In the end they really weren't so horrible

RAPING and pillaging. Longboats and horned helmets. Beards and ginger hair. Is that all there was to the Vikings?

Certainly the people who came from what is modern-day Scandinavia - Norway, Sweden and Denmark - and travelled to Scotland over 1200 years ago leaving their homes behind them, must have had more about them than a taste for beer and hunks of animal flesh. Yet this is the way many people today think of Vikings.

It's hardly surprising when you think of the way they're portrayed on film and television. And even though there's a variety of evidence available when studying Viking Scotland including language, place-names, documentary sources, oral tradition and archaeology - there are still many questions unanswered.

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Etruscan Holy City Discovered

Italian archaeologists believe they have found the mysterious sanctuary which was the religious and political centre of the Etruscan civilisation. The Etruscans were an ancient people known to have lived in the area of Italy between Rome and Florence from the 8th century BC until they were absorbed by Rome about 600 years later. For centuries they dominated the fledgling city on the Tiber and even supplied its first kings. But most traces of the Etruscan civilisation, which produced sophisticated art, were obliterated as Roman grew into an empire .

The Etruscan world was organised around a federation of 12 city states. Each spring the political and religious leaders from the cities would meet at a holy place called the Fanum Voltumnae to hold a council. Here they would discuss military campaigns, civic affairs and pray to their common gods. Chief amongst these was Voltumna, god of the underworld. Until now it has never been clear where the Fanum, which means sanctuary, was located and historians have been looking for it for at least six centuries .

Now, after extensive digs at a site near the hill town of Orvieto, 60 miles north of Rome, a team of archaeologists from Macerata University is sure the mystery has been solved. They have found the walls of a central temple, two important roads and part of the perimeter wall of an extensive shrine, all built in the tufa stone used by the Etruscans. They have also uncovered fragments of 6th century BC ceremonial vases used for religious rites. "It has all the characteristics of a very important shrine, and of that shrine in particular," said Simonetta Stopponi, professor of Etruscan studies at Macerata University. Listing some of those characteristics, she mentioned "the scale of the construction, its intricate structure and layout, the presence of wells and fountains and the central temple building".

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Archaeologists from VU Amsterdam at the heart of a European heritage project in Italy; Multi-million grant for new approach to Classical heritage

In the Apulia region of southern Italy, VU archaeologists will be assisting with the establishment of archaeological parks around the ruins of two cities dating from classical antiquity. The European Union has allotted a total of 1.1 million euros to this project, which takes an entirely new approach to digs. This time, the objective is not to search for objets d'art and then exhibit them in museums elsewhere. Instead, the objects that are dug out of the ground are to be retained in their local context, and the history of the cities in question is to be made accessible in the form of parks.

The two walled cities in southern Italy were partially excavated at the end of the 1990s and at the start of the year 2000. The digs were conducted by Gert-Jan Burgers, Douwe Yntema and Jan Paul Crielaard, classical archaeologists from the Faculty of Arts at VU Amsterdam. For two thousand years, the cities had remained buried under vineyards and fields of grain. The remains really fired the imagination of the local population. For this reason, the local authorities appealed for European grants, in order to construct visitors’ centres on site.

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Construction Workers Uncover Roman Village in Bonn

A UN construction site in Bonn was converted to an archeological dig when a 2,000-year-old Roman village was discovered. Jugs, plates, remnants of a public bath and a paved street reveal a surprisingly modern people.

The mass of dirt directly across from the plenary hall in Bonn's former government quarter looks like the surface of the moon. Deep pockets have been dug out in several spots and three excavators are boring their way deeper into the ground.

Nora Andrikopoulou-Strack is standing on one of the other-worldly dirt mounds, with clay-smeared boots on her feet and a broad smile on her face. She is responsible for turning this construction site into an archeological dig.

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Britain's human history revealed

Eight times humans came to try to live in Britain and on at least seven occasions they failed - beaten back by freezing conditions.

Scientists think they can now write a reasonably comprehensive history of the occupation of these isles.

It stretches from 700,000 years ago and the first known settlers at Pakefield in Suffolk, through to the most recent incomers just 12,000 years or so ago.

The evidence comes from the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain Project.

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German gesture reopens debate on Elgin Marbles

THE British Museum was under new pressure to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece yesterday after a German university gave back a tiny sculpture taken from the 2,500-year-old Parthenon.

The 3in by 5in sculpture of a man's foot, from the north section of the Parthenon frieze, was handed back by Heidelberg University, and Giorgos Voulgarakis, the Greek culture minister, said: "This is a major symbolic gesture ... a new page in the previously deadlocked debate for the return of all [Parthenon] sculptures from museums abroad."

Greece says the Elgin Marbles - removed by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century - are an integral part of the temple on the Acropolis in Athens.

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Delos relics to be rescued, restored with EU funding

he House of the Lake and the House of the Diadoumenos, which are both in the ancient sanctuary of Delos, are expected to be restored and maintained through a project funded by the EU’s Third Community Support Framework and managed by the Central Archaeological Council. The two relics have been ravaged by nature and neglect.

Two monuments at the archaeological site of Delos in the Cyclades will be restored and maintained with European Union money, after the Greek Central Archaeological Council (KAS) approved two studies for the relics’ upkeep earlier this summer.

Delos, which mythology says is the birthplace of Artemis and Apollo, is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in the Cyclades.

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Remains of ‘Viking’ boat discovered by archaeologists at Castlebar lake

ARCHAEOLOGISTS working on the Castlebar sewage scheme stumbled upon what has been described by the National Museum of Ireland as a ‘significant and exciting archaeological find’.

While trench testing close to Lough Lannagh they uncovered a wooden boat, believed to be medieval with a strong possibility that it could even be from the Viking period of around 1,100 years ago.
Measuring 10 feet long and some six-foot wide, the boat is in reasonable condition having been preserved in a blanket of peat which covered it from once the Castlebar lake receded.


It may have been used as a cargo or fishing vessel. Its discovery was made possible due to a drop in the water levels of the lake which have dropped significantly since the 1800s when water was diverted for a mill race. The Moy Drainage Scheme in the 1960s also led to a lowering of the lake levels by as much as 12 feet.
The discovery was made by Olga Sheehy, who is one of a team of six archaeologists headed by licensed archaeologist, Joanna Nolan, currently working at the site.

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Ancient treasures found

SOFIA (Bulgaria): A 2,200-year-old set of gold jewellery was unearthed from a Thracian burial mound on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, the archaeologist who led the excavations said on Monday. Daniela Agre said her team in late August found dozens of tiny jewellery pieces in the tomb of a woman, most likely a Thracian priestess, near the resort of Sinemorets, about 500 km southeast of the capital, Sofia. The discovery included two earrings, crafted like miniature chariots, as well as parts of gold necklaces, one decorated with a sculpture of a bull's head. A tiny plaque that appears to be the necklace's fastener bears a Greek inscription, saying ``made by Demetrius,'' Ms. Agre said, suggesting this could have been the name the nobleman who ordered the jewellery.

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Rare mural-covered Bronze Age tomb discovered

Sofia, Bulgaria - Archaeologists in southern Bulgaria have located remains of a completely preserved Thracian domed tomb decorated with murals, the daily Trud reported on Monday.

The tomb, near the town of Haskovo, 234km southeast of Sofia, is made of big stone blocks and has two chambers forming a dome at the top. There are paintings of horses and Thracian armed warriors on the walls.

The Thracians were Bronze Age people, whose civilisation thrived in the Balkans from 2000 BC until the invasion of the Slavs in the sixth century AD.

This is only the second Thracian tomb with murals of humans discovered in Bulgaria and one of the most significant in Thracian archaeology in this century, experts say.

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Enthusiast uses Google to reveal Roman ruins

Using satellite images from Google Maps and Google Earth, an Italian computer programmer has stumbled upon the remains of an ancient villa. Luca Mori was studying maps of the region around his town of Sorbolo, near Parma, when he noticed a prominent, oval, shaded form more than 500 metres long. It was the meander of an ancient river, visible because former watercourses absorb different amounts of moisture from the air than their surroundings do.

His eye was caught by unusual 'rectangular shadows' nearby. Curious, he analysed the image further, and concluded that the lines must represent a buried structure of human origin. Eventually, he traced out what looked like the inner courtyards of a villa.

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Hadrian's Roman soldiers 'had military tattoo'

A pictorial exhibition exploring the history of tattooing in Britain is to go on display in the unlikely setting of Newcastle University's Museum of Antiquities (Tuesday 29 August).

Currently fashionable among celebrities, footballers and pop stars, historical texts and archaeological evidence suggest that some form of tattooing has been practised in the British Isles for thousands of years.

'It's a little known fact, but it would appear that all of the legionaries and some of the auxiliaries on Hadrian's Wall would have had a tattoo', says the University's Director of Archaeological Museums and Roman expert, Lindsay Allason-Jones.

The evidence comes from the Roman writer Vegetius, whose Epitome of Military Science, written around the 4th Century AD, is the only account of Roman military practice to have survived intact.

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Dig unearths 'unique' Roman baths

An archaeological dig in Kent has turned up a Roman bathhouse described as "totally unique" for the county.
The remains of the 5th Century building were uncovered in a field in Faversham by students working with the Kent Archaeological Field School.

Dr Paul Wilkinson said the Roman baths came to light during a number of excavations for Swale Borough Council.

He claimed the octagon-shaped bathhouse was a "very exciting" find and a first for the South East.

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New discoveries in Aljezur

THE RUINS of two mosques have been unearthed during the latest archaeological dig at Ponta da Atalaia, on the Aljezur coast. Excavation work, co-ordinated by archaeologists Rosa and Mário Varela Gomes, began on August 1 and will continue until the end of the month.

For the fifth consecutive year, remains have been uncovered from the mythical Rîbat da Arrifana, a fortressed monastery built by Ibn Qasi, a Sufi master and Muslim monk-warrior who lived there with his community during the 12th century.

The archaeologists have already discovered the remains of six mosques and their respective oratories, the foundations of a circular minaret and those of what is thought to have once been a school.

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Iron Age chamber found under tractor

An underground chamber undisturbed since the Iron Age was revealed on North Uist when a 10ft hole opened beneath the wheel of a tractor.

Archaeologists assessed the find at Port nan Long at the north of the island, which has been sealed off from the public.

Dr Mary MacLeod, Western Isles Council's archaeologist, was delighted to declare the hole an Iron Age souterrain, or underground chamber.

She said: "It is particularly exciting because it is so well preserved.

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ARCHAEOLOGIST'S FIND REVEALS THE THINKERS OF 400,000 YEARS AGO

Neanderthals were much more like modern humans than has been previously thought, according to a Bristol University archaeologist. Professor Joao Zilhao made the discovery after re-examining finds from one of the most famous palaeolithic sites in Europe.

He has unearthed evidence which he says shows that Neanderthals - commonly viewed as primitive - in fact made ornaments of their own designs.

The ornaments may help prove that the species was capable of "symbolic thinking" - that is attaching a meaning to an object.

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1,300-year-old Saxon buckle goes on show

A rare 1,300-year-old Saxon buckle, unearthed with a metal detector, will go on public display for the first time today.

The copper alloy Byzantine-style buckle, which dates from AD600-720, is only the second of its type to have been found in England. Faye Simpson, archaeologist at the Museum of London, said it was "as beautiful as anything you could hope to find on Bond Street".

It was found on the outskirts of London by treasure hunter Bill Robson, who handed it to the museum. It is unusual because an artefact of this type would normally be found in Spain or Portugal, the museum said.

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Rare 1,300-year-old Saxon belt buckle goes on display

A rare 1,300-year-old Saxon belt buckle unearthed with a metal detector will go on public display for the first time today.

The copper alloy buckle, which dates from AD600-720, is only the second one of its type to have been found in England.

It was discovered recently on the outskirts of London by treasure hunter Bill Robson, who handed it to the Museum of London.

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Archeologists find unique Thracian gold near seaside

A unique gold treasure from Thracian times was found on Sunday near the town of Sinemorets at the Bulgarian seaside, news agencies reported.

The excavations near the mouth of Veleka River continued during the day and the field is guarded by the police.
Local people have dug the hill for inert materials and later archeologists discovered the gold treasure, Darik radio announced. There are lots of gold and silver vessels and cult clay tiles with the image of Mother Earth Goddess. Up to the Sunday evening an extremely valuable wreath and a set of golden earrings have been brought out of the hill. Archeological work goes on without stopping, Darik radio added.

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Uncovering the burial mounds of Bronze Age Scots

FOUR thousand years ago work began to erect the great earthen burial mounds that comprise the Bronze Age barrow cemetery at the Knowes of Trotty, in Harray, Orkney. There are at least 16 barrows - or graves - in two rows, nestling between the edge of the farmlands and the foot of the moorland. Many were raised upon natural mounds to enhance their prominence.

It is a spectacular site, even today, and there are indications that in the Bronze Age the Knowes of Trotty was a cemetery of special significance. The barrows were built to honour the dead of the local farmers and represent a change in burial ritual away from the communal interments of Neolithic farming sites like Maeshowe and more towards individual burials that often incorporated the use of fire to cremate the body. Burial in the Bronze Age celebrated the individual and often included grave goods, perhaps as an indication of status and for use in the after world.

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