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The Tomb of Bith
From the archaic strata of Irish myth concerning the original settlement of Ireland, as recorded in 'Lebor Gabála', the first man and woman to land were Adra – The Ancient (alias Ladra) – and his sister Cesair, with their father, Bith, together with a number of subordinate women.
Bith traveled north through Ireland from the Munster landing place and then died at Slieve Beagh, on the Ulster mountain named after him. There the "seventeen magnificent maidens" who accompanied him on the journey to the northern province buried him under the mountain-top cairn they constructed, the Carn More or Great Cairn.
The Irish word 'bith' means "cosmos, world, eternity, everlasting, being and existence." Thus his name, his body, and his cairn carry the load of the entire universe. He brings a truly cosmogonic myth to the southern fringe of Ulster.
From "Ireland, A Sacred Journey" by Michael Dames (Element Books 2000), first published as "Mythic Ireland" by Thames and Hudson, 1992.
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Neanderthal 'skeleton' is first found in a decade
By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website
Researchers have described the first "articulated" remains of a Neanderthal to be discovered in a decade.
An articulated skeleton is one where the bones are still arranged in their original positions.
The new specimen was uncovered at Shanidar Cave in Iraq and consists of the upper torso and crushed skull of a middle-aged to older adult.
Excavations at Shanidar in the 1950s and 60s unearthed partial remains of 10 Neanderthal men, women and children.
During these earlier excavations, archaeologists found that some of the burials were clustered together, with clumps of pollen surrounding one of the skeletons.
The researcher who led those original investigations, Ralph Solecki from Columbia University in New York, claimed it was evidence that Neanderthals had buried their dead with flowers.
This "flower burial" captured the imagination of the public and kicked off a decades-long controversy. The floral interpretation suggested our evolutionary relatives were capable of cultural sophistication, challenging the view - prevalent at the time - that Neanderthals were unintelligent and animalistic.
More: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51532781
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Mudlarker unearths a Neolithic skull on the banks of the River Thames
Martin Bushell spotted the 5,600-year-old skull fragment digging in the muddy banks of the Thames
A human skull from the Neolithic era has been put on display at the Museum of London.
But the incredibly rare specimen wasn't found in some elaborate archaeological dig. The skull was unearthed by a sharp-eyed mudlarker strolling the banks of the River Thames.
"When I first saw it, I thought it was a pot that might have been upside down — like a ceramic pot," Martin Bushell told As It Happens host Carol Off. "It looked more like a crab shell."
Mudlarkers are amateur archeologists who scour the banks of the Thames at low tide for treasure and historic artifacts. The tradition dates back to the Victorian era.
More: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.5028070/british-mudlarker-unearths-a-neolithic-skull-on-the-banks-of-the-river-thames-1.5028073
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Two fields in from the very busy Halls Road, south-east of Camlough, are the remains of what once could have been a very fine portal tomb. It's probably not one of the most enticing sites, but the fact that there is a relatively fine cashel built right beside it makes it that little bit more intriguing.
What remains are the western portal, a full-size doorstone and the stump of the eastern portal, abutted to the wall of the cashel. There are what looks like an amount of cairn material around the base of the stones. Which begs the question: did the cashel buliders destroy the tomb and use the material to build the cashel? And if so, why did they leave what remains standing? Or was the tomb already destroyed before the cashel builders arrived, and they used the site because they believed it a place of power? Or maybe the full tomb was there when the cashel was built and was then destroyed in more modern times. Or finally, maybe the remains are not those of a portal tomb at all. Who knows?
The views from the site, inside the ring of Gullion, are pleasant – Camlough mountain to the south-east, Sturgan mountain to the north. The ground slopes up to the west, downward to the east towards Camlough itself. Not the easiest of access here due to the traffic on the road, but still worthwhile.
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Jersey ‘drowned landscape’ could yield Ice Age insights
Archaeologists are planning an ambitious survey of part of the seabed off Jersey where Neanderthals once lived.
The site is part-exposed during spring low tide, giving the team a four-hour window to dig while the sea is out.
Stone tools and mammoth remains have been recovered from the Violet Bank over the years.
More: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51299755
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I found the stone pair in the graveyard up the road but couldn't find this stone. There's a new GAA ground in the place that it's marked on the map, but the positioning could be wrong.
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