Bronze Age finds at Guernsey airport

With the planned development of Guernsey's runway surveying around the airport uncovered the remains of a bronze age settlement in 2008.

Archaeological excavation began on the site in March 2009 and soon uncovered the remains of what appeared to be a cremation pit.

By March 2010 this picture of a settlement had developed further.

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Archeology: When did the First Settlers Come to Iceland?

One of the things that makes Iceland unique in Europe is the fact that Icelanders know the year the first settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, came to Iceland from Norway. The Icelandic script, Íslendingabók (Book of Icelanders), written by Ari the wise, tells of the first men coming to Iceland on explorations.

Three expeditions came to Iceland, but the first men who came to Iceland to live there permanently were Ingólfur and Hjörleifur. The two came to Iceland in 874. Hjörleifur was killed by his slaves, which only left Ingólfur and his wife Hallgerdur Fródadóttir. They settled in Reykjavík, now the capital of Iceland. An excavation in the center of Reykjavík seems to indicate that this story might be true. It shows that the remnants of building stem from the year 871+/-2 years. That website is worth examining. It has a number of interactive features and recreates the 871 environment.

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700-year-old cave carvings with links to Knights Templar at risk as worms eat walls

The mystery of the religious decorations that lie underneath the high street of a medieval market town may never be solved if insect infestation cannot be halted

Mysterious carvings inside a hidden cavern linked to the Knights Templar are in danger of disappearing before their riddle is solved. Having survived more than 700 years, the religious decorations in the ancient cave at Royston, Hertfordshire, are under attack from an infestation of worms eating the chalk walls behind them.

The beehive-shaped chamber was hewn out of a 180ft-thick seam of chalk and extends 30ft beneath the centre of the market town, underneath a betting shop. It was uncovered by chance during building work in 1742 and the depictions of biblical scenes and portraits of Christian martyrs inside it have puzzled historians ever since.

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Dunmow students investigate Roman relics

STUDENTS have been digging deep and exploring relics from the past as part of an ongoing school project.

Year seven students from The Helena Romanes School had the chance to play the part of archaeologists for the day with the help of professional Anna Slowikowski from Albion Archaeology in Bedfordshire.

She came along to the Great Dunmow high school to hold workshops with the students on how archaeologists work and to talk about local excavations.

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Pompeii's frozen victims on display

24 August, AD79. The day one volcanic mountain came to life and two cities met their deaths.

Pompeii and the nearby settlement of Herculaneum were consumed by a mixture of heat, falling pumice stone and ash.

Mount Vesuvius, about 9km (5.5 miles) away, had exploded, sending a mass of volcanic debris high into the air, which then landed like a military bombardment on the citizens of the two cities below.

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Ancient Roman gluten death seen Young woman's skeleton shows 'signs of disease'

An Italian doctor claims to have found the first Italian case of death from gluten intolerance in a female skeleton uncovered at an Ancient Roman site.

The skeleton was found in the ancient town of Cosa, today's Ansedonia, in southern Tuscany.

Giovanni Gasbarrini, a doctor at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, examined bone DNA from the woman, who died in the first century AD at the age of 18-20.

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Cows are key to 2,500 years of human progress

Dairy farming is key factor in history of European nutrition, study argues, with Roman empire a net loss

The Romans, as Monty Python famously acknowledged, have done many things for us. Contrary to popular wisdom, however, improving our diet was not one of them.

A study of the remains of almost 20,000 people dating from the 8th century BC to the 18th century AD has found that the Roman empire reduced our level of nutrition, which increased again in the "dark ages".

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Ruins of castle in Suffolk are saved

A major project has been carried out to preserve the ruins of a Suffolk castle.

The ruins of Mettingham Castle, outside Bungay, dating back to 1342, were in a serious state of repair when English Heritage awarded a £290,565 grant.

Gary Griffin from English Heritage said the organisation was asked for advice in 2005 when significant work was needed to secure the towers and walls.

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PROOF THE PLAGUES REALLY DID HAPPEN

FROM water turning into blood to the killing of the first-born, a new study reveals the truth behind the biblical 'Moses myth'.

DID the plagues of ancient Egypt really happen?

According to the Bible, an angry God rained a series of 10 disasters on Pharaoh and his people to force him to release the Hebrews from slavery and let them return, led by Moses, to their promised land. it’s a story that has been celebrated by Jews across the world this week during the Passover festival.

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Roman finds made during work on access road

Pieces of the past have been unearthed during the first stages of construction of the East Kent Access Road.

Archaeologists have found artefacts dating from when the Romans inhabited Thanet, as well from other periods.

The finds from the recent excavations were shown to isle residents at two roadshows from the Trust for Thanet Archaelogy over the weekend.

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Stone Age Scandinavians unable to digest milk

The hunter-gatherers who inhabited the southern coast of Scandinavia 4,000 years ago were lactose intolerant. This has been shown by a new study carried out by researchers at Uppsala University and Stockholm University. The study, which has been published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, supports the researchers' earlier conclusion that today's Scandinavians are not descended from the Stone Age people in question but from a group that arrived later.

"This group of hunter-gatherers differed significantly from modern Swedes in terms of the DNA sequence that we generally associate with a capacity to digest lactose into adulthood," says Anna Linderholm, formerly of the Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, presently at University College Cork, Ireland.

According to the researchers, two possible explanations exist for the DNA differences.

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EMAS Easter Study Tour

Those of you not fortunate enough to be on the EMAS (University of London Extra-Mural Archaeological Society) Easter study tour to the Peaks and Fens area, can follow the trip on the Archaeology Study Tours Blog.

The study tour runs from 1 – 6 April and you can find the Blog here…

Rosslyn Chapel was haven for bees

An ancient chapel has revealed a new mystery with the discovery of a 600-year-old hive built into the stones.

Builders renovating Rosslyn Chapel, which was made famous in The Da Vinci Code, found the "unprecedented" hive while dismantling a rooftop pinnacle.

The bees entered the hive through a hole in a carved flower crafted by the chapel's master stone masons.

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Men owe women for 'creating beer' claims academic

One of man’s great pleasures might be a pint of beer at the local – but an academic has claimed it would never have existed without the entrepreneurial skills of women.

Jane Peyton, 48, and author and historian, said women created beer and for thousands of years it was only they who were allowed to operate breweries and drink beer.

The drink is now almost exclusively marketed to men - with television characters such as Homer Simpson the epitome of the beer-loving male.

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Sarcophaguses found in Georgia

Ancient graves were found in the Urbnisi village of the Kareli region during the construction of a highway. About 20 sarcophaguses were discovered dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries.

Road department representatives invited a group of archaeologists from the Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University to the area to examine the findings. The relevant activities are being implemented by the group chaired by Vakhtang Licheli.

According Licheli, 20 Christian sarcophaguses were found.

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Time Team Old Dock which made Liverpool world port leader to open for public perusal

A massive quayside gateway which turned Liverpool into the world's leading trading port 300 years ago will reopen as a tourist attraction with a series of insider tours for the public.

The Old Dock provided a revolutionary trading route between the Mersey, America and Africa when it was built by visionary canal engineer Thomas Steers in 1715 as a solution to overwhelming ship traffic.

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Rosslyn Chapel discovery is causing a buzz

The ancient Rosslyn Chapel, beloved as the key to mysteries surrounding The Da Vinci Code, the Holy Grail and the Knights Templar, has thrown up another unfathomable puzzle: what lies behind the secret of the bees?

Builders renovating the 600-year-old chapel have discovered two beehives carved within the stonework high on the pinnacles of the roof. They are thought to be the first man-made stone hives ever found.

It appears the hives were carved into the roof when the chapel was built, with the entrance for the bees formed, appropriately, through the centre of an intricately carved stone flower. The hives were found when builders were dismantling and rebuilding the pinnacles for the first time in centuries.

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Transport body confirms digs plan

Archaeological digs will take place at sites proposed for the construction of a new bridge across the Forth, it was revealed.

Transport Scotland has worked with Historic Scotland to identify several areas north and south of the estuary.

A "Time Team" will be appointed to look for historical objects on Government-owned land at St Margaret`s Hope and Echline Fields.

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Ceiling collapse at Nero's golden palace in Rome

Part of the ceiling over the palace of the Roman emperor Nero has collapsed in Rome, prompting fresh concerns over the stability of the ancient complex.

The damaged section at the Domus Aurea (House of Gold) complex was about 60 sq m (645 sq ft), officials say. No-one was injured.

Art official Antonello Vodret said it was one of the biggest collapses at the monument in the past 50 years.

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New Forth crossing to be a bridge to the past

THE NEW Forth crossing will be a bridge to the past as it emerged an archaeological team is to be appointed to the project.

Transport Scotland is to appoint a “time team” to carry out studies on the land needed for the bridge.

Under the year-long project, which starts this summer, the team will recover and record any items of historical interest found.

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