Introducing the July/August 2007 issue of British Archaeology

Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 08 June 2007 Page Views: 2898

Mike Pitts writes: A new British Archaeology has just hit the newsstands in This is a particularly strong issue, including the 'Blair years' analysis everyone has been waiting for. Below is a summary of the stories that I particularly like.

How did we dig the Blair age?

Only British Archaeology tackles the really difficult question: what happened to archaeology under the Blair governments? There have been and are problems, but this was the decade that archaeology in Britain came of age. When unprecedented amounts were spent on the past, when initiatives such as the Treasure Act led to a new democratisation of our heritage and when the foundations were laid for an entirely new, richer story of our ancient history.

We pick out some of the great discoveries of the past 10 years:

* Medieval ivory diptych found in Cardiff and Liverpool
Preparing for a new exhibition in Cardiff museum, Mark Redknap noticed a remarkable similarity between a carved ivory panel in the collections and another in Liverpool museum. They turned out once to have been hinged together, making his find a complete diptych, showing the Virgin and child with saints Peter and Paul on one side, and Christ on the Cross with Mary and John on the other. The Cardiff piece is said to have been found at an old house in Llandaf before 1836; the original provenance of the Liverpool one is not known. A laser replica has been made of the latter for the exhibition which will open in Cardiff in December Mark Redknap, curator of medieval and later archaeology, Amgueddfa Cymru National Museum Wales

* Compassion revealed in Quaker finds
The rare excavation of a dissenting burial ground at Hemingford St Grey, Cambridgeshire has revealed remarkable insights into an early Quaker community. In keeping with Quaker practice, which eschewed interment in consecrated ground, graves were aligned parallel or at right angles to a nearby river, with no visible markers. Extremely unusual pathological conditions included in one man the successful amputation of both feet and in another severe spinal damage from idiopathic scoliosis: both men would have shown clear deformities, causing discomfort for a considerable time. A hole had been worn through a third man’s teeth big enough to seat his smoking pipe Louise Loe, head of heritage burial services at Oxford Archaeology

* Why Billy Bragg said bollocks to Buckingham Palace
The musician, writer and campaigner talks about the importance of the past to our cultural identify

* Unique Celtic comb for horses or people?
A decorated first century AD copper alloy comb is the first of its type seen. It was found in a ploughed field near Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire by metal-detectorist Russell Peach. Archaeologists are divided as to whether it was used for dressing horses or people. In 2004 small bronze hair clippers were found in Essex with similar decoration, and a comparable comb made of bone has been found in Scotland. The latter, says Sheridan, has fine teeth and was probably used for a moustache or beard; but Wear compares the new comb to modern horse curry combs Angie Bolton, Portable Antiquities Scheme (Warwickshire & Worcestershire) Sara Wear, keeper of archaeology Warwickshire Museum Alison Sheridan, head of early prehistory National Museums Scotland

* Jamestown home from home
Founded 400 years ago, Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America. Geoff Egan has worked on the excavations taking place there. He says the imported artefacts show a picture of early 17th century Britain more detailed than anything yet found here Geoff Egan, finds specialist at the Museum of London

* Scottish 18th century landscape garden restored
250 years ago John Murray opened his new wilderness pleasure grounds in Perthshire, known as the Hermitage, a Sublime experience in a forested craggy glen. The garden was later enlarged and then fell into decay (helped in 1869 when locals protesting a bridge toll blew up Ossian’s Hall, the main architectural feature). Now it has been restored, with the revelatory experience of Ossian’s Hall replaced. Amongst discoveries made during the restoration work were unique brick heating ovens and 19th century and Polish world war two graffiti Shannon Fraser, National Trust for Scotland

* Pins, pixies and thick dark earth
A rare and still little-understood type of archaeological site has been identified. They date from 1000 - 700BC. Huge amounts of artefacts and animal bone lie buried within a layer of blackened earth, sometimes so thick and extensive as to create a small hill. Archaeologists have been investigating one of the most curious of all, at Whitchurch in the West Midlands, with evidence for smithing and unexpected quantities of bronze metalwork that includes strange miniature axeheads Kate Waddington, School of History and Archaeology, Cardiff University

* The archaeology of Timbuktu
British Archaeology reports on some of the few excavations ever conducted at the remote Malian city now twinned with Hay-on-Wye Timothy Insoll, head of archaeology, University of Manchester

* John Herschel at Stonehenge
The first British publication of a camera lucida drawing made at Stonehenge in 1865 by the great astronomer John Herschel (and bought in 1974 by US rock musician Graham Nash) Howard Mitchell

* Spoilheap A good old row at the London Society of Antiquaries
* Science The huge promise of tiny mites
* Mick’s travels Mick Aston looks at the landscape around his home in Somerset
* Opinion John Hammond worries about the effects of market forces on archaeology
* On the web All you wanted to know about Hadrian’s Wall
* In view Karol Kulik Angela Piccini interview Christopher Hale
* Books Human feasts, Roman food and historic landscapes
* Letters What did the Romans really do for us?
* Briefing The comprehensive events listing, with exhibition news

The best of the March/April issue is now online to read for free as well

Note: March/April issue now online too

Contributor Bio for Andy B: Megalithic Portal Founding Editor.

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