Satellites expose 8,000 years of civilization

Hidden in the landscape of the fertile crescent of the Middle East, scientists say, lurk overlooked networks of small settlements that hold vital clues to ancient civilizations.


Beyond the impressive mounds of earth, known as tells in Arabic, that mark lost cities, researchers have found a way to give archaeologists a broader perspective of the ancient landscape. By combining spy-satellite photos obtained in the 1960s with modern multispectral images and digital maps of Earth's surface, the researchers have created a new method for mapping large-scale patterns of human settlement. The approach, used to map some 14,000 settlement sites spanning eight millennia in 23,000 square kilometres of northeastern Syria, is published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences



Read the rest of this article...

Roman mysteries uncovered in Chippenham

The secrets locked in five historic Roman burial urns are being uncovered at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham.


Kelly Abbott, contract conservator with Wiltshire Council Conservation Service, said the dusting away of years of history from the urns has uncovered bones that could be human.


The ancient urns, that date back to the Roman conquest, were found at the site of Linden Homes’ King Harry Lane development in St Albans



Read the rest of this article...

'Like welcoming back an old friend' — 3,000-year-old Carpow logboat goes on public display at Perth Museum

More than a decade after its discovery, one of the finest archaeological finds ever to be made in Perthshire has finally gone on public exhibition.



Visitors are expected to flock to the Perth Museum and Art Gallery to view the 3,000-year-old Carpow logboat.


It has taken years of painstaking restoration and conservation to ready Scotland's oldest example of one of the first known boats for display.


The logboat made its long-awaited return to Perthshire last month, when it was manoeuvred into Perth Museum in sections. It has now been made whole again and takes centre stage in a major new exhibition on the boat's story and its Bronze Age origins, which opened on Monday.



Read the rest of this article...

Roman mosaics preserved after £3m Chedworth project

One of the country's finest examples of Roman archaeology is being shown to members of the public following an 18-month conservation project.

Some of the mosaics at Chedworth Roman Villa in Gloucestershire have not been on display for more than 150 years but a new building has now been built to protect and better display them for years to come.

Watch the video...

Rome's Lost Aqueduct

Searching for the source of one of the city’s greatest engineering achievements

Archaeologist Katherine Rinne stands beside a large ancient Roman springhouse that may belong to the lost “Carestia” spring, one of the possible sources of the Aqua Traiana.
(Courtesy Rabun Taylor)

Few monuments that survive from antiquity better represent Roman pragmatism, ingenuity, and the desire to impress than the aqueducts built to fulfill the Romans’ seemingly unslakable need for water. Around the turn of the second century A.D., the emperor Trajan began construction on a new aqueduct for the city of Rome. At the time, demands on the city’s water supply were enormous. In addition to satisfying the utilitarian needs of Rome’s one million inhabitants, as well as that of wealthy residents in their rural and suburban villas, water fed impressive public baths and monumental fountains throughout the city. Although the system was already sufficient, the desire to build aqueducts was often more a matter of ideology than absolute need.

Whether responding to genuine necessity or not, a new aqueduct itself was a statement of a city’s power, grandeur, and influence in an age when such things mattered greatly. Its creation also glorified its sponsor. Trajan—provoked, in part, by the unfinished projects of his grandiose predecessor, Domitian—seized the opportunity to build his own monumental legacy in the capital: the Aqua Traiana (“Aqueduct of Trajan” in Latin).

Read the rest of this article...

Mary Rose skeletons studied by Swansea sports scientists

Skeletons recovered from the wreck of a King Henry VIII's warship the Mary Rose are being studied to discover more about life in the 1500s.

Swansea University sports scientists are hoping to find out more about the toll on the bodies of archers who had to pull heavy bows.

It is documented that archers were aboard the ship when it sank in 1545.

The wreck was raised from the Solent in 1982, containing thousands of medieval artefacts.

Read the rest of this article...

Roman remains found at Arla

A Roman burial site, an ancient parish boundary and Iron Age artefacts have been discovered on the site soon to house the world’s biggest dairy. 

Arla site dig near Aston Clinton [Vredit: Buck Herald]

Archaeologists have now completed a 12-week study at the site of Arla’s new dairy at Aston Clinton. 

Among the artefacts discovered on site were the remains of the last occupants of the Roman settlement. These will now be reinterred at Buckland Cemetery once they have been analysed. 

Other items found were quantities of pottery, including high status Samian ware and animal bone. 


Read the rest of this article...

Ancient sites spotted from space, say archaeologists

Thousands of possible early human settlements have been discovered by archaeologists using computers to scour satellite images.

Jason Ur said he had found about 9,000 potential new sites in north-eastern Syria.

Computers scanned the images for soil discolouration and mounds caused when mud-brick settlements collapsed.

Dr Ur said surveying the same area on the ground would have taken him a lifetime.

Read the rest of this article...

FROG Training - Book Now!

Bookings are now open for training to become a member of the Foreshore Recording and Observation Group. Our new programme takes place over four days and includes health and safety training, lectures about Thames archaeology from the TDP team, foreshore fieldwork sessions on some iconic London beaches and guided walks to sites of archaeological and historical interest. All this for a cost of only £25.00 per day!

Further details...

Making Christian Landscapes Conference - September 2012

MAKING CHRISTIAN LANDSCAPES:
CONVERSION AND CONSOLIDATION IN EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
The Society for Church Arcaheology Annual Conference,
Archaeology Department, University College Cork,
21-23 September 2012

Landscapes across Europe were transformed, both physically and conceptually, as a result of the conversion to Christianity and the development of ecclesiastical structures during the early medieval period. This interdisciplinary conference will seek to illuminate this process through case studies of particular landscapes. Speakers will consider a range of settlement and ritual/burial sites as well as territorial divisions and routeways in order to explore where and how people chose, or were obliged, to live, worship and be buried and how this changed over time. Some papers will focus on the initial process of conversion while others will also consider changes in the nature of people's relationships with ecclesiastical sites and structures over the course of the period.

The conference forms part of the Making Christian Landscapes Project and is the 2012 annual conference of the Society for Church Archaeology. It is organised by the Archaeology Department, University College Cork, the School of Historical Studies, University of Newcastle, and the Society for Church Archaeology.

Further details...

The Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape

The Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape

Reflection on landscape change:
the European perspective

25th session - 20-24 August, 2012
Leeuwarden & Terschelling, The Netherlands

The 25th session of the PECSRL biennial international conference will be held on 20-24 August 2012. As usual the conference is held at two locations: in the town Leeuwarden and on the island Terschelling, both in the northern part of The Netherlands. The congress will be organized by the Fryske Akademy (Frisian Academy) in co-operation with the Waddenacademie for the PECSRL network. The conference is planned for a maximum of 200 attendants. 

Besides paper sessions, a poster presentation, workshops and general meetings there is one full day of field trips to provide the PECSRL-participants with a detailed knowledge of the rural landscapes in the host country. The conference offers ample facilities for meeting colleagues from all parts of Europe, for getting informed about various aspects of European landscape research and for initiating new projects.
Further information...

Was St Patrick a slave-trading Roman official who fled to Ireland?

The classic account of St Patrick’s life tells us that he was abducted from Western Britain in his teens and forced into slavery in Ireland for six years before escaping, during which time his faith developed.

However, a new article looking at Patrick’s own writings in their historical context argues that the saint may have in fact fled to Ireland deliberately to avoid becoming a ‘Decurion’ – a Roman official responsible for tax collection.

“In the troubled era in which Patrick lived, which saw the demise and eventual collapse of Roman government in Britain in 410, discharging the obligations of a Decurion, especially tax-collecting, would not only have been difficult but also very risky,” says Dr Roy Flechner of the University of Cambridge.

Read the rest of this article...

Walkways open above mosaics at Chedworth Roman Villa

Suspended walkways overlooking 4th Century mosaics at a Roman Villa at Chedworth in Gloucestershire have been opened to visitors.

It is part of a £3m project which has seen Victorian buildings replaced, a new cafe built and a refurbished visitor centre opened at the villa.

A National Trust spokesman said the new walkways give "much better access".

Excavation work is also currently under way at the villa to uncover previously hidden mosaics.

Read the rest of this article...

Keep corrupt regimes out of British culture

Too many of our cultural and educational institutions have been quiescent in suppressing uncomfortable truths

The language of privatisation this government parrots so enthusiastically is a language of emancipation. In the "free" market, hidebound public institutions escape the "shackles" of the state. They "tear up" red tape. They "diversify", "innovate" and "liberate" themselves from oppressive controls. "Business is the most powerful force for social progress the world has ever known," said David Cameron recently. "It can help us to smash poverty, raise horizons, drive the innovations, products, services that make our lives better, longer and happier."

He did not understand that the readiest alternative to public money is not the free market. If a public servant needs a fortune fast, he can turn to Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and the other oil-rich dictatorships. Their propaganda budgets can deliver lump sums that spare the harassed bureaucrat from the tiresome need to woo scores or hundreds of private companies and individual donors. All the dictatorships ask in return is that Britain's cultural institutions sell their souls. They are more than happy to haggle.

Read the rest of this article...

Neolithic pottery at Culduthel section of Inverness flood scheme

 

Grooved Neolithic pottery found at the flood relief site

Neolithic pottery excavated ahead of work on a £16m flood scheme has added to archaeologists' understanding of a city's past.

Pits containing fragments of ceramics were recovered from the site in the Culduthel area of Inverness.
Archaeologists were brought in ahead of construction of phase three of the city's south west flood relief channel.

Iron Age weapons and a Romano-British brooch have been found previously at other sites nearby.

Read the rest of this article...

Bulgarian Archaeologists Claim Oldest Monastery in Europe

Bulgarian archaeologists have uncovered what they believe is the oldest Christian monastery in Europea near the village of Zlatna Livada in southern Bulgaria.

According to latest archaeological research, the St. Athanasius monastery, still functioning near the village, has been founded in 344 by St. Athanasius himself, reports the BGNES agency.

Until now, the Candida Casa monastery, founded in 371 AD in Galloway, Scotland, was believed to be the oldest Christian monastery in Europe, followed by the St. Martin monastery in the Pyrénées-Orientales, France (373 AD).

Read the rest of this article...

Remains of dark ages princess found in field in Cambridge

 
  VIEW GALLERY

The remains of a mysterious Anglo-Saxon princess, who died  thirteen and a half centuries ago, have been found in a field three miles south of Cambridge.

Aged just 16 when she died, and buried lying on a special high status funerary bed, she was laid to rest with a small solid gold, garnet encrusted, Christian cross upon her chest.

Her exact identity is as yet a complete mystery. However, it’s likely that she was a member of one of the newly Christianized Anglo-Saxon royal families of the period.

Read the rest of this article...

'World's Oldest Temple' May Have Been Cosmopolitan Center

Ancient blades made of volcanic rock that were discovered at what may be the world's oldest temple suggest that the site in Turkey was the hub of a pilgrimage  that attracted a cosmopolitan group of people some 11,000 years ago.

The researchers matched up about 130 of the blades, which would have been used as tools, with their source volcanoes, finding people would have come from far and wide to congregate at the ancient temple site, Göbekli Tepe, in southern Turkey. The blades are made of obsidian, a volcanic glass rich with silica, which forms when lava cools quickly.

The research was presented in February at the 7th International Conference on the Chipped and Ground Stone Industries of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in Barcelona, Spain.

Read the rest of this article...

Was Human Evolution Caused by Climate Change?

According to a paper published in Science, models of how animal and plant distributions are affected by climate change may also explain aspects of human evolution

The approach takes existing knowledge of the geographical spread of other species through the warming and cooling of the ice ages to provide a model that can be applied to human origins.

"No one has applied this knowledge to humans before," said Dr John Stewart, lead author on the paper and researcher at Bournemouth University.

Read the rest of this article...

UK experts find 7th-century teen buried in her bed

Archaeologists excavating near Cambridge have stumbled upon a rare and mysterious find: The skeleton of a 7th-century teenager buried in an ornamental bed along with a gold-and-garnet cross, an iron knife and a purse full of glass beads.

Experts say the grave is an example of an unusual Anglo-Saxon funerary practice of which very little is known. Just over a dozen of these "bed burials" have been found in Britain, and it's one of only two in which a pectoral cross _ meant to be worn over the chest _ has been discovered.

One archaeologist said the burial opened a window into the transitional period when the pagan Anglo-Saxons were gradually adopting Christianity.

Read the rest of this article...

Multi-media exhibition at Hungate Medieval Art takes a modern look at Norwich’s history

Journeys Through the Light is being presented at Hungate Medieval Art, based at the redundant St Peter Hungate church in Princes Street. The show will focus on artists’ responses to the qualities of light as it travels through medieval stained glass, and it is being described as a “lively dialogue” in which artists engage with the venue’s historical setting.

The show is being put together by Hungate Contemporary 2012 – a team of University of East Anglia masters students all studying either museum studies or cultural heritage. They are Abigail Dear, Virginia Choy, Laura Iseli, Elizabeth Bergeron, Bridget Eaton and Rachael Murphy.

Miss Dear said: “Norwich has got so much magnificent heritage. Our aim is to promote the heritage and to bring the contemporary art crowd into the setting of some of the magnificent architecture of Norwich.”

Read the rest of this article...

Cross and bed found in Anglo-Saxon grave shed new light on 'dark ages'

Archaeologists in Cambridge thrilled to discover grave with body of young woman on a bed with an ornate gold cross

The dead are often described as sleeping, but archaeologists in Cambridgeshire have uncovered a bed on which the body of a young Anglo-Saxon woman has lain for more than 1,300 years, a regal gold and garnet cross on her breast.

Three more graves, of two younger women and an older person whose sex has not yet been identified, were found nearby.

Forensic work on the first woman's bones suggests she was about 16, with no obvious explanation for her early death. Although she was almost certainly a Christian, buried with the beautiful cross stitched into place on her gown, she was buried according to ancient pagan tradition with some treasured possessions including an iron knife and a chatelaine, a chain hanging from her belt, and some glass beads which were probably originally in a purse that has rotted away.

Read the rest of this article...

Anglo-Saxon Christian grave find near Cambridge 'extremely rare'

An Anglo-Saxon grave discovered near Cambridge could be one of the earliest examples of Christianity taking over from Paganism, archaeologists said.

The skeleton of a teenage girl was found buried on a wooden bed, with a gold and garnet cross on her chest.

The grave is thought to date from the mid-7th Century AD, when Christianity was beginning to be introduced to the Pagan Anglo-Saxon kings.

It was uncovered at Trumpington Meadows by Cambridge Archaeological Unit.

Read the rest of this article...

New TV drama – “Vikings” – to be filmed in Ireland and Northern Europe

The History Channel in the US and History Television in Canada have announced they will be airing a scripted drama series, Vikings. The series will chronicle the extraordinary and ferocious world of the mighty Norsemen who raided, traded and explored during medieval times. Set to premiere in 2013, the series will be filmed in Ireland and throughout picturesque locations in Northern Europe. Shaw Media will be the broadcast partner in Canada, airing the show on HISTORY Television in Canada. The announcement was made by Nancy Dubuc,

“This is an amazing crossroads for HISTORY embarking on our first scripted series,” said Nancy Dubuc, President and General Manager of History. “People think they know about the Vikings – we see references to them all the time in our popular culture from TV commercials to football teams – but the reality is so much more fascinating and complex, more vivid, visceral and powerful than popular legend. We will explore the mysteries of the Vikings – the adventures they took and the people who led them. And we will start to understand a past that is very much part of our collective DNA today.”

Read the rest of this article...

Excavation Starts At 800 Year Old Mound Of Down

One of Northern Ireland’s most impressive, but mysterious, ancient monuments will shortly reveal its secrets.

Environment Minister Alex Attwood said work has started on trial excavations at the Mound of Down, a monument on the edge of the Quoile marshes on the outskirts of Downpatrick.

The Mound is a huge earthwork with a massive bank and ditch enclosing an area of over three acres. Within the enclosure is a second U-shaped mound around 12.5 metres high, which affords commanding views over the surrounding countryside.

Read the rest of this article...

Earliest Christian burial in UK found

One of the earliest Anglo-Saxon Christian burial sites in Britain has been discovered in a village outside Cambridge. The grave of a teenage girl from the mid 7th century AD has an extraordinary combination of two extremely rare finds: a ‘bed burial’ and an early Christian artefact in the form of a stunning gold and garnet cross. 

Anglo-Saxon bed burial with gold cross [Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit]

The girl, aged around 16, was buried on an ornamental bed – a very limited Anglo-Saxon practice of the mid to later 7th century – with a pectoral Christian cross on her chest, that had probably been sewn onto her clothing. Fashioned from gold and intricately set with cut garnets, only the fifth of its kind ever to be found, the artefact dates this grave to the very early years of the English Church, probably between 650 and 680 AD.

Read the rest of this article...

Peak archaeological project wins award

A PEAK District project has won a top archaeological award.

The investigation of the iron age hillfort at Fin Cop was named Research Excavation of the Year at the prestigious Current Archaeology Awards 2012.

The Heritage Lottery-funded community excavation at the site overlooking Monsal Dale by Longstone Local History Group and Bakewell-based Archaeological Research Services revealed unexpected evidence of a massacre of women and children 2,000 years ago.

Members of the public and subscribers to Current Archaeology magazine voted for Fin Cop after an article appeared in the magazine written by Dr Clive Waddington of Archaeological Research Services.

Read the rest of this article...

Archaeologists Return to Excavate Major 3,300-Year-Old Bronze Age Site in England

Some of the world's greatest archaeological finds don't emerge as a result of planned investigation. They were accidental. They were stumbled upon. And such was literally the case in 1982 when Francis Pryor, MBE, was in the midst of conducting a survey of dykes in the Peterborough area in England for English Heritage, a public commission responsible for managing historic buildings.  

"I was walking back to the pub," says Pryor, "when I caught my foot on a large piece of wood.  When I picked up the piece of wood, I looked at it, and then when I spotted the axe marks, about an inch and one-half wide, I knew that it had to be Bronze Age........"

For the following several weeks, Pryor and his team proceeded to excavate along the side of a dyke, in the area where the initial wood sample had been found, and recovered hundreds of additional pieces of similar timber. 

Read the rest of the article...

Volunteer archaeologists start dig at Greyfriars in Gloucester

A team of amateur archaeologists have begun digging at Greyfriars Priory in Gloucester.

The excavation is believed to be the first in Gloucestershire to use volunteer diggers, under the supervision of Cotswold Archaeology.

The eight members of the public who are taking part are from the local area.

Archaeologists say they hope to find remains of the cloisters of the building, which dates back to the 16th Century.

Read the rest of this article...

Dig deep into the past

For the first time in 40 years, a dig is being carried out inside York Minster. As MATT CLARK discovers, the first find wasn’t quite what the archaeologists expected

HIDDEN in the bowels of York Minster, Jim Williams is sifting through what most of us would call a pile of mud. To Jim, though, it’s a treasure trove and who knows what it will yield?

“Look at this,” he calls out. “I think it’s Roman.”

Only minutes before, colleague Ian Milsted said he hoped the pair might discover something from the fifth century. But they weren’t expecting anything until they had dug down another metre or so.

Read the rest of this article...

Professor Ray Page (1924 - 2012)

The Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic is sad to announce the death on 10 March 2012 of Professor Raymond Page, Emeritus Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Cambridge, and Fellow and former Librarian of Corpus Christi College.

Born in 1924, Professor Page was an undergraduate at the University of Nottingham, and came to Cambridge in the 1960s. He became Fellow and Librarian of Corpus Christi College, and was for many years Lecturer and then Reader in Old Norse language and literature in the Department of ASNC.

From 1984 until his retirement in 1991 he was Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon. He will be fondly remembered by many for his teaching of Old Norse and of Scandinavian history in the Viking Age, and as the ‘silver-haired librarian’ of Corpus. His funeral will take place in the chapel of Corpus Christi College on Thursday 22 March at 2 p.m.

Read the rest of this article...

Roman kiln unearthed by builders at Norton Primary School

The remains of a Roman kiln have been discovered by builders working at a school in North Yorkshire.

The discovery was made during construction of a £1.5m extension at Norton Primary School near Malton.

North Yorkshire County Council said the kiln was the first major find in the area since the 1940s.

The kiln was found along with fragments of pottery. Archaeologists also uncovered ditches believed to be of a Romano-British date.

Read the rest of this article...

New viking village discovered

Norwegian archeologists have discovered the foundations of at least 15 buildings, an 80-meter long street and a harbour near Gokstadhaugen burial mound in Sandefjord.

So far, the ground hasn’t even been broken into. The remains that could potentially be part of an entire village have been located by using ground penetrating radar and magnetometer.

Archeologists from the Cultural and Historic museum in Oslo, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) and Vestfold County made the discovery at Gokstadhaugen, where the famous Gokstad viking ship and burial ground were also discovered in 1880.
Read the rest of this article...

'Red Deer Cave people' may be new species of human

The fossilised remains of stone age people recovered from two caves in south west China may belong to a new species of human that survived until around the dawn of agriculture.

The partial skulls and other bone fragments, which are from at least four individuals and are between 14,300 and 11,500 years old, have an extraordinary mix of primitive and modern anatomical features that stunned the researchers who found them.

Named the Red Deer Cave people, after their apparent penchant for home-cooked venison, they are the most recent human remains found anywhere in the world that do not closely resemble modern humans.

Read the rest of this article...

Burial urns dating back to Roman conquest discovered on housing site

Experts from Wiltshire Council have been unlocking the secrets in five Roman burial urns which have been discovered at a housing development in Hertfordshire.

Kelly Abbott, contract conservator with the Wiltshire Council Conservation Service, said the dusting away of years of history from the urns has uncovered bones which could be human.

The five ancient burial urns dating back to the Roman conquest were found at the site of Linden Homes’ King Harry Lane development in St Albans.

Read the rest of this article...

High Weald hoard of Roman coins on display in Sussex

Nearly 3,000 silver Roman coins found four years ago by a metal detector enthusiast in Sussex are to go on display in the county.

The High Weald hoard, discovered by Tim Symonds about 30 miles north of Brighton, has been bought by Brighton's Royal Pavilion and Museums.

The coins, worth about £40,000, were bought with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

They will go on display at Brighton Museum this summer and tour next year.

Read the rest of this article...

Reading's Sumer Is Icumen In recorded by The Futureheads

A medieval madrigal believed to be the oldest song in the English language will be enjoying a revival from the unlikeliest of sources.

Sumer Is Icumen In was written in Middle English at Reading Abbey, Berkshire, around 1260.

But it will undergo a 21st Century renaissance when Sunderland post-punk band The Futureheads feature the song on their forthcoming a cappella album.

"We've accepted we might put the cat among the pigeons with our fan base a little bit," said guitarist and vocalist Ross Millard.

"But you can't try and make an album that is a balance of contemporary stuff and heritage music without looking towards something like Sumer Is Icumen In".

Read the rest of this article...

Secrets of St Albans' Roman burial urns unlocked

CT scanners are being used to help unlock the secrets of five Roman burial urns that were discovered at a housing development in Hertfordshire.

Conservators at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre were called in by archaeologists excavating at King Harry Lane in St Albans.

Work is being done to discover whether the remains inside the cremation urns belong to adults or children.

The urns were found at the entrance to a late Iron Age defended settlement.

Read the rest of this article...

Sistine Chapel Virtual Tour

The Vatican and Villanova University have produced a spectacular virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel.

The clarity of the images is excellent.

Visit the site...

New Norway Viking settlement discovered

Experts have found a hitherto unknown Viking area with the aid of modern science and no shovels, reports say.

Gokstad's grave mound can be seen in the backgroundScientists using a magnetometer in Gokstad
Photo: Norwegian Institute for Cultural heritage

Using a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometer, surveys have revealed the settlement in Sandefjord in Gokstadhaugen, eastern Norway, has 15 buildings, an 80-metre long street and a port.

Archaeologists from Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History and the Norwegian Institute for Cultural heritage Research (NIKU) were among those that made the discovery, in cooperation with Vestfold County.

Work in Gokstadhaugen began in 2011 with drilling there, as well as experts making geophysical surveys from the sea a northwards in what is called Gokstad Valley (Gokstaddalen).

Read the rest of this article...

Archaeological dig uncovers fascinating evidence of Taunton's history

Archaeologists have discovered important evidence of Taunton’s past as a fortified town and, later, a thriving market town.

Excavation at Castle Green has brought fascinating glimpses of the past to light, including a skeleton and some human bones. Further analysis is being carried out to determine when the person died, their age, what their diet was and if they had diseases that can be found within the bones.

Work is being carried out as part of Project Taunton and Taunton Deane Borough Council’s enhancement of Castle Green to turn the old car park into a paved and landscaped open space.

Read the rest of this article...

Archaeology dig at Manor House

Members of the public will get an opportunity to delve into the hidden history of one of Sandwell's most important and oldest buildings later this month.

The Manor House Museum in Hall Green Road, West Bromwich, will be opening its gates for a community archaeology project which it is hoped will reveal some of the hidden secrets of this fascinating site.

It takes place on Saturday March 24 and Sunday March 25, between 12noon and 3pm and visitors will be able to come along to the site for family fun and to find out what archaeologists have discovered and understand a bit more about what they do.

Read the rest of this article...

CALL FOR PAPERS: PAGANS AND CHRISTIANS IN LATE ANTIQUE ROME:

PAGANS AND CHRISTIANS IN LATE ANTIQUE ROME:

INTERPRETING THE EVIDENCE

Rome, 20-21 September 2012

Palazzo Falconieri, Accademia dell’Ungheria, Via Giulia 1, Roma

An International Conference

with the support of the

Accademia dell’Ungheria di Roma

Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest

Further details...

Slovakia's Krasna Horka castle destroyed in fire

A massive fire has swept through one of the best-preserved castles in Slovakia, destroying much of the historic building.

Smoke was spotted billowing from Krasna Horka after the final tour of the building on Saturday, and it is thought many precious artefacts kept at the castle may have been lost.

Watch the video...

Archaeological Dig Needed for TV Show

"I am writing from a production company called Outline Productions and we are currently developing an idea for the BBC looking at the development of ancient weapons in Britain, with a particular focus on spears.

I was just wondering if you could recommend to me a current archaeological dig where spearheads have recently been discovered?  It would be fantastic if we could view an archeological dig in process and if it was relevant to the programme we are hoping to make that would be fantastic.

Read the rest of this article...

Slovakian medieval castle burns down - video

Krasna Horka, a 14th century castle in eastern Slovakia went up in flames on Saturday. The accident is thought to have been caused by dry, cut grass that caught fire. The blaze, near Rožňava town in Kosice region, destroyed the building's roof, as well as its interior

Watch the video...

CFP: International Workshop Roman Sarcophagi, University of Graz,10.10.-13.10.2012

The Department of Archaeology & Numismatics of the Universalmnuseum Joanneum and the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Graz will host a conference on Roman sarcophagi in October 2012.

In addition to analytical and synthetic contributions the topics are methodology, production and distribution in the Danube provinces, and the integrative analysis of epigraphy and sarcophagi.

Please note that reports about new finds or the history of collections will only be accepted for the poster session.

Abstracts of no more than 800 words on the above topics will be accepted until March 31st 2012.

Further details...

Using burial sites to gauge the effect of Roman conquest on Iron Age Britons

Britain was first invaded by the Romans during the reign of Caesar in 54-55 BCE, which began the gradual inevitable process of incorporation into the Empire. However, it wasn’t until 43 CE, with the conquest of what is now England under Claudius that social, political and economic changes were enforced in the native populations.

Archaeological investigations show a break in the continuity of Iron Age trends with Roman conquest, especially apparent in burial and mortuary patterns. One important facet of understanding what affect ‘Romanization’ had on the Britons is looking at changes in health patterns, at both a national and regional levels, comparing the effects on different classes and age groups of society. Two studies done by Redfern and DeWitte (2011a, 2011b) and Redfern, Millard and Hamlin (2012) assess the health in the Iron Age and Roman periods of Dorset, England in order to understand how changes connected with conquest affected health. Previous studies by Redfern et al. (2010) on these pre- and post-conquest communities in Dorset showed that there was; increased consumption of marine resources; increased prevalence of dental disease; infectious and metabolic diseases; decreased evidence for trauma; decline in subadult growth; and average male stature did not increase. These more recent studies look closer into demography and mortality, as well as class and age differences in health.

Read the rest of this article...

Iron Age murder mystery as CT scan shows British man from 100AD was beaten, strangled, then beheaded in 'pagan ritual'

Archaeologists have solved a 1900-year-old 'cold case' mystery - using a medical CT scanner to scan the head of an Iron Age murder victim.

The preserved head of the second century Briton - known as The Worsley Man due to his location near Salford - was found in a peat bog in 1958.

The scan shows he as bludgeoned over the head, garrotted and then beheaded - leading archaeologists to suspect he was sacrificed.

Read the rest of this article...

Kirkton water works reveal Roman artefacts at fort site

A series of Roman artefacts has been found during works to install a water main through a former fort site.

The discovery was made as work was carried out at Wellington Bridge near Kirkton in Dumfries and Galloway.

Archaeologists supervised the Scottish Water works through the site of the Carzield Roman Fort.

Items discovered included Roman tiles, clay fragments and pieces of cast iron metalwork which will now be taken for analysis and carbon dating.

Read the rest of this article...

Indiana Jones goes geek: Laser-mapping LiDAR revolutionizes archaeology

"This is it—the paradigm shift," archaeologist Chris Fisher told Ars. "Just like the advent of radiocarbon dating, LiDAR will have the same impact."

LiDAR, or "light detection and ranging," acts as a sort of radar with light, painting the target area with lasers and recording the time it takes to reflect back to the instruments.

An archaeologist specializing in Western Mexico, Fisher studies the way environments affect and change cultures. LiDAR has helped him repaint the picture of ancient Mexico, bringing the little-known Purepecha empire a lot more historical prominence.

Read the rest of this article...

York Minster dig uncovers 800 yr-old skeletons

Human remains believed to date back to the 12th century have been discovered underneath York Minster during rare excavation work at the famous place of worship. 

Field Officer Ian Milsted uncovers human bones and one of the four skulls during the dig at York Minster [Credit: Daily Mail]

For the first time in 40 years, archaeologists were allowed the a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity to dig in a designated part of the church before a lift shaft is built into the Minster's undercroft. 

And it was then that they made the incredible discovery of a collection of bones, including four skulls, at the ancient church.

Read the rest of this article...

Project launched to build replica of boat

A project to build a replica of the Dover Bronze Age boat has been launched.

The archaeological research project, called Boat 1550 BC, brings together seven partners from the UK, Belgium and France to build a replica of the 3,500-year-old boat which was discovered below Townwall Street, during the building of the A20, 20 years ago (pictured below).

Canterbury Archaeological Trust and Canterbury Christ Church University are playing key roles in the two-and-a-half-year long project, which culminates with the sea-launch of the boat and a major touring exhibition.

Apart from serious academic research, the project is intended to capture the popular imagination of those living in the Transmanche region, especially children and young people, and inspire them to explore our shared ancient past and common heritage.

Read the rest of this article...

Medieval graffiti is well worth a look

WHAT to do on a wet (and snowy, for a time) Sunday?

You could do worse than visit All Saints Church in Leighton Buzzard, which provided not just very welcome shelter from the wild weather, but also enough intrigue to keep anyone interested in local history or architecture occupied for an hour or so.

We’d first popped into the Costa Coffee in the High Street for a hot drink to fortify us against the cold. Chain cafes aren’t usually my first choice but there didn’t seem to be anywhere else open.

The staff at this Costa were polite and friendly but the place could really do with a bit of a spruce up – tatty chairs aren’t really on when you’re a multi-million pound operation.

Read the rest of this article...

Ancient calculator on display at Archaeological museum

An exhibition entitled "The wreck of Antikythera - The ship, the treasures, the Mechanism", will open at the Archaeological Museum in Athens on April 5 and will run for a year.

 

This is the first time that all the findings from the Antikythera wreck, dated between 60-50 BC, will be displayed together, while some of the items have never been displayed before.

 

Sometime before Easter 1900, Elias Stadiatis, a Greek sponge diver, discovered the wreck of an ancient cargo ship off Antikythera Island at a depth of 42 m (138 ft). Sponge divers retrieved several statues and other artifacts from the site.

Read the rest of this article...

Neanderthaler hatten Sinn für Symbolik

Ob der Adler schon vor 90.000 Jahren als Machtsymbol angesehen wurde oder ob der Greifvogel für unsere Urzeit-Vettern eine andere Bedeutung hatte, wird man wohl nie sicher sagen können. Jedenfalls dienten die Könige der Lüfte wohl kaum als Nahrung - das meinen jetzt zwei Wissenschaftler aus Kanada und Frankreich nachweisen zu können.

Read the rest of this article...

Archaeologists begin big dig in Leigh

ARCHAEOLOGISTS set to work this week carefully unearthing the site of Ethersone Hall near Leigh Sports Village.

Journal group photographer Ian Park was there as Bill Horton and Diana Battersby examined the remains of the Hall which dates back almost 700 years.

•The Etherstone estate is first recorded in 1338. By 1415 it was owned by the Pemberton family and later owners included the Leylands and the Tyldesleys of Morleys, Astley. From 1548 the Renacres family lived at the Hall. In 1862 the Hall and estate were bought by Thomas Jones, a wealthy cotton broker.

Read the rest of this article...

Worsley Man: Hospital scanner probes Iron Age bog death

Bryan Sitch, curator of archaeology at the museum, said it now appeared the man had been beaten about the head, garrotted and then beheaded

 

The head of an Iron Age man who died almost 2,000 years ago has been scanned in a Manchester hospital to shed light on how he died.

Worsley Man is thought to have lived around 100 AD when Romans occupied much of Britain.
Since its discovery in a Salford peat bog in 1958, the head has been kept at Manchester Museum on Oxford Road.

The scans at the Manchester Children's Hospital have now revealed more details about his violent death.

Read the rest of this article...

Mildenhall Museum gets RAF Lakenheath warrior and horse

 

 

The warrior and horse were found at RAF Lakenheath in 1997

Mildenhall Museum is set to double in size to help display the remains of an Anglo-Saxon warrior and his horse.

The warrior, who is thought to have died about AD 500, was found buried at RAF Lakenheath in 1997 with a horse, bridle, sword and shield.

Forest Heath council has announced it will provide a grant of £789,813.

Peter Merrick, chairman of the Mildenhall Museum Society, said: "We're obviously delighted as lots of hard work has gone into it."

Read the rest of this article...

Scots and English universities to share Viking knowledge

Scottish and English universities are to work together in an effort to expand knowledge of Viking culture.

The University of the Highlands and Islands' Centre for Nordic Studies will work with staff and students from Oxford, Cambridge and Nottingham.

The project will include seven-day field trips for students to Viking sites on Orkney.

It will conclude with public exhibitions showcasing information gathered by the students.

Dr Heather O'Donoghue, reader in Old Norse at Oxford University and project leader, said the project would be an opportunity to share knowledge on the Vikings.

Read the rest of this article...

Kent’s Prehistoric Pottery on Show

Wessex Archaeology’s London & South East office is hosting the Prehistoric Ceramics Research Group’s Spring Meeting.

Join us on 28th April 2012 to hear about new discoveries and directions in the study of Kent’s prehistoric pottery.

The audience will be introduced to recent discoveries from the East Kent Access Road, one of the biggest excavations in the country over the last few years (Link) as well as from the Cliffs End, Thanet Earth and Swalecliffe projects. Some of the Country’s leading experts will explore the pivotal role Kent played in the period.

There will be a chance to have a hands-on look at key groups of pottery from the various schemes and to hear and engage in some lively debate and catch up on current thinking. There will also be a chance to view some exciting recent Beaker and Early Bronze Age finds (around 4000 years old).

Read the rest of this article...

Bronze Age ring in Hampshire declared treasure

A Bronze Age gold ring found in a Hampshire field has been declared as treasure by a coroner.

The 3,000-year-old double ring was found by Winchester artist Alan Cracknell in February 2010 in a field at Headbourne Worthy.

He was using a metal detector and thought the artefact was an old bottle top when he first picked it up.

Read the rest of this article...

Why It Took So Long to Invent the Wheel

The tricky thing about the wheel is not conceiving of a cylinder rolling on its edge. It's figuring out how to connect a stable, stationary platform to that cylinder

Wheels are the archetype of a primitive, caveman-level technology. But in fact, they're so ingenious that it took until 3500 B.C. for someone to invent them. By that time — it was the Bronze Age — humans were already casting metal alloys, constructing canals and sailboats, and even designing complex musical instruments such as harps.

The tricky thing about the wheel is not conceiving of a cylinder rolling on its edge. It's figuring out how to connect a stable, stationary platform to that cylinder.

Read the rest of this article...

Archaeology: Roman slabstone, early-Ottoman column discovered after Bisser disaster

Several archaeological finds have been unearthed as work continues on clearing the debris following the flooding of the village of Bisser in southern Bulgaria, public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT) said.

At least eight people died and dozens had to be evacuated as the village was flooded because of a burst wall in the nearby Ivanovo dam. The flood destroyed several houses.

It was unclear whether the finds had been unearthed by the water flow or carried by the water, archaeologists from the Harmanli historical museum said.

The stone slab appeared to be part of a Roman-era public building, while the hexagonal column was specific for the early Ottoman era. A similar column had been found near the village in the 1960s, BNT said.

Read the rest of this article...

Byzantine road found during Metro works in Thessaloniki

A Byzantine road was discovered during construction work for the metro in the city of Thessaloniki, as it has been announced during the 25th conference for the archaeological work of the year. 

Construction work at Agia Sofia metro station in Thessaloniki [Credit: Eurokinissi]

The road that has been found is considered to be the most important finding of the 3rd millenium concerning North Greece. 

The Byzantine road was discovered at the centre of Thessaloniki (Agia Sofia and Egnatia Streets) and had been preserved for three centuries.
Read the rest of this article...

Archaeologists find human bones inside York Minster

HUMAN remains have been uncovered inside York Minster.

Archaeologists at York Minster came face-to-face with one of the cathedral’s ancient users during routine work to build a lift shaft into the Minster’s Undercroft.

It is the first time in 40 years that excavation work has been carried out inside the building, and the first find by members of York Archaeological Trust’s was human remains thought to pre-date the Minster in its present form.

Members of the trust said they could only speculate about the age of the body.


Read the rest of this article...

More ancient roads discovered under Monmouth

Excavations for the replacement of gas mains by Amec have been continuing for some weeks and have now reached the Monk Street/Dixton Road traffic lights. 

The work is being monitored by members of Monmouth Archaeology (the professional wing of Monmouth Archaeological Society) who have been recording a series of ancient roads as well as features associated with the town's northern medieval defences. 

The most interesting revelations have been the sequence of medieval and later road surfaces which lie over a stone cobbled road at one metre below the modern road surface and which may be Roman – possibly part of the Roman town of ‘Blestium’ or of the middle 1st century Roman Fort. 

The lowest road was superseded by another which was composed of bloomery iron slag.
Read the rest of this article...

Archaeology: Greece, Antikythera shipwreck on display

Over a century after the wreckage of Antikythera was found by chance (as often happens in the field of archaeology), the archaeological finds brought to light will be showcased together in the exhibition ''The Antikythera Shipwreck: the ship - the treasures - the Mechanism'' organised by Greece's National Archaeological Museum. The show will be inaugurated on April 5 and will remain open until the end of April 2013. It boasts 378 finds, including sculptures, clay and bronze vases, coins, jewels, fragments of the ship, and, of course, the famous Antikythera Mechanism, considered the oldest computer ever made. ''The oldest example of technology surviving to the present day, which entirely changes our knowledge about ancient Greek technology,'' the British physicist and mathematician Derek De Solla Price said in speaking about this mysterious object, of which he is its first scholar. Among the finds to be exhibited in the show are also dishes, jugs and amphorae with an acute base for the transporting of the water, oil, wine and dry food necessary for lengthy journeys.

Read the rest of this article...

A history of Ireland in 100 objects

It is particularly ironic that the Gaelic kingship that best survived the Norman invasion was that descended from Diarmait Mac Murchada, who first brought Norman warlords to Ireland. The Mac Murchadas retained lands in Carlow and north Wexford. The Kavanagh (Caomhanach) branch of the family, directly descended from Diarmait’s son Donal Caomhanach, thrived as the Norman colony weakened. Art Mór Mac Murchada had carved out a coherent kingdom by the time of his death, in 1416, successfully defying Richard II’s attempts to have him removed.

This exotic object, preserved at Borris, Co Carlow, by the Kavanagh family, perfectly captures this revival of Irish kingship. It is the only piece of Irish regalia to have survived from the medieval period. It was originally made, from elephant ivory, sometime in the 13th century, and may at first have been used as a hunting horn. But in the period of Art Mór’s resurgent kingdom it was given a new brass mounting – the maker’s name, Tigernan Ó Lavan, is inscribed on the mount – with clawed bird’s feet on which it stands. The horn could be detached from the mount, which would remain freestanding. This turned the horn into a ceremonial drinking vessel, probably for use in inauguration rituals. It was thus almost certainly an aspect of the Kavanaghs’ claims to the kingship of Leinster.

Read the rest of this article...

Falcons will be brought in to scare away birds pecking at the Colosseum

Falcons are to be introduced in the skies over the ancient Roman Colosseum in a bid to scare away birds that are pecking away at the 2,000-year-old stone facade.

Seagulls, ravens and blackbirds are thought to have been the cause of several recent incidents at the iconic arena where masonry has fallen away, narrowly missing passers-by and tourists.

Officials are already in talks with several pest control firms to bring in the falcons, which are seen as the most effective way to reduce the number of birds which nest in the nooks and crannies of the Colosseum.

In recent months the numbers of birds flying above the Roman monument has increased considerably. Many are using it as a nesting ground and also peck away at the stone work and hideaway stores of seeds and food.

Read the rest of this article...

The Story of Wales: Creating a CGI Roman amphitheatre from ruins

Caerleon, near Newport in south Wales, is one of Wales' best known and loved Roman sites.

In its heyday, this open-air arena would have seated up to 6,000 people and been the scene of gladiatorial games against men and beasts.

Computer graphics from the BBC Wales history series, The Story of Wales, helped to bring that scale and structure to life.

But how do you go about turning shots of stone ruins into a virtual amphitheatre from around AD90?

Watch the video...

History of castle from the Saxons to Cromwell

THE February meeting of Henley Archaeological and Historical Group welcomed an expert on the history of Wallingford and the founder of Wallingford Museum.

Judy Dewey gave a presentation on the work being undertaken at Wallingford Castle. She gave the background to the history of the castle dating back to Saxon times and described what has been found during the last four to five years of a research project which is now beginning to make sense of the site.

Wallingford was an ancient walled town with fortifications, being the prime town in Berkshire in the Domesday Book. It retains its Saxon street pattern, as illustrated from an early view where the bridge can be seen on the site of what was a ford.

Read the rest of this article...

Ulster Journal of Archaeology. Series 1

Ulster Journal of Archaeology. Series 1: a slightly annotated contents list.

Complete from Vol. 1 (1853) to Vol. 9 (1861-2). Missing Vol 3. (1855).

note: all of these journals may be downloaded for free from archive.org

You can find the list here...