Dig in and find out about Dartmoor?s past

THE diverse architectural and cultural Dartmoor heritage can be witnessed by the public next month through ?Heritage Open Days?. Open days is now a well established annual event co-ordinated by the Civic Trust and English Heritage. Thousands of events take place across the country and it gives participants a chance to visit sites and buildings which are not usually open to the public or charge admission. Dartmoor National Park Authority has again arranged a number of special events to help bring aspects of Dartmoor?s cultural heritage to a wider audience. During 2007, the authority?s particular focus is being placed upon the issues of climate change and its impact on Dartmoor. This theme will also be the focus of the authority?s Heritage Open Days. Between September 6 and 9 participants can learn about climate change and its impact on Dartmoor?s population and landscape in the past, both pre-history and medieval times. Visits include Merrivale and Hound Tor which have experienced the impacts of climate change over periods of time.

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Bronze Age excavations in Cyprus open new chapter

Archaeological investigations in the past summer featured renewed excavations at the Bronze Age community of Politiko-Troullia, about 25 km southwest of Nicosia in the copper-bearing foothills of the Troodos Mountains, and brought to light a series of households that produced evidence of intensive animal husbandry and crop processing, copper or bronze metallurgy and sophisticated ceramic technology.

According to the excavations, this took place during the Middle Bronze Age, just prior to the advent of cities on Late Bronze Age Cyprus.

The results from Politiko-Troullia open a new archaeological chapter on the communities that provided the foundation for urbanized civilization on Cyprus.

Under the direction of Dr. Steven Falconer and Dr. Patricia Fall of Arizona State University, this fieldwork revealed extensive evidence of the Bronze Age community (ca. 2000 B.C.) that was the predecessor of ancient Tamassos, the seat of a centrally important kingdom during the subsequent Iron Age.

The excavations involved graduate and undergraduate students from Cyprus, Canada, Australia and the United States.

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Cave Clue Reveals Ancient Bohemian Life

Aug. 23, 2007 — A prehistoric Spanish hunting group that may have even had its own gang symbols appears to have drawn, hunted, crashed in a cave, eaten, recycled waste and moved on, suggests a new study.

Like a good detective story, the research hinged on one major clue — a buried pile of mysterious black bones found in a dark, dank room at the interior of El Mirón Cave near the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

This cave was like a residential hotel for traveling groups of Stone Age hunters, according to lead author Ana Belén Marín Arroyo, who worked with Lawrence Straus and other scientists.

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Oldest gorilla ages our joint ancestor

The last common ancestor of humans and gorillas might have lived at least 2 million years earlier than previously thought. Fossilized teeth of the earliest gorilla ever discovered, dating to 10 million years ago, have been found in Africa, say researchers.

The new species (Chororapithecus abyssinicus) from Ethiopia, reported on 'A new species of great ape from the late Miocene epoch in Ethiopia' of this issue, helps to fill in a huge gap in the fossil record. The team of Ethiopian and Japanese researchers has based its conclusion on just nine teeth from at least three individuals of the species, which were discovered in the desert scrubland of Afar about 170 kilometres east of Addis Ababa.

The teeth, eight molars and a canine, "are collectively indistinguishable from modern gorilla subspecies" in size, proportion and scan-revealed internal structure, says Gen Suwa of the University of Tokyo Museum, Japan, who led the study. The team argues that the gorilla's divergence date from the human lineage is not about 8 million years ago as previously surmised (S. Kumar et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA102, 18842–18847; 2005), but "greater than 10 to 11 million years ago" on the basis of the age of the new species. Functionally, he adds, the teeth already seem to be evolving — they could shear through a plant diet, a gorilla trait — although other herbivore apes also exist in the fossil record.

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A dialogue with the dead

Kilmartin Glen in Scotland is one of Europe's most important archeological sites. Stuart Jeffries meets the man who is bringing its ghosts back from the grave

'This," says Angus Farquhar, sweeping his arm imperiously across a vista of Kilmartin Glen in Argyll, "is really a theatre of death. As an artist, how could I be anything but drawn to it?"

We're standing in the ruins of Dunadd Fort on a hill called the Moire Mhor, or the Great Moss. Before us stretch 150 square miles of breathtaking Scottish landscape. Boasting more than 350 ancient monuments within a six-mile radius, S-shaped Kilmartin Glen is one of Europe's most important pre-historic sites. It is an area of extraordinary archaeological importance teeming with burial complexes, henges and ancient rocks marked by human hands thousands upon thousands of years ago. This fascinating landscape is also Farquhar's blank canvas - the raw material of his latest environmental artwork.

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Digging up history at the Playhouse

ARCHAEOLOGY experts will meet the owner of Beverley's former Picture Playhouse next week to discuss excavations which could shed new light on 800 years of the town's history.

Businessman David Fletcher, who owns the former cinema, is planning to excavate a basement under the historic building, which he has planning permission to convert for retail use.

But before the redevelopment work gets underway an archaeological evaluation will be carried out, which experts hope will provide a valuable insight into Beverley's past, perhaps dating back as far as the 11th or 12th centuries.

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Great ape find forces rethink on man's evolution

The discovery of a new species of great ape that roamed Africa 10m years ago has forced scientists to rethink the earliest steps of human evolution.

Fossil hunters working along the Afar rift in central Ethiopia unearthed remnants of teeth they claim belonged to the primitive ape, a previously unknown species of gorilla they named Chororapithecus abyssinicus.

The finding, if confirmed, will redraw the evolutionary tree of primates, suggesting that humans and chimpanzees must have split from their gorilla-like ancestors 3m years earlier than thought. Geneticists have previously put the date at which the human and chimpanzee lineage split from gorillas at around 7m years ago, with humans and chimps diverging more recently, at 5m years ago.

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M3 route plan likely to face legal challenge

THE decision by An Bord Pleanála to approve the National Roads Authority’s (NRA) plans to excavate and build over the national monument on the M3 motorway route is likely to be challenged in the High Court.

Vincent Salafia, of protest group Tara Watch, said a legal challenge was being considered following the ruling issued by the appeals board yesterday. It clears the way for an archaeological examination of the site at Lismullin, Co Meath, but for the site then to be recorded, rather than preserved. The monument includes two circular enclosures dating from between 1,000BC to AD400 and its preservation has been the subject of political and public controversy, including protests disrupting access to the site which was discovered in April.

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Egyptians' ancient tax burden revealed

A dusty crate of broken bits of pottery discovered at a stately home in Dorset has given a fresh insight into the life of the ancient Egyptians - and it turns out that concerns over mortgages, taxes and simply making ends meet were as important then as they are now.

More than 200 "ostraka" - potsherds inscribed with notes - were found in the cellar of the National Trust property Kingston Lacy, near Wimborne Minster.

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ArchaeoFind - a new search engine for archaeology

Readers may be interested to learn about ArchaeoFind - a new search engine for archaeology, set up by Anita Cohen-Williams, the founder of ArchaeoSeek.

ArchaeoFind is a swicki, that is a search engine that uses artificial intelligence to refine its searches. When you use the search engine, you can vote on the relevance of the suggested sites that it returns. The more the search engine is used, the better the results.

You can find ArchaeoFind here, or use the link in the sidebar.

You can learn more about swikis here...

CAMERAS MIGHT SHED LIGHT ON CITY CRYPT MYSTERIES

Thanks to modern technology some of the mysteries surrounding a crypt under the floor of St Stephen's Church in Exeter could soon by solved.

Although the crypt has been there since the church was built in the 11th century it has no door, so architects and archaeologists are planning to use fibre optic cameras to see what is there.

The church in Exeter High Street is undergoing a £1m restoration. The roof and tower are being repaired and the medieval sanctuary, which was above St Stephen's Bow, will be restored.

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Green light for M3 at Lismullen

An Bord Pleanála has cleared the way for work to commence on the National Monument at Lismullen in Co Meath, which lies in the path of the M3 motorway.

The decision means that the site, which is close to the Hill of Tara, will be examined by archaeologists before the road is constructed on top of it.

The National Monument at Lismullen consists of two circular enclosures, the largest 80m in diameter, and dates from somewhere between 1000BC to 400AD.

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Big dig treasure unveiled

THE Lake District will be unveiling its archaeological treasures ahead of the national Heritage Open Days.

The free events promise a celebration of the area’s rich history and culture, and an invitation has gone out to roll up for a voyage of discovery.

Keswick Youth Hostel is hosting a special day on September 8, while the doors of St George’s Hall, Millom, are being thrown open on the same day for a host of antiquities and historical activities.

Lake District National Park Authority’s Heritage Lottery Fund-backed Access to Archaeology Project will be highlighted during both days, along with a raft of other attractions.

One of the country’s first hostels, the Keswick centre has been a popular holiday venue for over 70 years and will be working with the town’s civic society and mountain rescue team to provide an action-packed day.

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Discovery films archeological findings in Iceland

A team from the Discovery Channel is currently filming archeological diggings supervised by Adolf Fridriksson in Hringsdalur valley by Arnarfjördur fjord in the Westfjords in a series about the work of archeologists around the world.

Discovery’s filming in Iceland revolves around archeological findings in Hringsdalur and in Skriduklaustur, an old monastery in east Iceland, and the new series will air next year, Morgunbladid reports.

The diggings by Skriduklaustur are finished, but archeologists are still unearthing a pagan grave discovered in Hringsdalur last weekend.

“The script was made in the last few weeks and now shooting is taking place,” Fridriksson said. “This has been very exciting and the people who came here [the Discovery Channel crew] are obviously very professional and well traveled.”

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Bronze Age excavations in Cyprus open new chapter

Archaeological investigations in the past summer featured renewed excavations at the Bronze Age community of Politiko-Troullia, about 25 km southwest of Nicosia in the copper-bearing foothills of the Troodos Mountains, and brought to light a series of households that produced evidence of intensive animal husbandry and crop processing, copper or bronze metallurgy and sophisticated ceramic technology.

According to the excavations, this took place during the Middle Bronze Age, just prior to the advent of cities on Late Bronze Age Cyprus.

The results from Politiko-Troullia open a new archaeological chapter on the communities that provided the foundation for urbanized civilization on Cyprus.

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Tara ruins must be preserved - report

Newly discovered 2000-year-old ruins at the Hill of Tara must be fully preserved because of their unique size and character, a US academic today said.

State archaeologists began excavation work on the prehistoric Lismullen structure earlier this month, claiming it was under threat from adverse weather.

Dr Ronald Hicks of Ball State University, Indiana, argues it is part of a larger ancient ritual complex and must be preserved in situ. He contends Lismullen is comparable to ceremonial enclosures found at Tara and other royal sites in Ireland, but is twice as large as any other.

Dr Hicks previously endorsed the nomination of Tara to the World Monuments Fund List and issued an earlier report about the area's archaeological significance.

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Tuscan Hills Are Alive With Amateur Archaeologists

CASENOVOLE, Italy, Aug. 16 — The Etruscan tomb was hidden in such a remote corner of Tuscany that Andrea Marcocci, the archaeology student who found and identified it about a decade ago, was not very worried that anyone else would stumble upon it.
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Then, this year, woodsmen began to clear brush in the area, and Mr. Marcocci — who had believed the tomb would be safe as long as it was concealed in a forest — realized he had to act.

“I became worried that what’s supposed to be the patrimony of mankind would become the patrimony of an individual,” he said.

Armed with a permit from the archaeological authorities (in Italy, anything found underground belongs to the state), he and a handful of volunteers began to dig.

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Stipendien für Forschungen zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte Sachsen-Anhalts

Die Stiftung zur Förderung der Archäologie in Sachsen-Anhalt vergibt Danneil-Stipendien zur Förderung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses im Bereich der Vor- und Frühgeschichte. Bewerbungen sind bis zum 15.10.2007 möglich.

Gefördert werden sollen wissenschaftliche Qualifizierungsarbeiten sowie Forschungsvorhaben im Bereich der Vor- und Frühgeschichte, die sich mit Fundkomplexen im Land Sachsen-Anhalt befassen und einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Erforschung der archäologischen Kulturdenkmale Sachsen-Anhalts erwarten lassen. Antragsberechtigt sind Wissenschaftler, die durch herausragende Leistungen eine außergewöhnlich qualifizierte Befähigung zu wissenschaftlicher Arbeit erkennen lassen. Über die Vergabe der Stipendien entscheidet der Stiftungsbeirat. Es besteht kein Anspruch auf Förderung durch Stipendien.

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Scholars uncover one ringfort to rule them all

THE former ‘capital of Cork’ appeared to have been short-lived, according to archaeologists who believe it was destroyed by an invading army.

The size of the ringfort near Innishannon suggests it was constructed under the orders of a powerful chieftain; somebody who probably controlled most of the Cork region.

An enemy strong enough to have destroyed it and the chieftain’s army most certainly came from another county, if not another province.

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Neolithic humans had gum habit

A 5,000-year-old piece of chewing gum - one of the oldest ever to be discovered - has been found by a British archaeology student.

The discovery of the Neolithic gum, made from birch bark tar, was made by Sarah Pickin, 23, during a dig in Finland. The gum had tooth prints in it.

Trevor Brown, her tutor at the University of Derby, said: "Birch bark tar contains phenols, which are antiseptic compounds. It is generally believed that Neolithic people found that by chewing this stuff if they had gum infections it helped to treat the condition."

He said it was particularly significant because of the well defined tooth prints.

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