British Archaeology magazine May/June 2010 issue out now England

Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 09 April 2010 Page Views: 7468

Country: England

On the cover, an atmospheric shot of a stone circle in Argyll, where Mick Aston has been to visit the wealth of archaeology and history at Kilmartin and the Kintyre peninsula all the way down to the Mull

(Oh no, it's) "DARTMOOR’S STONEHENGE" – NEW DISCOVERY
Six years ago Tom Greeves found a major prehistoric monument on Cut Hill, one of the highest (600m OD) and remotest parts of Dartmoor. Survey that still continues has now revealed a total of nine large megaliths exposed by peat cutting, or still buried.

The row, one of the largest amongst some 80 known on the moor, is the first ever to have been dated. It had been built by 3000BC, much older than anyone had expected. Even more remarkable is that the row’s dead straight, north-east/south-west alignment is identical to that of Stonehenge (which started in 3000BC) – indicating the rising midsummer sun and setting midwinter sun

HOARD “SAVED” – BUT WHO FOR?
While the West Midlands celebrates the public generosity that has allowed Birmingham and Stoke museums to buy the Staffordshire Anglo-Saxon hoard, British Archaeology reveals that Staffordshire county council, without the knowledge of most hoard “partners”, registered a bid to trademark the hoard name

A CHILD’S GIFT TO SCIENCE
Sebastian Payne, chief scientist at English Heritage, reflects on key surveys about ancient human remains that were launched on April 6. These are thought to be the first of their kind anywhere in the world to canvas a wide public opinion on what happens to human remains excavated by archaeologists. Contrary to many recent claims made in the media by Pagan groups, there is very strong public support for keeping such remains for scientific study, and using them in museum displays. The surveys were prompted by a Pagan request to “rebury” the skeleton of a prehistoric child exhibited in Avebury museum

FINDS AT MAJOR CARLISLE DIG INCLUDE MYSTERIOUS “TRIDENTS”
A seven-month excavation with up to 60 staff has ended on the Carlisle northern development route (CNDR) that will link the M6 to the A595 in Cumbria. Hundreds of tonnes of soil from a mesolithic camp (8500–4000BC), possibly for exploiting the salmon-rich estuary, was sieved using a Dutch system in which water was pumped through wheelbarrows whose bottoms had been replaced with wire mesh: over 200,000 flint artefacts were recovered. Early farming artefacts (3800–3370BC) include two “tridents”, long wooden forks only seen before in 19th century finds, from a bog in Armagh and a lake in Cumbria. There was also a flint arrowhead with hafting mastic still attached

MONEY CRISIS HITS MANX EXCAVATIONS
Work on major excavations on the Isle of Man appears to have stalled, as the UK government has removed what it sees as subsidies to the Crown dependency, where the top rate of income tax is 20%. The island has no equivalent to the UK planning system that ensures excavation funding, but discoveries of international significance were made in 2008 and 2009 thanks to goodwill between the Manx government, archaeologists and the developer. Understanding of important mesolithic and bronze age houses lies “in limbo”, according to one source, until money is found to pay for post-excavation analysis

BATTLE OF BOSWORTH
“Up with my tent there!” says Shakespeare’s Richard III on the eve of the Battle of Bosworth. But where exactly was that? After 525 years archaeology has located the battlefield that ended the War of the Roses. Glenn Foard details the discovery of the site, which has now yielded 30 lead munitions – more than from all other 15th–16th century battlefields in Europe put together

HARVESTING THE SEVERN ESTUARY
Unique medieval structures have been found in the intertidal mud of the Severn estuary, by the region’s few remaining traditional fishermen. The baskets and stakes are reminders of a 1,000-year-old history of fixed-trap fishing that has all but disappeared from the British coastline

UNIVERSITY ARCHAEOLOGY: A THING OF THE PAST?
Early in 2009 British Archaeology reported how commercial archaeology had been hit hard by the building industry decline. The UK economy emerged from recession this January, but the government has to make huge savings. The university budget for England alone is to be cut by £573m. What will become of archaeology teaching and research? We asked the questions

THE BURIED GODS OF GOGMAGOG
There is still much to say about Britain’s white fill figures, cut from the turf to reveal the chalk beneath. Most controversial are the mysterious Gogmagog “giants”, which Tom Lethbridge claimed to have found near a hillfort in Cambridgeshire in the 1950s. Did they really exist?

THREE MEN AND A (LEAKY) BOAT
Who was buried in the great ship at Sutton Hoo? The answer is usually given as Rædwald. But 17 years ago, a radically different interpretation was proposed. Helen Geake sees how the evidence stacks up now

REGULARS INCLUDE

* Spoilheap
Public reaction to the first Treasure Act sentencing
* In View
Greg Bailey looks behind the scenes at the British Museum’s 100 objects
* On the web
Encyclopaedias and grey literature
* My archaeology
English Heritage chief executive Simon Thurley remembers his youth
* Books
British archaeology, Whithorn priory and Hadrian’s Wall
* Briefing
The UK's only archaeological events listing, with exhibition reviews
* CBA Correspondent
Mike Heyworth reviews current events in marine archaeology

British Archaeology is a bimonthly members' magazine that is also available in larger WH Smith stores and the best independent newsagents, and by subscription.

Contributor Bio for Andy B: Megalithic Portal Founding Editor.

<< The Fifth Megalithomania Conference, May 8th - 9th, Glastonbury

Events

Megalithic Portal at the Sunrise Celebration Festival, 4th June, Somerset, UK >>