Pilgrim

“Neolithic engineers may have used ball bearings in the construction of Stonehenge, it was claimed today.

The same technique that allows vehicles and machinery to run smoothly today could have been used to transport the monument’s massive standing stones more than 4,000 years ago, according to a new theory.

Scientists showed how balls placed in grooved wooden tracks would have allowed the easy movement of stones weighing many tons. ”

independent.co.uk/life-style/history/stonehenge-mystery-could-rest-on-ball-bearings-2137673.html

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Hmmmm....

Peace

Pilgrim

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When the water levels at a Devon reservoir were lowered it revealed an unexpected prehistoric surprise. A previously unrecorded complex was discovered in the mud at the bottom of Tottiford Reservoir near Hennock on Dartmoor. The complex, which is believed to be 4,000 years old, is made up of stone rows, burial cairns and a stone circle. The discovery is being described as one of the most important on Dartmoor in recent times.

news.bbc.co.uk/local/devon/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8353000/8353334.stm

Peace

Pilgrim

X

independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/stonehenge-lays-out-the-welcome-mat-1801777.html

Stonehenge, Britain’s most mysteriously resonant World Heritage Site, is finally going to get a visitor centre fit for the 21st century.

The fight to create it has been tortuous, but from the wreckage of the £0.5bn plans finally dumped in 2007 comes something that will settle, feather-light, in a shallow, grassy swale at Airman’s Corner, a mile and a half west of the neolithic stones near Amesbury, Wiltshire.

Peace

Pilgrim

X

Britain’s most ancient fishing trap has been discovered off the coastline of Wales after research carried out on Google Earth.

The 853ft (260m) long construction is thought to have been built 1,000 years ago, around the time of the Domesday Book, using large rocks placed on a river bed.

Scientists believe large numbers of people worked together to erect the trap and it allowed them to catch plentiful numbers of fish for their supper.

telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5000835/1000-year-old-fishing-trap-found-on-Google-Earth.html

A 4,000-year-old flint axe, four prehistoric skeletons and a 19th century boat have been unearthed at the Olympic Park.

Preparations for the London 2012 Olympics have seen over 140 trenches dug on the 1.5 sq-mile site in Stratford, east London, turning it into Britain’s largest archaeological dig, according to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).

dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1159700/Prehistoric-axe-skeletons-Olympic-site-UKs-largest-archaeological-dig.html

Neanderthals were not as stupid as they have been portrayed, according to a study showing their stone tools were just as good as those made by the early ancestors of modern humans, Homo sapiens.

Scientists who spent years learning how to make replicas of the stone instruments used by Neanderthals and Homo sapiens have found the Neanderthal tools were just as efficient as anything made by Stone Age man.

Independent online article

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Ancient Mayan astronomers aligned their soaring temples with the stars and now modern archaeologists have found the ruins of hidden cities in the Guatemalan jungle by peering down from space.

archaeologists and NASA scientists began teaming up five years ago to search for clues about the mysterious collapse of the Mayan civilization that flourished in Central America and southern Mexico for 1,000 years.

The work is paying off, says archaeologist William Saturno, who recently discovered five sprawling sites with hundreds of buildings using a spy satellite that can see through clouds and forest to reveal differences in the vegetation below.

uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080221/tsc-uk-guatemala-maya-nasa-a337f0f_1.html

Archaelogists have discovered a more than 2,000-year-old Etruscan tomb perfectly preserved in the hills of Tuscany with a treasure trove of artifacts inside, including urns that hold the remains of about 30 people.

reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL1374906320070813

Herefordshire Council is implementing its plans to preserve the Rotherwas Ribbon archaeological find and protect it for future generations.

A full council meeting confirmed that work on the Rotherwas Relief Road had been stopped around the site since the discovery in April of the Bronze Age ribbon of fire-cracked stones.

The council also determined that no irreversible action be taken that could prejudice its preservation for future generations.

24dash.com/localgovernment/25365.htm

A 4,000-year-old stone feature in Herefordshire is being inspected to see if it has been affected by flood water over the weekend.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hereford/worcs/6912238.stm

We are solely children of Africa—with no Neandertals or island-dwelling “hobbits” in our family tree, according to a new study.

Scientists who compared the skulls and DNA of human remains from around the world say their results point to modern humans (Homo sapiens) having a single origin in Africa.

news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070718-african-origin.html

THE ancient remains of four skeletons were interred at Highworth Cemetery last week to mark the summer solstice.

wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/display.var.1500984.0.laid_to_rest_after_4_000_years.php

English Heritage is urging as many people as possible to vote for Stonehenge to ensure it becomes one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

“Stonehenge represents something particularly special in our nation’s history, ” said Mr Carson.

But not special enough to warrant a special approach to it’s problems, eh?

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wiltshire/6759503.stm

rte.ie/news/2007/0614/tara.html

“It will be the first controversy to hit the new Government, as the Green Party has long held that the route of the M3 is wrong.”

But they’ll get over it no doubt.....

Massive blood loss from a ruptured artery killed the 5,300-year-old Alpine “Iceman” known as Oetzi, tests confirm.
A Swiss-Italian team says the arrow that struck him in the left shoulder slit the artery under his collar bone.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6727665.stm

Engineers are to re-open a tunnel that goes deep inside the ancient monument of Silbury Hill in Wiltshire.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wiltshire/6645367.stm

A metal-detecting novice who unearthed an “extremely important” hoard of Bronze Age artefacts has said his discovery was due to “sheer luck”.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6586331.stm

Scientists are hoping to extract DNA from a piece of jawbone found in Devon thought to be from a Neanderthal man who roamed Britain 35,000 years ago.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/5395342.stm

`A jaw-dropping find‘
A Mexican stone tablet with carvings of corn, insects and fish could be the earliest writing in the New World......

chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609150167sep15,1,4800186.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

DIVERS face a desperate race against time to recover 8,000-year-old artefacts from the bottom of The Solent before they are lost forever.

iwcp.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1252&ArticleID=1310963

The things people will do to make Daventry interesting.....

DAVENTRY District Council has agreed unusual plans to build a ‘stone henge’ at the top of a famous landmark near Crick.

The council last week debated plans to install four 10-tonne rocks at compass points around Cracks Hill to create a unique stone circle about 30 metres from the top of the hill.

daventrytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=696&ArticleID=1291720

From:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4219956.stm

Archaeologists face a race against time after the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of a stone age settlement on the A30 in Cornwall.
The Highways Agency allowed the archaeologists access to the site ahead of the dualling next to Goss Moor.

Heavy machinery has already began stripping part of the route, leaving little time for the dig.

They are trying to record all signs of human activity and so far have come across a lot of evidence of mining.

Meanwhile, circular stone structures have been uncovered at Belowda, near Roche.

These ruins include old stream workings, some leats and culverts which may be tied in to more intensive tin workings, and the settlement.

From the Western Morning News, Tuesday June 7th:

The playing fields of Truro College have been excavated to reveal two Iron Age settlements. Finds include fragments of South Western decorated ware dating from 200 – 100 BCE and a “La Tene” Celtic brooch of similar age:

westernmorningnews.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=143632&command=displayContent&sourceNode=142719&contentPK=12589236