Pits add to Stonehenge mystery

Researchers say they've found two pits to the east and west of Stonehenge that may have played a role in an ancient midsummer ceremony. The discovery suggests that the 5,000-year-old circle of stones we see today may represent just a few of the pieces in a larger geographical, astronomical and cultural puzzle.

The previously undetected pits could provide clues for solving the puzzle.

"These exciting finds indicate that even though Stonehenge was ultimately the most important monument in the landscape, it may at times not have been the only, or most important ritual focus, and the area of Stonehenge may have become significant as a sacred site at a much earlier date," Vince Gaffney, an archaeology professor at the University of Birmingham, said in a news release issued over the weekend.

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Archaeology: Remains of medieval church discovered in Bulgaria’s Sozopol

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a medieval church, said to date from some time in the 12^th to 14^th centuries, and the front gate of the ancient city on the location of today’s Sozopol, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

The north wall and the apse of the church are just metres from the ancient fortress in the city, Bulgarian National Television said. The church is near today’s St Cyril and Methodius church, which houses what are purported to be relics of John the Baptist, found on St Ivan island off the coast of Sozopol in summer 2010.

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Alderney ruin found to be Roman fort

An overgrown site on Alderney has been found to be one of the best-preserved Roman military structures in the world.

Island tradition had long suggested the site, known as the Nunnery, dated back to Roman times, although excavations since the 1930s had always proved inconclusive.

A joint project between Guernsey Museums and the Alderney Society was set up in 2008 to find the answers.

Over four August bank holiday weekends, a team of a dozen volunteers undertook various excavations to determine the history of the site.

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Archaeological discovery provides evidence of a celestial procession at Stonehenge

Archaeologists led by the University of Birmingham with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection have discovered evidence of two huge pits positioned on celestial alignment at Stonehenge.
Shedding new light on the significant association of the monument with the sun, these pits may have contained tall stones, wooden posts or even fires to mark its rising and setting and could have defined a processional route used by agriculturalists to celebrate the passage of the sun across the sky at the summer solstice.

Positioned within the Cursus pathway, the pits are on alignment towards midsummer sunrise and sunset when viewed from the Heel Stone, the enigmatic stone standing just outside the entrance to Stonehenge. For the first time, this discovery may directly link the rituals and celestial phenomena at Stonehenge to activities within the Cursus.

The international archaeological survey team, led by the University of Birmingham’s IBM Visual and Spatial Technology Centre (VISTA), with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Vienna (LBI ArchPro) have also discovered a previously unknown gap in the middle of the northern side of the Cursus, which may have provided the main entrance and exit point for processions that took place within the pathway. Stretching from west to east, the Cursus is an immense linear enclosure, 100 metres wide and two and a half kilometres across, north of Stonehenge.

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When Humans First Plied the Deep Blue Sea

In a shallow cave on an island north of Australia, researchers have made a surprising discovery: the 42,000-year-old bones of tuna and sharks that were clearly brought there by human hands. The find, reported online today in Science, provides the strongest evidence yet that people were deep-sea fishing so long ago. And those maritime skills may have allowed the inhabitants of this region to colonize lands far and wide.

The earliest known boats, found in France and the Netherlands, are only 10,000 years old, but archaeologists know they don't tell the whole story. Wood and other common boat-building materials don't preserve well in the archaeological record. And the colonization of Australia and the nearby islands of Southeast Asia, which began at least 45,000 years ago, required sea crossings of at least 30 kilometers. Yet whether these early migrants put out to sea deliberately in boats or simply drifted with the tides in rafts meant for near-shore exploration has been a matter of fierce debate.

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Discovery of skull pierced by an arrowhead sparks murder mystery - 1,000 years later

The discovery of a skull pierced by an iron arrowhead as part of skeleton remains found in a shallow grave has sparked a murder mystery in a Galway village – 1,000 years after the gruesome assault!

Recent quarrying in an esker in the townland of Tisaxon, close to Newcastle, Athenry, revealed human remains exposed in the quarry face.

The archaeological work has just been completed by local archaeologist Martin Fitzpatrick of Arch Consultancy Ltd, who was funded by the National Monuments Service, which comes under the remit of Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan.

Excavation indicated that the burial was in a shallow grave and the body, which was that of an adult male aged between 17 and 25. The body was lying on its side and crouched rather than having been laid out.

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Archaeologists make new Stonehenge 'sun worship' find

Two previously undiscovered pits have been found at Stonehenge which point to it once being used as a place of sun worship before the stones were erected.

The pits are positioned on celestial alignment at the site and may have contained stones, posts or fires to mark the rising and setting of the sun.

An international archaeological survey team found the pits as part of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project.

The team is using geophysical imaging techniques to investigate the site.

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Norman crypt excavated and re-buried at Exeter church

Columns from a Norman crypt which were excavated in August have been re-buried indefinitely, at a Devon church.

Two columns with intricate carvings were unearthed at St Stephen's Church on Exeter High Street.

It was the first time they had been seen since an excavation in 1826.

It had been hoped the columns would go on display, but the masonry was considered unsafe and the columns have now been re-buried.

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'Earliest' evidence of human violence

A healed fracture discovered on an ancient skull from China may be the oldest documented evidence of violence between humans, a study has shown.

The individual, who lived 150,000-200,000 years ago, suffered blunt force trauma to the right temple - possibly from being hit with a projectile.

But the ancient hunter-gatherer - whose sex is unclear - survived to tell the tale: the injury was completely healed by the time of the person's death.

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Moreton-in-Marsh Stone Age axe find leads to seaside theory

A Stone Age hand axe which was found on a building site could help prove part of Gloucestershire was once "almost on the seaside", experts have said.

Archaeologists uncovered the finely-worked stone tool, which may be about 100,000 years old, on a housing development in Moreton-in-Marsh.

They said they believed it may have been used by cavemen on the shores of a lake that spanned across the Midlands.

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Saxon burial ground under Warwickshire couple's home

A Warwickshire man has described the moment builders found human bones under his patio.

Stephen and Nicky West were having their home redeveloped when one of the builders unearthed the remains.

Mr West said: "There was a tap on the door and the builder said 'Stephen, I think there's something you need to see'.

"He had a skull in his hand and I thought 'oh my goodness'."

The couple have lived at their house in Ratley, a village in south Warwickshire, for nearly seven years.

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Discovery of skull pierced by an arrowhead sparks murder mystery - 1,000 years later

The discovery of a skull pierced by an iron arrowhead as part of skeleton remains found in a shallow grave has sparked a murder mystery in a Galway village – 1,000 years after the gruesome assault!

Recent quarrying in an esker in the townland of Tisaxon, close to Newcastle, Athenry, revealed human remains exposed in the quarry face.

The archaeological work has just been completed by local archaeologist Martin Fitzpatrick of Arch Consultancy Ltd, who was funded by the National Monuments Service, which comes under the remit of Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan.

Excavation indicated that the burial was in a shallow grave and the body, which was that of an adult male aged between 17 and 25. The body was lying on its side and crouched rather than having been laid out.

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TV's Julian Richards leads archaeology course in Dorset

TV ARCHAEOLOGIST Julian Richards is leading a course in Blandford that promises to open up the world of archaeology to enthusiasts.

He will be leading a series of talks and field visits as part of the Blandford Schools and Community Heritage project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

And the free lectures, which start on Thursday, 1st December, could develop into part of a Blandford Archaeology Group and carry on exploring the area's past.

Mr Richards, who is working on a new BBC series of Meet the Ancestors - Revisited, said no previous experience is needed for the course.

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Temple of Mithras prepares for facelift

Plans to dismantle and move the reconstructed Roman Temple of Mithras to temporary storage, ahead of a more faithful reconstruction, will begin on the 21 November 2011 by Museum of London Archaeology.

The temple, which is located at Walbrook Square, was discovered by chance in 1952 by archaeologist WF Grimes as the site was being prepared for redevelopment. On the last day of excavation, 18 September 1954, the marble head of the god of Mithras was unearthed. Several more amazing artefacts, including several sculptures, were later found - these are now on display in the Museum of London’s Roman gallery.

The temple was dismantled at that time and the Roman building material put into storage. In 1962, the temple was reconstructed on a podium adjacent to Queen Victoria Street, 90 metres from its original site, nine metres above its original level and set in modern cement mortar.

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Bronze Age hoard found in Wiltshire field

A Bronze Age hoard of more than 100 objects dating back over 2,700 years has been discovered in west Wiltshire.

The objects, including weapons and tools, were found in October in a field near Tisbury by a metal detectorist.

His initial find, a spearhead, was reported to a finds liaison officer and the site excavated by archaeologists.

Adrian Green, from the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, said "it's the biggest hoard found in the county since the Salisbury Hoard in the 1980s."

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When Roman empire was ruled from South Shields

THE moment in history when the entire Roman Empire may have been ruled from a Tyneside town will be relived today.

Finds from digs at Arbeia Roman fort in South Shields have offered convincing evidence that the Emperor Severus and his sons Caracalla and Geta were at the base as they prepared for a campaign into Scotland.

Because the imperial family and court were present, that would have effectively meant that the empire would have been governed from South Shields.

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Neanderthals Vanished Because of Their Own Success, Suggests Study

Using data obtained from the archaeological record, a team of researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Colorado, Denver, conducted experiments using complex computer modeling to analyze evidence of how human hunter-gatherers responded culturally and biologically to the dramatic changes that took place during the last Ice Age. The results showed, among other things, that the Neanderthals, thought by many scientists to have become extinct at least in part because of their inadaptability and inability to compete with the expanding presence of modern humans, may have actually been victims of their own success.

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Earliest Sample of Minoan Hieroglyphics Found in Western Crete

A four-sided red jasper sealstone is among the finds unearthed during this season’s excavation of the Minoan peak sanctuary at Vrysinas, located south of the city of Rethymnon.  The whole area was officially announced and included in the archaeological sites list by the Central Archaeological Council of Greece.

The sealstone, which is carved on all four surfaces with characters of the Minoan Hieroglyphic script, constitutes the sole evidence to date for the presence of this earliest Minoan style of writing in Western Crete.

The excavation, which began in 2004, is conducted by the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities under the supervision of the archaeologist Helena Papadopoulou in collaboration with Prof. Iris Tzachili from the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Crete.

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Archaeologists uncover Pictish seat of power

An excavation has revealed a fortified early medieval settlement and unearthed significant artefacts suggesting this site near a tiny Scottish village was a seat of major political power and influence.


Late Roman pottery found during archaeological excavation at the site of a collection of eight symbol stones in Rhynie, has provided fresh information on the Picts.

Earlier this year Dr Gordon Noble, from the University of Aberdeen, and Dr Meggen Gondek, from the University of Chester, led the Rhynie Environs Archaeological Project (REAP) in an excavation at the site where carved stones have been found south of the village.

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Cirencester Roman dig is 'history changing'

Excavations in Cirencester have unearthed one of the earliest burial sites ever found in Roman Britain.

The dig at the former Bridges Garage on Tetbury Road has uncovered over 40 burials and four cremations.
Experts say it is the largest archaeological find in the town since the 1970s.

Neil Holbrook, chief executive at Cotswold Archaeology, said he could not "underestimate the potential significance" of the discovery.

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Archeologists Discover Huge Ancient Greek Commercial Area On Island of Sicily

The Greeks were not always in such dire financial straits as today. German archeologists have discovered a very large commercial area from the ancient Greek era during excavations on Sicily.

Led by Professor Dr. Martin Bentz, archeologists at the University of Bonn began unearthing one of Greek antiquity's largest craftsmen's quarters in the Greek colonial city of Selinunte (7th-3rd century B.C.) on the island of Sicily during two excavation campaigns in September 2010 and in the fall of 2011.

The project is conducted in collaboration with the Italian authorities and the German Archaeological Institute. Its goal is to study an area of daily life in ancient cities that has hitherto received little attention.

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Bulgarian archaeological site destroyed by bulldozers

An archaeological site in Bulgaria, including remnants of a village said to date back 8000 years, has been destroyed by bulldozers, allegedly the work of a construction company building part of a new road from Bulgaria to Greece.

The destruction means that archaeologists have lost thousands of years of history, Bulgarian National Television reported.

A special commission from the Ministry of Culture is inspecting the damage to the site, near Momchilgrad, and police are investigating.

Zharin Velichkov, chief inspector at the Ministry of Culture’s national institute for immovable cultural heritage, said that the site had individual layers dating back thousands of years, believed to reach back as far as 6000 BCE.

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An excavation is no camping trip

Bonn archeologists discover a huge ancient Greek commercial area on Sicily

The Greeks were not always in such dire financial straits as today. But is it necessary to look as far back as these Bonn archeologists did in order to see a huge, flourishing Greek commercial area? They have just discovered a very large commercial area from the ancient Greek era during excavations on Sicily.

Led by Professor Dr. Martin Bentz, Bonn archeologists began un¬earthing one of Greek antiquity's largest craftsmen's quarters in the Greek colonial city of Selinunte (7th-3rd century B.C.) on the island of Sicily during two excavation campaigns in September 2010 and in the fall of 2011. The project is conducted in collaboration with the Italian authorities and the German Archaeological Institute. Its goal is to study an area of daily life in ancient cities that has hitherto re¬ceived little attention.

"To what extent the ancient Greeks already had something like "commercial areas" has been a point of discussion in expert circles to this day," said Bonn archeologist Dr. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, a research associate who coordinates the Selinunte project together with Dr. Jon Albers from the Institut für Klassische Archäologie der Universität Bonn at the Chair of Prof. Dr. Martin Bentz. " A concentration of certain 'industries' and craftsmen in special districts does not only presuppose proactive planning; it is also based on a certain idea of how a city should best be organized – from a practical as well as from a social and political point of view. E.g., who will be allowed to live and work where?" The University of Bonn excavations are now contributing to finding a new answer to such questions. 



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Bronze Age burial site excavated on Dartmoor

An early Bronze Age burial cist containing cremated bones and material dating back 4,000 years has been excavated on Dartmoor.

Archaeologists uncovered items from the site on Whitehorse Hill including a woven bag or basket and amber beads.

Cists are stone-built chests which are used for the burial of ashes.

Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) said the discovery could be one of the most important archaeological finds in 100 years.

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International archaeological film festival opens

The 7th Archaeological Film Festival opened late Monday in Sremska Mitrovica, with the screening of a German film dubbed 'Die Schlacht am Harzhorn. Roms letzter Feldzug nach Germanien' (Battle at Harzhorn. Last Roman attack on Germania.)

 The 7th Archaeological Film Festival opened late Monday in Sremska Mitrovica, with the screening of a German film dubbed 'Die Schlacht am Harzhorn. Roms letzter Feldzug nach Germanien' (Battle at Harzhorn. Last Roman attack on Germania.)

By November 25, the audience will have the opportunity to watch 14 film creations from Germany, Italy, Mexico, Greece, China, Belgium and Serbia.

Most of the films come from Germany - five, and Italy - three, while Serbia will present a film 'Research in Montenegro 2010'. The film is about how the authors undertook an underwater research in the Bay of Kotor, in cooperation with the Montenegrin Ministry of Culture and the U.S. Embassy, using the latest methods of underwater archeology.

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1,800-year-old Roman well unveiled in Bingham

AN 1,800-year-old Roman well was today being unveiled to the public.

The well, which dates back to about 160AD, was found in 2009 by a group of archeologists.

But it was in the route of the A46 road-widening scheme, and had to be dug up and moved stone by stone.

From today it will be available for public viewing at the Bingham Cemetery, in The Banks, a few miles from where it was found.

Pete Allen, chairman of community group The Bingham Heritage Trail Association, which campaigned for the well's restoration, said: "It is a piece of history that deserves to be kept for the enjoyment of the public."


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Roman treasure displayed to public

THE largest hoard of early Roman coins found in the West Midlands are on display at Banbury Museum.

More than 1,000 silver denarii were found in a small pot at Edgehill in 2008 and went on show yesterday (Wednesday) in an exhibition running until December 10.

Cllr James Macnamara, Cherwell District Council’s lead member for the environment, said: “We’ll never know why someone decided to hide these coins. This was a tidy sum of money in the First Century – equal to a year’s pay for five Roman soldiers.

“Whether the people that buried the coins intended to come back for them or not, they remained in a pot underground for nearly 2,000 years.”

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In pictures: Coventry Cathedral's medieval stained glass

Development plans for Coventry's cathedral ruins are announced later to coincide with the 71st anniversary of the Coventry Blitz. Earlier this year the cathedral was put on the World Monuments Fund 2012 Watch List which is an international list of buildings worthy of preservation.

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A medieval market town has discovered it owns an original version of the Magna Carta

A MEDIEVAL market town has discovered it owns an original version of Magna Carta, potentially worth about 20 million pounds, rather than a copy worth only 10,000 pounds.

It was identified in the collection of Faversham town council in Kent by academic experts prompted by the auction of a version from 1297 owned by Ross Perot, who ran for the US presidency against Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. In 2007 that version had fetched $US21.3m (about $A20.8 million at today's rates).

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Twigs suggest Assynt site 'genuine Iron Age broch'

Radiocarbon dating of burnt twigs found inside an ancient building in Assynt suggest its interior remained untouched after it was built in the Iron Age.

Brochs were often modified during later periods of use. One at Nybster in Caithness has evidence of possible Pictish and medieval occupation.

The dating of twigs possibly used for woven mats points to the Assynt site remaining unaltered until it collapsed.

The broch at Clachtoll was built using stones weighing up to 100kg each.

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10 000 Unique Archaeology Treasures to Be Unveiled in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's National History Museum will put on display about 10 000 "extremely valuable" archaeological finds and artifacts.

The finds in question were seized from a treasure hunting and antiques trafficking crime group back in 2004, and are now being transferred from the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office to the ownerships of the National History Museum in Sofia.

They feature archaeological items from various ages – from prehistory all the way to the 20th century, the Bulgarian National History Museum announced.

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Startling discovery of lost Norman town

THE astonishing story of a Norman town lost for centuries is being brought back to life.

Cutting edge LIDAR technology, deployed by armed forces to detect underground bunkers, has uncovered the streets, towns and dwellings of an early Norman settlement known as Newtown just outside Thomastown.

Within 15 miles of Kilkenny, the medieval settlement has been the focus of a recent archaeological dig backed up by the latest technology to tell the story of what has been described as ’Kilkenny’s Pompeii.’

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Vikings Navigated With Translucent Crystals?

Icelandic spar may have revealed sun's position on cloudy days, study says.

Vikings may have navigated by looking through a type of crystal called Icelandic spar, a new study suggests.

In some Icelandic sagas—embellished stories of Viking life—sailors relied on so-called sunstones to locate the sun's position and steer their ships on cloudy days. (See Iceland photos submitted by readers like you.)

The stone would've worked by detecting a property of sunlight called polarization.

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A question of style: Reading rock art using art history

Ancient engravings and drawings are present all around the world. They are witnesses of people’s journeys through time and space. While their original meaning is lost, they still tell stories about their creator, about the content, about the climate and the environment of that time.

About rock art

Contrary to common assumptions, rock art is not only restricted to the Ice Age. It is a phenomenon that has survived until today. In northern Europe it mostly appears in the form of graffiti, which can be found nearly everywhere people have passed.

Although the meaning and purpose of today’s rock art is most probably different from ancient forms, the methodological approach to their study is similar. Researchers commonly refrain from explaining rock art’s meaning, since there is no absolute proof to any given hypotheses.

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New dating of cave site upsets Neanderthal theory

Members of our species (Homo sapiens) arrived in Europe several millennia earlier than previously thought. This was the conclusion by a team of researchers, after carrying out a re-analyses of two ancient deciduous teeth.


These teeth were discovered in 1964 in the “Grotta del Cavallo”, a cave in southern Italy. Since their discovery they have been attributed to Neanderthals, but this new study suggests they belong to anatomically modern humans. Chronometric analysis, carried out by the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit at the University of Oxford, shows that the layers within which the teeth were found date to ~43,000-45,000 cal BP. This means that the human remains are older than any other known European modern humans. The research work was published in the renowned science journal Nature.

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Prehistoric Men Scarred, Pierced, Tattooed Privates

Men in prehistoric Europe scarred, pierced and tattooed their penises, likely for ritualistic and social group reasons, according to a new study.

Analysis of phallic decorations in Paleolithic art, described in the December issue of The Journal of Urology, may also show evidence of the world's first known surgery performed on a male genital organ. The alteration, or surgery, might have just been for ornamental purposes, or a piercing, the researchers suggest.

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Ground-breaking technology shows no second chamber at Newgrange

The technology used in an attempt to find out whether a second passage tomb, which may also be aligned with a solstice event, exists at Newgrange had proved its worth during experimentation by a Slovakian team of scientists who visited the Boyne Valley, an Irish archaeologist said this week.

Dr Conor Brady, archaeologist and lecturer at Dundalk Institute of Technology, who lives at Slane, said that while there would be no "dramatic announcements" about discovery of a second chamber at Newgrange at this stage, the microgravitational technology used in the experiments had proven valuable to archaeologists and scientists.

The possibility that Newgrange could have a second passage tomb, which may also be aligned with a solstice event, was being explored by a team of Irish and Slovakians archaeologists using ground-breaking technology.

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Who were the 99% of ancient Rome?

From Gibbon to "Gladiator," it might seem like we know a lot about Ancient Rome, but our view of this civilization is a skewed one. The Romans lived in one of the most stratified societies in history. Around 1.5% of the population controlled the government, military, economy and religion. Through the writings and possessions they left behind, these rich, upper-class men are also responsible for most of our information about Roman life.

The remaining people – commoners, slaves and others – are largely silent. They could not afford tombstones to record their names, and they were buried with little in the way of fancy pottery or jewellery. Their lives were documented by the elites, but they left few documents of their own.

Now, Kristina Killgrove, an archaeologist from Vanderbilt University, wants to tell their story by sequencing their DNA, and she is raising donations to do it. “Their DNA will tell me where these people, who aren’t in histories, were coming from,” she says. “They were quite literally the 99% of Rome.”

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University of Salford to dig Manchester boroughs

The University of Salford has announced a four year archaeology project which will see 9,000 people involved in digs.

Dig Greater Manchester, which will also include a study in Blackburn, will see volunteers work alongside experts at 11 sites.

Brian Grimsditch, who works at the university's Centre for Applied Archaeology, said it was "one of the biggest projects in the country".

"It will be a wonderful way for people to learn about the history," he said.

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Scottish Archaeological Finds Panel

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop has announced the appointment of a new Chair to the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel.

The new Chair is Dr Evelyn Silber, former Director of the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow. Dr Silber's appointment will be for four years and will run from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015.

The post is part-time and attracts no remuneration for a time commitment of four meetings per year.

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Spotted Horses in Cave Art Weren’t Just a Figment, DNA Shows

Roughly 25,000 years ago in what is now southwestern France, human beings walked deep into a cave and left their enduring marks. Using materials like sticks, charcoal and iron oxides, they painted images of animals on the cave walls and ceilings — lions and mammoths and spotted horses, walking and grazing and congregating in herds.

Today, the art at the Pech-Merle cave, and in hundreds of others across Europe, is a striking testimony to human creativity well before modern times
.
But what were these cave paintings, exactly? Were prehistoric artists simply sketching what they saw each day on the landscape? Or were the images more symbolic, diverging from reality or representing rare or even mystical creatures? Such questions have divided archaeologists for years.

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Archaeologists Find Habitation Sites in Port of Rotterdam

The site of what is now Rotterdam’s Yangtzehaven was inhabited by humans in the Middle Stone Age. At a depth of 20 metres, in the sea bed, unique underwater archaeological investigation found traces of bone, flint and charcoal from around 7000 BC. These finds are the very first scientific proof that humans lived at this spot in the Early and Middle Stone Age. Up to now, very little was known about this period in particular, the Early and Middle Mesolithic, so far to the west of the Netherlands.

The striking results were announced yesterday by the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. The Port Authority’s Project Organisation Maasvlakte 2 is responsible for the expansion of the port in the form of Maasvlakte 2. The archaeological investigation that is being conducted is part of a series of studies being carried out in connection with the construction of Maasvlakte 2. Delltares, Bureau Oudheidkundig Onderzoek Rotterdam (Archaeological Research Office) and the Archeologisch Dienstencentrum (Archaeological Service Centre) are among the parties involved in these studies. The Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands is guiding the research and is the supervisory authority.

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Rare 14th century time-telling instrument, marked with badge of Richard II, to sell at Bonhams

LONDON.- Bonhams to auction one of the only known 14th century instruments, an exceedingly rare equal hour horary quadrant marked with the badge of King Richard II, at its Fine Clocks and Scientific Instrument Sale on 13 December 2011. Dated 1396, this extraordinary British time-telling mathematical instrument, which has come to light following its discovery in a shed in Queensland, Australia, has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £150,000 – 200,000. It is the second earliest dated British scientific instrument in existence, the earliest being the Chaucer astrolabe, dated 1326, housed in the British Museum.

This quadrant is the earliest of a similar group of three other quadrants dated 1398, 1399 and circa 1400 respectively, two of which can be found in the British Museum, and the other in the Dorset County Museum, Dorchester. Like the others, it is noteworthy for showing equal hours, in which the entire period from midnight to midnight is divided into twenty four equal parts. This technique had developed slowly during the 14th century. Indeed one of the earliest examples in England of an administrative record using equal hours occurs on the occasion of Richard II’s abdication on 30 September 1399 stated to have been ‘at about the ninth stroke of the clock’. On its reverse, the quadrant features a badge depicting a stag lying down wearing a coronet around its throat, which is associated with Richard II. The National Gallery’s famous altarpiece, The Wilton Diptych, portrays Richard II wearing a cape embroidered with an identical badge.

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Human Ancestor 'Family' May Not Have Been Related

A famous trail of footprints once thought to have been left behind by a family of three human ancestors may have actually been made by four individuals traveling at different times.


In a new examination of Laetoli in northern Tanzania, where a 3.6-million-year-old track of footprints of the bipedal human ancestor Australopithecus is preserved, researchers now argue that the classic understanding of this site is mistaken. The footprints have been buried since the mid-1990s for preservation, but a section recently opened for study as Tanzanian officials make plans for a museum on the site.

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Prehistoric Cave Paintings of Horses Were Spot-On, Say Scientists

Long thought by many as possible abstract or symbolic expressions as opposed to representations of real animals, the famous paleolithic horse paintings found in caves such as Lascaux and Chauvet in France likely reflect what the prehistoric humans actually saw in their natural environment, suggests researchers who conducted a recent DNA study.


To reach this conclusion, scientists constituting an international team of researchers in the UK, Germany, USA, Spain, Russia and Mexico genotyped and analyzed nine coat-color types in 31 pre-domestic (wild) horses dating as far back as 35,000 years ago from bone specimens in 15 different locations spread across an area that included Siberia, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Iberian Peninsula.

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Ancient horses' spotted history reflected in cave art

Scientists have found evidence that leopard-spotted horses roamed Europe 25,000 years ago alongside humans. 

Until now, studies had only recovered the DNA of black and brown coloured coats from fossil specimens.

New genetic evidence suggests "dappled" horses depicted in European cave art were inspired by real life, and are less symbolic than previously thought.

The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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4 Archaeological Sites Revealed During Road Construction in Northeastern Bulgaria

Four archaeological sites have been found on the route of a highway section under construction near the northeastern Bulgarian town of Shumen.

The National Archaeological Institute has already proposed to the Road Infrastructure Agency that urgent rescue excavations be carried out on the terrain, according to reports from private TV channel bTV.

A piece of processed marble led the experts to the conclusion that there were archaeological finds beneath the surface of the future highway stretch.

Under Bulgarian legislation, road construction works may resume only after the rescue excavations have been completed.

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Archaeologists unearth treasure trove from across the ages in Argyll

A ROUTINE archaeological survey at a planned housing development has uncovered a treasure trove of Iron and Bronze Age artefacts.

The find, on a hillside near Oban, includes a Neolithic axe-head dating back 5,000 to 6,000 years, three roundhouses around 2,500 to 3,000 years old and the remains of an 18th-century farmstead and metalwork store.

Other objects include a hoard of stone tools dating back 3,000 years, hundreds of fragments of Bronze Age and late 18th- century pottery, plus a clay pipe from around 1760-1820.

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Did the Romans leave London because of the miserable British weather?

Forensic tests on skeletons show settlers suffered from malnourishment and poor health due to lack of sunlight

Researchers at the Museum Of London are carrying out forensic tests on some of their 22,000 carefully-preserved skeletons of Londoners through the ages.

Lead scientist Dr Jelena Bekvalac said her team is focusing on the declining health of settlers during the 400 years of the Roman occupation.

She told the Times: 'You'd think in civilised Roman society, there would be buffers to aid you, but the climate is still going to have an effect and we see some signs of that.

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Bredon Hill hoard among county finds at Worcester event

THE Bredon Hill coin hoard will be among other archaeological discoveries discussed at a special event at the University of Worcester's St John's campus this Saturday (12).

Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology is holding an event to showcase the latest archaeological discoveries from Worcestershire, from 9.45am to 5.30pm.

A highlight of the day will be a presentation on the discovery and significance of the Bredon Hill Roman coin hoard which is currently on display at Worcester City Museum and Art Gallery.

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UA scientists find evidence of Roman period megadrought

A new study at the University of Arizona's Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research has revealed a previously unknown multi-decade drought period in the second century A.D.

Almost nine hundred years ago, in the mid-12th century, the southwestern U.S. was in the middle of a multi-decade megadrought. It was the most recent extended period of severe drought known for this region. But it was not the first.

The second century A.D. saw an extended dry period of more than 100 years characterized by a multi-decade drought lasting nearly 50 years, says a new study from scientists at the University of Arizona.

UA geoscientists Cody Routson, Connie Woodhouse and Jonathan Overpeck conducted a study of the southern San Juan Mountains in south-central Colorado. The region serves as a primary drainage site for the Rio Grande and San Juan rivers.

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Humans ventured as far as Torquay more than 40,000 years ago

The early humans were pioneers who took advantage of a temporary warm spell to visit Britain during the last ice age

A fragment of human jaw unearthed in a prehistoric cave in Torquay is the earliest evidence of modern humans in north-west Europe, scientists say.

The tiny piece of upper jaw was excavated from Kents Cave on the town's border in the 1920s but its significance was not fully realised until scientists checked its age with advanced techniques that have only now become available.

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Magical Viking stone may be real

A Viking legend which tells of a glowing "sunstone" that, when held up to the sky, disclosed the position of the Sun on a cloudy day may have some basis in truth, scientists believe.

The ancient race are believed to have to discovered North America hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus.

Now experiments have shown that a crystal, called an Iceland spar, could detect the sun with an accuracy within a degree – allowing the legendary seafarers to navigate thousands of miles on cloudy days and during short Nordic nights.

Dr Guy Ropars, of the University of Rennes, and colleagues said "a precision of a few degrees could be reached" even when the sun was below the horizon.

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Ancient artefacts unearthed in Tisbury

A MAJOR hoard of ancient artefacts has been unearthed near Tisbury.

A metal detector enthusiast located more than 100 bronze items, thought to be about 2,700 years old, on a farmland site which is being kept secret.

Having first found a spearhead, he decided not to disturb the ground and notified archaeologists, who were able to conduct a meticulous excavation.

The finds, from the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age, include tools such as chisels, axe heads and gouges, and weapons including fragments of a sword and scabbard and more spearheads.

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Icelandic rocks could have steered Vikings

Vikings used rocks from Iceland to navigate the high seas, suggests a new study. 

In Norse legends, sunstones are said to have guided seafarers to North America.

Now an international team of scientists report in the journal the Proceedings of the Royal Society A that the Icelandic spars behave like mythical sunstones and polarise light.

By holding the stones aloft, voyaging Vikings could have used them to find the sun in the sky.

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