Thursday, January 13, 2005
Chariot track will be protected
THE lead archaeologist at a groundbreaking dig in Britain's oldest recorded town has issued reassurances about the future of the site.
The move comes after Colchester MP Bob Russell called for national heritage bodies to take action to make sure the town's recently discovered chariot racetrack was preserved for generations to come.
Mr Russell made his comments in an early day motion published in yesterday's order paper at the House of Commons.
The motion called for the recognition of the national importance of the discovery and the fact it was within the former Colchester Garrison boundaries, an area that was sold by the Ministry of Defence for housing development.
EADT
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Committee receives 2,000 submissions against Tara motorway
Heritage campaigners have delivered 2,000 submissions to the Oireachtas Transport Committee opposing plans to build a motorway through the historic landscape surrounding the Hill of Tara in Co Meath.
The submissions were collected by the Save Tara-Skryne Valley group at various locations throughout Ireland over the weekend.
The group is campaigning for a re-routing of the M3 motorway away from the Tara-Skryne Valley, which is rich with archaeology dating back to the Stone Age.
Online IE News
Visit the Save Tara/Skryne Valley Campaign Website
Greece's National Archaeological Museum Renovated
Staff of Greece's National Archaeological Museum are seen at its renovated entrance, Athens 11 January 2005. Part of Greece's most celebrated museum, which displays some of the country's biggest archaeological treasures, was closed after a 1999 earthquake. The construction of the museum was begun in 1866 and completed in 1889 with the gradual addition of the west wing in 1874, of the north in 1881, of the south in 1885 and finally, of the east wing. The building was erected in a large plot donated by Helen Tositsa, with the financial support of Demetrios and Nicolaos Vernardakis, the Archaeological Society and the Greek state.
Art Daily
SHOW ME: KIDS' ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE BRINGS IN THE CROWDS
Young archaeologists and their families from across the UK braved wild and windy weather to attend an international conference in York on Saturday January 8.
The event was held at Yorkshire Museum and was organised by the Young Archaeologists' Club (YAC).
Guests were treated to hands-on archaeological activities, as well as talks by top archaeologist Julian Richards and Tony Pollard and Neil Oliver of Two Men In A Trench fame.
To get the full lowdown on what happened throughout the day, pay a visit to the BAFTA-nominated 24 Hour Museum Kids' Zone www.show.me.uk.
24 Hour Museum News
Trees threaten Iron Age hill fort
Conservation work is to be carried out on an Iron Age hillfort in North Somerset to save an ancient monument.
The site at Weston Woods near Weston-super-Mare is being destroyed by trees planted on the hillside in the early 19th Century.
There are concerns that the roots are prising apart the important archaeological structures.
The Forestry Commission has given North Somerset Council permission to fell the trees, which will take two months.
BBC News
Ancient Astronomer's Work Found on Roman Statue
A Roman statue of Atlas -- the mythical titan who carried the heavens on his shoulders -- holds clues to the long-lost work of the ancient astronomer Hipparchus, an astronomical historian said on Tuesday.
The statue in question is known as the Farnese Atlas, a 7-foot tall marble work which resides in the Farnese Collection in the National Archeological Museum in Naples, Italy.
What makes it important to scientists is not the titan's muscular form but the globe he supports: carved constellations adorn its surface in exactly the locations Hipparchus would have seen in his day, suggesting that the sculptor based the globe on the ancient astronomer's star catalog, which no modern eyes have seen
Reuters
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Save the Macclesfield Psalter
"The National Art Collections Fund is spearheading the campaign to save
the remarkable 14th-century Macclesfield Psalter for the Fitzwilliam Museum,
Cambridge.
The Macclesfield Psalter is a jewel-like treasury consisting of 252
richly-illustrated pages providing a fascinating record of medieval
English humour, and teeming with highly surreal and imaginative marginal
illustrations. This exquisite manuscript was sold to the Getty Museum,
California, at auction in June for £1,717,335. However, the Government’s
export system, which recognised the outstanding importance of the Psalter to
this country, gave the UK the chance to match this sum.
As of today, only £96,511 more needs to be raised in order to keep the
Macclesfield Psalter on view in the UK for all to see. We have until
10 February 2005 to raise the remaining funds.
Every donation is vital in helping us to bridge the final funding gap.
We would be extremely grateful if you could mention this appeal on your website,
and we are happy to provide a return link to your website."
To find out more, go to The Art Fund Save the Psalter Appeal
Next step in castle proposal
A CONSERVATION study is to be carried out at Knaresborough Castle by English Heritage.
Commissioned by the Museum and Arts Department at Harrogate Borough Council, the Conservation Plan will take approximately six months to complete and will look at the suitability of the area for the proposed Performance Area.
First voiced as a way of marking the millennium by local businessman Terry Maude and subsequently taken on board by Knaresborough Town Council, the purpose-built outdoor Performing Arts Area would be a permanent structure situated in the castle grounds.
However, the scheme has met with numerous setbacks but it is hoped following the conclusions of the study that decisions can then be made by Harrogate Council as to whether there is a place for the Performance building in the castle top grounds.
Nidderdale Today
DA VINCI CODE FANS IN CHAPEL VISIT BAN
FANS of best-selling book - The Da Vinci Code are threatening an ancient tourist attraction.
They have flocked to visit the medieval Rosslyn Chapel, which features in the novel.
But now unsupervised visits have been banned over fears the huge numbers of sightseers could wreck it.
The fragile carvings in the 15th-century Midlothian church risk being damaged by people brushing against them and the humidity from their breath.
To control numbers and avoid overcrowding this summer, the chapel trust will allow only hourly guided tours.
I t will be the first time access has been restricted since the chapel was founded in 1446.
Daily Record
CRESWELL CRAGS GETS MAJOR GRANT TO SAFEGUARD ITS FUTURE
Creswell Crags, the limestone gorge in Derbyshire that contains the UK’s oldest cave art, has been awarded a multi-million pound grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The HLF has awarded £4.26 million to fund a new museum and education centre that will form part of a ‘national centre of excellence’ telling the story of the ice age.
The Crags, which is believed to mark the northern most explorations of Ice Age man, hit the headlines in 2003 when spectacular 12,000 year-old engravings of bison, horse and birds were discovered there.
Experts dubbed the Church Hole Caves, where they were found, the 'Sistine Chapel of the Ice Age'.
24 Hour Museum News
2004 in Review-Archaeological treasure discovered
BULGARIA'S ancient Thracian heritage was thrust into the spotlight in 2004 with a number of key archaeological discoveries in the so-called "Valley of the Thracian Kings".
A team of Bulgarian archaeologists, led by Professor Georgi Kitov, discovered a 2400-year old golden mask in the tomb of an ancient Thracian king on August 19. The mask bears the image of a human face and is made of 500 grams of solid gold. The discovery was made near the town of Shipka, in the heart of the Stara Planina Mountain.
Dozens of Thracian mounds are spread throughout this region, which archaeologists have called 'the Bulgarian valley of the kings,' a reference to the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, which is home to the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs.
Sofia Echo
Monday, January 10, 2005
Cave art museum gets major grant
A Derbyshire museum has been given £4.26m to expand its facilities.
The money will be spent on building a centre of excellence at Creswell Crags, a limestone gorge which contains the country's oldest cave art.
The grant has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund and will pay for a new museum and education centre telling the story of the Ice Age.
BBC News
Hertford, home of the Holy Grail
An ancient secret society; a demand for a papal apology; and a network of hidden tunnels. Strange things have been stirring in Hertfordshire recently. Oliver Burkeman goes in search of the Knights Templar and, perhaps, the cup of Christ
Guardian
Lottery millions for cave art museum
Millions of pounds of heritage lottery money has been given to safeguard the UK's finest example of ice age cave art.
Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire is a limestone gorge believed to mark the most northern explorations of ice age man. It houses Britain's earliest cave art, discovered two years ago, and is said to have the world's most elaborately carved cave ceiling.
The £4.26m award will fund the creation of a national centre of excellence for telling the ice age story to schoolchildren, the local community and tourists. A museum and education centre will be built and a local road rerouted to protect the site.
Guardian
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Save Viking Waterford Action Group makes New Years resolutions
Since its inception at a meeting attended by over 130 people in the Granville Hotel last September, the SVWAG has committed itself to ensuring that the Woodstown Viking site is properly excavated to international standards and the site utilised fully for its educational and tourist potential. SVWAG’s philosophy is that these discoveries belong to the people of Waterford and Ireland and that discussion of their fate should be a matter for transparent debate by all interested parties. It is in this spirit that we publish our New Years resolutions in the hope that this may help to spark ideas and discussion on the best way that the local community can benefit from the new discoveries.
Waterford Today
Archaeological Digs!
"Archaeological digs have become an increasingly popular way for retired individuals, students, and others to spend their vacation and travel time and to expand their educational horizons. Look here for archaeological and paleontological dig opportunities and field schools as well as narratives of volunteer experiences and other things ancient."
This is an Interesting archaeological weblog run by Paul McLerran
You can find Archaeological Digs! here and there is also a link under "Archaeological Weblogs" in the sidebar of this site.
Howard Carter - Der Ausgräber Tutanchamuns
- 1 mai 2005
Ägyptisches Museum der Universität Bonn
Notizen, Zeichnungen und Photographien beleuchten den Fund des einzigartigen Grabschatzes des jungen Pharao im Tal der Könige.
Öffnungszeiten:
Di-So 12 - 18 Uhr
geschlossen vom 22.12.04 - 3.1.05
Eintritt pro Person:
regulär 3,5 Euro
ermäßigt 2,5 Euro
angemeldete Gruppen: 2,5 Euro
Ägyptisches Museum der Universität Bonn
Bronze Age arrow head donated to museum
An arrow head more than 3,000 years old has been found in North West Essex (England) and donated to Saffron Walden Museum. It was spotted by Essex Finds liaison officer Caroline McDonald while recording finds by local metal detector users and her identification was later confirmed by the British Museum. The arrowhead dates from the Middle Bronze Age, between 1275 and 1140 BCE.
Stone Pages
Ancient henge discovered near Chester
Cheshire has a wooden henge after archaeologists made the discovery near Chester (England). Researchers working at Poulton, on the Duke of Westminster's land, were amazed to find the Bronze Age burials they had been investigating were preceded by a much earlier 'ritual' presence. A circle of holes indicated the existence of the wooden henge together with a large hole in the centre which was potentially a form of 'totem pole'. Now Durham University is to undertake both soil analysis and the dating of wood fragments.
Site director Mike Emery said: "This will firmly place the burial ground and the timber circle in their proper historical context, as well as providing valuable environmental evidence, which will help to recreate what life was like thousands of years ago. The uncovering of the site of a timber circle, possibly a 'henge' monument, is of great and rare importance in the north-west."
Stone Pages
Saturday, January 08, 2005
YORKSHIRE’S STONEHENGE NEEDS YOU
SAVE THE HENGES APPEAL
Did you know that Yorkshire hosts the largest group of prehistoric earthworks in Britain ~ and that their setting is rapidly being destroyed by open-cast mining?
Stretching from the standing stones at Boroughbridge in the south to the cursus already destroyed at Scorton in the north are the remains of dozens of monuments constituting a landscape that was sacred to our prehistoric ancestors. Considered together, these monuments are an archaeological record equal in importance to the World Heritage Sites of Stonehenge, Avebury and Orkney ~ yet they remain virtually unknown to the wider public.
Read more here...
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