 Previous 20 | Showing 81-100 of 100 news posts. Most recent first
Mud, lies and hazard tape: Reviewing The Report on the Drumclay Crannog
(Slightly out of our timeline being early-medieval, and very long and detailed, but of interest to archaeological activists all the same)
I’ve written before about how a simple, unattributed blog post … just 178 words long … kicked off an advocacy campaign to ensure the correct management and archaeological excavation of a crannog at Drumclay, Co. Fermanagh. I’d had reports from trusted, experienced colleagues that the site was poorly run and equipped. Worse than that, the excavation appeared to be in imminent danger of hitting its arbitrarily allotted time limit, declared ‘complete’, and whatever else remained allowed to be destroyed … all so the road could continue. Well, we weren’t going to stand for that and, a large number of archaeologists and concerned members of the public banded together to cause a fuss. We were joined by a significant number of professional organisations, including the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland, and the BAJR Federation. We set up a Facebook page, we ended up on radio and television talking about it, we eventually presented a paper at the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland conference in Belfast, and even wrote pieces about it for Archaeology Ireland magazine [here & here]. The initial reaction of the relevant government departments was to close ranks and claim that they were satisfied with the conduct of the excavation and that everything was running according to plan. When that failed, it was claimed that they were aware of the issues and were already working hard behind the scenes to resolve them. The significant breakthrough came when then Minister for the Environment, Alex Attwood, visited the crannog, was convinced of its importance and subsequently ordered an exclusion zone around the site, along with instituting a competent regime of excavation and management. To paraphrase Hunter S Thompson’s obituary of Nixon: ‘That is Drumclay, in a nut, for people with seriously diminished attention spans.’
More:
http://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/mud-lies-and-hazard-tape-reviewing.html
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World’s most inaccessible art found in the heart of the Colombian jungle
A British wildlife film-maker has returned from one of the most inaccessible parts of the world with extraordinary footage of ancient rock art that has never been filmed or photographed before.
In an area of Colombia so vast and remote that contact has still not been made with some tribes thought to live there, Mike Slee used a helicopter to film hundreds of paintings depicting hunters and animals believed to have been created thousands of years ago. He said: “We had crews all over the place and helicopters filming all over Colombia. As a photographer, Francisco Forero Bonell discovered and took the pictures for my movie.”
The extraordinary art includes images of jaguar, crocodiles and deer. They are painted in red, on vertical rock faces in Chiribiquete national park, a 12,000 square kilometre Unesco world heritage site that is largely unexplored. There are also paintings of warriors or hunters dancing or celebrating. “It is the land that time forgot,” Slee told the Observer.
More:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/20/colombia-wilderness-film-maker-prehistoric-rock-art?CMP
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Slieve Gullion: Volunteers help repair ancient cairn
A group of volunteers has helped to repair a 5,000-year-old burial cairn on one of Northern Ireland's most significant mountains.
Around 30 of them trekked to the top of Slieve Gullion in south Armagh at the weekend to carry out the work, under the supervision of an archaeologist.
They helped to fix damage done to the huge passage grave by the weather and increasing numbers of hill walkers.
Stones had become dislodged from the top of the ancient cairn.
As a result, the entrance to the site was in danger of being blocked.
The burial chamber is lined up to illuminate with the light from the setting sun of the winter solstice on 21 December every year.
More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-32778672
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Megalithic rock-scribing found near Croagh Patrick
A rare sample of megalithic engraving or “rock-scribing” has been found on an ancient pilgrimage route to Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo.
The prehistoric ornamentation resembles that found in Lough Crew, Co Meath, and is one of just of two rock art samples of its type to be identified west of the Shannon, according to archaeologist Michael Gibbons.
The panel had been concealed behind the outcropping at the Boheh townland known as St Patrick’s chair, which has some 250 petroglyphs or carvings on its surface. The carvings are believed to have been inspired by the “rolling sun” phenomenon, where the setting sun appears to glide down the flank of Croagh Patrick during the months of April and August.
More: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/megalithic-rock-scribing-found-near-croagh-patrick-1.2119328
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Ancient remains found in Midlands bog
An ancient bog body has been discovered at a midland bog where a similar find was made two years ago.
The remains were found by a Bord na Móna worker at Rossan Bog on the Meath/Westmeath border on Saturday morning.
A Bord na Móna spokesman said: "The remains of a bog body were found in Rossan Bog two miles from Kinnegad on the Meath and Westmeath border."
The spokesman said the employee discovered the remains prior to beginning work and immediately put Bord na Móna's protocol in place.
More:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0916/644192-bog-body/
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Lindow Man: Gruesome discovery who became 'international celebrity'
Thirty years ago, a peat cutter working in the Cheshire countryside spotted what he thought was a piece of wood trundling along a conveyor belt.
Tasked with the job of keeping the belt free of debris, he threw it away, but as it hit the ground, the dirt fell from it and the remains of a human leg lay in the summer sun.
That gruesome discovery on 1 August 1984 led to Rick Turner, the newly-appointed county archaeologist, being called to the site on Lindow Moss.
He says what followed were "the most exciting days of my archaeological career".
"I was taken out on to the moss and shown where the previous day's peat had been taken from," he says.
"Walking the uncut sections, I found a flap of dark, tanned skin projecting from below.
"Reporting my discovery to the police, we agreed I would be given a day to excavate the remains."
On 6 August, the site was recorded and sampled, the limits of the remains were established and "Lindow Man was lifted - within his block of surrounding peat - on his way to international celebrity", Mr Turner says.
More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-28589151
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Digging Tlachtga: Getting into the trenches with Ireland’s past
HAVE YOU EVER wondered about how archaeologists discover the story of the past? In the second of three articles in an exclusive series for TheJournal.ie, archaeologist Neil Jackman will take you behind the scenes of the exciting excavations at Tlachtga (The Hill of Ward) in Co Meath.
A team of volunteer archaeologists led by Dr Stephen Davis from UCD and site director Caitríona Moore, are attempting to discover the story behind one of Ireland’s most enigmatic sites.
http://www.thejournal.ie/tlachtga-trench-1493408-May2014/
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5,000-year-old standing stone vandalised in Meath
Gardaí are investigating vandalism to the Lia Fáil - the standing stone at the top of the Hill of Tara in Co Meath.
A garda spokesman confirmed that green and red paint was poured over the stone overnight.
At least 50% of the 5,000-year-old granite has been covered by the paint.
In 2012 the stone was damaged when pieces of it were hacked off with an ax.
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan described last night's vandalism as "truly shameful".
"This is an act of cultural vandalism," said Ian Doyle, archaeologist and head of conservation with the Heritage Council.
He said local people and others "have a close relationship with the Hill of Tara and this is an assault on their sense of pride and the respect, love and affection they have for it."
Gardaí have appealed for anyone with information to contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111.
http://m.rte.ie/news/touch/2014/0529/620400-hill-of-tara-vandalism/
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Log boat dating back 4,500 years found in Lough Corrib
A 4,500-year-old log boat is among 12 early Bronze Age, Iron Age and medieval craft that have been located in Lough Corrib, along with several Viking-style battle axes and other weapons.
The vessels were discovered by marine surveyor Capt Trevor Northage while mapping the western lake to update British admiralty charts.
Investigative dives were subsequently carried out last summer by the underwater archaeology unit (UAU) of the National Monuments Service, and radiocarbon dating of samples was then conducted.
More: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/log-boat-dating-back-4-500-years-found-in-lough-corrib-1.1754885
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Jersey's place in Neanderthal history revealed in study
A study on a Jersey site that revealed a significant piece of late Neanderthal history has been published.
Scientists working on an archaeological dig in St Brelade said teeth found at La Cotte suggest Jersey was one of the last places Neanderthals lived.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-24593772
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World's oldest bog body hints at violent past
Cashel Man has had the weight of the world on his shoulders, quite literally, for 4,000 years.
Compressed by the peat that has preserved his remains, he looks like a squashed, dark leather holdall.
Apart, that is, from one forlorn arm that stretches out and upward and tells us something of the deliberate and extremely violent death that he suffered 500 years before Tutankhamen was born.
Cashel Man is now being studied at the National Museum of Ireland's research base in Collins Barracks, Dublin. He was discovered in 2011 by a bog worker in Cashel bog in County Laois.
When the remains are brought out of the freezer, it is hard to tell that this was ever a human being.
More:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24053119
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Co Laois bog body is world's oldest
New tests on the remains of a preserved body found in a Co Laois bog have revealed that it is the oldest bog body ever discovered in the world.
The body was found by a Bord na Móna worker milling peat in 2011.
It was initially believed that the remains were those of a young female which were around 2,500 years old.
However, a series of recent tests have revealed that it is the body of a male, which dates back as far as 2000 BC.
More here:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0802/466108-bog-body/
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Ancient poo gives clues to human impact on environment
US scientists say they can track early human movements by analysing molecules in ancient faecal matter.
Researchers were able to use prehistoric poo to establish the presence and size of a population dating back over 7,000 years.
They argue the method could be used to distinguish human from natural impacts on past environments.
Details have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
More...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20492507
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Permission refused for proposed Slane bypass
Permission refused for proposed Slane bypass
An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for the proposed Slane bypass in Co Meath, a decision which has infuriated some local residents.
Local residents who had been campaigning for a bypass are angry
An Bord Pleanála has confirmed it has refused permission for the proposed Slane bypass in Co Meath.
The agency decided to reject the planned bridge and roads around the village because the proposal was located very close to the World Heritage Site at Brú na Bóinne.
Other factors included the belief among board members that it had not been proven that no appropriate alternative was available, and it could have diverted traffic off the M1 tolled motorway.
An Bord Pleanála's decision has been greeted with anger by local residents who had been campaigning for a bypass.
Residents say the bypass is essential to improve road safety in the area.
They claim that 22 people have died in accidents on the bridge or on its approaches and are warning more could die as a result of today's announcement.
The Bypass Slane Campaign said it is ''shocked and dismayed'' by the decision. The group was formed in April 2009 in the aftermath of a serious road traffic incident in the village.
In a statement, it said: ''Life in the village, over generations, has been overwhelmed by the dangerous volumes of traffic and by the constant threat to life it brings.
More here: http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0307/slane.html
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Farmer fined €25,000 for destroying ringfort
A 64-year-old farmer has been fined €25,000 at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee for destroying a 1,000-year-old ringfort, which was a protected national monument.
In one of the first prosecutions of its kind to come before the courts, John O'Mahony pleaded guilty to carrying out work on the fort on his farm at Causeway in Co Kerry in February 2008, without notifying the National Monuments Service in advance.
More here:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0302/omahonyj.html
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Stonehenge design was 'inspired by sounds'
Music could have been an inspiration for the design of Stonehenge, according to an American researcher.
Steven Waller's intriguing idea is that ancient Britons could have based the layout of the great monument, in part, on the way they perceived sound.
He has been able to show how two flutes played in a field can produce an auditory illusion that mimics in space the position of the henge's pillars.
Mr Waller presented the idea at the AAAS meeting in Vancouver, Canada.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17073206
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Neanderthal survival story revealed in Jersey caves
By Becky Evans
Digging For Britain
New investigations at an iconic cave site on the Channel Island of Jersey have led archaeologists to believe the Neanderthals have been widely under-estimated.
Neanderthals survived in Europe through a number of ice ages and died out only about 30,000 years ago.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14677434
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Hair DNA reveals ancient extinct humans
Scientists have managed to decode the complete genome of an ancient extinct human from Greenland for the first time using a strand of hair 4,000 years old.
DNA from a strand of 4,000-year-old human hair has revealed an astonishing insight into the people who once lived in Greenland, after scientists have been able to decode the complete genome of an ancient human for the first time.
The extinct Saqqaq culture were the first known inhabitants of Greenland and lived on the west coast between 4,750 and 2,500 years ago.
They are well known from archaeological sites, excavated in the late 1980s at Qeqertasussuk in Disko Bay, where small stone tools and bone harpoons have been found. There were human remains too, including a large clump of human hair.
But what the people looked like or where they came from were all a mystery.
Because the hair was found in the permafrost, it had been very well preserved; scientists already know from studying the remains of woolly mammoths that hair is a particularly good source of uncontaminated DNA.
more here:
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/hair+dna+reveals+ancient+extinct+humans/3535137
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Neolithic Chewing Gum
Student Dig Unearths Ancient Gum
A 5,000-year-old piece of chewing gum has been discovered by an archaeology student from the University of Derby.
Sarah Pickin, 23, found the lump of birch bark tar while on a dig in western Finland.
Neolithic people used the material as an antiseptic to treat gum infections, as well as a glue for repairing pots.
More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6954562.stm
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Previous 20 | Showing 81-100 of 100 news posts. Most recent first |
Taxi-driving, graphic artist with a penchant for high hills and low boulders. Currently residing in Tallaght where I can escape to the wildernesses of Wicklow within 10 minutes.
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