Search for link between mammoth bones and early hunters

Researchers at the University of Kansas have been digging for clues that would tie the remains of a 15,500-year-old mammoth discovered in west-central Kansas with prehistoric human artifacts found nearby.

Researchers excavating the remains of a 15,500-year-old mammoth in west-central Kansas
with prehistoric human artifacts found nearby [Credit: University of Kansas]

The bones and a knapping pile — stone flakes accumulated from tool-making activities —were unearthed in 2011 by heavy equipment terracing a field northeast of Scott City. Found about 50 yards apart, the bones and flakes were in the same shallow layer of sediment.

“It was intriguing to find a knapping pile and mammoth bones close together in the same geologic layer,” said Rolfe Mandel, geoarchaeologist at the Kansas Geological Survey and professor in the KU anthropology department. “If we can determine that the people who created the flakes also killed the mammoth, it will prove that humans were in the Central Plains much earlier than currently proven.”

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Traces of 'lost village' found in Nottinghamshire

Experts say the presence of Medieval pottery suggests the presence a community that possibly dates from before the Norman conquest

Remains of what archaeologists believe is a "lost village" have been found beneath a Nottinghamshire town.

Experts say the presence of cobbled surfaces and Medieval pottery found in the Burgage area of Southwell suggests the presence a community that possibly dates from before the Norman conquest.

Archaeologist Matt Beresford said the work was ongoing and they hoped to find more conclusive evidence.

The dig was backed by a £5,800 Heritage Lottery grant.

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Possible Saxon bread oven found in Norfolk

A 1,300-year-old bread oven could have been discovered by a group of volunteer archaeologists in Norfolk.

The suspected oven could have been used to provide bread for the community [Credit: BBC]

The annual dig in Sedgeford, near Hunstanton, has had about 100 people a week looking for signs of the village's past.

Supervisor Dr John Jolleys said the clay object, which he believes to be a Saxon bread oven, was found about 4ft 11in (1.5m) underground.

"It's rare and very exciting," Dr Jolleys said.

Excavation of the object will continue for the remainder of the dig, which finishes on 16 August.

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Dig at Kent university's Iron Age site

A site which experts believe could be an Iron Age settlement is being excavated on land where the new Turing College at the University of Kent will be built.

An open day on Thursday allowed the public to see items such as a gold coin, a bronze bell and some of 2,500-year-old pottery uncovered so far by the team of 40.

The new college is being named after World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, who grew up in Guildford, Surrey.

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During a recent excavation beneath the streets of London, archaeologists found a total of 1,500 human bodies, many buried hastily in a wave of epidemics that struck the quickly expanding city more than 150 years ago. 

In one coffin, archaeologists came across a grisly mix of bones from at least eight human bodies, many of them cut up and showing evidence of autopsy. But nine of the bone fragments were decidedly not human. They were walrus.

"It came as something of a shock," said Phil Emery, an archaeologist with a company called Ramboll UK, who led the excavation. The nine bone fragments came from a Pacific walrusthat was likely 13 feet (4 meter) long, Emery told LiveScience.

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Roman mosaic may lie beneath Chester’s Dewa Experience building

ARCHAEOLOGISTS says there is the tantalising prospect of a Roman mosaic beneath the Dewa Roman Experience premises in the city centre.

A ongoing dig Pierpoint Lane site, off Bridge Street, has so far exposed an eight metres section of Roman wall next to a courtyard along with the remains of a flue.

The wall would have formed part of a building, of unknown purpose, leading to speculation about what may lie behind the wall in the centre of the former premises.

Archaeologist Mike Emery has been told by building owner Peter Dentith that someone who helped construct the 1960s building on the site insists a Roman mosaic was found at the time “but quickly covered up”.

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Viking Jewelry Unearthed in Denmark

A copper alloy piece of jewelry found at a Viking-age site in Denmark shows an animal figure with a beadlike chain around its neck.

Several pieces of Viking jewelry, some of which contain gold, have been uncovered at a farm site in Denmark that dates as far back as 1,300 years.

Although the Vikings have a popular reputation as being raiders, they were also farmers, traders and explorers, and the craftsmanship seen in this jewelry demonstrates their artistic skills.

Archaeologists working with volunteers used metal detectors to find the jewelry in different spots throughout a farmstead on Zealand, the largest island in Denmark. The remains of the site, which is now called Vestervang, date from the late seventh to the early 11th centuries.

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Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Roman Capital in Macedonia

Although the ancient site known as Stobi in central Macedonia has been the subject of numerous excavations and research over the past century, only 15- 20 percent of its remains have been uncovered. Since 2008, however, renewed excavations under the auspices of the Balkan Heritage Foundation have been busy opening a new window on an ancient Roman city that, for a time, was a major center of trade and commerce.

Now, a team of archaeologists, students and volunteers will be returning to the site in August of 2013 to continue unearthing the northern residential section of the city, near a center that has already yielded such remains as a large theater, a city wall, a forum, a synagogue, a baptistry and a water supply system. During recent excavation seasons archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a necropolis (in use from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD) and an ancient temple dated to the 2nd and 3rd centuries  AD.  Write the project directors about their plans: "The excavations in 2011 and 2012 were focused on the Northern Residential Area of Ancient Stobi, inhabited from the Late Hellenistic till the Late Roman period. Further excavations at the same area are planned for next season in conjunction with the efforts of the National Institute (NI) Stobi in order to preserve and display this part of the site. The layers to be studied in 2013 mainly include the Roman and Late Roman periods of the existing ancient neighborhood."*

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Archaeological finds reveal prehistoric civilization along Silk Road

Archaeologists have unearthed relics that suggest prehistoric humans lived along the Silk Road long before it was created about 2,000 years ago as a pivotal Eurasian trade network.

An excavation project that started in 2010 on ruins in northwest China's Gansu Province has yielded evidence that people who lived on the west bank of the Heihe River 4,100 to 3,600 years ago were able to grow crops and smelt copper, the researchers said.

The site is believed to date back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC - AD 220).

Over the past three years, archaeologists have discovered a variety of copper items, as well as equipment used to smelt metal, said Chen Guoke, a researcher with the Gansu Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

"People back then mainly dealt with red metal. They also began to make alloys," said Chen, who is in charge of the excavation project.

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Ancient Technology for Metal Coatings 2,000 Years Ago Can't Be Matched Even Today

How artisans centuries ago achieved sophisticated gilding, such as on the St. Ambrogio golden altar from 825 AD, is now coming to light. (Credit: American Chemical Society)

Artists and craftsmen more than 2,000 years ago developed thin-film coating technology unrivaled even by today's standards for producing DVDs, solar cells, electronic devices and other products. Understanding these sophisticated metal-plating techniques from ancient times, described in the ACS journal Accounts of Chemical Research, could help preserve priceless artistic and other treasures from the past.

Gabriel Maria Ingo and colleagues point out that scientists have made good progress in understanding the chemistry of many ancient artistic and other artifacts -- crucial to preserve them for future generations. Big gaps in knowledge remained, however, about how gilders in the Dark Ages and other periods applied such lustrous, impressively uniform films of gold or silver to intricate objects. Ingo's team set out to apply the newest analytical techniques to uncover the ancients' 

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Mycenaean frescoes found in Boeotian Thebes

Season 2013 of the excavations taking place at the site of Kadmeia in Boeotian Thebes in central Greece has been completed bringing to light a series of impressive finds, including Mycenaean frescoes and a Late Antique mosaic, according to a local newspaper’s report.

Mosaic from Thebes dating to the 4th century AD [Credit: Boiotiki Ora]

As stated by “Boiotiki Ora” newspaper, one of the most impressive finds is the mosaic floor depicting marine landscape, which came to light in Antigonis Street. According to the Emeritus Head of the Ephorate and head of the excavation team dr Vassilis Aravantinos, the mosaic dates to the 4th century AD, sharing the same dating with similar mosaics located during the past in Pindarou Street and the Stamatis Plot.

Two meters further and to the left of the mosaic, the excavators hit the destruction layer of the Mycenaean palace. 

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Spanish dig in the Atapuerca caves seeks prehistoric ancestors of Europeans

With trowels and paintbrushes, dozens of archaeologists in white hard-hats patiently sift the reddish-brown earth in the caves of Atapuerca, searching for remains a million years old.

Workers carry out an excavation at the Gran Dolonia site in the caves of Atapuerca on July 11, 2013. With trowels and paintbrushes, dozens of archaeologists in white hard-hats patiently sift the reddish-brown earth, searching for remains a million years old [Credit: Cesar Manso/AFP]

From under strata spanning hundreds of millenia at this site in northern Spain, they unearth ancient mouse bones and the teeth of horses -- but what they most hope for is a sign of prehistoric humans that could write a new chapter in our evolution.

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Medieval area of Roman Imperial Forum uncovered

Medieval remains in the Imperial Forum that include a workshop are most likely from the 8th century AD, archaeologists from Rome's Roma Tre university said on Tuesday. 

Medieval structures unearthed in the Imperial Forum include homes
and a blacksmith's workshop [Credit: ANSA]

"The remains found in the Temple of Peace (Tempio della Pace) area are probably related to blacksmith activity," professor Riccardo Santangeli Valenzani said.

Another area from the Middle Ages, dating back to approximately the 14th century AD, was most likely a housing complex or residential area, Valenzani said.

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Corinium’s dead – Excavating Cirencester’s Tetbury Road Roman cemetery

Recent excavations just beyond the walls of Roman Cirencester revealed the unexpected survival of parts of a town cemetery. Neil Holbrook, Ed McSloy and Jonny Geber explained to Matthew Symonds the results of our best glimpse of Corinium’s occupants for 40 years.

It started as a watching brief in 2011. Although Bridges Garage in Cirencester was known to lie on the site of a former Roman cemetery, it was believed that deep petrol tanks had long since destroyed any archaeology. When the garage was originally built in the 1960s on open ground beside Tetbury Road, in Cirencester’s western outskirts, it triggered salvage recording by Richard Reece. He managed to record 46 cremation burials and eight inhumations as the site was dug away around him. Fiftyyears later, as the bulldozers rolled in once more, it quickly became apparent that pockets of the Roman cemetery had survived intact. Cotswold Archaeology duly assembled an excavation team.

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Life story in a tooth

Most child health experts agree that a minimum of six months of breastfeeding is essential for the welfare of growing babies, although how well such recommendations are carried out widely varies across the globe. Less is known about the breastfeeding habits of other primates — and much less still about those of prehistoric humans. A research team now reports a new technique for accurately detecting when babies were weaned, using chemical signatures in their teeth. The method was successfully applied to the tooth of a Neanderthal child, raising the possibility that researchers could decipher the life histories of our evolutionary cousins and even gain insights into why they went extinct.

Fossils of prehistoric humans and other primates are relatively rare because bone does not last well in most environments. Teeth, on the other hand, are hard and strong enough to survive through the ages, and they are often found at palaeontological and archaeological sites. Researchers have worked diligently to extract information from ancient teeth. Palaeontologists recently reported finding the teeth of the earliest apes, and archaeologists have used chemical isotopes in the teeth of early farmers to track their movements across the landscape.

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Gene breakthrough shows Neanderthals in new light

WHEN Neanderthal bones were discovered in the 19th century, their robust build and heavy brows led palaeontologists to characterise them as brutish, and their name is still pejorative today.

Since then, we have found ample circumstantial evidence to suggest this stereotype is far from fair. Tools, jewellery and even cosmetics discovered among Neanderthal bones suggest that they were uncannily like us – a view strengthened when their genome was sequenced, showing a remarkable genetic overlap.

Now the Neanderthal epigenome – the system of on/off switches that modify gene activity – has been deciphered (see "First look into workings of the Neanderthal brain"), allowing us to directly assess the mental life of our extinct cousins for the first time.

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Roman dig in Maryport reveals ancient temple

Archaeologists in one of the trenches at the dig Credit: ITV News Border

Archaeologists at a Roman dig in Maryport have been showing off what they have found in their third year of excavations on the site.

The team, from the Senhouse Museum Trust and Newcastle University, have two years of work left to do.

Professor Ian Haynes, from Newcastle University said:

"We've opened three trenches here at Marport this year and we are currently in the trench that has opened up a classic Roman temple.

"It is the finest classical temple in the north-west of England. In fact it is the north-western most Classic temple in the Roman world."

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Viking legends to retell stories of old at Jorvik Centre

The gathering of legendary Viking heroes at the Jorvik Centre, clockwise from top, Eric Bloodaxe, warrior woman Lathgertha, Aud the Deep Minded, King Cnut the Great, King Harald Bluetooth and King Orry of Man

NINE heroes and a skeleton will take up residence at the Jorvik Viking Centre to give visitors an insight into the great deeds and battles of the past.

Legendary warrior and campaigner Eric Bloodaxe, warrior woman Lathgerda, warrior man Sweyn Forkbeard, adventurer Harald Hardrada, explorer Leif the Lucky and King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark are among nine big names from Viking and pre-Norman English history who will be among the star attractions of the centre’s Heroes exhibition.

They will answer questions from visitors and talk to them in between taking over its Twitter feed.

The exhibition will also include items to illustrate the lifestyle of a Viking hero, including a skeleton unearthed at Fishergate which may belong to a warrior killed at the Battle of Fulford in 1066 and several tenth century stones that may have covered a grave of a fallen hero or rich patron.

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Hemerdon tungsten mine: Bronze Age axe and pottery found

Bronze Age pottery and a "very rare" axe have been found at the site of a future tungsten mine near Plymouth.

Wolf Minerals, the firm behind the development of Hemerdon mine, has provided £1m towards the four year archaeological project as part of the planning agreement.

The dig will end later this year, with the company hoping to begin mining by the end of 2014.

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Archaeology uncovers amazing finds in West Sussex

Bronze Age settlements and Neolithic pottery are some of the finds made by UCL archaeologists during the construction of major new sea defences inland at Medmerry between Selsey and Bracklesham in West Sussex.

Once the fieldwork is complete, the archive of artefacts will be submitted to Chichester Museum.

Sussex has some of the earliest British Neolithic monuments, but recent discoveries have now doubled the number of known features of this date from non-monumental sites on the Sussex coast, heralding an important development in understanding the nature of the Sussex in the Neolithic era.

Other finds include three large and two small circular Bronze-age houses, water management features, and a cremation cemetery. It would appear that a large area of Bronze Age landscape has been preserved at Medmerry under sediments and other deposits and the site has the potential to preserve wooden structures, such as a section of wattle work recorded at the base of a Bronze Age well, which has been carbon dated to c. 1,100 BC. Other features were dated by finds of Bronze Age pottery.

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Ice Age Figurine's Head Found: Archaeologists Put New and Old Finds Together to Reassemble Ancient Work of Art

A lion figurine carved from mammoth ivory, now with refitted head. Found at Vogelherd Cave in southwestern Germany. Approx. 40,000 years old. (Credit: H. Jensen. Copyright University of Tübingen)

Researchers from the University of Tübingen have successfully re-attached the newly discovered head of a prehistoric mammoth-ivory figurine discovered in 1931. The head was found during renewed excavations at Vogelherd Cave, site of the original dig in 1931. The recent excavations, between 2005 and 2012, have yielded a number of important finds. The discovery of this ivory head helps to complete a figurine which now can be recognized as a lion -- and demonstrates that it is possible to reassemble often fragmentary figurines from the earlier excavation.

The new discovery is presented in the 2013 edition of the journalArchäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg.

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D-REAMS CAN SHED NEW LIGHT ON THE DISTANT PAST

(left) Field photograph of two skeletons (adult on left, adolescent on right) during excavation. Photo: E. Gerstein, Haifa University (right) Reconstruction of the double burial at the time of inhumation. The bright veneer inside the grave on the right is partially covered by green plants

When did people first begin to express their feelings with flowers? It turns out that in prehistoric times, Mount Carmel residents in what today is northern Israel buried their dead on a literal bed of fragrant wild flowers, such as Judean sage, as well as blooming plants of the mint and figwort families.

Assuming they had the same positive associations with flowers that we do today, these ancient humans must have sought to ensure for the deceased a pleasant passage from the world of the living.

The discovery is the oldest known use of flowers in grave lining. According to radiocarbon dating performed by Dr. Elisabetta Boaretto at the Weizmann Institute of Science, the graves are 11,700 to 13,700 years old.

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6,000-year-old decorative wood carving unearthed on Welsh mountainside

Decorative wood carving found in Maerdy is believed to be one of the oldest ever recovered in Europe as it dates back 6,270 years

Archaeologists have unearthed what is believed to be one of Europe's oldest decorative wood carvings - dating back more than 6,000 - on a Valleys hillside.

The decorative carving was exposed by workmen during the construction of Maerdy Wind Farm in the Rhondda Valley.

Richard Scott Jones, an archaeologist from Heritage Recording Services Wales, said the piece of wood was “priceless” and would be unveiled to the public at the National History Museum in St Fagans next year.

He said the wood is likely to date back 6,270 years to the Late Mesolithic/Early Neolithic period.

“In archaeological circles, this is the is equivalent to winning the lottery,” he said.

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Paris mansion Hotel Lambert seriously damaged by fire

Breaking into the roof to fight the fire

A fire has damaged the landmark 17th-Century Hotel Lambert in Paris.

Dozens of firefighters tackled the blaze, which broke out overnight on the roof of the riverside mansion in the centre of the French capital.

The building was being renovated after its purchase by a Qatari prince in 2007.

Located on the World Heritage-listed Seine embankment, the mansion was once home to the 18th Century philosopher Voltaire.

It took six hours for the fire brigade to put out the blaze, which started in an area below the rooftop which emergency services found difficult to access.

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Primitive human society 'not driven by war'

Some have said war is an innate part of human behaviour - but this research suggests otherwise

Primitive society was not driven by war, scientists believe.

Researchers from Abo Academy University in Finland say that violence in early human communities was driven by personal conflicts rather than large-scale battles.

They say their findings suggest that war is not an innate part of human nature, but rather a behaviour that we have adopted more recently.

The study is published in the journal Science.

Patrik Soderberg, an author of the study, said: "This research questions the idea that war was ever-present in our ancestral past. It paints another picture where the quarrels and aggression were primarily about interpersonal motives instead of groups fighting against each other."

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A tantalizing hint of an ancient trading town

When archaeologists Geir Grønnesby and Ellen Grav Ellingsen found these and other artefacts during a dig in mid-Norway, they realized they had intriguing evidence of a Viking-age trading area mentioned in the Norse Sagas.

The finds came from two separate boat graves in an area in Nord-Trøndelag County called Lø, a farm in part of Steinkjer. The archaeologists, who both work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's University Museum, were there to conduct a routine investigation required because of an upgrade to Norway's main national highway, the E6.

But instead of a simple highway dig, the researchers found themselves with a potential answer to an unsolved puzzle about a mysterious Viking trading place that is named in ancient sagas, but that has never before been located.

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One More Homo Species? 3D-Comparative Analysis Confirms Status of Homo Floresiensis as Fossil Human Species

Ever since the discovery of the remains in 2003, scientists have been debating whether Homo floresiensis represents a distinct Homo species, possibly originating from a dwarfed island Homo erectus population, or a pathological modern human. The small size of its brain has been argued to result from a number of diseases, most importantly from the condition known as microcephaly.

Based on the analysis of 3-D landmark data from skull surfaces, scientists from Stony Brook University New York, the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen, and the University of Minnesota provide compelling support for the hypothesis that Homo floresiensis was a distinct Homo species.

The study, titled "Homo floresiensiscontextualized: a geometric morphometric comparative analysis of fossil and pathological human samples," is published in the July 10 edition of PLOS ONE.

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Help float the Dover Bronze Age boat!

Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT) is using the crowd-funding site Kickstarter to raise funds towards a replica of the Dover Bronze Age boat. 

Working on the Dover Bronze Age boat replica [Credit: CAT]

The replica sewn-plank boat has already been built using oak timbers, bronze tools and authentic techniques but more funding is needed to take it to sea for the first time. 

Although half-scale, the boat measures 8m long and weighs about a ton. Having acted as the centrepiece of a major exhibition which has toured France and Belgium, the replica boat now needs to be stripped down and re-stitched ahead of taking it to sea.

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A new study says Europe's first farmers used far more sophisticated practices than was previously thought. A research team led by the University of Oxford has found that Neolithic farmers manured and watered their crops as early as 6,000 BC.

Partial ear of naked barley from Hornstaad-Hoernle, south-west Germany
[Credit: Copyright Ian Cartwright/Oxford University]

It had always been assumed that manure wasn't used as a fertiliser until Iron Age and Roman times. However, this new research shows that enriched levels of nitrogen-15, a stable isotope abundant in manure, have been found in the charred cereal grains and pulse seeds taken from 13 Neolithic sites around Europe.

The findings are published in the early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study suggests that Neolithic farmers used the dung from their herds of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs as a slow release fertiliser for crops.

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Vikings held political summits across Europe

Fancy clothes, gifts and weapons acted as important status symbols in political negotiations in the Viking Age. (Photo: Asbjørn Mølgaard Sørensen)

What do Angela Merkel and Harald Bluetooth, the Viking King of the Danes, have in common? Merkel is probably guilty of less pillaging than old Harald, but she participates in numerous political meetings throughout Europe – and so did Harald and the other Viking kings.

The kings were politicians who knew about political spin and who built up internal networks, explains Anne Pedersen, an archaeologist and curator at the National Museum of Denmark, which currently hosts a major exhibition about Vikings.

One of the main themes of the exhibition is power and international alliances:

”When the Vikings formed alliances, they did it much like we do today,” says Pedersen. “They made themselves visible on the political scene and they met with their peers at what we could call political summits where they formed networks and alliances.”

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CLUES FROM AN ANCIENT VIKING TRADING CENTRE

It was a routine archaeological dig necessitated by the expansion of Norway’s main north-south highway the E6 just north of Trondheim, the country’s third largest city. But the finds surprised archaeologists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s University Museum, who now believe they have solved a centuries-old puzzle posed in Norse sagas.

When archaeologists Geir Grønnesby and Ellen Grav Ellingsen found a silver button and a set of balance scales along with other artefacts during a dig in mid-Norway they realized they had intriguing evidence of a Viking-age trading area mentioned in the Norse Sagas.

Boat graves

The finds came from two separate boat graves in an area in Nord-Trøndelag County called Lø, a farm in part of Steinkjer.

“These finds got us thinking about the descriptions in the Sagas that describe Steinkjer as a trading place,” the researchers wrote of their findings in Vitark, an academic journal published by the University Museum. “The Sagas say that Steinkjer, under the rule of Eirik Jarl, was briefly even more important than Nidaros, before Olav Haraldsson re-established Nidaros as the king’s residence and trading city.”

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Roman mosaics discovered in Amasya

Archaeological excavations in theBlack Sea province of Amasya have revealed 2,000-year-old mosaics with kilim-like motifs that are believed to date back from the Roman period. 

The excavations are being carried out by the Amasya Museum Directorate in the Yavru village. Officials said that the mosaics with kilim motifs were “unique.” 

Çorum-based Hitit University Black Sea Archaeology Research and Practice Center Deputy Director Associate Professor Esra Keskin said the mosaics that had been found in a palace-like place had a different design when compared to the other artifacts in the same era. 

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Excavations at Yoros Castle to move to military zone

The only Byzantine castle in Istanbul, Yoros Castle, is once again hosting archaeological excavation teams this year. The team has asked to work in the lower castle part within the military area and is seeking permission from officials

Excavations that began in 2012 in Istanbul’s remaining Byzantine castle, Yoros, could soon continue in a restricted military zone pending approval from army officials. 

“The lower part of the castle is within the borders of the military area, and military housing complexes are there. We want to work in this military area because the castle should be handled as a whole,” said Professor Asnu Bilban Yalçın, who is heading an excavation team of 30 people in collaboration with the Culture and Tourism Ministry and Istanbul University. “The Yoros Castle has historic importance. I believe that we will find many things in the other part. We demand officials give permission for us to work there.”

Yalçın said excavations had started on July 1 this year and that they would work for two months within the castle, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. “We started working with an environmental cleaning. It has taken so long. Then we will start archaeological works.”

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'World's oldest calendar' discovered in Scottish field

An artist's impression of Warren Field about 10,000 years ago showing burning material in one of the "calendar's" pits

Archaeologists believe they have discovered the world's oldest lunar "calendar" in an Aberdeenshire field.

Excavations of a field at Crathes Castle found a series of 12 pits which appear to mimic the phases of the moon and track lunar months.

A team led by the University of Birmingham suggests the ancient monument was created by hunter-gatherers about 10,000 years ago.

The pit alignment, at Warren Field, was first excavated in 2004.

The experts who analysed the pits said they may have contained a wooden post.

The Mesolithic "calendar" is thousands of years older than previous known formal time-measuring monuments created in Mesopotamia.

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The world's first calendar discovered in Scottish field

Humans had a sophisticated calendrical system thousands of years earlier than previously thought, according to new research. The discovery is based on a detailed analysis of data from an archaeological site at Crathes Castle (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) - a row of ancient pits which archaeologists believe is the world's oldest calendar.

     The pit alignment, at Warren Field, was first excavated in 2004 - now a team led by the University of Birmingham suggests the ancient monument was created by hunter-gatherers about 10,000 years ago. Archaeologists believe that the complex of pits was designed to represent the months of the year and the lunar phases of the month. They believe it also allowed the observation of the mid-winter sunrise so that the lunar calendar could be annually re-calibrated to bring it back into line with the solar year. 
 
     Remarkably the monument was in use for some 4,000 years and the pits were periodically re-cut over those four millennia. It is therefore impossible to know whether or not they originally held timber posts or standing stones after they were first dug 10,000 years ago. However variations in the depths of the pits suggest that the arc had a complex design - with each lunar month potentially divided into three roughly ten day 'weeks' - representing the waxing moon, the gibbous/full moon and the waning moon.

     The  50 metre long row of 12 main pits was arranged as an arc facing a v-shaped dip in the horizon out of which the sun rose on mid-winter's day. There are 12.37 lunar  cycles (lunar months) in a solar year - and the archaeologists believe that each pit represented a particular month, with the entire arc representing a year. 

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‘Call in Time Team to discover Grimescar Wood’s Roman secret’

COULD there be a Roman settlement buried under a Huddersfield wood?

Archaeology enthusiast Stephen Priest, of Aspley, believes Grimescar Wood, near Birkby, could hide an ancient secret.

A kiln from around 100AD was first found by colliers in 1580 and then rediscovered in 1955 by school pupils.

Indeed an archaeological dig in 1964 uncovered ancient bowls, flagons and jars.

But Mr Priest, a retired optician, believes an associated settlement lies a stone’s throw from the pottery factory.

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Archaeological dig to hunt for castle origins

An archaeological dig is to take place in a Cornwall park this month in the hope of discovering more about the castle that once stood there.

Organised by the Caradon Hill Area Heritage Project, the five-day event in Castle Park, Liskeard, will run from July15-19.

Organisers hope the project could uncover hidden treasures such as Roman forts, Iron Age hill forts, or Bronze Age cairns.

Project officer Iain Rowe said preparations for the dig are well under way.
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