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Stones Forum >> Artefacts and discoveries during development in Europe
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Artefacts and discoveries during development in Europe |
Runemage
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|  Posted 20-11-2010 at 01:13
Quick Google has turned up this,
http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=info&page=conhistory059.htm
Extensive Roman Remains Found at Syon Park
11,000 Roman artefacts and landscape discovered in new hotel’s excavations
An entire Roman landscape has been discovered by the Museum of London Archaeology a few feet below the surface at Grade I-listed Syon Park.
The revelations come following excavations undertaken in August 2008 by the museum in advance of the construction for the new luxury hotel, London Syon Park, set to open in early 2011.
The Roman remains include a Roman road, settlement and Roman burials and have laid remarkably undisturbed only half a metre below the ground surface for almost two thousand years and are of local and national significance . With some of the artefacts due to be displayed in the new hotel, the discovery sheds light on the workings of Roman Britain and on Roman activity in and around Syon Park, from the 1st century AD onwards.
Jo Lyon, Senior Archaeologist at Museum of London Archaeology said, “We were extremely fortunate to discover such a comprehensive repertoire of Roman finds and features so close to the surface. They tell us a great deal about how the people of this village lived, worked and died.
“The archaeology at Syon Park has given us a valuable, rare insight into the daily life of an agricultural village on the outskirts of Londinium (London) that would have supplied the Roman city and provided shelter for travellers passing through. It helps us build a picture of the Roman landscape and shows how the busy metropolis of Londinium connected with the rest of Roman Britain.”
The site revealed a section of one of Roman Britain’s most important roads, linking Londinium with the Roman town of Silchester, a rural settlement, an ancient tributary of the Thames, Roman human skeletons and some very unusual burials. Thousands of Roman artefacts were recovered from the site, including two shale armlets, fragments of a lava quernstone as well as an exceptional Late Bronze Age (1000–700 BC) gold bracelet from an earlier age.
Human skeletons found, could have been the remains of former occupants of the settlement, although the placing of the skeletons in ditches is particularly curious and more research is currently being undertaken by Museum of London Archaeology to discover more about these people and Roman West London.
The Duke of Northumberland, whose family has held residence at Syon Park for over 400 years, said, “Syon Park has a rich and remarkable history. The Roman findings are an incredible addition to this legacy and emphasise Syon Park’s place as a prominent landmark in ancient British history. We’re delighted that the construction for the new Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts hotel has fortuitously revealed these important artefacts which will undoubtedly generate much interest from hotel guests and visitors to the park in many years to come.”
The dig revealed that the British landscape changed considerably under Roman influence with towns being established, interconnected by roads. These roads were markers of the ‘Romanisation’ of Britain. Londinium was founded c AD 48 on an uninhabited site. Its strategic position on the river Thames meant that it rapidly became the most important and largest commercial town in the province.
Once a Roman road was built it started to attract settlement along it, like that in West London. The Syon Park and surrounding area was an attractive place to settle as it lay between the road and the Thames. The land was easy to cultivate and the presence of the road would have offered an additional source of income to the community from travellers seeking refreshment and lodging.
November 18, 2010
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davidmorgan
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| Posted 22-11-2010 at 14:16
Bulgarian Archaeologists Stumble Upon 8000-Year-Old Skeleton
Bulgarian archaeologists clearing a plot for highway construction have come across a Neolithic home and a skeleton date back to 6000 BC.
The Neolithic Age home was discovered close to the village of Krum in the Haskovo District by the team of archaeologist Boris Borisov, who are excavating a plot designated for the construction of the Maritsa Highway going to the Turkish border.
Borisov said the skeleton belonged to a young disabled person, aged between 10 and 15. It was found buried with limbs close to the body as part of a funeral ritual, close to the southern wall of the home.
The research of the find is underway with anthropologist Tsvetan Minkov summoned to the spot.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=121454
Submitted by coldrum.
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Andy B
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| Posted 23-11-2010 at 15:22
Meet the flintstones! - Revealed – ice ages among the gas mains
RECENT finds in Monmouth have revealed that people were living in the town as far back as 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. This is a startling discovery because not only are such sites rare, but until now the earliest known settlement in the town was believed to have been only about 2,500 years old.
Flint implements, charcoal and bone fragments from beneath an ancient riverbank have revealed that there was a Middle Stone Age settlement on what is now Monmouth’s St. James Street by people who were among the first explorers of the country following the end of the last Ice Age, some 11,000 years ago.
The finds, which were made during excavations in the road for gas main replacements, have been examined and dated by Elizabeth Walker, Curator of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Archaeology at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff.
At the time of this camp, the River Wye chartered a different course from that of today, then running alongside what is now St. James’ Street. The people who lived there would have been “hunter-gatherers” before the invention of agriculture and of permanent settlements. The implements discovered on the camp site are made of flint – arrow points and harpoon barbs, together with waste flakes, some burned in camp fires – proving that people were living and working there.
“There have been some outstanding discoveries in Monmouth but this is one of the most remarkable,” said a spokesman for Monmouth Archaeological Society.
“It shows that people were living on the site of Monmouth many thousands of years earlier than we had realised, thus adding to the already renowned archaeology of the town.”
Wales and West Utilities will be funding Radiocarbon dating of the charcoal, through the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, and help with the cost of a geological examination of the site.
THE site was revealed when one of the town’s archaeologists noticed a fleck of charcoal in the sand of the ancient flood plain, beneath layers of riverside pebbles and below 2,000 years of Roman and later remains.
The alluvial pebbles and sand would normally be considered to be the ‘natural’ material laid down before the appearance of modern humans and archaeologists would usually stop digging at that horizon.
However, the charcoal flecks led to the discovery of worked flints, including distinctive Middle Stone Age ‘microliths’ – the small flint blades which were used as barbs and points set in arrows and harpoons. Larger flint ‘cores’ from which the microliths were struck and waste pieces of flint, together with flints burned in the camp fires, showed that this was where people were living and working all those centuries ago.
Middle Stone Age settlements (late Mesolithic) were temporary and probably seasonal, when small groups of people collected wild plant food and exploited the fish, wildfowl and small game of the river valleys. The great beasts of the deeper Ice Ages – elephant, woolly rhinoceros, hippopotamus, cave bears, lions and mammoths, some of which were hunted by humans (and at times by hyenas) living in King Arthur’s Cave on the Great Doward – had died out.
Even reindeer and elk had gone but had been replaced by smaller prey – more modern animals such as Red and Roe deer, wild boar, beavers, pine martins and foxes. However, prehistoric wild cattle – the aurochs – had survived and although probably less dangerous than a mammoth, must have been pretty formidable creatures.
The Monmouth hunter-gatherers’ camp was occupied when the River Wye was much higher in the town for it later covered the flood silts with the thick layer of pebbles – presumably when the river changed its course to deposit on the Monmouth bank and cut into the Wyesham side.
Although such temporary prehistoric settlements are generally thought to have been around 25 metres across, the Monmouth team has found similar flints in ancient river sands in nearby Wyebridge Street – perhaps showing that this camp was very large – or that there were two Stone Age camps in the town?
So, although Monmouth has had to put up with some inconvenience and occasional chaos in its streets during the gas mains excavations, archaeologists have been able to show that people have been living there for many thousands of years.
Another unexpected discovery at the St. James Street camp site was a sherd of Iron Age pottery in the surface of the flood plain, sealed beneath the pebbly riverbank. This can only mean that the Wye was flowing along St. James’ Street not that long before Monmouth became a Roman town – two thousand years ago – which can now be seen as comparatively recently!
The wandering River Wye
THE recent discovery of a Mesolithic camp in St James Square by archaeologist Steven Clark posed an intriguing question when the evidence of stratified river deposits were found.
How can it be possible for the River Wye to be situated at such a distance from its present position?
All rivers change their course due to the vortex motion that erodes the riverbank on the outer curve, depositing the eroded material onto the opposite inner curve further down. This pro-degration enables rivers to move like a winding snake changing position and the diameter of their coils over many years. The freedom of the river’s meandering migration is limited only by its flow and by topographical features such as gradients, mounds, rocks and mountains.
The illustration shows the predicted progressive meandering course of the River Wye at Monmouth over many years as a possible explanation to the presence of river deposits at St. James Square. – Peter Bere
http://www.forest-and-wye-today.co.uk/featuresdetail.cfm?id=3256
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Andy B
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| Posted 23-11-2010 at 15:23
Historical find at Leighton Buzzard golf course
An archaeological treasure has been unearthed on a golf course in Bedfordshire.
A quern stone was found by greenkeepers at Leighton Buzzard golf course as they dug out a new tee.
Club Captain Neil Bagshawe told BBC Three Counties Radio how they found it.
"The guys were digging the fourth tee to renew it and about a metre down they found this flat round object around 14 inches in diameter which turned out to be a quern stone" he said.
Quern stones were used for grinding corn before the introduction of mill stones, but despite this, it's not actually that common to find one.
"Apparently only three have ever been discovered in the south of England so it is quite rare" said Mr Bagshawe, "and even rarer to find one that is completely intact.
"It's in very good condition" he added.
"You can still see the marks that are necessary to actually effect the grinding mechanism to make sure that you do get the corn out at the end, so it's obviously been made by man as opposed to being a natural object."
Mr Bagshawe is an amateur archaeologist, but said that while he is very interested in the subject, he took advice from local expert Bernard Jones to assess what had actually been found.
Apparently only three have ever been discovered in the south of England so it is quite rare.
Neil Bagshawe, Club Captain, Leighton Buzzard Golf Club
He also explained how the stone could date back over 2,000 years from what was already known about the golf course land.
"There's evidence going way back that there were Iron Age settlements on that land" he said, "basically small holdings after herder gatherers gave way to settlements. So it's been inhabited from the late Iron Age which was the last century BC."
Despite its rarity, the stone has no intrinsic value but Mr Bagshawe revealed that it will be displayed in the club house.
"It's part of our heritage so we're very proud of it." he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/threecounties/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_9154000/9154487.stm
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Andy B
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| Posted 09-12-2010 at 21:19
Robbed burial cairn find at Dounreay nuclear dump site
A large ancient burial cairn has been uncovered at the site of a proposed £100m nuclear waste dump.
But archaeologists found no remains in the cairn or its central cist, suggesting the site at Dounreay was robbed of its artefacts in the past.
The cairn dates from about 4,000 years ago during the Bronze Age.
An archaeological survey was made of the area on the Caithness coast ahead of construction work on the store for low-level radioactive waste.
Archaeologist James McMeekin told Dounreay's monthly magazine that people were usually buried in cairns along with their treasured possessions.
Highland Council approved plans for the dump in 2009.
It will be constructed on a former military airfield.
Building the store within the Dounreay nuclear complex site was ruled out because of the potential future threat of coastal erosion.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11936674
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Andy B
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| Posted 17-12-2010 at 14:02
Ancient ruin could date back to Iron Age
A PROMINENT local historian has speculated that a chance find on a housing development site could pre-date the Roman occupation of Scotland.
Last week the Herald reported that contractors working in the grounds of the former Woodilee Hospital, between Kirkintilloch and Lenzie, had unearthed what is thought to be a wooden roundhouse dating back thousands of years.
Don Martin, former assistant manager of information and archives at East Dunbartonshire Council, has his own ideas about the remains.
Mr Martin told the Herald: "The building is clearly a native dwelling house, with remains of a kind sometimes referred to as a 'hut circle'.
"Such hut circles are found all over the country, and vary greatly in size. Sometimes the walls are of timber, as is the case here, and sometimes of stone."
Experts from Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) have visited the site.
Dr Gavin McGregor, project manager at Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD), said: "The date of the structure is unclear at this stage, but it potentially dates some time from the second millennium BC to the first few centuries AD.
"Notably, the site is relatively close to the Antonine Wall. If the structure proves to date to the mid to later second century AD, it may be contemporary with the Roman presence in the area."
Mr Martin said: "Given what GUARD have said, it belongs either to the Bronze Age or the Iron Age period, and most probably the Iron Age.
"In this connection there is an Iron Age fort in the Campsies, at Meikle Reive, above Lennoxtown.
"It is likely that the Romans encountered Iron Age people when they arrived in this area."
Meikle Reive is thought to have been built in the first century AD, predating the nearby Roman-built Antonine Wall, which was started in 142 AD.
Mr Martin hopes that the latest find will be retained for future generations to learn a little more about the history of East Dunbartonshire.
He said: "I don't know what the effect on building work at Woodilee will be, but I know of a number of places where archaeological features have been retained as focal points within modern housing developments."
There may now be a long wait before anything more concrete is known about the structure - as a team of archaeologists from Glasgow University descend upon the site to investigate.
The excavation, which is expected to take weeks to complete, is being funded by the Woodilee Consortium of housebuilders.
A spokesperson for the developers said: "The Woodilee Consortium and GUARD won't have any more information until the full excavation report is available."
http://www.kirkintilloch-herald.co.uk/news/Ancient-ruin-could-date-back.6628282.jp
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Andy B
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| Posted 17-12-2010 at 14:15
Another report from Dounray:
Remains taken from ancient burial chamber
AN ancient burial chamber on land adjoining Dounreay has been found without any sign of its human remains.
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Archaeologists were excited to come across the previously-unrecorded cairn as they surveyed ground which is to site a dump for low-active radioactive waste.
While they have recovered valuable material, the Edinburgh-based team discovered the remains had been removed during a previous excavation.
Headland Archaeology has still to conclusively date the find but believes it goes back to the Bronze Age. The turf-covered cairn, which contained a three-foot-long cist or coffin, is a few hundred yards from the cliff edge.
Project officer James
McMeekin said: “The cairn was in very good condition and the cist itself was very well preserved though we found its human remains have been removed.
“We have got a lot of information from
its construction and design.
“We will process samples of soil, seeds and charcoal and draw up a report on how it relates to the known archaeology of the area.
“We recovered a small flake of flint and from that alone we can learn about trade networks or where it was imported from.”
Headland was commissioned to carry out the survey last month as part of preparations for the construction of the £100 million-plus dump.
Work on the concrete sub-surface vaults is due to start in April.
http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/8928/Remains_taken_from_ancient_burial_chamber.html
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Andy B
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| Posted 20-12-2010 at 15:01
Metal detectorist Steve Blair finds Iron Age burial ground
HAVING wielded a metal detector for 15 years, a builder finally struck lucky when he stumbled across an Iron Age burial ground.
Steve Blair, of Heaverham Road in Kemsing, has a passion for history and archaeology and had always hoped to uncover artefacts more significant than his usual finds of Victorian pennies.
His luck changed when his detector found three cremation urns dating back to the late Iron Age and early Roman period.
His once-in-a-lifetime find led to professional archaeologists uncovering 19 more.
Click here for more
Mr Blair made the discovery after the field was dug up by South East Water for a new pipeline.
He said: "The archaeologists are excited because nothing like this has been discovered between Otford Mount and Oldbury Hill.
"I'd been out for 20 minutes and then the metal detector sounded off and I started to look.
"I found the edge of the first one and I cleaned around it and I noticed the white bone inside. Then I called the archaeologists."
A team from the Kent Archaeological Project spent more than a week turning up more urns, and was due to finish yesterday.
In one case they found what are believed to be two urns next to each other, one with pointed edges and the other curved, with a pot for perfume nearby.
The team believe it could be the remains of a husband and wife.
A brooch was found next to another urn.
Tim Allen, director of the archaeological group, said: "The most interesting thing is it's probably quite a big burial ground and when there is a big burial ground there is a big settlement near."
While some of the urns crumbled when uncovered, others remained intact and will be opened in a laboratory.
"All sorts of things end up in these urns, but there probably will just be bone – nothing of financial value," said Mr Allen.
The cremated remains must be reinterred but the pots will be glued together and stored.
Mr Blair said the experience had been fascinating.
"I've been doing this land since 1987 and you find Roman coins not of any value all over the place," he said. "If you find a coin 2,000 years old and you are the first person to touch it – that's the excitement."
South East Water said its 1.4km long pipeline will reinforce the water supply between Kemsing Water Treatment Works and Oak Bank Reservoir in Chart.
A spokesman said: "On schemes such as this we take the precaution of having archaeologists working alongside."
http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Metal-detectorist-finds-ancient-burial-ground/article-2805799-detail/article.html
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Andy B
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| Posted 02-02-2011 at 09:35
Peterborough's Bronze Age past has been revealed in dig
Hoards of Bronze Age weapons, pots still full of food and elaborate textiles have all been uncovered at an archaeological dig near Peterborough.
The unusually well-preserved finds are due to a fierce fire in 500BC, which caused the artefacts to sink rapidly into the peaty fen waters.
Archaeologist Tim Malim said: "It's more impressive than Flag Fen.
"The textile finds are unique within England," he continued. "We've never found anything from this date before."
The archaeologists also quite literally walked in the steps of our Bronze Age ancestors - uncovering human and animal footprints in the mud.
Wooden piles
Bronze Age find, Must Farm
One of the Bronze Age finds. "They're in lovely condition," said Tim Malim
The dig took place at Must Farm, a quarry owned by Hanson at Whittlesey.
For around 15 years, the company has arranged for archaeologists to excavate sites ahead of its clay extractions.
But this dig almost did not take place.
A local archaeologist swam in the quarry pits as a child. He remembered seeing wooden piles in the water, so suggested Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) should explore the site, which was not in the path of the next Hanson clay extraction.
Mr Malim is the head of archaeology for the environmental firm SLR Consulting. The company works closely with Hanson and CAU.
He explained that the settlement was unusual. Instead of being built on dry land, the buildings were attached to a large wooden platform balanced on thick, oak piles driven into the bed of the River Nene.
This helped preserve the finds when a fire broke out sometime between 700BC and 500BC.
'Really intense heat'
Archaeologist at dig
Archaeologists are not sure of the purpose of the Bronze Age structure
"Imagine a fire like the one at the pier in Weston-super-Mare," Mr Malim said. "The wind acts under the supports to build up a really intense heat and incinerated the pier, and it was like that with this platform.
"As a consequence of that the buildings above, and all that was in them, burnt very quickly and dropped into the water where the fire was rapidly quenched and the contents preserved."
As well as the textiles, rare pottery, wicker fishing traps, wooden walkways and bronze tools have been revealed.
The archaeologists also discovered glass beads previously unknown to this late Bronze Age, so they could be imports from Europe.
The contents of the 50 pots of food are awaiting analysis by experts.
The site is so significant that Hanson has ensured its preservation by building a bund around it to prevent it drying out.
Rising sea levels gradually flooded this part of Cambridgeshire from the late Bronze Age, causing people to retreat to the higher, drier areas, with wooden walkways linking them above the bogs.
Large-scale clay extraction in this area, known as the Flag Fen basin, has given archaeologists the chance to discover how the landscape developed and uncover the way people lived.
Now the Cambridge Archaeological Unit has moved on to another part of the quarry where two burial mounds, or barrows, cobbled tracks and fishing traps have been uncovered.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cambridgeshire/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_9168000/9168497.stm
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Andy B
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| Posted 02-02-2011 at 09:43
Bronze Age revealed at historic dig
ARCHAEOLOGISTS digging at a farm near Whittlesey have shown off amazing finds that had lain buried for thousands of years.
Hoards of Bronze Age weapons, textiles and even pots full of food and footprints have been found at Must Farm quarry in Whittlesey.
Pottery, wicker fishing traps, wooden walkways and bronze tools have also been revealed.
The site, owned by construction firm Hanson, was a wooden pier on the banks of the River Nene, dating from 1,200 BC. It was destroyed by fire in 500 BC.
The Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) started digging after an archaeologist told them he had been wooden piles in the water while swimming in the quarry as a child.
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/local/bronze_age_revealed_at_historic_dig_1_1609145
with thanks to Coldrum
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Andy B
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| Posted 02-02-2011 at 09:45
Museum to exhibit historic treasures uncovered by road works
CLARE Museum is planning an exhibition of artefacts unearthed by archaeologists along the route of the recently opened M18 Gort – Crusheen road scheme.
The excavations at 22 sites were carried out in accordance with the Directions issued to Galway County Council by the Minister for the Environment and were undertaken by archaeologists from Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd on behalf of Galway County Council and the National Roads Authority (NRA) in 2007 and 2008 prior to construction of the new roadway.
Following an inspection of the artefacts by staff at the National Museum of Ireland, a final list of objects suitable for exhibition was made and these have been delivered to the museum. Included are pottery, stone tools and axes dating from the Neolithic period and glass and amber beads, and a rare bone gaming piece, which date from the Iron Age period.
The museum plans to create an exhibition of these artefacts in the New Year in a specially designed exhibition space on the top floor of the building.
http://www.clarepeople.com/wordp5/201011264840/museum-to-exhibit-historic-treasures-uncovered-by-road-works/
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Andy B
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| Posted 16-03-2011 at 18:47
Garden dig leads to a grave discovery
Pat Tiernan is a keen fan of television's 'Time Team' and amateur archaeology. But he never thought a dig in his back garden would unearth items up to 4,000 years old.
After starting work on an extension to his home in Collinstown, Co Westmeath, he was astonished to discover a skeleton and other items.
Pretty soon a team from the National Museum was excavating and evaluating his find which included human remains and a Bronze Age bowl.
Mr Tiernan credited the TV show with helping him identify the find.
The find was made following a recent spell of bad weather at the bungalow in Rickardstown.
Pat explained: " I looked out the window and saw bones protruding out the back and I saw the pot. They looked too big for ordinary animal bones and too small for large animal bones. I kind of clicked it because I was used to looking at a bit of 'Time Team'," he said.
Since a visit to Newgrange, Mr Tiernan had developed an interest in ancient Irish art and archaeology. "It is funny that I should find this being so into the Celtic stuff for so long," he said.
A team from the National Museum of Ireland described the find as "significant". "They reckon it is between 4,000-4,500 years old," Mr Tiernan said.
Assistant keeper at the museum, Padraig Clancy, went to the site along with colleagues Andy Halpin and Carol Smith. Mr Clancy said it has yet to be determined whether the Bronze-Age remains were those of a man or a woman.
"The very interesting thing about Rickardstown is a similar bowl was found by a Mr Thomas O'Farrell in the 1940s at a quarry," he revealed. "This find fits the Bronze Age burial tradition which were often isolated burials."
He also thanked Pat for his quick thinking. "Due to his prompt recognition of it, it did save the bulk of the vessel."
The finds will be analysed and preserved at the museum.
Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/garden-dig-leads-to-a-grave-discovery-15095717.html#ixzz1GgLTxlPd
with thanks to Coldrum
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Andy B
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| Posted 16-03-2011 at 19:12
Stone-age axe head unearthed in Perth
Various ancient items have been found across Scotland according to the Treasure Trove report - a list of the valuable finds made by members of the public.
Found: 6,000 year old axe head
A 6,000-year-old axe head and an Anglo-Scandinavian sword handle are among hundreds of archaeological treasures unearthed in Scotland since 2009.
The items are included in the latest Treasure Trove report - a list of the valuable finds made by members of the public last year.
The Neolithic stone axe head discovered in Perth is thought to date back to 4000-2200 BC. Historians say axe heads such as this small, polished item made from greenstone were often traded or exchanged as gifts.
In later periods they were used as amulets as they were believed to have magical properties.
Under Scottish law, the Crown has the right to all lost and abandoned property which is not otherwise owned. The Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer is responsible for claiming objects, placing them with museums and paying rewards to finders.
QLTR Catherine Dyer said: "The report highlights the hundreds of members of the public who report their finds and in doing so assist in preserving the history of our great nation for all of us to enjoy in museum collections.
"The axe head had been allocated to Perth Museum and the sword pommel has gone to National Museums Scotland.
Mull Museum has taken the ring and the pendant is destined for Kilmartin Museum."
Professor Ian Ralston chair of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel said: "I think the axe head is interesting to see because it's the kind of object which, 100 years ago, lots of them would have been found during the ploughing process.
"Now the opportunity for people to find them is probably much less."
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/tayside/228751-stone-age-axe-head-unearthed-in-perth/
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bat400
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| Posted 05-04-2011 at 05:19
Stone Age Fertility Ritual Object Found
A Stone Age-era artifact carved with multiple zigzags and what is likely a woman with spread legs suggests that fertility rituals may have been important to early Europeans, according to new research. The object, documented in the March issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, is made out of a large elk antler and has been radiocarbon dated to about 10,900 years ago.
"The ornament is composed of groups of zigzag lines and a human representation, probably a woman with spread legs with a short zigzag nearby," lead author Tomasz Płonka told Discovery News. "The woman may be nude, but the geometrical style of representation does not allow us to answer (this question)."
Płonka, a University of Wroclaw archaeologist, and his colleagues analyzed the object, unearthed by a farmer at Swidwin, Poland.
At first the scientists believed the geometrical figure carved onto the antler could have been either the mentioned woman, or a nude man raising his arms. Measurements to determine the ratio of the stick figure limbs, in addition to comparisons with other early human representations, lead the researchers to support the woman interpretation.
Zigzags are very popular motifs on artifacts from many cultures throughout the world, with many possible meanings, but Płonka said, "I think our zigzag lines are connected with water and life symbolism."
"Consequently, the role of aquatic environment as the source of food (fish, mammals) and perhaps transport thoroughfare gained importance," the scientists concluded.
Giant elks were the most imposing animals of the European Plain, perhaps symbolizing "the power of life," according to Płonka. The structure of the carved antler indicates its growth stage was spring or summer. The scientists believe the elk was selected and killed on purpose to make the object, which may have served a role in rituals for many years.
For more, see news.discovery.com. Thanks to coldrum for the link.
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Andy B
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| Posted 12-08-2011 at 12:12
Mesolithic 'rest stop' found at new Sainsbury's site
Archaeologists believe the remains of burned oak uncovered at the site of the first Sainsbury's in the Highlands to be evidence of an ancient "rest stop".
The supermarket and a filling station are being constructed on the outskirts of Nairn, at a cost of about £20m.
Headland Archaeologists investigated the site ahead of building work.
They radiocarbon-dated the hearth to the Mesolithic period, which started as the last Ice Age ended about 12,000 years ago.
In a report published on Highland Council's Historic Environment Record site, the archaeologists said the fire appeared to have been made to provide heat and not cooking, because no food waste was found.
They added: "The dating of a feature from charcoal is problematic since the wood that was being burned may have been felled a long time before it was used.
"Activity in the area during the Mesolithic period is known from the discovery of a number of small flint tools along the Culbin Sands in Nairn.
"The lack of any other Mesolithic dating on the site suggests that there was no settlement in the area, and that instead the hearth represents a temporary rest stop."
Massive tsunami
Nomadic hunter-gatherers may have been attracted to nearby Culbin Sands because of its woodland wildlife, or to fish along its shoreline, according Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS). FCS manage forestry in the area.
During the Mesolithic period, Britain was transformed from a peninsula to an island.
It is thought that landslides in Norway - the Storegga Slides - triggered a massive tsunami when a landlocked sea burst its banks.
The water struck the north-east of Britain with such force it travelled 25 miles (40km) inland, covering low-lying plains in water or turning it into marshlands.
Cremation pits
Sainsbury's is not the first supermarket chain to have ancient history uncovered at its building sites.
A Bronze Age burial site was found at the location of the first Asda supermarket in the Highlands.
Archaeologists recorded an area of cremation pits surrounded by a ring ditch at Slackbuie, in Inverness.
Almost 2,000 flints were also recovered from the field on the city's distributor road where the store is being constructed.
Pieces of Neolithic pottery known as Unstan Ware were also discovered during digs led by Edinburgh-based NG Archaeology Services.
BBC News article
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14189794
with thanks to MikeAitch
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MikeAitch
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| Posted 16-08-2011 at 11:18
Iron Age road link to Iceni tribe
Article with photos & link to video: BBC News Science & Environment.
A suspected Iron Age road, made of timber and preserved in peat for 2,000 years, has been uncovered by archaeologists in East Anglia.
The site, excavated in June, may have been part of a route across the River Waveney and surrounding wetland at Geldeston in Norfolk, say experts.
Causeways were first found in the area in 2006, during flood defence work at the nearby Suffolk town of Beccles.
It is thought the road is pre-Roman, built by the local Iceni tribe.
Exact dating has yet to be carried out but tree-ring evidence suggests a date of 75BC.
That dates the timber road to more than 100 years before the Roman invasion, which saw the Iceni and their leader Boudicca lead a revolt which threatened to end Roman rule.
In AD60, the Iceni ambushed one Roman legion and sacked Roman settlements at London and Colchester before being defeated.
'Remarkable' detail
The timber structures, usually lost on archaeological sites, are marked out by the posts which have been preserved in remarkable detail. As they are dug up, they look almost modern, and it is still possible to clearly see tool marks in the timbers.
University of Birmingham archaeological researcher Kristina Krawiec, from the dig team, said: "Instead of getting post holes, we're getting the posts that would have gone in them. We're understanding more about the technology and skills that went into these sort of things."
John Davies, chief curator at Norwich Castle Museum, added: "This particular track way is very interesting to us because we have tools... which may actually tie in with some of the tool marks and methods of construction we are turning up in the excavation."
Discovered in June last year, the recently excavated timbers form a 4m-wide (13ft) route, running for 500m across wetland right up to the river. There have been two previous linked finds nearby including one on the other side of the river and another running alongside it.
"We perhaps have evidence that these alignments were designed to indicate a crossing or access route to the River Waveney," said University of Birmingham archaeologist Ben Gearey.
As well as providing practical ways of getting across the wet flood plain, the archaeologists believe the roads may have been a way of marking territory to traders and travellers from afar, and spiritual gathering places where the tribe that built them could go to the river to make offerings.
Items such as swords, shields and spearheads are often found in rivers - probably gifts to the gods or to long-dead ancestors.
In a world without roads, rivers were the motorways of the time and it is thought the Waveney formed part of a major metal trading route from Europe.
The timber structures would probably have been an impressive sight to any passing travellers.
Find out more on the new series of BBC Two's Digging For Britain, to be aired in September.
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MikeAitch
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| Posted 18-08-2011 at 16:16
Article with photo: BBC News Science & Environment
'Britain's first pre-Roman planned town' found near Reading
By Louise Ord Assistant Producer, Digging for Britain
Archaeologists believe they have found the first pre-Roman planned town discovered in Britain.
It has been unearthed beneath the Roman town of Silchester or Calleva Atrebatum near modern Reading.
The Romans are often credited with bringing civilisation to Britain - including town planning.
But excavations have shown evidence of an Iron Age town built on a grid and signs inhabitants had access to imported wine and olive oil.
Prof Mike Fulford, an archaeologist at the University of Reading, said the people of Iron Age Silchester appear to have adopted an urbanised 'Roman' way of living, long before the Romans arrived.
"It is very remarkable to find this evidence of a planned Iron Age layout before the arrival of the Romans and the development of a planned, Roman town," he said.
"Indeed, it would be hard to see a significant difference between the lifestyles of the inhabitants of the Iron Age town and of its Roman successor in the 1st Century AD."
He said they seem to have been drinking wine and using olive oil and a fermented fish sauce called garum in their cooking, all imported from abroad.
Silchester is famous for the most complete Roman town walls in Britain.
After the Roman invasion, the town was used by its military, and there is evidence that Roman buildings were very swiftly built on top of Iron Age structures.
Prof Fulford believes that shortly before this, the town may have been taken over by the British Iron Age chieftain Caratacus - a leader of the Catuvellauni tribe - as his stronghold.
The evidence comes from coins minted by Caratacus in the area.
"Both their tight distribution in central southern England and their style point to Calleva as being the source of Caratacus' coins," he said.
Caratacus was a hero of the British resistance to Roman rule. He famously took on the invading Roman army at the Battle of Medway and after his capture was taken to Rome where he appeared so fearless that the Emperor Claudius was moved to spare his life.
As for the fate of the Roman town, a scorched layer within the archaeology suggests that it was actually burnt to the ground, and seems to have been abandoned for about 20 years.
It is possible that this destruction was carried out by the Queen of the Iceni tribe, Boudicca, or at least at the time of her anti-Roman rebellion in 60 - 61 AD.
It is known from the Annals of Tacitus that Boudicca and her army laid waste to the Roman towns of Colchester (Camulodunum), London (Londinium) and St Albans (Verulamium), but could Silchester have been a fourth, previously unknown Roman settlement to fall victim to Boudicca's rebellion?
If these theories are correct, then within a single generation Silchester went through a period of turbulent evolution from a prosperous and sophisticated Iron Age town, to being under direct Roman army control to being burned to the ground and deserted.
Prof Mike Fulford will be talking to Dr Alice Roberts in the latest series of Digging For Britain on BBC Two in September.
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MikeAitch
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| Posted 30-08-2011 at 18:47
UK's oldest cave art discovered in Gower
Possibly the UK's oldest example of cave art has been discovered in Gower, dating back to the Ice age.
Experts say the faint scratchings of a speared reindeer are more than 12,000 years old.
Their exact location is being kept secret to protect them from damage. But already they have been the target from a vandal.
Kate Morgan reports in this BBC Wales Video
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Runemage
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| Posted 30-08-2011 at 22:44
Quote:
| On 2011-08-30 18:47, MikeAitch wrote:
UK's oldest cave art discovered in Gower
Possibly the UK's oldest example of cave art has been discovered in Gower, dating back to the Ice age.
Experts say the faint scratchings of a speared reindeer are more than 12,000 years old.
Their exact location is being kept secret to protect them from damage. But already they have been the target from a vandal.
Kate Morgan reports in this BBC Wales Video |
|
That was on our news in Yorkshire, so it's been given a high profile.
Rune
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MikeAitch
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| Posted 31-08-2011 at 18:31
I couldn't find a site page so I'll pop this BBC News Article here:
Dunning Iron Age find shows Roman-Pictish link
Archaeologists working near the village of Dunning found an Iron Age broch which has evidence of early contact between the Picts and the Roman Empire.
The broch - a drystone wall structure - is the first of its kind to be found in the Scottish lowlands for 100 years.
Evidence shows that the Roman dwelling was destroyed by fire and then probably reoccupied by a Pictish warlord.
It was uncovered by a team from the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (Serf) project.
Pictish power
Brochs were the preferred residence of the elite during Roman times. The team said the "exquisitely preserved" Dunning example was built at the top of a hill and offers a 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside.
It was also "massively fortified" with 5m (16.4ft) thick drystone walls.
It appears to have been destroyed by fire before the Picts built a palisaded fortress directly on top of the site.
Professor Stephen Driscoll, director of the Serf project, said: "There can be no doubt that we have located one of the major centres of Pictish power from the 1st and 2nd Centuries.
"The scale of the architecture is colossal and the tower-like structure would have visually dominated its surroundings."
'First contact'
A wide range of Roman trade goods have been discovered in the broch, including a bronze patera, a glass vessel and an unusual lead bowl.
The Professor of Historical Archaeology at the University of Glasgow said it was "not unreasonable" to conclude the broch was the seat of a Celtic chieftain who collected luxury objects from the Roman world.
He added: "The artefacts are of particular interest as they date to the time of the first contact with the Roman world and offer numerous clues to how the Picts might have begun their interactions with the Roman Empire."
Serf archaeologists believe the broch is the best example of an Iron Age Roman site being reoccupied by the Picts.
The excavation was directed by Dr Heather James, from Northlight Heritage, one of Serf's partner organisations.
Major sponsorship for the project comes from the University of Glasgow, Historic Scotland, the British Academy and the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.
[ This message was edited by: MikeAitch on 2011-08-31 18:32 ]
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