Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Archaeologist claims Piltdown hoax solved
AN ARCHAEOLOGY lecturer from Bournemouth University is claiming to have finally solved the mystery of who created one of the most famous scientific hoaxes of all time.
When the remains of Piltdown Man - the so-called evolutionary "missing link" between ape and man - were found in 1912 it was heralded as the greatest scientific discovery of the age.
This is Bournemouth
Monday, December 29, 2003
Time Team Big Dig: the Hole Story
Review
You've got to hand it to Tony Robinson, Mick Aston, Carenza Lewis and Phil Harding.
Back in June, the folks from Time Team staged the largest popular archaeological event ever conducted in Britain - the "Big Dig".
Radio Times
See Also:
Time Team Big Dig
`Tent' plan to save piece of history
AN internationally important 13th century pavement at West Somerset's most important heritage site may have to be covered by a `tent-type' structure to preserve it for future generations.
The tiled refectory pavement at Cleeve Abbey in Washford has been compared to the floor of the Chapter House at Westminster Abbey as one of the finest examples visible to the public.
This is the West Country
‘Don’t forget our world-class sites’
POLITICIANS have been accused of virtually ignoring Guernsey’s world-important archaeology sites.
Jason Monaghan, of La Societe Guernesiaise’s archaeology section, said that mechanisms to check and protect sites were not in place and States resources on the areas were lacking.
This is Guernsey
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Museum drops entry fee
Manchester's struggling museum of the modern city has dropped its entry fee in a bid to attract more visitors.
BBC News
Now that's what you call a real vintage: professor unearths 8,000-year-old wine
Scientists have discovered the world's oldest wine - a vintage produced by Stone Age people 8,000 years ago. The find pushes back the history of wine by several hundred years.
The Independent
Saturday, December 27, 2003
River bank issues ancient Roman coin
A Roman copper coin, thousands of years old, has been uncovered during excavation on a river bank in Marlborough.
The coin, with Caesar Augustus stamped on it, is believed to have come from the year 7BC.
The Age
TREASURE HUNTERS AN ASSET TO ISLAND
THE ROLE of responsible metal detecting enthusiasts in unearthing the previously hidden historical secrets of the Island was praised at an inquest into recent finds of Roman coins and ancient jewellery.
Isle of Wight County Press
Late Neanderthals 'more like us'
Neanderthals were shedding their sturdy physique and evolving in the direction of modern humans just before they disappeared from the fossil record.
BBC News
New runway would destory rich heritage
A PRESERVATION group has warned the proposed expansion of Stansted Airport would lead to the destruction of historic buildings and sites on an “unprecedented scale”.
East Anglian Daily Times
Sunday, December 21, 2003
Protest at Boyne battle site
A cross-border heritage group has been protesting against plans to build a rubbish incinerator near the site of the Battle of the Boyne in County Louth
BBC News
Images from Newgrange
Images from Newgrange photographed earlier today click on
http://www.knowth.com/winter-solstice-2003.htm
Treasure beneath your feet and under the waves
New laws have made the search for historical valuables more lucrative, but the diggers and divers behind important finds say the real thrill comes from revealing the past
The Observer
Celebrate Yule the 'Viking Way'
OSLO, Norway (AP) -- If the Vikings had seen pictures of Santa Claus cruising the skies in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, they probably would have assumed he was catching a ride with Thor, the Norse god of thunder.
CNN.con Europe
Saturday, December 20, 2003
Iron Age hill fort near Stockport
The Radio 4 programme covering this years excavation at the Iron Age
hill fort near Stockport can be heard here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/rams/sat1530.ram
(You require Real Player to listen to this programme)
New Post as Education Officer
Bede's World is looking a committed museum education professional to take up the role of part-time Education Officer (Lifelong Learning). Full details and an application form are on our website at
http://www.bedesworld.co.uk/information-recruitment.php
The closing date is 12 January 2004.
Ancient treasures from golden age of mystery
THEY may have been struck at the time of Jesus Christ, but they are scarcely marked despite the hundreds of years they spent buried in a farmer's field.
The tiny gold Celtic coins are the latest in a series of finds that are becoming more common since metal detectorists and archeologists started working together.
And they were used by the same tribe whose chariot burials have fascinated the public in recent months.
Yorkshire Today
Friday, December 19, 2003
Cave art from 30,000 years ago?
The first modern humans in Europe were not just hunters and gatherers; some were quite skilled artists as well.
CNN
Metal detector treasures unveiled
Historic finds by ordinary people armed with metal detectors were put on display on Thursday.
BBC News
ESTELLE MORRIS LAUNCHES PORTABLE ANTIQUITIES SCHEME REPORT
The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) published its report for 2001 to 2003 yesterday at the headquarters in London of Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries. Resource are one of the major funders of the PAS.
24 Hour Museum News
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Ancient disc declared treasure
A Bronze Age gold disc used as an item of adornment at a burial 4,000 years ago has been declared treasure trove by a coroner at Aberystwyth.
BBC News
Interview with Roger Bland
Hear the interview with Roger Bland, Co-ordinator of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
BBC 4 Today
Glass fragments may hold secret
Archaeologists will analyse glass pieces discovered at Pengersick Castle, near Praa Sands.
There is a possibility the glass is from part of a complete rose window from the castle's old chapel.
BBC News
Oldest sculptures unearthed
A set of ivory figurines found in southwestern Germany add to a growing cache of the oldest art known.
Nature
Carvings reveal early European's artistic skill
Three tiny figurines carved from mammoth tusks have provided fresh evidence that the earliest Europeans were accomplished artists.
The skill with which each ivory carving was created shows that the first sculptors were not limited to crude and simple designs, as archaeologists once presumed.
New Scientist
Early man's carvings found in Germany
Small figurines believed to be carved from mammoth ivory more than 30,000 years ago have been discovered in a cave in southern Germany.
Among the earliest undisputed artworks ever found, they are providing new clues into the migration and religious beliefs of early humans.
The figurines depict a water bird, what appears to be a horse's head and a lion-man.
Ananova
Tiny sculptures are oldest artworks in world
Three small ivory carvings excavated from an archaeological site in southern Germany are the oldest examples of figurative art in the world, dating to about the same time as the oldest cave paintings.
The Independent
Ivory bird displays ancient skill
A sculpted piece of mammoth ivory may be the earliest representation of a bird in the archaeological record.
The 30,000-year-old figurine, found at Hohle Fels Cave in Germany's Ach Valley, depicts what looks to be a diving cormorant with swept-back wings.
BBC News
Mammoth ivory carvings found
Three small ivory figures from a cave in Germany may have been carved by the first modern humans in Europe 33,000 years ago. The first Europeans were "astonishingly precocious artists", scientists report today.
The Guardian
The roads to ruins
Developers are often seen as the enemies of archaeology, with bulldozers poised to destroy unique remains.
In truth, much of the excavation in Britain is financed by developers who are legally obliged to have archaeologists on site as they work.
BBC News
ARGYLL HERITAGE PROJECT GETS £90,000 LOTTO BOOST
An Argyll heritage project which has been masterminded by Forestry Commission Scotland and a host of other partner groups has been given a £90,000 cash boost.
The Dalriada project aims to build on the rich history and natural heritage of Knapdale and Kilmartin Glen by raising the location's profile and attracting new visitors.
Aberdeen Press
£40,000 pledged to town's heritage
AN investment of more than £40,000 is to be made in a town to revitalise its natural heritage.
Vandals have often tried to ruin Richmond's Castle Walk, which follows the line of the outer wall of the Norman bastion.
This is the North-East
SCIENTISTS "RECONSTRUCT" EARTH'S CLIMATE OVER PAST MILLENNIA
Using the perspective of the last few centuries and millennia, speakers in a press conference at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco will discuss the latest research involving climate reconstructions and different climate models.
About Article
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Dig gets under way in island
An archaeological dig has started at a Jersey site to find historical artefacts.
The site of the new Magistrates Court behind Cyril Le Marquand House has been dug once before in 1973, when a 13th Century Medieval longhouse was found.
BBC News
Fascinating account of what lies beneath
A 200-YEAR-OLD account of what lies beneath Northwich and the surrounding area has been unearthed from within ICI's library.
Norwich Guardian
DoE snubs buildings protection advisers
THE Department of the Environment has delisted a string of Ulster buildings against the wishes of an official advisory body, it can be revealed today.
Belfast Telegraph
Project helps to clear way for historic site on moor
VOLUNTEERS from Tavistock Conservation Project have been helping to restore the setting of an ancient Scheduled Monument on Dartmoor, almost totally obscured by vegetation.
Tavistock Times Gazette
The Finds Research Group
The Finds Research Group AD 700-1700 are please to announce
the relaunch of their website, which can be found at;
http://www.frg700-1700.org.uk/
The site contains information about the group, its objectives and
how to become a member (for a bargain £6.00 per year). The
website also carries details of datasheets that members receive on
interesting topics and types of artefacts, as well as notice of our
forthcoming conferences and meetings. The group always
welcomes new members, whatever their background, as well offers
to contribute to the datasheet series. Our contact details can be
found online.
Late Iron Age silver deposit found at Nanguniemi, Inari, Finland
(This is a little out of date. I've only just found it!)
On September 19th, 2003 writer Seppo Saraspää was looking for lichen for his draft reindeer in Nanguniemi in Inari. While climbing on the rocks his eye was caught by something unexpected. At first glance it looked like a snake or a woman's hair holder. Saraspää decided to have a closer look. What he had found was in fact a silver neck-ring.
Siida
Work resumes at Carrickmines site
The National Roads Authority and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council have resumed work at the controversial ruins of Carrickmines Castle in south Dublin.
RTE Online
Iron age treasure could stay in Norfolk
Hopes have been expressed that an Iron Age hoard of gold coins, which were found in Norfolk, could eventually have a permanent home in the county.
The mud-filled end of a cow's leg bone containing 20 Gallo-Belgic E coins or staters, which date from 60-50 BC, was unearthed at the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project (SHARP), near Hunstanton, in the summer.
EDP 24 Article
Fundraising 1905 style
A LOCAL researcher in a Melrose archive has recently turned up a rare and interesting piece of fundraising, in the form of a four-page A4 size appeal letter, dated November 30, 1905.
It was issued by the President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (a body still very much in being), seeking financial assistance for the completion of the excavation of “the Roman Military Station at Newstead, Melrose,” begun by James Curle, a local solicitor on February 13 of that year, and which was to go on till 1910.
Border Telegraph
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Educational resources for archaeology
CBA Guide to Educational resources for archaeology.
CBA Educational resources for archaeology
A CACHE OF VINTAGE SHIPS
Summoned last April to survey a construction site in Pisa, Italian archaeologist Stefano Bruni never imagined what he would find: nine well-preserved Roman ships--the largest group of ancient vessels ever discovered in a single place--and part of Pisa's classical port.
Archaeology
Vortrag "Kunstzeit Eiszeit"
Am 17.12.2003 ab 18:15 im Hörsaalgebäude am Augustusplatz der Universität Hildesheim (Hörsaal 22)spricht Prof. Dr. Manfred Boetzges, Direktor des Roemer-Museums und des Stadtmuseums Hildesheim und Honorarprofessor an der Universität Hildesheim zur Kunstzeit Eiszeit.
Archäologe Online
Site under siege to uncover past
ARCHAEOLOGISTS hope a new housing development could help uncover hidden secrets of the 16th century siege of Leith.
Edingurgh Evening News
Essex Place-names Project: online database and seminar
The Essex Place-names Project database is now available on the internet at:
http://www.essex.ac.uk/history/esah/essexplacenames/
The database is continually being augmented as further parishes are recorded. The Project in conjunction with the Essex record Office also produces parish place name booklets (available from the ERO), of which of 80 parishes are now published. Currently the database contains over 35,000 entries of place-names, owners, tenants, land-use and topography which can be used for research by historians, archaeologists, genealogists, philologists and linguists. The work of the Project has been appreciably enhanced by a grant from the CBA's Challenge Fund.
The 7th Annual Essex Place-name Seminar will take place at the Braintree Museum on Saturday 3rd July 2004 at 2pm to which entry will be free. Talks will be given by local recorders and a guest speaker. Further information about the project is availabel from the Essex Record Office, Wharf Road, Chelmsford CM2 6YT.
Boost for Odiham Castle
WORK is set to begin on a £500,000 programme to preserve Odiham's 800-year-old Castle.
Fleet News
Go-ahead for more sand extraction
SIMON Sand and Gravel have been given permission to expand the sand quarry in St Ouen's Bay.
This is Jersey
Monday, December 15, 2003
The Mouseion revisited
The grand new Bibliotheca Alexandrina reminds us of the glory of the famous ancient Library of Alexandria, which was much more than a repository for books but a university and teaching hospital, writes Samir Sadek
Al-Ahram Weekly
Museum's collection enters age of computers
WEYMOUTH Museum has moved into the electronic age with the unveiling of its new resource centre.
This is Weymouth
SURVEY OPENS WAY TO COLLEGE SCHEME
Plans are being drawn up for a state-of-the-art college campus on the site of Llanthony Priory following the completion of an archaeological survey.
This is Gloucestershire
Hi-tech reveals the past
EXPERTS from leading universities met at the University of Bath's Oakfield Campus in Swindon last Friday to discuss the use of digital technology in understanding our heritage.
Evening Advertiser
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Experts study Viking find
A GILDED 10th Century Viking sword hilt thought to be of national importance is due to be taken to the British Museum on Thursday, December 11, by Verulamium Museum's first finds liaison officer.
This is Herefordshire
The West Yorkshire Chariot Burial
A rare and nationally significant Iron Age chariot burial has recently been found in West Yorkshire during excavations for the route of the new A1 motorway, one of Britain’s largest road improvement schemes. It is the first burial of its type to be found in West Yorkshire.
Oxford Archaeology
METAL DETECTORISTS UNEARTH NOT ONE BUT TWO ANCIENT HOARDS IN KENT
In two separate incidents metal detectorists working in Kent have unearthed fascinating hoards of prehistoric coins, axe heads and jewellery.
24 Hour Museum News
A brief history of sex
From the world's oldest condom to the antics of the Victorians, a new exhibition celebrates 100,000 years of the mating game. As David Nicholson discovers, it's a history full of surprises
The Independent
Ancient machinery drove cruelty at the Colosseum
The Colosseum in Rome was as sophisticated as a modern stage set, according to archaeologists who have calculated how an intricate system of gangplanks, trapdoors and levers was used to bring wild animals into the arena.
Telegraph News
Rare banner on show after 130 years
A piece of industrial history which has not been seen in public for more than 130 years, has gone on show on Wearside.
BBC News
In ancient Olympia, for one day only
Last time, the athletes were naked, women were not allowed to watch - let alone compete - and the winners received olive wreaths, not gold.
However, next year, for one day only, 64 athletes of both sexes will have the privilege of competing for an Olympic medal on the sacred turf of Ancient Olympia, where it all began 2700 years ago.
SMH Article
Rescued Treasure
Sergei Korneyev, a senior researcher at Moscow's Institute of Archeology, was digging through some dirt back in 1985 when he stumbled across a garden hoe. Not a very impressive find, it might seem, except that the tool was 6,000 years old. Now the bronze implement is on display at "Saved History," a show of objects discovered on building sites, at the State Geological Museum.
The Moscow Times
Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Buckets
Searchable data base of Anglo-Saxon Buckets
Jean Mary Cook, F.S.A. (1927-2001) was a teacher, archaeologist, museum curator and university administrator. Her archaeological work included excavation of Anglo-Saxon burial sites. In the 1950s, she began compiling data on wooden buckets, a specific type of Anglo-Saxon grave goods. Jean's particular interest was in the technical details of their manufacture. She continued to collect information on Anglo-Saxon buckets throughout her varied career until shortly before her death.
Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Buckets
NAPLIB Directory of Aerial Photographic Collections in the UK - offer
The 2nd edition (1999) of the NAPLIB Directory of Aerial
Photographic Collections in the UK is a unique resource which brings
together information about hundreds of publicly accessible collections of
aerial photographs held throughout the UK.
The Directory is available for a limited time only at the specially
reduced price of £15.00 (inc. P&P).
Every user of aerial photographs should have one!
Copies can be obtained from me at the address below.
Sharon Bishop (Hon. Treasurer, NAPLIB)
Aerial Survey
English Heritage
NMRC, Kemble Drive, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 2GZ
sharon.bishop@english-heritage.org.uk
Roman burials help to uncover the past
IN TERMS of bringing history to life, pupils and staff at Winchester's newest school couldn't have done much better.
Because in the grounds of the newly opened Osborne School, archaeologists are uncovering a massive Roman cemetery with more than 150 graves dating back 1,700 years.
This is Southampton
Medieval fireplace uncovered
A MEDIEVAL fireplace in a fortified manor house has been uncovered after painstaking work by stonemasons.
This is Richmond
Friday, December 12, 2003
Pisa's muddy graveyard gives up its ancient secret: a ghostly Roman fleet
The chance discovery of a Roman "ghost fleet" buried in mud just outside Pisa has led experts to conclude that the city was built on a lagoon much like an early Venice.
SMH Article
Iceman's Mummy Gets a New Home
Ötzi the Iceman, the world's oldest and best-preserved mummy, has been given a new, icy home, the South Tyrol Archaeological Museum in Bolzano announced on Monday.
Discovery Channel
Roman site fear stalls centre
Plans for an international sheepdog centre in Gwynedd have been put on hold after archaeologists realised there may be a prehistoric and Roman site close by.
BBC News Article
Humans' 10,000-year warming habit
Humans have been warming the Earth's climate for the last 10,000 years, US scientist William Ruddiman claims.
BBC News Article
Stone warrior delights experts
Archaeologists are delighted by a 2,500-year-old stone statue that offers a rare insight into life in western Europe before the Roman conquest.
BBC News Article
German "Stonehenge" marks oldest observatory
A vast, shadowy circle sits in a flat wheat field near Goseck, Germany. No, it is not a pattern made by tipsy graduate students. The circle represents the remains of the world's oldest observatory, dating back 7,000 years.
Scientific American Article
Viking queen may be exhumed for clues to killing
OSLO (Reuters) - The grave of a mysterious Viking queen may hold the key to a 1,200 year-old case of suspected ritual killing, and scientists are planning to unearth her bones to find out.
Reuters Article
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Mummies may go home
MUSEUMS in Merseyside and Cheshire may be forced to return their prized collections of ancient mummies to Egypt.
Article in Cheshire Online
Experts study Viking find
A GILDED 10th Century Viking sword hilt thought to be of national importance is due to be taken to the British Museum on Thursday, December 11, by Verulamium Museum's first finds liaison officer.
Article in This is Hertfordshire
French student looks for lefties among earliest cave painters
"Prehistoric shamans used to mark the transition from the real world to the spirit world, anthropologists think, by blowing pigments around their hands onto cave walls. These ghostly hand prints, which still dot European caves more than 10,000 years later, now serve a less ethereal purpose — telling scientists how many of those shamans were left-handed."
Article in The State
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
Job Advert
Job Title Excavation Staff
Employer Addyman Associates Ltd
Pay £65 per day (£325 pw)
Closing Date 1st January 2004
Experienced Excavation Staff required for development site in archaeological
mitigation phase. Open Area excavation on a possible Medieval Village site.
Dreghorn, near Irvine, Ayrshire.
Immediate start with work continuing into January 2004.
Contact Tom Addyman to discuss details:
Addyman Associates Ltd
Aidenkyle Cottage
Kilcreggan
Argyle
G84 0HP
Tel : 01436 840 006 or
Mob: 07771 788 773
Email addyman_kay1@hotmail.com
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