Archaeology in Europe

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• Revealed, Henry VIII's lost pleasure palace: Amazing scale model recreates Nonsuch Palace more than 300 years after it was destroyed
• Funds secured for Easter Ross's Pictish Nigg cross-slab
• Viking secret puts Ross-shire town on map
• Last chance to see city’s Roman dig site
• Roman hoard of coins found on Bredon Hill
• Deckchair protest halts archaeological survey
• Gold hoard thrown in skip displayed
• Vikings and Scotland: 10 lesser known facts

Revealed, Henry VIII's lost pleasure palace: Amazing scale model recreates Nonsuch Palace more than 300 years after it was destroyed Posted: 20 Oct 2011 06:55 AM PDT When it was built, it was hailed as one of the finest buildings of its age – only to be destroyed 150 years later. Now Henry VIII's 'lost' palace can be seen for the first time in more than 300 years – in a scale model based on 50 years of research. The replica of Nonsuch Palace – so named because there was no other like it – took 1,250 hours to make. Read the rest of this article...

Funds secured for Easter Ross's Pictish Nigg cross-slab Posted: 20 Oct 2011 06:53 AM PDT A small voluntary group has secured enough money to conserve and redesign the displaying of an intricately carved Pictish stone in Easter Ross. The Nigg cross-slab dates from the 8th Century AD and features snakes and a depiction of monks receiving bread from a raven sent by God. Nigg Old Trust has received a funding package of £178,000. The Heritage Lottery Fund, Scottish government and European Community Highland Leader fund contributed. Read the rest of this article...

Viking secret puts Ross-shire town on map Posted: 20 Oct 2011 06:52 AM PDT AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL discovery in Dingwall could put the town on the international map and bring major benefits to Ross and Cromarty, experts claimed this week. Geophysical surveys of the Cromartie car park in Dingwall town centre have revealed that it most likely is the site of the long lost meeting place of the Vikings who once ruled Ross. The Highland Council-owned car park was closed to the public for two days last month to see if archaeologists could produce the hard evidence to back up beliefs that it was an important Viking assembly area around 1,000 years ago. Read the rest of this article...

Last chance to see city’s Roman dig site Posted: 20 Oct 2011 06:49 AM PDT ONE of the nation's largest archaeological digs, which has unearthed a treasure trove of relics dating from the Roman era, is being opened up to the public for the last time at the weekend. The excavations overseen by the York Archaeological Trust at the Hungate development are the most extensive in the city since the famous Coppergate dig more than a quarter of a century ago. The five-year project comes to an end in December and visitors will have a final opportunity on Saturday to meet archaeologists, who will talk through some of the remarkable finds. Read the rest of this article...

Roman hoard of coins found on Bredon Hill Posted: 20 Oct 2011 06:48 AM PDT A FARMER has said metal detector enthusiasts "hit the jackpot" when they uncovered the largest hoard of Roman coins ever found in Worcestershire, on his family's land at Bredon Hill. About 4,000 coins, featuring 16 different Roman Emperors, were discovered in June this year and are thought to be of national significance. The farmer, who is not being named by the Journal, said the exact location of the find may never be revealed. He said: "We were really taken aback and shocked by it. Read the rest of this article...

Deckchair protest halts archaeological survey Posted: 20 Oct 2011 06:46 AM PDT A one-man protest momentarily stopped work on a trench being built on what could have been the original site of a manor house in the heart of a village near Frome. Steve Wood sat in his deckchair in the path of a digger on Monday afternoon in protest at part of a field being dug up next to Kilmersdon Village Hall. Mr Wood claims work carried out on behalf of the developer is part of an access road to a nine-house development which so far has not been given planning permission. He said the road is being built prematurely and should not be allowed until permission is granted. Read the rest of this article...

Gold hoard thrown in skip displayed Posted: 20 Oct 2011 06:42 AM PDT A hoard of Early Bronze Age gold that was salvaged from a skip following a botched robbery has gone on display. The ancient artefacts were recovered by gardai in 2009 after being dumped along with the stolen safe they had been kept in at Sheehan's Pharmacy in Strokestown, Co Roscommon. The thieves had not realised that the 5,000-year-old gold was hidden among documents when they tipped out what they thought were the safe's worthless contents. Read the rest of this article...

Vikings and Scotland: 10 lesser known facts Posted: 20 Oct 2011 06:32 AM PDT THE discovery of the first fully intact Viking burial site in the UK - on the Ardnamurchan peninsula - has rekindled public interest in the Norse legacy on our shores. The 16ft-long grave containing the remains of a "high-status Viking" who was buried with an axe, a sword and a spear provides a valuable insight into a period of our history which has fascinated Scots for centuries. But the facts about the Vikings in Scotland bear little resemblence to the stereotypes of helmeted warriors pillaging the land at will. Here we delve a little deeper to examine ten lesser-known traits of our Nordic forebears. Read the rest of this article...

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Archaeology in Europe

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• Search on for a second passage in Newgrange
• Clues About Early Diets Found in Fossilized Teeth
• Staffordshire Gold Hoard
• Found, the Viking war lord buried in his boat: 1,000-year-old tomb of Norse invader and weapons of war
• Viking boat burial find is UK mainland first
• Roman barge comes up for air after 2,000 years
• A Viking treasure
• Viking burial boat surfaces after 1,000 years
• Viking artefacts show 'high-status' burial
• Britain’s first intact Viking boat burial site unearthed
• Ardnamurchan Viking boat burial discovery 'a first'
• Viking chieftain's burial ship excavated in Scotland after 1,000 years
• Viking axe excavated after 1,000 years – video

Search on for a second passage in Newgrange Posted: 19 Oct 2011 04:29 AM PDT ARCHAEOLOGISTS are examining whether one of the country's most popular tourist attractions may have more to it than meets the eye. Newgrange in Co Meath may have a second passage, and it too could be aligned with a solstice event. Teams from Ireland and Slovakia are exploring the possibility -- using technology that has proven successful at the pyramids in Egypt. Read the rest of this article...

Clues About Early Diets Found in Fossilized Teeth Posted: 19 Oct 2011 04:28 AM PDT By studying the pits and scratches on fossilized teeth and analyzing the carbon isotopes on enamel, researchers have discovered new information about the diets of early hominids. "The new data suggests our simple story, of harder and harder diets over time, is not accurate," said Peter Ungar, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Arkansas, whose lab does microscopic analysis of dental wear. The genus Australopithecus, which lived two million to four million years ago, shows a greater variation in diet over geographic region than over time, he said. Read the rest of this article...

Staffordshire Gold Hoard Posted: 19 Oct 2011 04:26 AM PDT One day, or perhaps one night, in the late seventh century an unknown party traveled along an old Roman road that cut across an uninhabited heath fringed by forest in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Possibly they were soldiers, or then again maybe thieves—the remote area would remain notorious for highwaymen for centuries—but at any rate they were not casual travelers. Stepping off the road near the rise of a small ridge, they dug a pit and buried a stash of treasure in the ground. For 1,300 years the treasure lay undisturbed, and eventually the landscape evolved from forest clearing to grazing pasture to working field. Then treasure hunters equipped with metal detectors—ubiquitous in Britain—began to call on farmer Fred Johnson, asking permission to walk the field. "I told one I'd lost a wrench and asked him to find that," Johnson says. Instead, on July 5, 2009, Terry Herbert came to the farmhouse door and announced to Johnson that he had found Anglo-Saxon treasure. Read the rest of this article...

Found, the Viking war lord buried in his boat: 1,000-year-old tomb of Norse invader and weapons of war Posted: 19 Oct 2011 04:20 AM PDT Judging from the opulence of his tomb, he was a revered Viking warrior destined to take his place in Valhalla among the honoured dead. Laid to rest in a 17ft boat with his sword, axe and bronze drinking horn, the powerful Norseman's burial site has been discovered by archaeologists in a remote part of the Scottish Highlands. The grave, unearthed in Ardnamurchan, is the first of its kind to be found intact on the British mainland and is thought to date from 1,000AD – the height of the 'Second Viking Age'. Read the rest of this article...

Viking boat burial find is UK mainland first Posted: 18 Oct 2011 11:25 PM PDT The UK mainland's first fully intact Viking boat burial site has been discovered by archaeologists working in the Scottish Highlands. The 5m-long grave contained the remains of a high status Viking, who was buried with an axe, a sword with a beautifully decorated hilt, a spear, shield boss and bronze ring-pin. The Viking had been buried in a ship, whose 200 or so metal rivets were also found by the team. The 1,000-year-old find, on the remote Ardnamurchan Peninsula, was made by the Ardnamurchan Transitions Project (ATP) which is a team led by experts from the Universities of Manchester, Leicester, CFA Archaeology Ltd and Archaeology Scotland Funded this season by The University of Manchester, Newcastle University and The Leverhulme Trust, the project brings together students and academics at what may be one of Britain's most significant Viking sites.  Read the rest of this article...

Roman barge comes up for air after 2,000 years Posted: 18 Oct 2011 11:17 PM PDT Archaeologists have recovered the final piece of a ship that sank in the river Rhone in France more than two millennia ago, which they hope will shed light on how the Romans led the way with globalization. Stuart McDill reports Watch the video...

A Viking treasure Posted: 18 Oct 2011 11:15 PM PDT A boat burial on the peninsula of Ardnamurchan, in Scotland, reveals just how noble the Vikings were. Bad weather can have its comforts. "Bitter is the wind tonight, / It tosses the sea's white tresses," wrote an Irish monk more than 1,000 years ago, "I do not fear the fierce warriors of Norway, / Who only travel the quiet seas." A warrior of the sort he feared found his last resting place on the peninsula of Ardnamurchan, north of Mull and south of Skye. His newly discovered grave has astonished archaeologists, for it is the first Viking boat burial found on mainland Britain. There he lies with axe, sword and spear. He must have been a leader among Norsemen to gain this noble grave. Read the rest of this article...

Viking burial boat surfaces after 1,000 years Posted: 18 Oct 2011 11:13 PM PDT IT'S the sort of find most archaeologists spend their careers looking for, a discovery unseen by human eyes for more than a thousand years. The first fully intact Viking boat burial site ever uncovered on the UK mainland has been found on the Ardnamurchan peninsula in Lochaber. The 16ft-long grave contained the remains of a "high-status Viking" who was buried with an axe, a sword and a spear. Read the rest of this article...

Viking artefacts show 'high-status' burial Posted: 18 Oct 2011 11:11 PM PDT Archaeologists have discovered a Viking boat burial site in the Scottish Highlands. The grave contained the remains of a high-ranking warrior with his axe, his sword, and his spear. The find at Ardnamurchan is thought to be more than 1,000 years old. Dr Oliver Harris from the University of Leicester said the burial artefacts belonged to a high-status individual. Watch the video...

Britain’s first intact Viking boat burial site unearthed Posted: 18 Oct 2011 11:09 PM PDT A VIKING boat burial site, believed to be more than 1000 years old, has been discovered by archaeologists. The 16-and-a-half foot long grave contained the remains of a high-status Viking who was buried with an axe, sword and spear. The incredible discovery on the remote Ardnamurchan Peninsula in the Highlands is the first intact boat burial site to be uncovered on the UK mainland. Read the rest of this article...

Ardnamurchan Viking boat burial discovery 'a first' Posted: 18 Oct 2011 10:49 PM PDT The UK mainland's first fully intact Viking boat burial site has been uncovered in the north-west Highlands, archaeologists have said. The site, at Ardnamurchan, is thought to be more than 1,000 years old. Artefacts buried alongside the Viking in his boat suggest he was a high-ranking warrior. Archaeologist Dr Hannah Cobb said the "artefacts and preservation make this one of the most important Norse graves ever excavated in Britain". Dr Cobb, from the University of Manchester, a co-director of the project, said: "This is a very exciting find." Read the rest of this article...

Viking chieftain's burial ship excavated in Scotland after 1,000 years Posted: 18 Oct 2011 10:47 PM PDT Timber fragments and rivets of vessel, and deceased's sword and shield, unearthed undisturbed on Ardnamurchan peninsula A Viking ship, which for 1,000 years has held the body of a chieftain, with his shield on his chest and his sword and spear by his side, has been excavated on a remote Scottish peninsula – the first undisturbed Viking ship burial found on the British mainland. The timbers of the ship found on the Ardnamurchan peninsula – the mainland's most westerly point – rotted into the soil centuries ago, like most of the bones of the man whose coffin it became. Read the rest of this article...

Viking axe excavated after 1,000 years – video Posted: 18 Oct 2011 11:54 AM PDT Oliver Harris of the University of Manchesterlifts the axe in a soil block from a 1,000-year-old boat burial of a Vikingchief. The boat burial is the only undisturbed one ever found on the Britishmainland Download the video...

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Archaeology in Europe

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Possible Iron Age find at site of proposed housing development Posted: 17 Oct 2011 08:10 AM PDT IRON Age remains may have been found in a Harborough field earmarked for possible housing development. Archaeological experts have dug trenches at the site, off Lubenham Hill, to investigate further. Evidence of possible cattle and sheep farming by agricultural workers in the Iron Age is believed to have discovered. Resident Red Williams said: "A crew started digging trenches with a JCB on Monday. I heard there's an Iron Age dig taking place in the field near where I live at the top right-hand side of Lubenham Hill near the spinney." Read the rest of this article...

Archaeologists uncover Lycian tomb complex in Turkey Posted: 17 Oct 2011 08:05 AM PDT Archaeologists excavating at the site of the ancient city of Rhodiapolis, located in the Kumluca district of present-day Antalya, have uncovered a series of Lycian-era tombs. Rhodiapolis excavation leader and Akdeniz University archaeologist Dr. İsa Kızgut told the Anatolia news agency last week that his team had uncovered what he believes to be a Lycian cemetery complex that dates to roughly 300 B.C. The complex, explained Kızgut, was a series of tombs that surrounded a larger necropolis in ancient times. Today, although the necropolis and most of the tombs have been destroyed over the centuries, Kızgut says that the tombs they have so far uncovered will serve as key examples of the often elaborate style of tomb architecture found in Lycian Anatolia. Read the rest of this article...

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Archaeology in Europe

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• West Cumbrian dig uncovers Roman building
• Stanton Drew – new Great Circle entrance found
• Ancient Greek ships carried more than just wine
• Columbus blamed for Little Ice Age
• 4,000 years of history crashes to the ground
• Will DNA Swabs Launch CSI: Cargo Scene Investigation?
• Göbeklitepe site unveils mystery
• Prehistoric Painters Planned Ahead
• Biggest haul of Roman gold in Britain could have been found

West Cumbrian dig uncovers Roman building Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:44 AM PDT The first week of a 12-day excavation on land below Papcastle has uncovered remains of a Roman building which could have been used as a Roman bath house or a high status building. Grampus Heritage is leading the community excavation on land owned by Robert and Edmund Jackson. Archaeologists found evidence of walls of a large Roman building, shards of pottery and metal objects. Read the rest of this article...

Stanton Drew – new Great Circle entrance found Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:41 AM PDT New evidence of archaeological features in and around the three prehistoric stone circles at Stanton Drew has been revealed. The results of a geophysical survey carried out by Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society (BACAS) in collaboration with Bath & North East Somerset Council's Archaeological Officer in summer 2010 have just been published.  The 2010 survey was led by John Oswin and John Richards of BACAS and shows evidence of below-ground archaeological features, including a second entrance into the henge monument first identified by English Heritage in 1997. The second entrance is south-west facing and forms a narrow causeway, defined by two large terminal ends of the circular ditch. Further work at the South-West Circle suggests that it sits on a deliberately levelled platform. Read the rest of this article...

Ancient Greek ships carried more than just wine Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:39 AM PDT A DNA analysis of ancient storage jars suggests that Greek sailors traded a wide range of foods — not just wine, as many historians have assumed. The study, in press at the Journal of Archaeological Science1, finds evidence in nine jars taken from Mediterranean shipwrecks of vegetables, herbs and nuts. The researchers say DNA testing of underwater artefacts from different time periods could help to reveal how such complex markets developed across the Mediterranean. Archaeologist Brendan Foley of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts and geneticist Maria Hansson of Lund University, Sweden, retrieved DNA from nine amphorae — the storage containers of the ancient world — from sunken ships dating from the fifth to the third centuries BC. Read the rest of this article...

Columbus blamed for Little Ice Age Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:38 AM PDT By sailing to the New World, Christopher Columbus and the other explorers who followed may have set off a chain of events that cooled Europe's climate for centuries. The European conquest of the Americas decimated the people living there, leaving large areas of cleared land untended. Trees that filled in this territory pulled billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, diminishing the heat-trapping capacity of the atmosphere and cooling climate, says Richard Nevle, a geochemist at Stanford University. "We have a massive reforestation event that's sequestering carbon … coincident with the European arrival," says Nevle, who described the consequences of this change October 11 at the Geological Society of America annual meeting. Read the rest of this article...

4,000 years of history crashes to the ground Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:36 AM PDT An ancient monument has crashed to the ground after standing for more than 4,000 years as an important landmark. The famous standing stone at Bedd Morris, on Newport mountain, was snapped over the weekend, toppling over and crushing a nearby fence. Archaeologist Professor Geoffrey Wainwright, an expert who has worked on several sites in the Preselis, plans to play an active role in getting the stone reinstated. He said: "It's a tragedy, the stone has snapped and it's a real mess. Read the rest of this article...

Will DNA Swabs Launch CSI: Cargo Scene Investigation? Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:33 AM PDT Ceramic jugs known as amphorae were the cardboard boxes of ancient Greece. Produced in the millions, they contained goods that were shipped across the Mediterranean and beyond. But what was in them? In a new study that uses a DNA-based method inspired by crime-scene protocols, scientists say they've uncovered a cornucopia of cargoes, but other researchers are skeptical of the technique. Shipwrecks and other sites have yielded plenty of intact amphorae. Maddeningly, nearly all are empty, devoid of obvious clues to what they once held. Researchers have scraped bits of ceramic from the vessel's interior to look for leftover genetic material. In the new study, however, they also turned to a less destructive method straight from television's CSI: swiping the amphorae with a swab. The idea came from the Massachusetts State Police, whom the investigators called for leads. A team led by maritime archaeologist Brendan Foley of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tested the new protocol on nine 5th to 3rd century B.C.E. amphorae that had been languishing in a government storage room in Athens for more than a decade. All had been hauled up in fishermen's nets before being handed over to the Greek government in the 1990s. Read the rest of this article...

Göbeklitepe site unveils mystery Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:31 AM PDT The latest excavation in Göbeklitepe in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa reveals that inhabitants 12,000 years ago also had a belief system and a certain culture. The remains show there is much more to be discovered from those ancient people, according to scholars. Recent excavations at the Göbeklitepe archaeological site have revealed that ancient people living there 12,000 years ago engaged in agriculture, processed leather, made sculptures and rock accessories and possessed a significant belief system. The site in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa includes important information on the people 12 millennia ago, said Assistant Professor Cihat Kürkçüoğlu of the local Harran University. Read the rest of this article...

Prehistoric Painters Planned Ahead Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:29 AM PDT When Vincent Van Gogh moved to the southern French town of Arles in 1888, he painted nearly 200 vivid canvasses before cutting off his left ear in a fit of madness. This artistic explosion was possible in part because Van Gogh kept his brushes, paints, and palette constantly at the ready. A new discovery in South Africa suggests that prehistoric human painters also planned ahead, using ochre paint kits as early as 100,000 years ago. But just what they used the paints for is still a matter of debate. Red or yellow ochre, an iron-containing pigment found in some clays, is ubiquitous at early modern human sites in Africa and the Near East. Some researchers think the earliest known art comes from the site of Blombos in South Africa, about 300 kilometers east of Cape Town, where pieces of ochre incised with an abstract design have been dated to 77,000 years old. Scientists have found even earlier signs of ochre use at Blombos and other sites as old as 165,000 years, but solid evidence that the pigment was used in artistic or other symbolic communication has been lacking. Read the rest of this article...

Biggest haul of Roman gold in Britain could have been found Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:23 AM PDT Details of the treasure remained sketchy and the identity of the lucky metal detecting enthusiast has not been revealed. But it is understood Worcestershire County Council and the county coroner have been informed because of the potential archaeological significance. The treasure, found at Bredon Hill, the site of an Iron Age fort in Worcestershire, is already being compared with the Staffordshire Hoard, the country's biggest ever find of Anglo Saxon gold. Read the rest of this article...

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Archaeology in Europe

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• Tribes of Science 1 – Archaeologists
• An early Celtic “Stonehenge” discovered in the Black Forest
• A henge beneath the water of the Stenness Loch? Time will tell
• Stone circle to rival Ring of Brodgar found off Orkney coast
• 120 Roman Shoes Found in U.K.; "Substantial" Fort Find
• Sandford Heath's 'Roman Road' is excavated in Dorset
• Der Kriminalfall »Ötzi«

Tribes of Science 1 – Archaeologists Posted: 12 Oct 2011 11:13 AM PDT Peter Curran puts archaeologists under his anthropological microscope. He meets a tribe who are excavating the culture of the Stone Age on the island of Jersey. Listen to the broadcast...

An early Celtic “Stonehenge” discovered in the Black Forest Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:33 AM PDT A huge early Celtic calendar construction has been discovered in the royal tomb of Magdalenenberg, nearby Villingen-Schwenningen in the Black Forest. This discovery was made by researchers at the Römisch-GermanischesPress Zentralmuseum at Mainz in Germany when they evaluated old excavation plans. The order of the burials around the central royal tomb fits exactly with the sky constellations of the Northern hemisphere. Whereas Stonehenge was orientated towards the sun, the more then 100 meter width burial mound of Magdalenenberg was focused towards the moon. The builders positioned long rows of wooden posts in the burial mound to be able to focus on the Lunar Standstills. These Lunar Standstills happen every 18,6 year and were the 'corner stones' of the Celtic calendar. Read the rest of this article...

A henge beneath the water of the Stenness Loch? Time will tell Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:30 AM PDT Survey work in the Loch of Stenness has revealed what could be a massive prehistoric monument lying underwater to the south of the Ring of Brodgar. The underwater "anomaly" has come to light in a project looking at prehistoric sea level change in Orkney. The project, The Rising Tide: Submerged Landscape of Orkney, is a collaboration between the universities of St Andrews, Wales, Dundee, Bangor and Aberdeen. But although it is tempting to speculate that the ring-shaped feature, which lies just off the loch's shore, is the remains of a henge — a circular or oval-shaped flat area enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork (usually a ditch with an external bank) — or perhaps a prehistoric quarry, at this stage the project leaders are urging caution. Read the rest of this article...

Stone circle to rival Ring of Brodgar found off Orkney coast Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:23 AM PDT THE remains of a Neolithic stone circle that could rival the most impressive in Britain may have been found off the coast of Orkney. Archaeologists surveying the seabed near the island chain's famous Ring of Brodgar believe they could have discovered an earlier version just 500 metres offshore from the major tourist attraction. Preliminary findings from an investigation seeking previously hidden historical sites in the area have raised hopes that prehistoric structures built up to 5,000 years ago have survived, even though they were submerged under the waves by rising sea levels. Marine surveys – using remote sensing and seismic profiling techniques – have revealed "anomalies" which could be man-made structures around 12 feet under water. Read the rest of this article...

120 Roman Shoes Found in U.K.; "Substantial" Fort Find Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:19 AM PDT About 60 pairs of sandals and shoes that once belonged to Roman soldiers have been unearthed at a supermarket construction site in Camelon, Scotland (see map), archaeologists say. The 2,000-year-old leather footwear was discovered along with Roman jewelry, coins, pottery, and animal bones at the site, which is located at the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. The cache of Roman shoes and sandals—one of the largest ever found in Scotland—was uncovered recently in a ditch at the gateway to a second century A.D. fort built along the Antonine Wall. The wall is a massive defensive barrier that the Romans built across central Scotland during their brief occupation of the region. Read the rest of this article...

Sandford Heath's 'Roman Road' is excavated in Dorset Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:16 AM PDT An archaeological dig has begun on a Dorset footpath to determine whether or not it has Roman origins. The straight path, known locally as "Roman Road", runs through Sandford Heath between Sandford and Station Road at Holton Heath. Organisers say the path may have formed part of the main road between Wareham and Poole in the 18th Century. Read the rest of this article...

Der Kriminalfall »Ötzi« Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:14 AM PDT Die Pfeilspitze, die mit größter Wahrscheinlichkeit zum Tode des Eismannes geführt hat, wurde im Süden hergestellt. Ein aktueller Materialvergleich zeigt allerdings, das solche Pfeilspitzen vereinzelt auch im nördlichen Alpengebiet auftauchen. Bei der tödliche Pfeilspitze, deren Entnahme der Südtiroler Landeshauptmann untersagt, gibt es sehr genaue Röntgen und Computertomographie-Aufnahmen.Es handelt es sich um eine 2,8 Zentimeter große, flächenretuschierte Spitze, die an der Basis einen Schäftungsdorn aufweist. Diese Art von Pfeilspitzen ist in der kupferzeitlichen Remedello-Kultur in Oberitalien verbreitet. Das Rohmaterial ist mit größter Wahrscheinlichkeit der bekannte Feuerstein der Monti Lessini in der Prov. Verona, aus dem auch die sechs Feuersteingeräte des Eismannes gefertigt wurden.  Read the rest of this article...

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• Thorpe House pupils take part in archaeological dig
• Modern Viking
• Bicester Anglo-Saxon skeletons re-interred
• Award nomination for Worcester Cathedral stonemasons
• Ancient Greek farmers found buried with livestock: Report
• Tiny Drone Reveals Ancient Royal Burial Sites

Thorpe House pupils take part in archaeological dig Posted: 09 Oct 2011 12:25 AM PDT Using trowels, brushes, a metal detector and shovels, the pupils were given an insight into archaeology, thanks to the Norfolk Archaeological Unit. The school, in Yarmouth Road, Thorpe St Andrew, approached the unit about the possibility of doing the dig after many of the children became interested in archaeology through their history lessons. Archaeologist Lilly Hodges helped mark out test pits at the school, with four KS2 children at a time given the opportunity to dig. Read the rest of this article...

Modern Viking Posted: 09 Oct 2011 12:22 AM PDT Andrew Saur combines art and heritage to create special Nordic-inspired art. Art was a part of Andrew Saur's life since he was a child – he still has a sketch of a Viking ship he did as an eight-year-old. He grew up in on the shores of Lake Superior in Two Harbors, Minn., where many Nordic immigrants settled over a century ago. Saur discovered graphic design in college, and realized it was a perfect fit for his interest in computers and fine art. Today Saur and his wife Angel Sarkela-Saur have traveled to the Nordic countries several times, engaging in the culture and seeing where their ancestors came from (both have different combinations of Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish heritage). The young couple is based in Duluth, Minn., and together they create one-of-a-kind art with Nordic inspiration. "From church to bazaars, the heritage is everywhere," said Sarkela-Saur. Read the rest of this article...

Bicester Anglo-Saxon skeletons re-interred Posted: 09 Oct 2011 12:19 AM PDT Fifteen Anglo-Saxon skeletons unearthed in Oxfordshire last year have been re-interred in a church memorial garden. A requiem mass was held on Saturday before a wicker coffin containing all the remains was buried at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Bicester. The Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, whose diocese covers Bicester, led the Roman Catholic ceremony. The burial led to a disagreement with the church and local archaeologists, who wanted the bones put in a museum. Read the rest of this article...

Award nomination for Worcester Cathedral stonemasons Posted: 09 Oct 2011 12:16 AM PDT STONEMASONS who have worked on Worcester Cathedral's recently completed 23-year restoration programme have been shortlisted for an English Heritage award. The stonemasons' team consists of five masons specially skilled in the conservation of historic stone buildings, and two apprentices. They have been nominated in the English Heritage Angel Awards, supported by Andrew Lloyd Webber, to be held in London on October 31. Read the rest of this article...

Ancient Greek farmers found buried with livestock: Report Posted: 09 Oct 2011 12:14 AM PDT Archaeologists in northern Greece have found a rare group of ancient graves where farmers were interred with their livestock, a Greek daily reported on Friday. At least 11 adults and 16 farm animals were found buried together near the town of Mavropigi in the northern region of Macedonia, some 21km from the city of Kozani, Ethnos daily said. The men, women and a child lay alongside horses, oxen, dogs and a pig in two rows of graves, the area's head archaeologist told the newspaper. Read the rest of this article...

Tiny Drone Reveals Ancient Royal Burial Sites Posted: 09 Oct 2011 12:12 AM PDT A miniature airborne drone has helped archaeologists capture images for creating a 3-D model of an ancient burial mound in Russia, scientists say. Archaeological sites are often in remote and rugged areas. As such, it can be hard to reach and map them with the limited budgets archaeologists typically have. Scientists are now using drones to extend their view into these hard-to-reach spots. "There are a lot possibilities with this method," said researcher Marijn Hendrickx, a geographer at the University of Ghent in Belgium. Read the rest of this article...

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