain.

I start back down the hill, buoyed up by the thought that the descent will be considerably easier than the going up. I am mistaken. I slide down the hill like a human toboggan. Helplessly, I clutch the fence for support and impale my thumb on some barbed wire. The giant’s round, green eyes seem to take on a malevolent glare in the autumn sunshine. This is no Roald Dahl-style BFG. But when I finally look up and see the giant and his shining new outline, it is a wonderful and mesmerising sight. If magic exists anywhere, it may, indeed, be in this quiet corner of Dorset.

By Petronella Wyatt

tinyurl.com/6qo4xl

By Martin Slack

MORE than a century ago a South Yorkshire clergyman and archaeologist spent several days excavating a burial mound on moorland near Richmond.
Reginald Gatty, of Hooton Roberts, near Doncaster, found flint tools, a beaker and the remains of five individuals on Barningham Moor and his exploits were reported in the Yorkshire Post.

But a recent study by modern archaeologists has revealed that Mr Gatty’s excavation may have overlooked some of the site’s more important contents – “stunning” examples of ancient rock art.

Mr Gatty undertook his project in 1897 with the help of then landowner Sir Frederick Milbank, whose descendants still own Barningham Moor, and the pair wrote up their finds for an archaeological journal.

However, the account made no mention of the rock art contained in the burial barrow at How Tallon, and experts now believe that the vicar and the baronet may have blundered past them as they dug.

Paul Brown and his wife Barbara have spent several years studying the rock art of the North Yorkshire moors as well as examples found in Cumbria and in County Durham.

Mr Brown said it was amazing that the 19th century enthusiasts had missed the 2,000 year old clues to Bronze Age life but said he was delighted that they had now been discovered.

He added: “The rock art was originally found a few years ago when specialists starting studying marks on rocks in dry stone walls which were built either close to or over the burial barrows.

“It was then that we started to realise what had happened. Men like Gatty and Milbank would have thought of themselves as antiquarians and there was a phase of opening up these barrows. But the upper class men wouldn’t have done the digging and their staff – probably beaters from a shooting party – would have knocked down nearby walls to make way for the
dig and would have been instructed to look for treasure and bones.

“The stones from inside the barrow which contained the rock art would have been piled up as the search for trinkets went on and when the barrow was completely emptied the walls were rebuilt.

“The rock art stones weren’t put back into the barrow, but were just used, like all the other rocks around, to make sure the walls were rebuilt.”

Academics believe the Barningham stones, which date from the Bronze Age around 2000BC, are evidence that a late Neolithic tradition from around 3,200BC was continuing in the northern Dales.

The Neolithic stones are thought to have been designed
to mark specific sites, such as fresh water springs and viewpoints and can still be found today.

Mr Brown said the Bronze Age examples are still the subject of academic debate – but were most likely placed in burial barrows as a mark of respect to the dead.

He added: “We never cease to be amazed that despite a lapse of more than 4,000 years, new stones and panels of rock art can still be found in the landscape of the northern dales. Barningham Moor and nearby Gayles in particular contain over three hundred marked rocks, many of which are visually stunning, but have never been catalogued or recognised for what they are.”

Mr and Mrs Brown, who live near Darlington, have written a book called Prehistoric Rock Art in the Northern Dales, which includes maps and tips on finding and recognising some of the markings.

It is published by The History Press, costs between £19.99 and £15.99 and is available on the Amazon website, from Waterstones and other bookshops.

yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Prehistoric-rock-art-secrets-of.4447901.jp

Tourists who complain about the fence put up around Stonehenge in the Seventies should spare a thought for their Neolithic ancestors... they couldn’t even see the site because of a huge wooden barrier.

Archaeologists have found traces of the 20ft-high timber fence that snaked almost two miles across Salisbury Plain and hid sacred ceremonies from unworthy locals more than 5,000 years ago.

Now trenches have been dug along the line researchers believe the palisade took as it stretched from the east of the ancient stone circle, past the Heel Stone, to the west before heading south.

And experts believe that the time and energy taken to construct such a barrier, which has no other practical or defensive use, meant that it was designed to hide religious ceremonies from prying eyes.

Dr Josh Pollard, of Bristol University, who is co-director of the dig, said: ‘The construction must have taken a lot of manpower.

‘The palisade is an open structure which would not have been defensive and was too high to be practical for controlling livestock.

‘It certainly wasn’t for hunting herded animals and so, like everything else in this ceremonial landscape, we have to believe it must have had a religious significance.

‘The most plausible explanation is that it was built at huge cost to the community to screen the environs of Stonehenge from view. Basically, we think it was to keep the lower classes from seeing what exactly their rulers and the priestly class were doing.

‘Perhaps we should call Michael Eavis in from the Glastonbury Festival as a consultant because the huge metal fence erected there every year is the nearest modern equivalent.‘

Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology Magazine and author of the book Hengeworld, said: ‘This is a fantastic insight into what the landscape would have looked like. This huge wooden palisade would have snaked across the landscape, blotting out views to Stonehenge from one side. The other side was the ceremonial route to the Henge from the River Avon and would have been shielded by the contours.

‘The palisade would have heightened the mystery of whatever ceremonies were performed and it would have endowed those who were privy to those secrets with more power and prestige. In modern terms, you had to be invited or have a ticket to get in.

‘We hope to learn more about the structure, which we lose track of on the other side of the main A303 trunk road because any remains were obliterated by the construction of a wartime airfield.‘

Meanwhile, another team of scientists led by Professor Mike Parker Pearson of Sheffield University is working on a collection of partly cremated bones found at Stonehenge in the Thirties by amateur archaeologists.

Taken from the Daily Mail;

tinyurl.com/6z8gkq

Sad News....

APPROVAL is finally expected to be given next week for the quarrying of 1.1 million tonnes of sand and gravel less than a mile from three Neolithic henges.
Nosterfield Quarry, near Masham, produces 500,000 tonnes of sand and gravel a year and is the source of 20 per cent of the material in North Yorkshire. The new permission – taking quarrying further away from Thornborough Henges – will extend its life by two years.

An application for a larger site was refused permission in February, 2006, because North Yorkshire County Councillors decided the extraction of 2.2 million tonnes of aggregate would have an unacceptable impact on the archaeological remains.

In January last year approval was given to a revised scheme extending quarrying across 76 acres of Ladybridge Farm at Nosterfield.

It was quashed after The Friends of Thornborough Henges began a legal challenge in the High Court.

Now the application has been reviewed. When planning committee members meet at Masham Town Hall on Tuesday next week the Director of Business and Environmental Services, Richard Flinton, will recommend that permission be granted.

In a report to councillors, Mr Flinton said: “It is considered that there are now no grounds for refusing this application on matters relating specifically to archaeology.”

The Yorkshire Branch of the Council for British Archaeology remains opposed to the scheme because of its fears about affects on the Thornborough Henges – a site which has been described as the Stonehenge of the North.

The CBA said it considered the application by Tarmac Northern Ltd would have an unacceptable impact on the setting and said the archaeological remains from the Neolithic and Bronze Age should be preserved in situ.

The Friends of Thornborough Henges have renewed their objection and Yorkshire Archaeological Society says the quarrying will have “an unacceptably erosive impact upon an overall archaeological landscape.”

But English Heritage has welcomed the revised scheme. It said: “We feel it has addressed our initial concerns with regard to the preservation of archaeological deposits of national importance by omitting the southwest corner of the previous application site.”

yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Quarry-approval-expected-near-three.4402980.jp

Samuel Palmer to the Ruralists..
An exhibition that has opened at the Victoria Gallery, Bath.

Paul Nash’s Eclipse of the Sunflower is there, also Druid Landscape, Megalithic Landscape and work by Graham Sutherland, and The Ruralists of course who lived in Wiltshire, Inshaw painted Silbury and the Owl. Small portion of megalithic paintings there but they are split over the two exhibitions....

victoriagal.org.uk/index.cfm?alias=ancient

Catalogue £20!

Press release;

A Victory for Democracy and Accountability;

Local councillors have hailed the decision of the High Court to block housing at Bullinghope as a victory for local democracy and accountability. On Thursday 24th July the Court ruled that Herefordshire Council had manipulated the democratic UDP process to allocate land for housing at Bullinghope simply to fund the Rotherwas Road .

Campaigners have hailed the decision of the High Court to rule out housing at Bullinghope to fund a road scheme as a late but welcome victory for better town planning processes in Herefordshire.

Dinedor Hill Action Association had brought an action to the High Court under Section 287 of the Town and Country Planning Act.

The Court ruled that the Council had manipulated the democratic UDP process to allocate land for housing at Bullinghope simply to fund the Rotherwas Road and had thus:

- ignored the findings of the Unitary Development Plan enquiry

- Given inadequate consideration to the impact of development on the area

- Prejudiced a proper countywide assessment of future housing

DHAA spokesperson Peter Cocks said: “This victory puts the Council on notice that it must adhere more closely to proper planning processes. The Council must not use inappropriate housing development to fund new roads.”

“Allowing more housing in this area would have set an appalling precedent for urban sprawl in Hereford with all the implications that has for the destruction of valuable countryside and increasing traffic congestion. We are delighted that the High Court has backed the original decision of the planning inspector.”

“By not following proper practice the Council forced local people to go to the High Court at tax payer expense. This is completely unnecessary and all the Council need to do to avoid it in future is follow the rules and stop treating the public with contempt.”

“The cabinet has shown its willingness to trash the environment and its own policies on affordable housing in order to get big housing developers to buy it roads to nowhere. This is not a good sign. In fact, when climate change and the demand for 16,000 new households should be top priorities, it’s appalling. This judgement means no more big houses in the wrong places.”

“Cabinet need to show in future that they can follow simple procedures so that they avoid being reprimanded like this in future.”

THE remains of animals burnt at extreme temperatures have been confirmed among finds from the Rotherwas Ribbon, the 4,000-year-old archaeological site uncovered by roadbuilding work near Hereford last year.

An initial assessment report prepared for Herefordshire Council and out this week suggests the Ribbon was some sort of ceremonial site, and one of many that early man etched into the surrounding landscape.

Recently, archaeologists working on the southern fringes of Rotherwas found a fire cracked stone surface similar to the Ribbon and links to burnt material like flint and pottery.

Specialist post-excavation assessments of the Ribbon saw that the badly weathered bones of cattle, pigs, dogs, cows and probably sheep showed evidence of burning at more than 800 degrees celsius. A human finger was also found.

Radiocarbon tests are now under way to define the Ribbon’s dates. Right now, the feature is thought to be at least 4,000-years-old, putting it in the Neolithic or Early Bronze ages when farming first became a mainstay of local life.

Flint tools found at the site include finely flaked scrapers for wood working and meat preparation, and “strike-a-lights” to produce sparks against iron pyrites.

The latter struck the assessors as particularly unusual as such strikes were usually kept among personal items and not casually discarded.

Of the 143 pieces of flint found, many also showed evidence of burning and breakage – again, unusual compared to flint found on similar sites.

The report concludes that the Ribbon was a “special monument” hosting ceremonial activity and may be one of several in that area.

Councillor John Jarvis, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for environment, said the findings of the report were “very exciting” and work would now begin on the Ribbon’s “unanswered questions” like its actual extent.

herefordtimes.com/news/3161281.Remains_at_ribbon_site/

ONE OF Western Europe’s most impressive prehistoric sites and the third largest stone circle in the British Isles—Orkney’s Ring of Brodgar—is the subject of a major archaeological project to start next week.

A month-long programme will be undertaken by a 15-strong team of archaeologists and scientists from Orkney College, the University of The Highlands and Islands, Manchester University, Stirling University and The Scottish Universities Environment Reactor Centre.

Their aim will be to gather information which will enable a much better understanding of the nature of this iconic site.

A Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Property in the Care of the Scottish Government through Historic Scotland, the stone circle is part of ‘The Heart of Neolithic Orkney’ World Heritage Site, inscribed by UNESCO in 1999.

Very little is actually known about this amazing ancient site, including its exact age and purpose.

The last important archaeological studies undertaken on it were in the early 1970s by Professor Lord Colin Renfrew.

Since then, significant developments have taken place in analytical techniques such as dating.

It is therefore hoped the new investigations to retrieve datable material and examine archaeological and palaeo-environmental material, will reveal facts about the Ring of Brodgar and help its mysteries to be unravelled.

The project will involve the re-excavation and extension of trenches dug in 1973.

Geophysical surveys will also be undertaken to investigate the location of standing stones and other features within the circle. Dr Jane Downes of the archaeology department, Orkney College, UHI, and Dr Colin Richards of Manchester University are the project directors who will lead the programme of fieldwork and subsequent analysis of its findings.

Dr Downes said, “Because so little is known about the Ring of Brodgar, a series of assumptions have taken the place of archaeological data.

“The interpretation of what is arguably the most spectacular stone circle in Scotland is therefore incomplete and unclear.”

He added, “The advanced new techniques now at our disposal mean that this time our investigations should establish when the Ring of Brodgar was built and help us learn a great deal more about it.”

Dr Richards said, “At present, even the number of stones in the original circle is uncertain.

“The position of at least 40 can be identified, but there are spaces for 20 more.

“Our investigations will therefore also focus on the architecture of this fascinating ancient site.”

thecourier.co.uk/output/2008/07/02/newsstory11590855t0.asp