A rare sapphire ring, discovered by a metal detector enthusiast, has been bought by the Yorkshire Museum.
The museum has raised £35,000 to purchase the piece of jewellery, which archaeologists described as a "spectacular" find.
The ring, found near York and measuring 2.5cm across, could have been made as early as the 7th Century.
It was found by Michael Greenhorn from the York and District Metal Detecting Club in April 2009.
Read the rest of this article...
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Ancient erotic carvings found in Germany
Researchers in Germany have discovered Stone Age cave art including carvings of nude women. Archaeologists working for the Bavarian State Office for Historical Preservation came upon the primitive engravings in a cave near the southern city of Bamberg, about 200km east of Frankfurt.
The engravings are believed to be around 12,000 years old, which would make them the first Stone Age artwork ever found in Germany. "They include schematic depictions of women's bodies and unidentifiable symbols, among other things," said spokeswoman Beate Zarges.
The ancient artists appear to have taken their inspiration for the erotic images from rock formations in the caves resembling breasts and penises, and then carved the images in the walls of the cave. Die Zeit quotes geologist and archaeologist Bernhard Haeck, a member of the discovery team, as saying that the five metre (16-foot) long chamber in the cave may have been used for fertility rituals. "It is a place full of magic," he said.
Read the rest of this article...
The engravings are believed to be around 12,000 years old, which would make them the first Stone Age artwork ever found in Germany. "They include schematic depictions of women's bodies and unidentifiable symbols, among other things," said spokeswoman Beate Zarges.
The ancient artists appear to have taken their inspiration for the erotic images from rock formations in the caves resembling breasts and penises, and then carved the images in the walls of the cave. Die Zeit quotes geologist and archaeologist Bernhard Haeck, a member of the discovery team, as saying that the five metre (16-foot) long chamber in the cave may have been used for fertility rituals. "It is a place full of magic," he said.
Read the rest of this article...
Time team dig up the dirt: experts push back origins of farming in city’s history
ARCHAEOLOGISTS working at a Sheffield farm have dug up a mystery – the remains of a settlement which could date back 8,000 years to the Iron Age.
The dig, aided by volunteers at Whirlow Hall Farm, has found a rectangular-shaped enclosure formed by a ditch.
It was revealed during a geophysical survey undertaken by a team as part of an ongoing Heritage Lottery funded project at the farm.
Read the rest of this article...
The dig, aided by volunteers at Whirlow Hall Farm, has found a rectangular-shaped enclosure formed by a ditch.
It was revealed during a geophysical survey undertaken by a team as part of an ongoing Heritage Lottery funded project at the farm.
Read the rest of this article...
3,000 Roman 3rd Century coins found in Montgomery field
More than 3,000 Roman coins have been discovered in a field, it has emerged.
The hoard of copper alloy coins, dating from the 3rd Century, was unearthed in Montgomery, Powys, several weeks ago.
About 900 were found by a member of a Welshpool metal detecting club, with the rest of the discovery made with help from archaeologists.
Read the rest of this article...
The hoard of copper alloy coins, dating from the 3rd Century, was unearthed in Montgomery, Powys, several weeks ago.
About 900 were found by a member of a Welshpool metal detecting club, with the rest of the discovery made with help from archaeologists.
Read the rest of this article...
July issue of BBC History Magazine features the Crusades
BBC History Magazine, a leading monthly periodical on all things history, features an article about the Crusades and Christian-Muslim medieval interaction. “Traders and Crusaders”, by Thomas Asbridge of Queen Mary University of London, examines how relations between Europe and the Islamic Middle East “were about more than war and hatred.”
Read the rest of this article...
Read the rest of this article...
Streetmuseum : The only way is Londinium
Following on from the success of award-winning phone-app Streetmuseum, the Museum of London has joined forces with the HISTORY Channel to develop a new app which gives users the opportunity to see Roman London as it was 2,000 years ago.
Immersive experiences of Roman London
Streetmuseum Londinium directs users to locations across London where they can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds and remains of Roman life in AD 120.
Users can digitally excavate Roman artefacts, including leather bikini briefs and an ancient manicure set, each item telling the story of life in Roman London. Using amazing technology, the user can reveal the objects on the very spot where they were first found in the capital.
Read the rest of this article...
Immersive experiences of Roman London
Streetmuseum Londinium directs users to locations across London where they can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds and remains of Roman life in AD 120.
Users can digitally excavate Roman artefacts, including leather bikini briefs and an ancient manicure set, each item telling the story of life in Roman London. Using amazing technology, the user can reveal the objects on the very spot where they were first found in the capital.
Read the rest of this article...
Archeologists discover church remains in Turkish ancient city
Archeologists have unearthed remains of a church in an ancient city in the Mediterranean province of Isparta, head of the team said on Monday.
Associate Professor Mehmet Ozhanli, the head of Suleyman Demirel University's Archeology Department who heads excavations in the ancient city of Pisidian Antioch, said they had discovered remains of a church during their excavations.
"We have found the remains of a three-nave church one and a half meters below the surface," Ozhanli told AA correspondent.
Read the rest of this article...
Associate Professor Mehmet Ozhanli, the head of Suleyman Demirel University's Archeology Department who heads excavations in the ancient city of Pisidian Antioch, said they had discovered remains of a church during their excavations.
"We have found the remains of a three-nave church one and a half meters below the surface," Ozhanli told AA correspondent.
Read the rest of this article...
Should Pompeii have a theme park?
Should archaeologists reconstruct ruins as they decline or should they preserve them as best they can until there is nothing left?
Caroline Lawrence, archaeologist turned children's author, and Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, director of the Herculaneum Conservation project and master of Sidney Sussex College Cambridge, debate the future of Pompeii.
Read the rest of this article...
Caroline Lawrence, archaeologist turned children's author, and Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, director of the Herculaneum Conservation project and master of Sidney Sussex College Cambridge, debate the future of Pompeii.
Read the rest of this article...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Langstone Harbour Saxon logboat in Portsmouth display
A 1,500-year-old logboat found buried in the mudflats of a harbour in Hampshire has gone on display.
The Saxon boat excavated from Langstone Harbour in 2003 can be seen in an exhibition at Portsmouth City Museum.
The hollowed out oak tree formed a wooden canoe, which was probably used by local people around 500 AD.
Read the rest of this article...
The Saxon boat excavated from Langstone Harbour in 2003 can be seen in an exhibition at Portsmouth City Museum.
The hollowed out oak tree formed a wooden canoe, which was probably used by local people around 500 AD.
Read the rest of this article...
Northampton archaeologists find man who could be 1,600-years-old
ARCHAEOLOGISTS from Northampton have discovered human remains which could be more than 1,600 years old.
The team from Northamptonshire Archaeology discovered the remains of a man while they were carrying out investigations on a building site.
A small piece of pottery found alongside the crouched skeleton was used to date the burial to somewhere between the years 43 and 410 – suggesting the body is Roman.
Read the rest of this article...
The team from Northamptonshire Archaeology discovered the remains of a man while they were carrying out investigations on a building site.
A small piece of pottery found alongside the crouched skeleton was used to date the burial to somewhere between the years 43 and 410 – suggesting the body is Roman.
Read the rest of this article...
Part Ape, Part Human
A new ancestor emerges from the richest collection of fossil skeletons ever found.
Lee Berger is standing in a death trap, smiling. It is a hole in the ground about 25 miles northwest of Johannesburg, in a ridged brown valley where herds of giraffes occasionally parade between stands of trees. The red-rock walls of the pit are higher than Berger's head, and steep enough in spots to make a scramble up, or down, rather daunting. Some two million years ago, the hole was a great deal deeper, with no possibility of escape for any creature that fell in. This accounts for the trove of fossils Berger is finding, which in turn accounts for his upbeat mood. He leans over a red boulder near the pit bottom, tracing a white-colored protrusion with his fingers. "It looks like part of an arm," he says. "That means we've found another individual."
Read the rest of this article...
Lee Berger is standing in a death trap, smiling. It is a hole in the ground about 25 miles northwest of Johannesburg, in a ridged brown valley where herds of giraffes occasionally parade between stands of trees. The red-rock walls of the pit are higher than Berger's head, and steep enough in spots to make a scramble up, or down, rather daunting. Some two million years ago, the hole was a great deal deeper, with no possibility of escape for any creature that fell in. This accounts for the trove of fossils Berger is finding, which in turn accounts for his upbeat mood. He leans over a red boulder near the pit bottom, tracing a white-colored protrusion with his fingers. "It looks like part of an arm," he says. "That means we've found another individual."
Read the rest of this article...
Carving found in Gower cave could be oldest rock art
An archaeologist believes a wall carving in a south Wales cave could be Britain's oldest example of rock art.
The faint scratchings of a speared reindeer are believed to have been carved by a hunter-gatherer in the Ice Age more than 14,000 years ago.
The archaeologist who found the carving on the Gower peninsula, Dr George Nash, called it "very, very exciting."
Experts are working to verify the discovery, although its exact location is being kept secret for now.
Read the rest of this article...
The faint scratchings of a speared reindeer are believed to have been carved by a hunter-gatherer in the Ice Age more than 14,000 years ago.
The archaeologist who found the carving on the Gower peninsula, Dr George Nash, called it "very, very exciting."
Experts are working to verify the discovery, although its exact location is being kept secret for now.
Read the rest of this article...
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Experts Baffled by Mysterious Underground Chambers
Beate Greithanner, a dairy farmer, is barefoot as she walks up the lush meadows of the Doblberg, a mountain in Bavaria set against a backdrop of snow-capped Alpine peaks. She stops and points to a hole in the ground. "This is where the cow was grazing," she says. "Suddenly she fell in, up to her hips."
A crater had opened up beneath the unfortunate cow.
On the day after the bovine mishap, Greithanner's husband Rudi examined the hole. He was curious, so he poked his head inside and craned his neck to peer into the darkness. Could it be a hiding place for some sort of treasure, he wondered? As he climbed into the hole to investigate, it turned out to be a narrow, damp tunnel that led diagonally into the earth, like the bowels of some giant dinosaur.
Suddenly the farmer could no longer hear anything from above. He panicked when he realized that it was getting difficult to breathe the stifling air -- and quickly ended his brief exploration.
Read the rest of this article...
A crater had opened up beneath the unfortunate cow.
On the day after the bovine mishap, Greithanner's husband Rudi examined the hole. He was curious, so he poked his head inside and craned his neck to peer into the darkness. Could it be a hiding place for some sort of treasure, he wondered? As he climbed into the hole to investigate, it turned out to be a narrow, damp tunnel that led diagonally into the earth, like the bowels of some giant dinosaur.
Suddenly the farmer could no longer hear anything from above. He panicked when he realized that it was getting difficult to breathe the stifling air -- and quickly ended his brief exploration.
Read the rest of this article...
Award winning treasure found in Wing was used by Roman criminals
AN AMATEUR archaeologist from Aylesbury has been given a national award after uncovering a coin press which may have been used to make counterfeit currency in Roman times.
Tom Clarke, who has been metal detecting for more than 40 years, found a number of blank bronze coins and a small anvil in a farmer’s field in Wing.
The unmarked discs are the halfway stage of someone making their own coins and have been dated to around 300AD.
Read the rest of this article...
Tom Clarke, who has been metal detecting for more than 40 years, found a number of blank bronze coins and a small anvil in a farmer’s field in Wing.
The unmarked discs are the halfway stage of someone making their own coins and have been dated to around 300AD.
Read the rest of this article...
Roman skeleton unearthed on Watton building site
The remains of a male believed to date back to the Roman occupation of Britain have been discovered in Watton, west Norfolk.
The bones were unearthed during work to turn a former RAF base into housing and are thought to have been buried around AD43 to 410.
BBC Radio Norfolk's Elizabeth Dawson spoke to site developer Edward Parker and lead archaeologist Mark Holmes to find out more about the discovery.
Read the rest of this article...
The bones were unearthed during work to turn a former RAF base into housing and are thought to have been buried around AD43 to 410.
BBC Radio Norfolk's Elizabeth Dawson spoke to site developer Edward Parker and lead archaeologist Mark Holmes to find out more about the discovery.
Read the rest of this article...
So much for Hagar the Horrible, with his stay-at-home wife, Helga. Viking women may have equaled men moving to England in medieval invasions, suggests
So much for Hagar the Horrible, with his stay-at-home wife, Helga. Viking women may have equaled men moving to England in medieval invasions, suggests a look at ancient burials.
Vikings famously invaded Eastern England around 900 A.D., notes Shane McLeod of the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Western Australia in the Early Medieval Europe journal, starting with two army invasions in the 800's, recounted in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. The Viking invaders founded their own medieval kingdom, 'the Danelaw', in Eastern England.
Read the rest of this article...
Vikings famously invaded Eastern England around 900 A.D., notes Shane McLeod of the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Western Australia in the Early Medieval Europe journal, starting with two army invasions in the 800's, recounted in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. The Viking invaders founded their own medieval kingdom, 'the Danelaw', in Eastern England.
Read the rest of this article...
Technology to Throw New Light On Ancient Artifacts
New technology which makes it possible to study the finer details of some of the world's greatest historical artifacts has been developed by computer scientists and archaeologists at the University of Southampton in conjunction with academics at the University of Oxford.
Dr Kirk Martinez at the University of Southampton's ECS -- Electronics and Computer Science and the team have developed two Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) systems to capture images of documentary texts and archaeological material. The systems takes 76 pictures of artifacts with the light in different positions, then creates a new type or RTI image. The viewer can then move the virtual light anywhere and focus on the detail.
Read the rest of this article...
Dr Kirk Martinez at the University of Southampton's ECS -- Electronics and Computer Science and the team have developed two Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) systems to capture images of documentary texts and archaeological material. The systems takes 76 pictures of artifacts with the light in different positions, then creates a new type or RTI image. The viewer can then move the virtual light anywhere and focus on the detail.
Read the rest of this article...
Heavy Metal Hardens Battle
The French may have had a better chance at the Battle of Agincourt had they not been weighed down by heavy body armour, say researchers.
A study published July 19 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that soldiers carrying armour in Medieval times would have been using more than twice the amount of energy had they not been wearing it. This is the first clear experimental evidence of the limitations of wearing Medieval armour on a soldier's performance.
Read the rest of this article...
A study published July 19 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that soldiers carrying armour in Medieval times would have been using more than twice the amount of energy had they not been wearing it. This is the first clear experimental evidence of the limitations of wearing Medieval armour on a soldier's performance.
Read the rest of this article...
The Only Way is Londinium, Roman London is Revealed with Augmented Reality in New App
Following on from the success of award-winning app Streetmuseum™, the Museum of London has joined forces with AETN UK ’s flagship channel HISTORY™ to develop a new app which gives users the opportunity to see Roman London as it was 2,000 years ago.
Streetmuseum Londinium will direct users to locations across London where they can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds and remains of Roman life. At the city’s peak in AD 120 approximately 25,000 Romans lived in London , leaving much behind to explore today.
Users can digitally excavate Roman artefacts, including leather bikini briefs and an ancient manicure set, which tell the stories of life in Londinium. Using their finger to dig and by blowing on their iPhone, users will gradually reveal the objects where they were first found in the capital.
Read the rest of this article...
Streetmuseum Londinium will direct users to locations across London where they can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds and remains of Roman life. At the city’s peak in AD 120 approximately 25,000 Romans lived in London , leaving much behind to explore today.
Users can digitally excavate Roman artefacts, including leather bikini briefs and an ancient manicure set, which tell the stories of life in Londinium. Using their finger to dig and by blowing on their iPhone, users will gradually reveal the objects where they were first found in the capital.
Read the rest of this article...
Early Human Ancestors Walked Fully Upright Earlier Than Scientists Thought, Study Shows
Early human ancestors walked fully upright about 2 million years earlier than scientists have long suggested, according to the results of a recent study.
A team of researchers at the University of Liverpool, along with scientists at the University of Manchester and Bournemouth University, applied a new statistical technique often used in functional brain imaging to obtain a three-dimensional average of the famous 11 footprints discovered at Laetoli, Tanzania, discovered by Mary Leakey in 1976. The footprints are interpreted to have been left originally in soft volcanic ash by a group of three individuals of the Australopithecus afarensis species following the eruption of the nearby Sadiman Volcano approximately 3.7 million years ago.
Read the rest of this article...
A team of researchers at the University of Liverpool, along with scientists at the University of Manchester and Bournemouth University, applied a new statistical technique often used in functional brain imaging to obtain a three-dimensional average of the famous 11 footprints discovered at Laetoli, Tanzania, discovered by Mary Leakey in 1976. The footprints are interpreted to have been left originally in soft volcanic ash by a group of three individuals of the Australopithecus afarensis species following the eruption of the nearby Sadiman Volcano approximately 3.7 million years ago.
Read the rest of this article...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)