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The July/August 2010 Issue of British Archaeology Magazine now online

Submitted by Andy B on Tuesday, 14 September 2010  Page Views: 3772

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Mike Pitts introduces this issue:
THE LINKS OF NOLTLAND
Hazel Moore and Graeme Wilson describe the startling new discoveries at one of the bleakest sites in the country, on the shore of a remote island in Orkney. Excavations have revealed more than a dozen stone buildings – one with whole cattle skulls set into its foundations – and a small stone figurine, the earliest human depiction from Scotland. Dating from the neolithic and bronze age (3000–1500BC), the site represents one of the most complete early prehistoric landscapes yet found

LIVING WITH DEATH IN THE IRON AGE
How people treated the dead varied enormously over the past few thousand years, but until recently what happened in the iron age – from 800BC till Roman times – was largely a mystery. A new dating programme in Atlantic Scotland reveals the dead were there all along. Fiona Tucker and Ian Armit report

THE STONE COLLECTOR
Fieldwalking, writes Matt Mossop, offers enthusiasts a rewarding, non-invasive and cheap alternative to excavation. Some remarkable artefact collections have been made in Cornwall, which are increasingly being augmented by detectorists’ finds. Few, however, are as meticulously recorded as Graham Hill’s

INVISIBLE DIGGERS
A small excavation in Stokes Croft, Bristol, a site that features in the daily lives of homeless people was part of an investigation into homelessness and heritage. Rachael Kiddey and John Schofield describe the distinctive characteristics of homeless places and the interest in heritage

CORNISH STONE COULD SHOW ANCIENT SHIP
A small piece of engraved slate from West Penwith, Cornwall, has been tentatively interpreted as showing a prehistoric or medieval vessel in a scene with surf and nets. Quantities of dateable prehistoric finds have also been made at the site by Graham Hill whilst fieldwalking. The engraving is unique in Britain

CUTS AT BRISTOL
In the first high-profile university archaeology losses, the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Bristol University has been told to cut four academic staff. Students conducted a protest excavation outside the university’s Senate House, saying the cuts were unsustainable

COMMUNITY ARCHAEOLOGY: WHAT NEXT?
We are hearing much about “community archaeology”. Is it a recent movement which has changed the landscape of archaeology? Or has it been around for years, if not always recognised? What are its successes, and why are some people unhappy about it? What exactly is it, anyway? Suzie Thomas and Dan Hull report on a major new survey by the Council for British Archaeology

MICK’S TRAVELS
Mick Aston visits Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, where, in July 1970, he started his “first proper paid job” in the prime minister’s constituency, as a field officer based in the City and County Museum in Woodstock

DIG FOR SHAKESPEARE
Literary critics may wonder if Shakespeare wrote all those plays, but archaeologists know where to find him: at home in Stratford. Kevin Colls and William Mitchell describe the background to an imaginative excavation now in progress

PRESERVATION BY RECORD
Tim Darvill considers the archaeologically-minded rock musician, as we launch a web column dedicated to archaeology and popular music. making tracks, written by The Varmints, will feature popular music with archaeological and heritage connections, with free downloads. Read the first column by John Varmint (aka John Schofield) here

REGULARS INCLUDE

* On the web
Google Street View [That's us!], and other ways of seeing the landscape
* My archaeology
Photographer Don McCullin chases ancient Roman light
* Spoilheap
Want something done in hard times? Go to the top
* Letters
The difficult balance between saving past and future
* In View
Is small best for TV? It’s certainly cheaper, says Greg Bailey
* Books
Making the British landscape, and Shakespeare’s theatres
* Briefing
Lots of digs and some unusually good exhibitions

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

You can also now read good chunks of this and past issues on the CBA web site.

Note: My article in British Archaeology magazine about our recent Street View project is now online, along with a good selection of the rest of the issue - link in the comment
Contributor Bio for Andy B: Megalithic Portal Founding Editor.

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Explore Brittany with the amazing Megalithic Portal smartphone app

Explore Brittany with the amazing Megalithic Portal smartphone app

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"The July/August 2010 Issue of British Archaeology Magazine now online" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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Taking a view on the past - my article in British Archaeology magazine by Andy B on Tuesday, 14 September 2010
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Taking a view on the past. Andy Burnham describes how contributors to the Megalithic Portal website created a map of over a thousand prehistoric and ancient sites visible from the roadside in Google Street View.

The Megalithic Portal database began some 12 years ago from my research into information on megaliths and prehistoric sites that was springing up all over the web. It was given an early boost by Aubrey Burl, who kindly allowed use of his location data for stone circles and rows. Over the years we have added megalithic sites of all sorts, and also cursus monuments, timber circles, holy wells, early Christian crosses and Pictish symbol stones. Web visitors can add their own locations and photos: this has proven wildly successful, and we now have over 50,000 sites listed worldwide.

Once a monument is in our web database, we can create links to other websites such as Defra's MAGIC Map, aerial views and now on-page Ordnance Survey maps thanks to its recent open data initiative. The Megalithic Portal software also locates images of the surrounding area from such sources as Geograph, Panoramio and Flickr.

Earlier in the year I was browsing our site listings in central London, and realised you could see the London Stone in Cannon Street on Google's Street View. I was intrigued by the possibilities: but there are few ancient sites in the urban areas that were covered at the time, so that was as far as the idea went. Then on 11 March, Google extended its Street View coverage to include 95% of UK roads. While most of the media reporting focussed on burglars using the service to plan crimes, or people caught fighting, I knew there was something useful we could do with this new technology.

Like many I had a quick look round my local area on Street View – and breathed a sigh of relief that shadow hid the unkempt hedge at my house. Then remembering the London Stone, I realised we could use the Megalithic Portal's database to pinpoint ancient sites all over the UK. We already had links from each of our site listings to maps of the local area, so it was a case of finding which sites might be visible from the road, then "teleporting" down, as it were, to within a few tens or hundreds of metres of each location and having a closer look.

I was soon hooked, driving up and down on the computer looking for ancient sites. I set up a competition to see who could find the most sites on Street View, as I was sure there must be many hundreds visible. My challenge was taken up enthusiastically, and not just in the UK. For Steve Watson distance has been no barrier to taking part. "I've been amazed how many sites are visible", he wrote from Australia, "I've managed to find some in France as well, Champ Dolent Menhir was a captivating find for me".

Amanda Gough from Cardiff is one of our keenest volunteers. "People probably don't realise they are driving or walking past ancient monuments on a regular basis", she says. "This gives you an idea just how many are still visible and waiting to be discovered."

Working together, in the four weeks of April we found over 1,000 ancient sites visible from the roadside. At the time of writing we are up to 655 in England, 352 in Scotland, 207 in Wales and 34 in Northern Ireland.

Our Street View discoveries are mapped on the website. From a country you can narrow down by county and type of site using drop-down selection boxes. A click on the coloured icons brings up a text link to each Street View page. You can change country via the selection box at the top to show Street View sights we have found in the UK, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and (36 to date) the US.

Andy Burnham is founder of the Megalithic Portal. Links to a selection of Google Street Views can be found here:

http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba113/ontheweb.shtml
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Re: The July/August 2010 Issue of British Archaeology Magazine now available by Aluta on Monday, 21 June 2010
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It seems a touchy argument, especially for the Lewis windfarm, as there's no telling but the view may have been the whole reason for the placement of the stones. Context and landscape appear to be relevant to many of these sites. Building things visible from stone sites also impacts the ambiance for visitors and tourists, lessening the likelihood of their return, thereby cutting into revenue.

I'm not saying they shouldn't do it, necessarily. I realise times are hard, but something intangible passes when things like this are done.
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Re: The July/August 2010 Issue of British Archaeology Magazine now available by Andy B on Sunday, 20 June 2010
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Mike P thinks it's a particularly strong issue,

He also writes: I received a fat package of material from an objector to a windfarm on the Isle of Lewis, part of which would be visible from the megaliths at Callanish. The writer, who had compiled masses of charts, maps and photos in support of his case, suggested that British Archaeology might “wish to take a stance”. The grounds for objection seem to be mostly cosmetic – the effect on the view from the stones, not the impact of construction on the ground.

http://mikepitts.wordpress.com/2010/06/19/who-then-will-tell-the-story-of-our-last-hunters/
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