Royal Anglo-Saxon settlement found

The excavation in the 1930s of the Sutton Hoo site in Suffolk

A lost settlement which housed the Anglo-Saxon royalty who created the famous Sutton Hoo burial mounds has been unearthed.

Archaeologists say they have found conclusive evidence of the high-status settlement in fields near the village of Rendlesham, Suffolk.

It is thought fragments of gold jewellery, Saxon pennies and weights associated with trade, are evidence of the "the king's country-seat of Rendlesham" mentioned by the Venerable Bede in the 8th century.

Professor Christopher Scull, of Cardiff University and University College London said: "The survey has identified a site of national and indeed international importance for the understanding of the Anglo-Saxon elite and their European connections.

"The quality of some of the metalwork leaves no doubt that it was made for and used by the highest ranks of society.

Read the rest of this article...

30,000-Year-old Giant Virus Reawakened From Permafrost Ice Still Infectious

There’s a science story making the rounds this week that could easily pass as a plot for a low-budget science-fiction flick. A team of French scientists have awakened a giant virus that was encapsulated for 30,000 years in 100 feet (30 metres) of permafrost ice taken from coastal tundra in Chukotka, East Siberia. The most chilling (no pun intended) B-movieish aspect of this is that the huge (in this context meaning large enough to be seen under a microscope) ancient microbe is still infectious. Its host targets, fortunately, are amoebae, but other such reawakened viruses may not be as discriminating.

There is concern in the scientific community that resurrection of this long-dormant virus raises apprehension that other unknown pathogens entombed in frozen soil may be unleashed by climate change could pose potential risks for human health.

Read the rest of this article...

Leapin' Lizards! Medieval Arabs Ate the Scaly Creatures

Medieval desert-dwelling Arabs in Saudi Arabia ate lizards after the advent of Islam, which generally prohibits eating reptiles, new research suggests.

Though historical and anthropological texts had mentioned the taste for these scaly desert snacks, the find is the first archaeological evidence confirming the lizard's presence in the Arabian diet, study co-author Hervé Monchot, a zooarchaeologist at the Université-Paris Sorbonne, wrote in an email to Live Science.

The lizards were probably eaten because they are "an excellent source of protein," Monchot said. [Arabian Desert: Aerial Photos of Mysterious Stone Structures]

Read the rest of this article...

800-year-old monk found poking out of cliff face

The thigh bones of a medieval monk have been found poking out of cliffs at Monknash in South Wales which was a former burial ground in the Middle Ages

The remains of an 800-year-old monk that have been uncovered after his legs were spotted sticking out of cliff in Monknash, South Wales Photo: Wales News Service

The legs of an 800-year-old medieval monk have been discovered, poking out of a cliff face in Wales.

Although badly damaged and missing their knees, shins and feet, the thigh bones were found after the fierce recent storms caused severe coastal erosion.

They were spotted by rambler Mandy Ewington, who sent a photograph to coastal archaeologist Karl-James Langford.

Mr Langford, 39, said "I thought she must have been mistaken but I went down to see for myself and thought: "Bloody hell,this is amazing!

"You can clearly see a grave has been eroded into the sea.

Read the rest of this article...

Genghis Khan: Good weather 'helped him to conquer'

Genghis Khan was the founder of the Mongol empire, which historians say was the largest contiguous empire in history

The rise of Genghis Khan and the huge Mongol Empire in the early 13th Century may have been helped by good weather, scientists suggest.

American researchers studying the rings of ancient trees in central Mongolia have discovered that his rise coincided with the mildest, wettest weather in more than 1,000 years.

Grass grew at a rapid rate, providing fodder for his war horses.

Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes to invade and rule a vast area.

It covered modern-day Korea, China, Russia, eastern Europe, India and south-east Asia.

Read the rest of this article...

Whitehorse Hill burial

The excavation of a prehistoric cremation burial discovered within a cist at Whitehorse Hill on northern Dartmoor has revealed nationally important remains which have captured the interest of experts from all over the country. This was the first excavation of a burial site on Dartmoor for 100 years.

This is now considered to be the most important assemblage of prehistoric grave goods ever recovered from Dartmoor and indeed from the whole of the South West of England. The survival of the organic remains is also seen to be of international importance.

This individual, whose cremated remains were placed in a cist on this remote spot on Northern Dartmoor, over four thousand years ago, was apparently of some importance to the local community. Who was it, what was their gender, what type of animal hide was used to wrap the cremated remains? The answers to these and many other questions are part of this unfolding and fascinating story which hopefully will tell us much more about the lives of prehistoric people on Dartmoor and the landscape they lived in. 

Read the rest of this article...

Sulphur haunts the Ghost Wreck

Sulphur and iron accumulation has once again been found in wood samples from old shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea. This time the samples are from the merchant vessel Ghost wreck and the warships Sword and the Crown. Wood samples from the ships have been analysed by a group of scientists from the University of Gothenburg, Stockholm University and University of Calgary. The results are published in the latest issue of Scientific Reports. 

The upper deck of the Ghost wreck (dated to 1630–1650) covered with a white coating [Credit: Deep Sea Productions©] 

Scientists from the same team have previously reported large amounts of sulphur and iron accumulation in the warship Vasa. In that study, the scientists found an outbreak of acidity and sulphate salts on the surface of the hull and other wooden objects.

Read the rest of this article...

'Awesome' Viking warship 'struck terror into people'

There are ghosts at the British Museum.

Hulking, hairy, bloodthirsty warriors grunting in unison as they row the biggest warship of its kind the world has ever known.

Can the gallery curator see them, or am I the only one? He laughs -- a little nervously: "Yes, you do get a sense of them."

Looming before us is Roskilde 6, the largest Viking ship ever discovered, carefully reconstructed after 1,000 years languishing beneath the waves. At 37 meters long it's double the size of the boat Christopher Columbus sailed to America.

Ghost armies or not, it is a sight to behold. The ship's fearsome metal frame seemingly rises from a watery netherworld on a mission to conquer the globe -- once and for all.

Read the rest of this article...

ikings: Life and Legend review – a stirring tale of shock and oar

The British Museum showcases the poetry, boats and bling of the marauding 11th-century Norsemen who, above all else, understood curves…

Three of the Lewis Chessmen, c.1150-1200, discovered on Lewis, Shetland, and thought to originate from Norway. Photograph: British Museum

Anyone who has even dipped a toe in the briny sagas of the Viking kings will know that the stag outing the itinerant Norsemen prized above all others always began something like this: "On Saturday the fleet-lord throws off the long tarpaulin, and splendid widows from the town gaze on the planking of the dragon ship. The young ruler steers the brand new warship west out of the Nio, and the oars of the warriors fall into the sea… " Those lines come from the 11th-century court poet Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, and they describe the characteristic actions of the fleet of Harald Hardradra (Harold the Hard Ruler), the last great Viking king, who fought unsuccessfully to extend his Norwegian monarchy to Denmark and then Britain. He died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 along with his poet.

Read the rest of this article...

4,000-year-old Dartmoor burial find rewrites British bronze age history

Stone box contains earliest examples of wood-turning and metal-working, along with Baltic amber and what may be bear skin

Parts of a necklace and wooden ear studs found on Dartmoor

Some 4,000 years ago a young woman's cremated bones – charred scraps of her shroud and the wood from her funeral pyre still clinging to them – was carefully wrapped in a fur along with her most valuable possessions, packed into a basket, and carried up to one of the highest and most exposed spots on Dartmoor, where they were buried in a small stone box covered by a mound of peat.

Read the rest of this article...

Archaeologists found bones of a Stone Age child and an adult in tiny cave

Dr Marion Dowd of IT Sligo in the Knocknarea cave which contained Neolithic human bones

Archaeologists at IT Sligo have found bones of a Stone Age child and an adult in a tiny cave high on Knocknarea mountain near the town.

Radiocarbon dating has shown that they are some 5,500 years old, which makes them among the earliest human bones found in the county.

The find represents important fresh evidence of Knocknarea’s Neolithic (Stone Age) links and a prehistoric practice known as “excarnation”.

Read the rest of this article...

Bronze Age rock art uncovered in Brecon Beacons

Rare, prehistoric rock art which could be more than 4,000 years old has been discovered in the Brecon Beacons.

The Bronze Age discovery was made late last year by national park geologist Alan Bowring.

Experts claim the stone probably served as a way marker for farming communities.

Similar stones have been found in other parts of Britain but they are thought to be rare in mid Wales.

Read the rest of this article...

Damaged Pompeii to receive Italy rescue fund

A number of structures, including the Temple of Venus and Roma, were damaged by heavy rainfall on Sunday and Monday. The decay prompted calls for action from the European Union and the United Nations. 

Heavy rain washed away the walls of this tomb area in Pompeii [Credit: AAP/BBC] 

The site, where volcanic ash smothered a Roman city in AD79, has suffered slow degradation for many years. It is one of the world's greatest archaeological treasures. Every year, some 2.5m tourists visit Pompeii, which sits near the southern city of Naples. 

Read the rest of this article...

The Vikings are here…

Gareth Williams, Exhibition Curator, British Museum

Lo, it is nearly thirty-five years since the Vikings last came to this Museum, and nobody believed that such an influx of fantastic material from overseas (as well as the UK) could be made…*

To be fair, the BP exhibition Vikings: life and legend lacks some of the drama of the original Viking attack on Lindisfarne in 793. We haven’t had fiery dragons in the sky (unless you count the Aurora Borealis coming unusually far south), and there hasn’t been much in the way of destruction or slaughter. Nor is it likely that this exhibition will be remembered 1200 years after the event, although in an age of globalised communication, there is no doubt that the exhibition has attracted considerably more notice in the last few days than the attack on Lindisfarne did at the time. Nevertheless, as the largest Viking exhibition in the UK for over 30 years, it has the potential to shape our definition of the Viking Age.

Read the rest of this article...

EMAS Study Tour to Île-de-France

Château-ferme d'Olhain

EMAS Study Tour to Île-de-France
 
14 to 21 June 2014

The EMAS 2014 spring Study Tour is to the Île de France and Picardy regions. This is an area with many interesting archaeological sites, particularly from the medieval period.
We will be based in Amiens - a very interesting town with a truly wonderful cathedral - which is the perfect centre from which to explore the region. 
Our itinerary will include some of the most impressive later medieval architecture, with cathedrals such as Beauvais, Laon and Senlis. In addition, we will visit two of the most important early medieval sites in the area - the Carolingian Bas Œuvre at Beauvais and the Merovingian crypt at Jouarre , which is one of the oldest religious structures in France.
We will also visit the site of the battle of Crécy, viewing the site from the place where Edward III directed the battle; the important Roman site of Bagacum at Bavay, and some impressive castles. 
The cost will be £785 per person for people sharing a twin room and £895 for a single room.
A full itinerary can be found here...

ANGLO-SAXON CEMETERY RESULTS QUESTION VIOLENT INVASION THEORY

The early fifth century transition from Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England is a poorly understood period in British history. Historical narratives describe a brutal conquest by Anglo-Saxon invaders with nearly complete replacement of the indigenous population, but aspects of the archaeological record contradict this interpretation leading to competing hypotheses.

A new study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, suggests a more peaceful process, according to Dr Andrew Millard, from Durham University, one of the paper’s lead authors.

‘The main controversy over the years has centred on how many Anglo-Saxons came across the North Sea,‘ he says, ‘Was it a mass invasion, where the existing population was wiped out completely or forced back into Wales, or was it a small band of elites whose ways were then adopted very quickly?’  The evidence the researchers have gathered favours the second option.

Read the rest of this article...

Shield-wearing skeleton, necklace and grave goods found in early Saxon inhumations

The discovery of nine bodies in Cambridgeshire could reveal much about the little-known early Saxon period

© Courtesy Pre-Construct Archaeology

An early Saxon man who fell on his shield has been found buried with a knife and spear alongside a jewellery-clad woman during a dig on a residential site in a Cambridgeshire village.

Grave goods, weaponry and everyday items from the 6th century surfaced during the excavation in Haddenham, where similar remains – including a double burial of a man and a woman – were first identified more than 20 years ago.

Read the rest of this article...

NIESZAWA – A MEDIEVAL TOWN RECONSTRUCTED BY NON-INVASIVE SURVEY

Two seasons of non-invasive investigation including geophysics and aerial prospection have succeeded in providing new insight into the 15th century Polish settlement of Nieszawa – a town which rapidly developed into an economic rival to Teutonic Order controlled Toruń (Thorn) just across the Vistula river. Archaeologists P. Wroniecki, M. Jaworski, M. Pisz, S. Rzeźnik and W. Stępień completed a study of the survey results, allowing for a detailed digital reconstruction of Nieszawa as it was in the early 15th century AD.

Nieszawa was once located on the opposite side of the Vistula river from the town of Toruń and was given municipal rights in 1425. Its appearance is directly connected to the construction of Dybow Castle (from 1424-1428) by the Polish king Władysław Jagiełło. The town benefited from its riverside location and developed so rapidly that within a short space of time it was in competition with Toruń. The growing income from river trade became a source of socio-economic tension between the Polish Kingdom and the Teutonic Order, and discontent grew among the townspeople and merchants of Toruń.

Eventually, the people of Toruń rebelled against Teutonic rule, and in appreciation for their involvement on the Polish side during the Thirteen Years’ War (1454–66), King Casimir IV Jagiellon decreed that he would demolish Nieszawa and relocate it 32 km upstream, where it still exists to this day.

Read the rest of this article...

Prehistoric rock art found in Scottish Highlands

A rare example of prehistoric rock art has been uncovered in the Highlands. Archaeologists made the discovery while moving a boulder decorated with ancient cup and ring marks to a new location in Ross-shire. 

The rock decorated with cup and ring marks [Credit: BBC] 

When they turned the stone over they found the same impressions on the other side of the rock. It is one of only a few decorated stones of its kind. 

John Wombell, of North of Scotland Archaeological Society (NOSAS), said: "This is an amazing discovery."

Read the rest of this article...

Arrgh! Adventures of 17th-Century Pirate Alliance Uncovered in Ireland

These steps at Dutchman's Cove in Castletownsend, County Cork, Ireland, were carved out of the rock to facilitate illicit trade, in the dead of night, by pirates and smugglers.

An alliance of pirates preyed on ships laden with treasure, outmatched Britain's Royal Navy, elected their own admiral and, ultimately, were destroyed in a cataclysmic battle against a Dutch fleet in 1614.

They were a pirate alliance which operated on the southwest coast of Munster, Ireland, in the early 17th century, and now new archaeological and historical research reveals new details about their adventures. 

Read the rest of this article...