Archaeologists have been excavating the recently-discovered 1.1km long cursus on the island of Arran. The article in The Scotsman shows the Lidar scans that alerted them to the parallel mounds (now merely 30cm high). Few examples are known from the west coast of Scotland.
Rhiannon
Historic England show off the most ancient decoratively carved piece of wood yet found in Britain – recently carbon dated to around 4620BCE, about 500 years older than the oldest previously known example. The Mesolithic timber was found in peat not far from the River Lambourn, by Derek Fawcett, about four years ago. You can spin a 3D model around on the link. (Don’t expect anything too decorative about the markings(!) but you can indulge in some wonder that someone made them 2000 years before Stonehenge was built).
David Nash and his team of researchers believe the sarsens come from West Woods, south west of Marlborough, and 25km from the circle. They’ve geochemically matched the site using a chip from Stonehenge that was taken during a restoration project in the 1950s. Two of the fifty remaining stones at Stonehenge don’t match the West Woods site though...
Article on today’s Guardian website.
The research paper can be read here in Science Advances.
David Jacques and his team have found a dog’s tooth at Blick Mead. It dates from 7000 years ago. So people had dogs at the site all that time ago, it’s a nice thought. But more interestingly, they found that the isotopes in its enamel match those in the water in the Vale of York. Suggesting that dog and owner had walked all that way.
Which, one might suggest, wouldn’t be unreasonable if you were a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer roaming around Britain? And maybe that if you were in Wiltshire that year you might pop in. But Jacques suggests Yorkshire’s too far away for that and they must have deliberately been drawn in from a long way away, as were others, especially for whatever exciting and famous stuff was going on at Amesbury at that time.
The article also includes a nice bit of anti-tunnel sentiment.
theguardian.com/science/2016/oct/03/skipsea-castle-yorkshire-built-on-iron-age-mound
Jim Leary spoke more about this on the Today programme at 6.55
( bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wn3rq ). His team took a core down through the mound to ascertain its age, as part of the ‘Round Mounds’ project. They’ve been looking at others and he’s got others in mind for the future...
more details at
roundmoundsproject.wordpress.com/
I’m not exactly sure why this is back in the news today – I’m guessing there’s a report or paper somewhere that’s just been released. The paintings are said to be amongst the best in Europe.
theguardian.com/science/2016/may/27/spanish-archaeologists-discover-cave-art-axturra-paleolithic
(The discovery of the paintings is mentioned in Goffik’s 2011 post below.)
english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/stonehenge-solstitial-function/
“The laser scan has revealed significant differences in the way the stones were shaped and worked. These differences show that Stonehenge was not only aligned with the solstices, but that the view of the monument from the Avenue, its ancient processional way to the north east, was particularly important. ”
Also they have discovered 71 ! new carvings of axes.
Six dug out boats in excellent condition, textiles, woven fish baskets, wooden sword handles, a bowl of nettle stew complete with spoon...
guardian.co.uk/science/2011/dec/04/bronze-age-archaeology-fenland
The age of a piece of jawbone found at Kent’s Cavern in the 1920s has been reassessed, and is said to ‘represent the oldest known anatomically modern human fossil in northwestern Europe’.
A preview of the paper in Nature is here:
nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature10484.html
but this newspaper article is a friendlier summary:
guardian.co.uk/science/2011/nov/02/humans-torquay-ice-age
The Heritage Lottery Fund announced last night that they’d be giving ten million pounds towards the Stonehenge visitor centre improvements. Government axes £10m. HLF provides £10m. See we’re all in this together and charities can make up the slack. Keep buying those scratchcards. Yes I am being sarcastic. By the way, if you’ve got a spare nine million pounds then that’ll make up the total that EH are going for.
hlf.org.uk/news/Pages/10minvestmentfromtheHeritageLotteryFundforStonehenge.aspx
Nothing on the EH website yet though, slightly curiously.
guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/20/ice-age-cannibals-britain-earliest-settlers
A new carbon dating technique (’ultra filtration’) has suggested that the cave was colonised very quickly from further south in Europe after the retreat of the glaciers. It was inhabited for a few hundred years c. 14,700 years ago (a shorter time than previously thought), and it was probably only a intermittent retreat, not a permanent home. Human bones from the cave show traces of being butchered just like animal bones, to remove the flesh and marrow (and the brain, tongue and eyes, for those wanting more gruesome detail) – but still, it’s not possible to say whether this was due to hunger or cultural practice. After this period the ice returned and Britain was completely depopulated again. Chilly.
Bones from Gough’s Cave have been re-radiocarbon-dated, giving a new date 14,700 years ago. This matches the archaeological evidence better than the previous radiocarbon tests.
The date suggests Cheddar Gorge was one of the earliest places in Britain that was colonised after the Ice Age.Members of the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) project now think the bones from Gough’s Cave could have accumulated over just two or three human generations. The occupants might have been following horse migrations across Doggerland. After this there was a very short period of rapid climate warming, in which birch forests flourished, and the horses were less numerous. People then moved out of the caves to look for other food.
“The Monkswood hoard was found in the St Catherine’s valley near Bath during the construction of a reservoir in the 1930s. It contains 38 pieces of Bronze age metalwork. This talk by Stephen Clews, Manager of the Roman Baths & Pump Room, looks at the objects in the hoard from the perspective of what they can tell us about people and society in the area around Bath nearly 3,000 years ago.”
The Guildhall, Bath
Tuesday 17 February 2009, 1.10- 1.45pm
Refreshments on sale from 12.45pm
Admission free
Archaeology, ecology, local food and folklore – this Friday at Simonside, organised by Northumberland National Park with support from the Forestry Commission and local landowners.
see:
journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2008/07/29/family-discovery-day-at-simonside-61634-21421294/
There has been a major research project on Kendrick’s Cave, and this talk explaining it will be by Jill Cook, the deputy keeper of prehistory and early Europe at the British Museum. She will also reinterpret the 19th century excavations by Thomas Kendrick.
Meanwhile, the ‘Sharing Treasures’ exhibition will open at Llandudno Museum, at which the mesolithic finds from the cave (including art and jewellery) have been reunited from various collections ‘for the first time in 100 years’.
Was the cave just a campsite or a place of more special significance?
Sounds all very interesting. The talk is at 7pm, in Llandudno Town Hall, on Tuesday 1st April. Entry is free but donations to the Museum are welcome.
newswales.co.uk/?section=Community&F=1&id=13599
More about the art on a horse’s jawbone found in the cave at
icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/03/19/is-jawbone-the-ancient-souvenir-ancestor-of-the-humble-snow-globe-91466-20643806/
- it’s thought to be 13,000 years old!
news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Older-than-the-pyramids-buried.3883464.jp
Local plumber David Barnes saw the circular markings in the low afternoon light on Sandwick Bay. Julie Gibson, the county archaeologist, suggests it could come from a chambered tomb.
No picture at the link though, sadly.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7223230.stm
Ron Cowell, the curator of prehistoric archaeology at Liverpool Museum, describes the finds of prehistoric flints and burnt hazelnuts. They’re an unusual discovery because of their lowland location. The site will be buried by a new link road for J6 on the M62 near Huyton. There’ll be a museum display of all the artefacts found.
Tom Peirce found the axe heads (over 260 of them) on farmland near Swanage. They were in three locations 50m apart. Wessex Archaeology have since been excavating the site.
There’s a photo of some of them at
dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=509542&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490
on the Daily Mail website.
Apparently, because of contaminants from preservatives used in the 19th century, previous tests have underestimated the age of the skeleton. It’s now thought that he’s 29,000 years old (4000 years older than before!).
This could mean that people living in these islands were the first in Europe to bury their dead in such a way, and that perhaps the custom spread from here (ah it’s always seen to be a bonus when a Briton invents something).
It also means that Mr Paviland would have lived in a warm era, rather than a cold period as previously thought.
He will be going back to Wales for an exhibition at the National Museum in Cardiff, starting on December 8th. The ‘Origins’ gallery has been redeveloped. It’s got some very interesting things.
museumwales.ac.uk/en/846/
information from C4 article at:
channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/red+lady+skeleton+29000+years+old/979762
Julian Richards is giving a talk on Stonehenge at the Newark Millgate Museum, tomorrow Friday 19th October at 7.30pm. Tickets are £5 or £4. “Advance booking is essential” so you’d better be quick.
On Saturday, he is hosting a workshop with Newark and District Young Archaeologists.
This is the museum’s webpage.
newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/pp/Gold/ViewGold.asp?ID=1931
and this their list of events:
newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/pp/gold/viewGold.asp?IDType=Page&ID=8112
This article at the Kildare Nationalist reports on recent claims by the Hill of Allen Action Group. They say that the hill is the site of two National Monuments (a cist and a barrow), which are within the land being quarried by Roadstone. They say that when Roadstone registered the quarry with Kildare County Council in 2006, neither of those sites appeared on their registration papers or maps. The Council in turn made no mention of the monuments. However, it is the landowner’s responsibility to be aware of their presence. Damage to a site listed on the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) is a criminal offence. It seems that the required legal procedures involving planning and environmental impact assessment were not carried out.
kildare-nationalist.ie/news/story.asp?j=26440&cat=news
A website is to be developed which will give access to all the lovely archaeological objects in the region’s Museum Service’s collections.
“The collection is one of the largest in Scotland and described as a “comprehensive collection of Dumfries and Galloway’s material culture over an 8,000-year period”.”
Archaeologists have been excavating Whitby headland and found a carved stone. They have found traces of an Iron Age enclosure there, and they’re hoping the stone might be prehistoric. I wonder what people here think.
24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART51381.html
Scroll down towards the end to see the stone (past the altogether more impressive Fylingdales stone).
Cardiff university and Herefordshire Archaeology have been excavating at Credenhill Park Wood to determine the full extent of its hillfort – which although little known is one of the largest in the country.
Channel 4’s ‘Time Team’ have agreed to survey the site using ‘Lidar’ to provide extra information.
The Woodland Trust are also improving access to the fort by removing conifer stands and replacing them with deciduous trees and grazing land.
The Time Team programme will be shown next spring.
From an article by Paul Ferguson on today’s Hereford Times website
herefordtimes.com/news/latest/display.var.1745129.0.time_team_joins_the_dig.php
The charge of aggravated trespass against six protesters is being dropped, after the Crown Prosecution Service said there was not enough evidence to secure convictions.
And to think (according to the BBC article) they were just fussing about a ‘Bronze Age Footpath’.
Thought provoking archaeological artiness at Kilmartin’s Neolithic sites, with NVA
nva.org.uk/
and the National Theatre of Scotland.
“The Stonehenge Riverside Project, which begins on Sunday, aims to understand the purposes of Stonehenge between 2000 and 3000BC.
The archaeological excavations are pursuing a hypothesis that Neolithic Durrington Walls was the land of the living’ and Stonehenge the land of the dead,’ linked by a transitional journey along the River Avon.
As part of this exciting project, young people aged 16-25 are being invited to get involved through a youth volunteering project, which develops opportunities in the heritage and conservation sector in the south west”.
The excavations take place from August 19 to September 14, 10am to 4pm. Entry is free to the public and guided tours will be available throughout. On the Special Open Days August 25-27 and 8-9 September, there will be demonstrations of prehistoric cookery, archery, flint knapping and pottery by re-enactors.
Anyone interested can contact Hannah Mayell at [email protected] or on 07825034252.
This page at the 24 Hour Museum has a photo and diagram of the newly-found carving.
24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART49804.html
(You can call me a cynic, but when you think “mammoth”, what features come to mind? Fur. Tusks. And oh yes, a big long trunk.
Check out the diagram on this page. “The back and head of a mammoth complete with two tusks and an eye.” No trunk. Or alternatively, two trunks.
It is exciting stuff but is it reeeaaally a mammoth?)
“Iron-Age timbers which once formed part of a causeway across marshes in Suffolk are to go on public display for the first time.
Contractors working on the Environment Agency’s excavation of a new dyke on Beccles town marshes found timber remains which had been hand-sculpted. The 2,000-year-old pieces of wood, found last year, were perfectly preserved in waterlogged conditions.
They can be seen from 1100 to 1500 BST on Saturday at Beccles Town Marshes. Entrance is free and there will be students and archaeologists on hand to guide people through the site.
Archaeologists said the wooden causeway was used from the Bronze Age in about 1000 BC, through the Iron Age to Roman times and the 4th Century AD. Results suggest the more than 2,624ft (800m) long wooden causeway may have run from dry land on the edge of Beccles, across a swamp to a spot on the River Waveney. The 16ft-wide (5m) causeway would have carried carts and was the Bronze Age equivalent of a motorway. The wet conditions of the site mean that organic material such as wood has been well preserved.”
From the BBC website
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/6919314.stm
“Flag Fen’s Archaeology Festival, part of National Archaeology Week 2007, will be officially opened by Francis Pryor on Sunday (22nd July) at 11.30am. Visitors will be able to try their hand at experimental archaeology, excavate real Roman remains and learn all about crafts like flint knapping, spinning and weaving.
Family tickets cost £16.75, adults £6, children £4.75 and concessions £5.50. Doors open at 10am and activities continue until 4pm.”
This page
24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART49286.html
unfortunately also describes the vandalism of moronic riff raff at the site, who smashed windows and gates and drove all over the herb garden – though the actual archaeology didn’t catch their attention, fortunately. They’re on cctv so may yet get their comeupance.
Competition for Young Archaeologists
The Young Archaeologist Club have launched their annual ‘Young Archaeologist of the Year’ competition – it’s open to anyone aged 8-16.
You have to create a trail that lets people know about the history or archaeology of the area where you live. The theme this year is ‘Monuments and Memorials’ – so where better to do a bit of research than TMA, I ask you.
More information at
britarch.ac.uk/yac/yac_yaya_comp_2007.pdf
The closing date is 31st August 2007.
“Keen historians are being invited to help a team of Exeter University archaeologists uncover secrets of an ancient Bronze Age and medieval site.Members of the public are invited to the dig to investigate the remains of a medieval building near an old manor house.
The team have worked at the site, in Stokenham, near Kingsbridge, for two years and they will reopen it again from July 2 to 24. Last year’s excavation unearthed a number of finds including the remains of a medieval manor house and Bronze Age pottery.
Project director Penny Cunningham said that anyone who wanted to help would not need any particular skills. “They will be asked to sort or wash finds like pottery and will help analyse them,” she said.
“We want to encourage people to think about ownership of the past, especially among people who have been living in the area for a long time.”
The team will work from 9am to 5pm every day except Fridays. Anyone who wants to lend should just turn up.
There are open days on the weekends of July 7 and 8, 14 and 15 and 21 and 22.
Children of all ages are welcome to participate in the junior archaeologist workshop days on July 7, 14 and 21 from 10am to 3pm.
The dig is in the field immediately behind Stokenham parish church.
For more information contact Dr Williams, Department of Archaeology, Laver, University of Exeter, EX4 4QE, or [email protected] . uk, or call 01392 262491.”
from ‘thisisexeter.co.uk’ 19th May.
“Sinn Féin said today it would seek to have the controversial section of the M3 motorway diverted away from the Hill of Tara if in government.
Outlining the party’s environmental policies, Dublin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh said: “The current Government’s track record on protecting Ireland’s archaeological and architectural heritage is disgraceful.”
Mr Ó Snodaigh said: “Under the so-called Environment Minister Dick Roche, they have pursued a relentless, no-holds barred campaign of destruction, as they seek to plough roads and motorways through historic sites, allow the sale of priceless historic artefacts, which are rightly the property of the Irish nation, and neglect and let fall into ruin key historic buildings which should be promoted as major tourist attractions.”
He said that while Sinn Féin fully supports the upgrading of the country’s road this does not have to be done at the cost of the wholesale destruction of the environment or precious heritage. ”
from ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0519/breaking39.htm
peterboroughnow.co.uk/news?articleid=2738561
The plans for the PREL’s waste plant were recommended for refusal by Peterborough City Council after widespread opposition. (This included fears that Flag Fen’s water levels would be adversely affected).
However, the final decision lies with the Secretary of State for Energy and the Government has already indicated that it wants Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to take 5.7 million tonnes of London’s waste by 2021. PREL has claimed it will only take waste from a 35-mile radius, and the plans will go before a public inquiry later this year when Government-appointed planning inspectors will make the final decision.
An archaeological dig is currently being undertaken at the site.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6591483.stm
The concrete blocks of the Long Man got a fresh coat of whitewash at the weekend – the first time since 1999.
The article credits this mammoth feat to both the Territorial Army and the local morris dancers. I’m assuming these are mutually exclusive groups, but who knows.
Cain Hegarty and Katherine Toms will be examining more than 15,000 aerial images of Exmoor. Cain suggests the research could double the number of sites currently on the Sites and Monuments Record.
The survey has been set up by English Heritage and will use photographs from local archives and a Cambridge University collection – with some images dating back to the 1940s.
The results “will be showcased at a forum in 2008 and plans for a book are also under discussion”.
from The Western Daily Press
westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146278&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146274&contentPK=17046115&folderPk=75999&pNodeId=146265
The Carpow logboat was discovered in the bed of the River Tay in 2001, and recovered last year. It’s the second oldest to be found in Scotland, and dates from the late Bronze Age.
The exhibition at the Laing Museum in Newburgh is a display of photographs about its discovery and excavation – the actual boat is still at the National Museum of Scotland undergoing conservation work.
The exhibition also shows other objects found in the Newburgh area including flint arrowheads, stone axeheads, pottery food vessels, and funeral urns.
The exhibition has been put together in conjunction with Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and runs until September 30, from noon-5 p.m. daily.
Information from the Fife Herald
fifenow.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1020&ArticleID=2229646
Laing Museum info:
fife.gov.uk/atoz/index.cfm?fuseaction=facility.display&FacId=07D6F0EA-CC4B-11D5-909E0008C7844101
From the Kildare Nationalist, March 15th:
By: Ashling Mackey
It has been alleged that there were attempts to remove a dolmen at Grangebeg between Monasterevin and Kildare Town recently.“The dolmen is under severe threat of damage due to building work that is being carried out on the site,” said Barry Walsh, secretary of the Monasterevin Historical Society.
Another member of the historical society noticed that some work was being carried out on the site last Saturday week (3 March). He went back to the site on Monday at 7am and noticed that the earthwork surrounding the dolmen had been bulldozed and the stones had been covered by hedges and trees that had been uprooted from another part of the site.
“I believe that hedges and trees had been gathered to be burned and this would have caused serious damage to the stones,” he told the Kildare Nationalist.
The concerned historian also alleges that a rath was removed from the site and is worried that another site of archaeological interest close by could also be in danger.
“I contacted the council offices when they opened at 9am and they sent out an enforcement officer from the planning department at 11am,” he said.
According to Barry Walsh: “Work stopped immediately on the site and as far as I am aware work is still suspended.” On Tuesday, when the men returned to the site, all the shrubbery had been cleared away, but it appeared that there had been some damage done to the stones. Members of the historical society feel that the dolmen should be restored to its original position. “We would also like to see a public access route to it and a protective fence put around it,” said Mr Walsh. “It is important to protect it as there aren’t many in Kildare and it could be developed as a tourist attractions.”
May the fairies get them for their lack of respect.
Perhaps someone knows the grid reference of the stones that this refers to?
The Iron Age man (usually found at the British Museum) should be around “between April next year and March 2009 and the museum wants to hear the views of local people on how the remains should be displayed. A museum spokesman said: “We are particularly interested to reflect a range of different points of view in our interpretation of the body, including those of archaeologists, museum curators, and special interest groups as well as members of the public. “We will not be telling one story, but looking at Lindow Man from many different perspectives. We are very interested, for example, in gathering evidence of how Lindow Man is important to the local community.”
The spokesman said: “We would be very interested to hear from members of the public who have particular memories about Lindow Man, either because they live near the site where he was found or because they remember coming to see him on display at the Manchester Museum, or for some other reason.”
Anyone who wants to share thoughts and memories of Lindow Pete should email the museum at: mailto:[email protected] You should get in touch before February 10. ”
From the Manchester Evening News
manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/234/234533_lindow_man_comes_home_to_his_roots.html
“Notts County Council has agreed in principle to increasing its funding for Creswell Crags Heritage Trust. The authority currently gives £38,000 to support one of Britain’s most important archaeological and geological sites. Over the past six years a £6m programme has been undertaken to improve facilities. The trust is bidding for money to develop a new visitor centre and museum to attract tourism. The county has agreed to put up its yearly contribution by £14,000 from 2009/2010. But the increase is subject to the trust creating a sound business plan and the funds being available.”
The museum at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, near Dereham, currently has an exhibition called ‘Norfolk’s First Farmers’. Items on display include a famous 11,500-year-old antler harpoon used for hunting, and which was dredged up from the sea floor north of Cromer in 1931, and a bronze-age cauldron.
A demonstration of how Stone Age delicacies were prepared is taking place at the museum from next Monday to Friday.
For information about these events contact the museum on 01362 860563 or visit museums.norfolk.gov.uk
Excavations in Ber Street have unearthed the traces of a Bronze Age barrow, including pieces of burial urn. The barrow is thought to be the first found in the centre of the city.
A team of four archaeologists has been working at the site for two weeks but, because of the discovery, has been given an extra week to continue searching and recording.
The barrow would have been within sight of the confluence of the Rivers Tas and Yare – an area which includes the Arminghall henge.
See the article by Tara Grieves in the EDP
at snipurl.com/wlmg
Leicestershire Museums Archaeological Fieldwork Group is looking for new members.
The group is co-ordinated by the county council’s archeological team and calls on the authority’s history experts to tell people about recent finds.
They hope that by expanding the group, it will encourage more people to take an interest in Leicestershire’s heritage.
For information, call 0116 265 8326 or download a form from:
www.leics.gov.uk/archaeological_fieldwork_group
The Group, in conjunction with Leicestershire County Council Museums Service archaeologists, holds regular lecture meetings, has its own Newsletter, “The Fieldworker” and provides training courses for beginners. Subscription is only £5 a year.
from the ‘Thisisleicestershire’ news site.
.. extra features are now under discussion following news of the £65,000 grant, part of a national £4m payout for museum improvements by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Wolfson Foundation.
Area museums officer Robin Hanley said there were hopes of setting up a replica of the original structure, which was built in the spring or early summer of 2049BC.
“Obviously we are going to display about half of the original timbers but we felt it was important that people had a way to actually feel what it would have been like to walk into the circle,” he explained. “What survives is only very fragmented.
“The current plan is to have, effectively, a complete circle in the centre of the gallery, one half of which will be the original timbers and the other will be a full-size replica.”
A audio-visual display will show the dramatic change in the landscape around Seahenge from the Bronze Age, when it formed part of an inland farming community, to the shifting sands which revealed it to the world as the 20th century drew to a close.
There are also plans for an interactive interpretation, particularly aimed at children, charting the step-by-step progress of the timbers from their harvest in a local wood to their assembly into the circle, and to provide a resource centre offering a range of in-depth additional information about the Seahenge story as a whole.
“It’s obviously very good news that we got this additional funding,” said Dr Hanley. “While the core funding for the display is already there in terms of of the grant we obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the funding we have received from Norfolk County Council, this additional funding will enable us to provide some extra resources in the gallery, which will help people get the most from their visit.
The Seahenge display, which will form part of a wider exhibition about the history of West Norfolk, is due to open to the public next summer.
“Although we’ve only got temporary exhibitions for this year, we’ve been hugely encouraged by the levels of people coming through,” said Dr Hanley.
The museum is offering free admission this year.
Taken from the article at the EDP
snipurl.com/v4iq
Sheffield archaeologists are working with the British museum at Creswell Crags for the next two weeks, in the first major investigation at the site since the 1920s. Church Hole was excavated in the 1870s – the archaeologists will be examining the Victorian spoil heap outside the cave entrance, which will be full of vital clues to the lives of the people and animals that used the cave during the Ice Age. The museum will be running a series of activities including regular tours to the site.
summarised from the article at
sheffieldtoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=58&ArticleID=1682947
Interesting excavations have been made at Two-Mile-Borris, near the river behind Black Castle. A large central structure with surrounding huts has been discovered – houses for a chieftain and his family? There also seems to be evidence of some Iron Age technology – a water irrigation system. There are also fulachta fia, wood-lined cooking pits which are usually found near water. A cremation area and graves have also been unearthed.
The settlement has been revealed as part of excavation on the Thurles link road, part of the N8 Cullohill to Cashel motorway project. But of course, the road must prevail and although local Dail deputy, Michael Lowry, said the find “is of huge important historical and archaeological significance for the area” he then added that it would not “in any way hinder progress on the link road”. What a relief, eh.
Landowner Pierce Duggan was suitably amazed and said he was “certainly not aware that a find of such significance was on his doorstep”.
But since the announcements, another archaeologist has disputed there’s anything exciting there at all, as you can read at
tipperarytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=3162&ArticleID=1698822
Summarised from the article at
tipperarytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=3162&ArticleID=1685756
From the Courier
thecourier.co.uk/output/2006/07/29/newsstory8595566t0.asp
Archaeologists have been working this week on a 30ft long Bronze age log boat, which is in the tidal mudflats of the Tay near Abernethy. A radiocarbon test has dated it to 1000BC, so it is among the oldest ever found in Scotland. It was probably used for fishing and wildfowling.
It will be lifted by a floating cradle and transported to the National Museum of Scotland, where it will be conserved over three years before display.
(edit) there’s a picture of the boat, in the mud, here:
heritage.scotsman.com/places.cfm?id=1111362006
Protestors who have been camping on the Hill of Tara since the Summer Solstice on June 21, have been ordered to leave by the Office of Public Works (OPW), according to protest group TaraWatch.
From BreakingNews.ie
breakingnews.ie/2006/07/14/story267769.html
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/5114602.stm
“Construction work begins on Monday and volunteers are invited to help and also learn about archaeological theory on roundhouse design.
Throughout the building work, which is due to be completed by the end of July, there will be a series of walks and talks for families, schools and colleges to find out more about the project.”
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