Saturday, September 11, 2004
Ancient bones may be Iron Age
A TEAM of archaeologists working in East Yorkshire has made more exciting discoveries.
The Evening Press reported last month how diggers excavating the site near Pocklington unearthed fragments of a human skeleton which almost certainly dated back to Roman times.
Now work has been extended after human remains were found that could date back centuries earlier, to the Iron Age, possibly around the year 300BC.
Archaeologists are almost certain a Roman-era skeleton and Roman pottery have also been recovered, in a dig which excited experts are already hailing as "significant".
This is York
Roman ships update from Naples
The first step of their restoration, an estimated five years, took place today, with the removal of the first ship from the sand and slime that protected them for centuries. Two of the three ships from the Imperial Age were taken away for a large crane from the subway station being built in Piazza Municipio in Naples. The delicate operation, done with companies which won the bid for the job and the Naples and Caserta Archaeological Superintendent, started today with the removal of the first hull, 12 meters long and weighing 21 tons in its fibreglass conservation shell, and its transport to a specially made warehouse in Piscinola, a northern suburb of the city.
Cronaca
Viking burial ground dispels myth of longship marauders
A Viking burial ground, which has held bodies undisturbed for 1,000 years with all the trappings of the Sagas including swords, jewellery and firemaking materials, has been uncovered in Cumbria, after a chance find by a metal detector.
The site - thought to contain the first formal burial of bodies discovered in England - is believed to date from the 10th century, when the Vikings had been Christianised, but were evidently still hedging their bets.
Guardian
DNA shows Scots and Irish should look to Spain for their ancestry
THE Irish and Scots may be as closely related to the people of Spain and Portugal as the Celts of central Europe.
Historians have long believed the British Isles were invaded by Iron Age Celts from central Europe in about 500 BC. But geneticists at Dublin’s Trinity College now claim the Scots and Irish have as much, if not more, in common with the people of north-western Spain.
The Scotsman
Friday, September 10, 2004
The Norse Burial Ground in Cumwhitton, Cumbria
A number of exceptionally rare Viking burials, probably dating from the early 10th century, have recently been discovered on farmland at Cumwhitton, Cumbria. Excavations carried out by Oxford Archaeology North found six richly furnished graves, containing swords, spears, jewellery and the remains of spurs and a possible horse harness. Other than a small fragment of skull no human bone had survived in the acid soil conditions, but the objects found in the graves suggest that four men and two women had been buried here.
Oxford Archaeology
ROMAN START TO HERITAGE EVENT
Archaeologists working on the new three-year dig at the site will tomorrow show members of The Explorers’ Club the tricks of the trade.
The youngsters, aged eight-16, will be taught basic excavation techniques and finds processing between 10am and 11.30am and then from 1.30pm-3pm.
Chester History and Heritage and Chester Civic Trust have brought together 36 buildings and events across the district for this year’s nationwide Heritage Open Days weekend.
The buildings involved will open their doors to the public free of charge from September 10-13.
l Yearly Explorers Club membership includes a quarterly newsletter, a members-only event every month, free family events throughout the year and information about other local events. More details from Jane at Chester Archaeology on 01244 402009.
Chester Now
Abbey aims to open doors to the public
COMBERMERE Abbey is opening its doors and parkland to the public for several events this weekend
The Abbey will open for tours as part of the Heritage Open Days festival, a nationwide celebration of England's historic architecture and culture, today (Friday), for tours at 2pm and 4pm; and on Monday for tours at 10am and noon.
Admission is free but pre-booking is essential on 01948 662880 as each tour will cater for a maximum of 25 people
I C Cheshire On-line
Public support sought to save Viking site
THE city’s long awaited bypass should not be constructed at the expense of the internationally significant archaeological site recently discovered at Woodstown on the outskirts of the city.
That’s the claim of the Socialist Workers Party who are hosting a public meeting in the Granville Hotel, on September 16 at which a campaign will be launched to save the Viking Site. Speakers at the meeting which gets underway at 8 p.m. includethe well known local historian and writer, Jack O’Neill, and a Dublin based archaeologist, Paula Geragthy. The Woodstown Viking Site, discovered during preparations for the Waterford bypass has been described as the most significant new find in Viking studies in perhaps a century, by Professor Donnchadh O’Corrain, medieval historian at UCC, and “Ireland’s equivalent of Pompeii” by archaeologist John Maas.
Waterford News
Lincolnshire Archaeology Day, 9 October 2004
The conference takes place on Saturday 9 October from 9.45am till 5pm, at the Riseholme campus of the University of Lincoln (c2 miles north of the city, off the A15). This year's theme wil be Lincs Archaeology 70 years after C W Phillips' famous survey 'The Present State of Archaeology in Lincolnshire'.
Megalithic Portal
Death, burial and metalworking at Westray's Knowe o' Skea
The summer of 2000 saw excavations begin on what were soon to become two of Orkney's most enigmatic archaeological sites. While Minehowe in Tankerness attracted most of the attention, out in Westray, work on the Knowe o' Skea on Berstness began almost unnoticed.
Megalithic Portal
30,000 tourists visit Malta for its archaeology
The Malta Tourism Authority recently compiled a report about the temple complex of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra temples. The report presents the results of a year-long survey which was carried out among over 850 tourists visiting the temples, with the aim of gathering information on the current visitor experience at the temple sites.
Independent On-Line
MARMO AFRICANO PER IL PERISTILIO DELLA VILLA DI AUGUSTO
Il rinvenimento è stato fatto da una equipe archeologica giapponese a Somma Vesuviana durante lo scavo della villa dove si pensa sia morto l’imperatore Augusto. Le indagini hanno riportato alla luce anche una testa di Dioniso e il timpano di una Basilica.
Cultural Web
Thursday, September 09, 2004
METAL DETECTORIST'S FIND LEADS TO "HAUNTING" VIKING BURIAL GROUND
A chance find by a metal detectorist has led to the discovery of an extremely rare Viking burial site, containing the graves of four men and two women.
The site, near Cumwhitton in Cumbria, is believed to date from the early 10th century and was unearthed in March this year after local metal detectorist Peter Adams found two copper brooches.
Peter reported his discovery to the local Portable Antiquities Scheme Finds Liaison Officer, Faye Simpson, and, as he put it: "Finding the brooches was just the beginning."
Experts from Oxford Archaeology North were brought in and with the help of English Heritage began further excavations.
24 Hour Museum News
'Amazing' Viking cemetery found
Archaeologists have made what is believed to be the first discovery of a Viking burial site in England.
The burial ground is described as being among the most significant discoveries made in the UK in the past 100 years.
The location, containing the bodies of four men and two women, was found outside the village of Cumwhitton, near Carlisle by local metal enthusiast Peter Adams.
The site is believed to date back to the 10th Century.
BBC News
Medieval graveyard uncovered in Oslo's Old City
On the weekend the Medieval Park in Oslo's Gamlebyen (Old City) district played host to 30,000 concert-goers dancing the days away at the annual Øya festival. On Tuesday archaeologists dug up 44 skeletons nearby - from a depth of just 40 centimeters (15.7 inches). . .
Archeologists have long believed that the skeletons in this area belonged to a Dominican monastery located here from 1240 until the Reformation in 1537. The discovery of skeletons from women and young children mingled with the monk's remains came as a surprise. . .
Archeologists believe that the old graveyard at Olavskirken may conceal 500 skeletons
Cronaca
Experts Hail Viking Burial Site Find
Archaeologists have excavated an “extremely important” Viking burial ground in Cumbria, it was announced today.
The burial site of six Viking men and women, complete with swords, spears, jewellery, fire-making materials and riding equipment, was discovered near Cumwhitton.
It is believed to date back to the early 10th Century and was discovered at the end of March when amateur archaeologist Peter Adams found two copper brooches with a metal detector.
The Scotsman
Viking grave discovery 'the find of a lifetime'
British archaeologists said they had excavated an "extremely important" burial site of six Viking men and women, complete with swords, spears, jewellery, fire-making materials and riding gear.
The site in Cumbria, northern England, is believed to date back to the 10th century and was discovered at the end of March when an amateur archaeologist found two copper brooches with a metal detector.
ABC News On-line
Experts Hail Viking Burial Site Find
Archaeologists have excavated an “extremely important” Viking burial ground in Cumbria, it was announced today.
The burial site of six Viking men and women, complete with swords, spears, jewellery, fire-making materials and riding equipment, was discovered near Cumwhitton.
It is believed to date back to the early 10th Century and was discovered at the end of March when amateur archaeologist Peter Adams found two copper brooches with a metal detector.
The Scotsman
4000 year old longhouse found in Norway
Archaeology students working on a summer dig at Alta, Finnmark county in the far north of Norway have uncovered the foundations of an ancient longhouse.
Believed to be 4000 years old, the longhouse was more than 10 metres long and would have housed 10-12 people. Evidence was found for two fireplaces in the middle of the longhouse.
Other artefacts associated with the longhouse included flint knives, axes and daggers, and also two possible grave sites.
Stone Pages
Neolithic homes unearthed in Northern Ireland
A cemetery of eight early Bronze Age ring ditch barrow cremation burials, dating to 1800 BC, have been excavated and recorded, following three months of work by 12 archaeologists, is one of a number of prehistoric settlements that have been discovered in County Down (Northern Ireland). Neolithic homes, which date to 4000 BCE, were also uncovered by archaeologists along the A1 road near Newry. Evidence from the excavation is being preserved before work begins on upgrading the road at Loughbrickland.
Stone Pages
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