Market's medieval site documented

Work to document the medieval remains of Norwich market begins on Monday.

The current refurbishment of the site will lower the ground level by two feet and mean most medieval deposits will be lost forever.

Experts from the Norfolk Archaeological Unit will record any special features and finds.

The market, established between 1071 and 1074, is one of the oldest and largest in England. Its refurbishment will be completed by the end of 2005.

BBC News

Russia refuses to give up Trojan treasure

Moscow - A legendary collection of gold objects from ancient Troy that was seized by Soviet troops in Berlin in 1945 should become Russian government property, a top cultural official said in an interview published on Saturday.

Anatoly Vilkov, deputy chief of the Russian agency that preserves the nation's cultural legacy, stopped short of ruling out the possibility the objects could return under certain conditions.

The gold collection - named after Hermann Schliemann, the amateur German archaeologist who excavated it - will be made Russian federal property after it is inventoried, Vilkov said, according to Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. The gold then could be exhibited in Germany.

"In line with the law on transferred valuables, everything that the Soviet Union took as compensation, which includes Schliemann's gold as well, is not subject to return," Vilkov was quoted as saying.

IOL

French Castles Go Private

France is planning to privatize 178 historical castles and monuments. But regional authorities fear they may get saddled with decrepit and indebted buildings that can't support themselves.

The monastery of Montmajour with its mighty 14th century keep is not far from the city of Arles in southern France. It can be seen from afar and is of great renown. Van Gogh painted it many times. Yet, it doesn't make any money: In 2002, it carried a deficit of €46,000 ($61,000). The amount of debts almost trebled within one year, rising to €131,000 in 2003. Thus, the monastery has become a business of subsidies, which the French government would like to be rid of.

In the course of its decentralization policy, France aims to cede parts of its national cultural heritage to the administrative sovereignty of provinces and local authorities -- for free.

Deutsche Welle

Teenagers held after church fire

Four teenage boys have been arrested following a fire that caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to one of Cornwall's oldest churches.

Emergency crews were called to the Lansallos Church, near Polperro, late on Saturday afternoon.

A 16-year-old from Looe, and three 14 year olds from Fowey, Looe and Truro are being held in Plymouth on suspicion of arson.

BBC News

Historic Scotland restores cradle of Scottish Christianity at Whithorn

SOME 100 years before Saint Col umba established his monas tery at Iona, when the British Isles were only just beginning to feel the tremors of the fall of the Roman empire, St Ninian arrived in Galloway and established a religious community among the Celtic peoples of what would later become southern Scotland.

Around 1600 years after Ninian established his base at Whithorn, what has been termed the cradle of Christianity in Scotland is about to get the setting it is due. Historic Scotland, in charge of the country’s ancient monuments, has conducted a £250,000 renovation of its Whithorn site to help promote Scotland’s earliest connection with the Christian faith.

Among the treasures of the restored site, due to open next month on Good Friday, March 25, are about 60 carved stones from the fifth to 10th centuries AD, which offer a glimpse into the world of southern Scotland at a time when shifting patterns of peoples ruled the region and the power of the Church was far from assured.

The stones, which survive in sizes from fragments to crosses two metres tall, many inscribed with runes and carvings, would have been erected as markers in the landscape, proclaiming Christian and secular power .

Sunday Herald

Medieval church damaged in fire

A fire is thought to have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to one of Cornwall's oldest churches.
Emergency crews were called to the Lansallos Church, near Polperro, late on Saturday afternoon.

About 45 firefighters tackled the blaze and managed to save 60% of the roof on the 14th Century building.

No-one was injured in the incident, but police described it as "serious and suspicious". An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way.

BBC News

Perthshire Archaeology Week events unveiled

Perthshire (Scotland) boasts a wealth of prehistoric monuments, the legacy of Roman occupation, ancient burgh towns, picturesque castles and long-abandoned hidden settlements and a nine-day programme of events - set to start on May 28 and run until June 5 - should offer a little insight into each. A host of opportunities will be presented to those with an interest in the past including excavations, exhibitions, walks and talks. The programme of Pertshire Archaeology Week will take participants on a journey of discovery through prehistoric, Roman and medieval Scotland, touching on Arthurian legend, Pictish sculpture, Celtic missionaries and Shakespeare on the way. Over 30 events will take place throughout the area at venues including the Scottish Crannog Centre and Perth Museum and Art Gallery.

Stone Pages

Royal Tara extends well beyond the hill

WE strongly reject the implication that we have ‘hoodwinked’ the public into thinking that the proposed road goes over the Hill of Tara, contained in recent testimony to the Oireachtas Committee on Transport.

We have always made it clear that our concerns are about the impact such a development would have on the archaeological and historical landscape around the Hill of Tara.

Our detailed archaeological, historical and literary analyses, carried out to the highest professional standards, has demonstrated the immediate hinterland of the Hill of Tara to be the so-called royal estate or demesne (ferann ríg) of Tara. Royal estates are recognised in early Irish law (see Fergus Kelly’s Early Irish Farming, 403-4, 1997). There is incontrovertible evidence of a royal estate associated with the kingship of Tara.

Independent of the historical identification of this special area, archaeological analysis has revealed physical evidence for the definition of a wider landscape around the Hill of Tara.

This definition is accepted by professional archaeologists, historians, historical geographers and Celticists worldwide. Our remit is the analysis, definition and protection of historic monuments and places. There is universal agreement among professionals that the Hill of Tara is but one component of a uniquely important landscape and that, as configured, the proposed M3 will impact directly on it.

We believe this can, and should, be avoided so that the people of this part of Co Meath can have their traffic problems resolved while at the same time preserving the unique cultural landscape around Tara.

Tara, in its entirety, is of local, national and international importance.

Conor Newman
Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway
Edel Bhreathnach
Micheál Ó Cléirigh Institute, UCD
Joe Fenwick
Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway

Irish Examiner

See also The Save Tara/Skryne Valley Campaign

We force council to reveal ship bill

THE Newport med-ieval ship has cost more than £3.7m so far, according to documents released under pressure from the Argus. The excavation was £362,848 but there were a series of additonal costs taking the total up to £455,000. The viewing chamber at the Riverfront theatre added £1.8m and compensation to contractors delayed while the ship was unearthed cost £1.3m. The Argus had to use the new Freedom of Inform-ation Act to force the council to reveal the figures, which show for the first time the huge total cost of the discovery. The council said the figures include an "allowance" for the recent legal settlement with archaelogists from Gwent-Glamorgan Archaeological Trust claiming £118,438 in unpaid fees.

And this month the council warned that it alone cannot pay the annual £300,000 needed for the coming years to analyse and maintain the timbers.

Charles Ferris, of the Friends of Newport Ship, said: "The lion's share of these costs is the viewing chamber and the delay to the contractors. Neither is really the ship's fault.

"The council should have taken out insurance to cover the delay costs. And is the viewing chamber the right place for the ship?

This is Gwent

MAKING HISTORY

Grimsby's most exciting historical discoveries to date could be made this year.

The remains of buildings and rubbish pits - possibly dating back to the 11th century - forming the medieval town centre could be revealed if work on a £15-million housing scheme goes ahead. Clues to how ancient Grimbarians lived and what they ate could be uncovered during excavations in Garth Lane.

Initial two-metre deep excavations have already revealed remains of pottery and floors of buildings from the 13th and 14th century.

This is Grimsby

DIGGING DEEP TO REVEAL HISTORY

Old pots and drains may not sound exciting, but they often hold the key to unlocking our past. Telegraph reporter KATIE NORMAN finds out how archaeology makes the history books.

Medieval Grimsby would have looked very different to the town we know today. Streets would have been narrow and dirty, with filthy water flowing in the river. Most buildings would have been made from timber frames, with some benefiting from clay bricks.

During the 13th and 14th century, the Grimsby area was home to many religious houses, including an Abbey of monks on Humber Road, nuns on Nuns Corner, Austin Friars where Freshney Place stands today, and Grey Friars on Cartergate.

This is Grimsby

Castle hunt

ARCHAEOLOGISTS will be out in force this week hunting for the remains of Bedford Castle.

Parts of Castle Lane car park will be closed to the public so that ground-penetrating radar surveys can be undertaken at the site of the 11th century castle which was destroyed in the 13th century.

Bedford Borough Council has asked Albion Archaeology to carry out the work in order to protect historic features from future development at the site. The council is hoping that Castle Lane will become Bedford's new 'cultural quarter'.

Jeremy Oetgen, project manager for Albion Archaeology, says: "We know there was a castle here as part of it was excavated in the 1960s and 1970s.

Serious about News

Ancient Stronghold Discovered in Varna

An unknown stronghold wall has been discovered in the coastal city of Varna, the regional historical museum officials announced Friday.

The wall has been found during a private building construction on the Khan Krum Street.

The exact age of the find has not been specified yet. Most of the details, found nearby - column, capital, terracotta pieces, altars and pulpits fragments - were dated back to VIth century by specialists.

Novinite

Mystery of 49 headless Romans who weren't meant to haunt us

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed a Roman cemetery in York with the skeletons of 49 beheaded young men.

Experts from the York Archaeological Trust have yet to explain why the men had been decapitated. One of the victims was buried with thick iron rings around his ankles that had been forged on to him while he was alive. Patrick Ottaway, the trust’s head of fieldwork, said: “That really is odd. We’ve never had anything like that before, in Roman Britain or the Roman world.”

There are also skeletons of seven children, though their bodies were not mutilated. Dr Ottaway believes that the men were beheaded as part of a ritual in order to ensure that they could not haunt the living.

The Times

Archaeological dig sniffs out world's oldest perfumery

MUSKY, with a woody tone and spicy hints of cinnamon - the perfect fragrance for a Bronze Age date.

Italian archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest perfumery and have identified the smells popular with the people of the time.

The perfumery was found at a sprawling archaeological site on a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean at Pyrgos-Mavroraki, 55 miles south-west of Nicosia.

"This is 4,000 years old. Without a doubt, it is the oldest production site for perfume in the world," said Maria Rosario Belgiorno, the excavation team leader.

The Scotsman

Archaeologists Baffled by Headless Bodies Find

Archaeologists have been left mystified by the discovery of 36 decapitated bodies, it was revealed today.

Experts from the York Archaeological Trust unearthed the skeletons of 49 young men and seven children at a Roman cemetery they discovered in The Mount area of the city.

But they were stunned to find that most of the men had had their heads chopped off, while another was bound with iron shackles.

Dr Patrick Ottaway, the trust’s head of field word, said he was left baffled by the find because Romans had no tradition of decapitations or shackling men.

The Scotsman

Experts have bones to pick on seashore

A RAPID response archaeology team has been sent to Orkney after storms exposed skeletons on the shore below St Thomas' Kirk.

Orkney Archaeological Trust informed Historic Scotland of the damage and the decision was taken to move forward a planned excavation which Historic Scotland had agreed to fund this summer.

The team will excavate, record and assess storm damage to the medieval graveyard at the kirk and the broch at Hall of Rendall.

The Herald

Mystery over decapitated Roman skeletons found under York street

A MACABRE mystery from York's ancient past has been uncovered in a city street.

Experts from York Archaeological Trust have unearthed an "extraordinary" Roman cemetery near The Mount.

They found 56 skeletons, of 49 young men and seven children - perhaps not unusual in itself, since the Roman route which ran approximately along the present Tadcaster Road was lined with cemeteries.

This is York

City by-pass to be re-routed

The Minister for the Enivoronment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. Dick Roche on a visit to the Woodstown Viking Site on the banks of the River Suir on Monday last said that he intends to issue a preservation order on the 1,200 year old site.

The Minister who was in Waterford to launch a board game at the Civic Offices in Tramore was keeping a pledge to visit the Viking site and see for himself what had been discovered by the archaeologists. His Order will lead to a re-routing of the €300m Waterford City By-pass which is due to start this year. The Minister said the re-routing would not delay the construction of the by-pass. He also said that he would be having consultations with the Director of the National Museum, Dr. Pat Wallace over the next two weeks, before making a formal announcement. Minister Roche said that he would issue an order requiring the excavation of the site, based on the advice of Dr. Wallace.

Waterford Today

For more information see Viking Waterford

Medieval finds block new exit from Uffizi

An aesthetically controversial plan to give the Florentine museum more exhibition space has been brought down by an archaeological dig

Unflatteringly described by art critics as a slatted bed frame or a bus shelter, a long-debated architectural project for one of the world's greatest museums has been shelved, after years in limbo.

The plans for a new exit for the Uffizi Museum in Florence by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki were scrapped yesterday because excavations in the area had revealed the foundations of medieval houses which were levelled when the museum was built in the 1500s.

The Guardian