 Previous 20 | Showing 61-74 of 74 news posts. Most recent first
Festival of British Archaeology Events
Several events on and in the Dartmoor area as part of the Festival of British Archaeology - 17th July to 1st August 2010
Going for Bronze - Dartmoor's Bronze Age
Sat 17 July-Sun 1 Aug
High Moorland Visitor Centre, Princetown,
Yelverton, Plymouth
Visit this exhibition which defines the many changes which happened during Dartmoor's Bronze Age.
Dartmoor National Park Authority & Royal Albert Memorial Museum - 01822890414
[email protected]
Brimpts Tin Mines, Dartmeet - a Short Guided Walk
Thu 29 July 14.00 - 16.00
Brimpts Farm, Dartmeet, Dartmoor
Guided walk around part of Brimpts Tin Mines Trail, led by volunteers who have worked on conserving this fascinating site.
All welcome, stout footwear needed.
Dartmoor Tinworking Research Group - 01752 696257
[email protected]
www.dtrg.org.uk
Bronze Age on Dartmoor
Wed 11 Aug 10.30-12.30 & afternoon guided walk
Jubilee Hall, Cross Tree, Chagford, Newton Abbot
Activities to bring alive the life and culture of Bronze Age people on Dartmoor and an exploration of a local Bronze Age settlement and ritual site with an experienced guide.
Royal Albert Memorial Museum - 01392 665780
[email protected]
www.exeter.gov.uk/RAMM
Bronze Age Life and Landscapes
Wed 28 July 10.30-12.30 & 13.30-15.30
Exeter Cathedral Chapter House
Explore Bronze Age culture with special reference to sites on Dartmoor.
A partnership between RAMM and Dartmoor National Park.
Royal Albert Memorial Museum - 01392 665780
[email protected]
www.exeter.gov.uk/RAMM
Wayside Marker Stones on Dartmoor
Tue 27 July 10.00 - 14.00
Meet at car park on Whitchurch Down
A guided walk along old tracks and highways on the western flank of Dartmoor, passing ancient stone crosses and turnpike
milestones that informed earlier travellers.
Dartmoor National Park & Milestone Society - 013922 77271
[email protected]
Archaeological Guided Walk around Cox Tor, near Princetown
Sat 17 July 14.00 - 16.00
Meet at Pork Hill car park
Guided walk of Cox Tor, looking at archaeology, and visiting the DPA cairn survey and repair team at work. All welcome, stout
footwear needed.
Dartmoor Preservation Association - 01752 696257
[email protected]
www.dartmoorpreservation.com
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NT Press Release, Avebury Summer Solstice
National Trust Press Release
Issued 8 June 2010
Avebury Summer Solstice
Campers planning to visit Avebury for the summer solstice are being warned that there will be less space for tents than last year, following the loss of a field for camping.
The National Trust has arranged for a field which can accommodate a little under 100 tents. Last year they had negotiated permission to use a field of twice the size, but its use this year was withdrawn and the Trust has been working with village residents and Pagan groups to find a solution, but no additional land could be found
Hilary Makins, the National Trust Avebury Head Warden, said the solstice celebration was expected to be busy.
"We have looked at many options for camping during the solstice but since Avebury is a World Heritage Site land options are very limited. We want people to come and enjoy a peaceful solstice but also to consider using some of the other official campsites nearby, or perhaps just making a short trip for the main celebrations to save having to camp overnight."
The campsite, at the far end of the main public car park in Avebury, will open at 9am on Saturday 19th June. Celebrations will take place in the Avebury Henge over the weekend, culminating with the sunrise on Monday 21st. The campsite closes and must be cleared by 2pm on Monday.
The National Trust is part of the Avebury Solstice Planning Group which has, over many years, developed a plan to ensure the solstice at Avebury is a peaceful celebration.
"We work closely with police, the local councils, residents, the fire brigade and other safety groups to ensure that this is a pleasant event for those who wish to celebrate the solstice here," added Hilary.
"With this year's event on the weekend, we know it will be busy but we hope people will be aware of the restrictions on camping and make arrangements either to use official campsites nearby or to book other local accommodation."
Ends
For further press information contact:
Allan King, 01985 843592 or 07771 837988, [email protected]
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Camping by Stonehenge for Summer Solstice
The Stonehenge Campsite still has a limited number of pitches available for this years Summer Solstice celebration but those who wish to book have been advised to do so before the end of the month.
Site Manager, William Grant, has asked those who hold the Summer Solstice celebration sacred, pagan or not, to book their pitches now in order to avoid disappointment nearer to the June 19th deadline. This years Glastonbury festival has been brought forward to the beginning of June and informed sources believe revellers who usually attend the Somerset event may flood Wiltshire's traditional pagan meeting spots as a result.
"We will be providing a bus service directly from the campsite to Stonehenge at 1am, and then bringing the campers back to site at 9 am, this year" said Mr. Grant. "Although the campsite is only 2 miles from Stonehenge on the footpaths, it can prove too far for the children to walk both there and back, so we have decided to provide transport as part of our 4 day Summer Solstice camping rally between 19-22 June. The price will be £10 per person per night". "We have become very popular, very quickly and you must make a £25 deposit if you want us to save you a place" said William.
The Stonehenge Campsite, one of Wiltshire's best undiscovered secrets, has enjoyed brilliant reviews since opening a year ago.
Set within a fully landscaped area, the 3 acre campsite has an excellent heated utility block providing piping hot showers together with a hot water dish washing area. Two purpose built fire pits have been carefully placed within the enclosure and firewood is always for sale to those who wish to commune around a traditional camp fire at night.
Lying a stones throw from the centre of Berwick St James, the 9 Acre smallholding is home to a flock of jacob sheep and some very gentle horses. Free range eggs are available from the chickens and the extensively stocked Berwick Farm Shop and villages' Boot Inn are 10 mins walk away.
For more information and to book a pitch, visit the Stonehenge Campsite website http://www.stonehengecampsite.co.uk/
Chance
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The Great Stones Way to link Avebury and Stonehenge
Approval and funding have been granted for the advanced planning of The Great Stones Way (GSW).
The Great Stones Way proposal envisages a walking route between the present end of the Ridgeway National Trail at Overton Hill near Avebury, southwards along the old Ridgeway track, through the Vale of Pewsey and up onto Salisbury Plain at Broadbury Banks.
A route is then to be agreed with the Ministry of Defence around the edge of the military ranges above the Avon Valley to the Durrington Walls ancient causewayed enclosure, and Woodhenge near to Stonehenge.
An alternative route may need to be adopted along the Avon Valley. After Stonehenge the route will cross Normanton Down to Great Durnford, then above the east bank of the Avon to end at Old Sarum. At a later stage, a link route will be adopted across Cranford Chase to join the Wessex Ridgeway at Win Green on the Dorset border.
The Great Stones Way project was first proposed to the Friends of the Ridgeway Executive Committee in August 2007 and the idea has subsequently developed to the point were detailed planning and funding can be carried out.
For more information on the current development plans see The Friends of the Ridgeway web site at
http://www.ridgewayfriends.org.uk/greatstonesway.html
and for an overview of The Great Stones Way project
http://www.ridgewayfriends.org.uk/GSWconcept.html
Chance
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Red Lion - No room at the inn
I have been asked to point out that the Red Lion no longer offers any bed and breakfast accommodation.
The pub is owned by the Green King group and since 2008, when Kirsty Ayre became the current landlady, bed and breakfast accommodation has ceased.
There was always a problem of access to and from the upstairs bedrooms outside normal opening hours. This resulted in the guests being "locked in" once the bars had closed at night and made walking around the stone circle at night impossible. Numerous attempts were made to exit the building at night via the rear fire escape, resulting in the fire alarms being triggered and the building being evacuated.
An alternative access and refurbishment survey of the accommodation was carried out by the brewery but was found to be prohibitively expensive and also reduced the landlord/landlady's accommodation by a half. As this problem is unlikely to be resolved in the near future, it would be safe to assume that any bed and breakfast accommodation can be ruled out completely.
Kirsty regrets this but is only the tenant of the establishment and any comments should be directed at Green King who own the property.
All the other eating and drinking facilities are unaffected and the pub continues to be open daily from 11am till 11pm
Chance
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Prohibition of Driving at Stonehenge World Heritage Site
The consultation on the proposed Prohibition of Driving at Stonehenge World Heritage Site is currently available, but will close on 15th february 2010.
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council/consultations/troconsultations/trostonehengeprohibitionondriving.htm
Comments are invited from interested parties on the proposal for a Prohibition of Driving at Stonehenge World Heritage Site details of which are set out in the documents at the Wiltshire County Council web site.
Documents available include the Proposed Order, Press Notice, Statement of Reasons, and the following Site Notices
– A344, Amesbury BOAT 11, Amesbury BOAT 12, Berwick St James BOAT 11, Durrington BOAT 10, Wilsford cum Lake BOAT 1, Wilsford cum Lake BOAT 2, Woodford BOAT 16
Background and more information
For more information on the TRO proposals in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site, including background, main considerations for Wiltshire Council and the report on informal pre-consultations with stakeholders, see the report entitled "Stonehenge – Proposed Traffic Regulation Order", which can be found at http://194.72.162.210/documents/dscgi/ds.py/View/Collection-1800
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Honouring the Ancient Dead - Avebury Consultation
Following the request made by certain members of the Council of British Druid Orders in June 2006 for the reburial of ancient ancestral remains excavated from the Avebury Complex in Wiltshire, in 2008 English Heritage and the National Trust launched a consultation exercise to take public input.
This will be a landmark case that could set precedents for other cases.
While individuals were welcome to send their own responses, HAD gathered comment from its own councils of advisors and theologians in order to submit a response as an organisation. We have now published HAD's Response to the Avebury Consultation. There is also available a Press Release on the response which summarises the case and HAD's position.
The Museums Association response provoked HAD to respond once more.
HAD's letter to the MA can be found on the main HAD website at http://www.honour.org.uk/node/280 along with all the other documents mentioned above.
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Stanton Drew Cove may be long barrow
The interim report on this summer's geophysics work at Stanton Drew by the Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society is now ready. Stanton Drew is the third and least known of the Wessex threesome of major stone circles.
The formal report will follow, but these were the highlights.
BACAS completed a resistance survey of the avenues, the north-east circle, and a complete ring of the main circle, looking for buried stones and empty stone sockets. One profile taken through a stone socket in the northeast avenue produced a spectacular picture. There were also interesting results at the SSW Circle which seem to show buried stone, and in Stone Close, where the potential of resistance profiles was demonstrated.
BACAS resistance work around the cove suggests it may well be the remnants of a long barrow on a north south alignment. Resistance profiling suggested that there were stone footings about half a metre below the surface heading from the cove northwards.
You can download a PDF copy (2MB) from
http://www.bris.ac.uk/fluff/u/isjer/KWKYi5F2ESA9C4zqoaxmdAER/
until the end of today
A higher resolution print copy will be available shortly and will probably appear on the BACAS website http://www.bacas.homecall.co.uk/ at some point.
BACAS surveyed part of the circle with a new Bartington magnetometer. Using very high data density BACAS could reproduce results at least as clear as English Heritage produced using a Caesium magnetometer.
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Centenary of druidic observances at Stonehenge
This years winter solstice observance at Stonehenge will mark the centenary of Dr. G.W. MacGregor Reid being recorded undertaking such activities by the Wiltshire Constabulary. The Most Ancient Order of Druids had chosen Dr. G.W. MacGregor Reid in 1909 and his 37 years in office was to see the druid presence at Stonehenge during the Summer Solstice, develop into a permanent feature.
Wiltshire Constabulary had noted over two thousand people attending the early morning Summer Solstice the previous year. The astronomer, Sir Norman Lockyer had published a book on Stonehenge three years previously and this was thought to have brought the solstice to the interest of the wider public, not just the Ancient Order of Druids.
It would seem that the good Doctor had been conducting services for five years before there was any recorded disorder, and this was to be for the first time in living memory. The Summer Solstice of 1914 was on a Sunday morning, and the attendance was much larger than usual. The fracas began with an attempt by the Druids to carry out their ceremony within the stone circle.
Stonehenge had been enclosed in 1901 and a turnstile installed beside the Avenue, with an entry fee of a shilling per head.
Dr MacGregor Reid, Mr George Catchlove and eight others paid admission to the enclosure, although they protested against the charge. At about twenty past three in the morning Dr MacGregor Reid began to read druidical prayers at the 'altar stone'.
He had not got very far before Superintendent Buchanan of Wiltshire Constabulary stepped in.
Buchanan drew attention to a notice which prohibited any form of meeting or service within the circle.
He told Dr MacGregor Reid that he should stop the ceremony immediately, but the request was ignored and the Druid leader continued in an even louder voice. Superintendent Buchanan warned a second time that if MacGregor Reid didn't stop immediately the police would be forced to throw him out of the enclosure. The Druids ignored the second warning and, in consequence, MacGregor Reid was forcibly ejected. His followers left of their own accord.
Later in the day MacGregor Reid and Catchlove, who were wearing white robes and purple cassocks, held services outside the enclosure.
In 1915 the Druids were again refused free admission to the enclosure. For a second time MacGregor Reid and his supporters were ejected from the circle, and again for the same reason.
1916 saw the Most Ancient Order of Druids allowed to hold their ceremonies at Stonehenge during the Summer Solstice, to which they have been doing ever since.
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Pagan police get solstice leave
Ever wondered why you can never find one when you need one?
Pagan police officers in some areas are being allowed to take as many as eight days leave a year for events such as the summer solstice and Halloween.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8154812.stm
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France to build biggest archaeological park in Europe
The oppidum of Alésia is one of the most famous archaeological sites in France, but until recent years it was suffering from its lack of visibility and from the small surface of the museum in Alise-Sainte-Reine. A large part of the 7000 hectares (oppidum and Cesar's fortifications) is covered by a forest that makes difficult to understand the site.
The council of the French department of Côte d'Or, to whom the site belongs, decided to change this situation in 2004 and launched a big programme to build an open air archaeological park
The Bernard Tschumi Architects Agency won the project with an ambitious plan: a synergy between History and Landscape will help visitors to understand successively the besieger and the besieged points of view and to discover the different cultures that occupied the site during the first centuries A.D. The future park is divided in two parts:
- The Besieger Interpretation Center and a partial reconstruction of the roman fortified lines will introduce the Gallic War.
- The museum of Gallic civilization, the « excavation area », and the base of archaeological operations will explain more generally the human occupation of the site.
With a gradual opening that should begin in 2010, Alésia's Park will be the biggest archaeological park of Europe and will give back to the site the recognition it deserves.
To find out more, contact the society in charge :
SEM Alésia - 25 bis, rue du Rochon - 21150 ALISE-SAINTE-REINE / Tel : 0033 (0)3 80 96 96 23
Website : http://www.alesia.com/
(Camille Daval - ArchéoMédia, March 2008)
For animations of the Alésia MuséoParc see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg9KvdzzjGg
Download the English translation pdf at http://www.alesia.com/fic_bdd/pdf_fr_fichier/11990978440_anglais.pdf
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Neolithic Marathon and The Sarsen Trail - 2008
This year the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Sarsen Trail, and to mark this milestone is encouraging us to take part in the 'Walk for Wildlife Week' which precedes the Trail, Saturday 26th April to Sunday 4th May.
The Week will culminate with the Sarsen Trail and Neolithic Marathon on Sunday 4th May.
The Sarsen Trail and Neolithic Marathon is a 26-mile sponsored walk and run between the two World Heritage Sites of Avebury and Stonehenge, with shorter courses available to those who prefer shorter distances.
The route offers some of the most spectacular view across Wiltshire's undulating downland and the opportunity to walk on Ministry of Defence land that is usually closed to the public. Part of the route is also of major historical importance as it traces the approximate trail along which the Sarsen stones were dragged to build Stonehenge in the Neolithic times.
The event is the Trust's most important annual fundraiser. Over 1,700 walkers and 400 runners from across the UK and from abroad, 100 dogs, and 250 staff and volunteers took part in last year's event raising over £60,000, money that will be used to help protect Wiltshire's wildlife and environment and safeguard its natural heritage for future generations.
There are frequent water stations along the route and once you've reached Stonehenge, you can lie back and enjoy a well-earned massage or feast on a hog roast.
The Sarsen Trail walk, Neolithic Marathon and Half Marathon are organised to raise vital funds for the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
The next Sarsen Trail and Neolithic Marathon and Half Marathon will take place on Sunday 4th May 2008.
The Marathon starts at Avebury at 10.30am. The half marathon starts at Charlton Clumps on Salisbury Plain at 11am.
http://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/ - Click link on right for Sarsen Trail
REGISTRATION FEES 2008 - Close Registration – 11th April
Adult Full Walk £24.00
Adult Half Walk £18.00
WWT Member £12.00
Child (under 16) £6.00
Watch Member £4.50
Child Group £4.50
Family (2 adults, 3 children) £50.00
WWT Family £35.00
Group Rate (5 or more) £20.00
Marathon £30.00
Marathon (WWT Member) £15.00
Half Marathon £25.00 £20.00
Half Marathon (Member) £12.50
Bringing the birds and bees and monkey babies together - Lovely
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2008 - The year of the Weekend Full Moon and Friday Sabbat
Well would you wicca that.
A sneak peak at 2008 shows lots of weekend events under a big full moon..
August has both a Solar and Lunar Partial eclipse.
Feb : Fri 1st - Imbolc sunrise 07:39 set 16:48
March : Thur 20th - Vernal Equinox 05:48
Fri 21th - Full Moon 18:40 gmt (Good Friday)
Mon 24th - Easter Monday
Sun - 30th BST starts
May : Thur 1st - Beltane sunrise 05:31 set 20:24 bst
Mon 5th - Dark Moon 13:18 (Bank Holiday)
Tues 20th - Full Moon 03:11 bst
June : Wed 18th - Full Moon 18:30 bst
Fri 20th - Solstice sat 21 00:50 bst - Sunrise 04:43 set 21:21 bst
July : Fri 18th - Full Moon 08:59 bst
August : Fri 1st - Dark Moon 11:13
Fri 1st - Lammas - Partial eclipse of sun 09:04 till 13:38 bst
Sat 2nd - Lammas Games - no start or end time but most of afternoon
Sat 16th - Full Moon 22:16 Partial eclipse 20:36 til 00:45 sun morn bst
Mon 25th Bank Holiday Monday (Spirit Camp no.2 at Barbury Castle)
Sat 30th - Dark Moon 20:58
September : Mon 15th - Full Moon 10:13 bst
Mon 22nd - Autumn Equinox 16:44 bst
October : Tues 14th - Full Moon 21:02 bst
Sun 26th - bst ends
Tues 28th - Dark Moon 23:12
Fri 31th - Sahain sun rises 06:52 sets 16:34
December : Fri 12th - Full Moon 16:37 gmt
Sun 21st - Winter Solstice 12:04 sunrise 08:04 sets 15:54
For the full year - check out the Avebury pagan events calendar
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Previous 20 | Showing 61-74 of 74 news posts. Most recent first |
Hail and Welcome
Chance was born in Ratae in the year of the Rat, and grew up in the territory of the Corieltauvi.
Now living days walk west of Wale-dich (Avebury), on the border between the Atrebates, the Durotriges and the Dobunni.
Practical experience of excavation on Neolithic, Bronze-age, Roman sites.
Interested in the various tribes, how they divided their land, their agricultural calendar, common beliefs and ritual systems.
Often attends the tribal meetings held at Avebury and Stonehenge.
Contact - Chippychance on UTube
http://www.youtube.com/chippychance
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