Wednesday, May 26, 2004



Keeping up with the empire

The Roman Empire has been well documented. Over the years written history and archaeology have brought to the surface, sometimes literally unearthed, a whole society. Thus Roman architecture, religion, military strategy and legal structures hold little mystery. Compared to this depth of knowledge, many of those living outside the boundaries of the Empire are lost in time. But now an archaeological excavation in the north of the Netherlands had begun to tell the story of the Roman's neighbours.

Radio Nederland


Perthshire Archaeology Week

Perthshire Archaeology Week (29 May - 6 June) is packed with nine days of events for everyone to enjoy, including excavations, activities, exhibitions, guided tours and walks, lectures and talks. Many are suitable for all the family including those run by Historic Scotland, who are also offering discounted admissions to all their properties in the area throughout the week.

Come to Perthshire this summer and be taken on a journey of discovery. All you need is your imagination - Perthshire Archaeology Week will do the rest.

Further Details


Pioneering archaeological research charts African links with the Roman world

University of Southampton archaeologists Professor David Peacock and Dr Lucy Blue have just returned from a pioneering expedition investigating Roman sites in the East African country of Eritrea alongside colleagues from the University of Asmara. The University group is the first from the UK to work in the country since it won its independence more than a decade ago. They are already planning to return to this remote area on the shores of the Red Sea, previously part of Ethiopia.

innovations-report.com

Tuesday, May 25, 2004



ARA Modus Operandi

Peter Williams has recently started a very nice blog for the Association for Roman Archaeology.

To quote from Peter’s own decription of the site:

“Peter Williams logs some ideas that might enhance the web presence of the Association for Roman Archaeology. Readers are always encouraged to contribute their own creativity, comment, and critique.”

Try it! http://aramodusoperandi.blogspot.com/


Archaeological Research in Progress 2004: North East Scotland

Saturday, May 29th 9.30-5.00

Organised by the Council for Scottish Archaeology, and staged jointly with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, this day long conference in Aberdeen will focus on the many exciting projects that are currently taking place in the north east of Scotland. Topics include recent excavations of recumbent stone circles (Richard Bradley, University of Reading), "privies and other filthiness" "the Environment of Medieval Aberdeen" (Christopher Croly, Aberdeen City Council) and some archaeological "tales of the unexpected" (Shannon Fraser, National Trust for Scotland). The conference is aimed at members of the public, amateur and professional archaeologists and will include a mixture of sites and types of research as well as display stalls by local and national groups.


For further information please contact:

Council for Scottish Archaeology, c/o National Museums of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF

telephone 0131 247 4119

e-mail a.daly@nms.ac.uk

or look at our website www.britarch.ac.uk/csa/



MGM 2004 - A TRIP ALONG THE SILK ROAD AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY

'The Kingdom of Miran where the Lop desert meets the Altun Mountains.' This could easily be a description lifted clean from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poetic imagination.

Yet for 800 years from the first century AD Miran, sandwiched between Kroraina and Dunhuang on the eastern Silk Road, existed as the bastion of a highly militarised Tibetan Buddhist empire.

The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith at The British Library until September 12 exhibits many of the rare treasures found by Hungarian-born archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein, who spent much of his life excavating sites along the complex, loose network of trade routes known as the Silk Road.

24 Hour Museum News

Monday, May 24, 2004



Road workmen find Norman causeway

Builders working on an Oxfordshire highway have uncovered 1,000-year-old ruins built by a Norman adventurer.

Workmen found part of a Norman causeway and arches under Abingdon Road and archaeologists were called in.

BBC News


New strategy to `reunite' Elgin marbles

Greece requests a loan for Olympics British Museum thinks it's a ruse

Toronto Star


Archaeologists go hi-tech in Balkans

In search of clues they believe could cast light on 10,000 years of Balkans history, archaeologists working in a key wetland along the Cetina river in southern Croatia have modernized their approach, switching shovels for a georadar.
Children ran in awe around the cart with the georadar as it circled around a village playground pulled by a small four-wheeler. Several meters (feet) beneath the concrete the radar found remains of a medieval church.

"This is the first time that we have access to such sophisticated peace of equipment. It will revolutionize how we can do this sort of work, as we can now do in days what used to take us months before," Vincent Gaffney, director of the University of Birmingham Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, said.

Middle East Times


Derby housing to go ahead despite Bronze Age finds

Derby residents who have campaigned for more than a year against a proposal to build housing on a former hotel site look set to lose their battle. Burton-based developer Michael Goodall Homes wants to build 79 homes on the corner of Chain Lane and Pastures Hill, in Littleover, where a Forte Posthouse hotel once stood.

Megalithic Portal


Castle may be dug up create bus lane

THE last remaining part of Northampton Castle could be dug up to make way for a bus lane.

A small earth mound close to the town's railway station is the only piece of the 12th Century castle which remains intact.

But plans being drawn up by Northamptonshire County Council and Network Rail could see part of the earth mound, which has Government protection as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, cut away to give buses an easier route into the station.

Northampton Today

Saturday, May 22, 2004



Roman remains found at an airport

The remains of five Roman bodies have been uncovered during redevelopment work at Humberside airport.
The bodies of four adults and one child were found when archaeologists carried out excavation work.

BBC News


Unearthing Troy's truth

For plenty of cinema-goers, the prospect of seeing Brad Pitt as a loincloth-clad hero is enough to encourage them to see the film, which opens in the UK on Friday. But many others will want to know whether there is any truth in it all. Did Troy exist?

BBC News


Time to get digging for Archaeology Week

A series of events celebrating the rich and varied archaeology of Strathearn and beyond is set to take place from May 29 until June 6. Perthshire Archaeology Week has been organised by a consortium of local and national organisations, and receives funding from Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and the Perthshire Tourist Board.

Megalithic Portal


Schoolboy digs up medieval ring

A 10-year-old boy could soon have a boost to his pocket money - after finding a medieval ring in a field in Pembrokeshire.
Nathan Duffield, from Milford Haven, was out metal detecting with his father when he unearthed the ring, thought to be 600 years old.

BBC News

Friday, May 21, 2004



Cathedral's medieval tunnel opens

A 15th Century tunnel at Canterbury Cathedral which allows pilgrims to visit the site of the murder of Thomas Becket has been reopened to the public.

BBC News


Survey of commons maps buried history

One of the last great mysteries of Britain's past is being unravelled by archaeologists in the first ever survey of the "people's land" - urban commons that have been protected from development for up to 1,000 years.

Guardian


Innovative software offers clues to age-old puzzle

It's the world's oldest and largest jigsaw puzzle -- an ancient map of Rome in 1,200 fragments of marble. Archaeologists for centuries have tried to painstakingly piece together the sculpture, fragment by fragment. Now, computer wizards at Stanford University say they have created a software program that holds the key to the puzzle and the ancient city.

The Battalion


Lasers tackle Roman puzzle

It's the world's largest jigsaw puzzle -- an ancient map of Rome in 1,200 fragments of marble.

Charleoot Observer


Software helps put together ancient Roman map

It's the world's oldest and largest jigsaw puzzle, an ancient map of Rome in 1,200 fragments of marble. Archaeologists for centuries have tried to painstakingly piece together the sculpture, fragment by fragment. Now, computer wizards at Stanford University say they have created a software program that holds the key to the puzzle and the ancient city.

Bradenton.com


Software unlocks Roman map puzzle

It's the world's oldest and largest jigsaw puzzle -- an ancient map of Rome in 1,200 fragments of marble. Archaeologists for centuries have tried to painstakingly piece together the sculpture, fragment by fragment. Now, computer wizards at Stanford University say they have created a software program that holds the key to the puzzle and the ancient city.

Indystar.com


Mapping ancient Rome

It's the world's oldest and largest jigsaw puzzle - an ancient map of Rome in 1,200 fragments of marble. Archaeologists for centuries have tried to painstakingly piece together the sculpture, fragment by fragment. Now, computer wizards at Stanford University say they have created a software program that holds the key to the puzzle and the ancient city.

Mirabilis


Algorithms from the Human Genome Project used to piece together ancient Roman Map

It's the world's oldest and largest jigsaw puzzle - an ancient map of Rome in 1,200 fragments of marble. Archaeologists for centuries have tried to painstakingly piece together the sculpture, fragment by fragment. Now, computer wizards at Stanford University say they have created a software program that holds the key to the puzzle and the ancient city.

Roman Archaeology


Innovative software offers clues to age-old puzzle

It's the world's oldest and largest jigsaw puzzle - an ancient map of Rome in 1,200 fragments of marble. Archaeologists for centuries have tried to painstakingly piece together the sculpture, fragment by fragment. Now, computer wizards at Stanford University say they have created a software program that holds the key to the puzzle and the ancient city.

Herald.com

Wednesday, May 19, 2004



Roman project wins over heritage award judges

A MID CHESHIRE town has won an award for helping people to understand their heritage.

Middlewich scooped the Interpret Britain and Ireland Award for its Roman Middlewich Project.

The Association of Heritage Interpretation (AHI) dedicates the awards to the very best examples of heritage interpretation - those that help people to understand and enjoy an area's cultural heritage.

I C Cheshire Online


DID HISTORIC GARDEN DISAPPEAR WITH TIME?

Martin Hesp visits a famous castle to find out how an obscure painting has thrown light upon a garden that disappeared without trace IT was like a scene from the TV programme Time Team. In a field under a castle, camera crews ducked here and there filming men walking up and down rope-marked grids wielding strange devices.

This is Devon


Ausgrabungen im ehemaligen Zisterzienserkloster Altzella in Sachsen

Die ausgedehnte Klosteranlage bei Nossen, Kr. Meißen, wird seit mehreren Jahren vom Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen archäologisch untersucht, sobald es Bauarbeiten notwendig machen. Beim Abbruch eines in den 50er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts errichteten Wohnhauses ist nun die Ecke eines klosterzeitlichen Steingebäudes freigelegt worden, dessen Existenz bislang unbekannt war.

Archäologie


Amateur dig strikes an ancient treasure

A ancient settlement full of fascinating artefacts has been uncovered near Burton Dassett. But funding is urgently needed if the local volunteer archaeologists are to complete the important excavation. Volunteers from the Felden Archaeological Society have discovered an array of items dating as far back as 500 BC, including flints, pottery and metal clips believed to be from a toga.

Megalithic Portal


A hill or not a hill?

Following close on the announcement (Archaeo News, 15 May 2004) by Heritage Action Group of a conference to lobby for the proper conservation of Silbury Hill (England) a public enquiry into the Countryside Agency’s decision to designate Silbury as ‘open land’ opened on 17 May. This move by the Countryside Agency will, if ratified, allow uncontrolled access to Europe’s biggest ancient monument under the right-to-roam laws contained within the new Countryside and Rights of Way Act [CRoWA]. The enquiry is the result of a planning appeal by the Hill’s owner, Lord Avebury. The peer is backed by site managers English Heritage, the National Trust, the Council for British Archaeology, the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, the Avebury Society and local councillors. Even the Ramblers Association, which was one of the main groups to lobby for the introduction of right-to-roam, supports the appeal. Opponents to open access say that under the Countryside Agency’s own criteria Silbury Hill is a man made structure that should be classed as a building.

Stone Pages


New window opened on the Silk Road

Odd bits of history connected with the Silk Road -- running from modern-day Iran to the west through central Asia and into China -- have given fresh insight to historians

The felt slipper in the glass case looks somewhat worn and dusty, but still serviceable. Hence the shock of its caption -- which reveals that its owner once pounded the Silk Road, the great ancient trade route, more than 1,000 years ago.

The Tibetan shoe, dating from the 8th or 9th century, is among a wealth of astonishingly well-preserved treasures from the Silk Road which have just gone on show at the British Library in central London.

Taipei Times

Tuesday, May 18, 2004



Front line Kent 1400-1900

a talk by Victor Smith BA FSA

Tuesday 25 May, 8pm

Meeting House, Northgate, Rochester ME1 1LS

Director of Thames Defence Heritage, Victor Smith, has a particular (and 'hands-on') interest in the Tavern Fort at Gravesend and associated defences on the Thames and Medway.


The Real Trojan War

Digging up clues to the truth behind the myth

Legendary Troy, perched on a hilltop in what's now northwestern Turkey, draws thousands of visitors every year. And their overwhelming reaction is disappointment. "Most tourists get there and say, 'This is it?' " says Eric Cline, an archaeologist at George Washington University. The place of which Homer sang--a rich city with "lofty gates" and "fine towers," temples to Apollo and to Athena, the palace of King Priam with a grand throne room and 50 marble chambers, a land in which thousands of warriors defended the beautiful Helen against an invading Greek force--looks like a rude ruin on a dusty hill. Mostly, there's a fort with big walls, but they encircle an area only about 200 yards across. Around it are some scattered stones. Says Andrew Sherratt, an archaeologist at Oxford University: "It seems like pretty small beer."

U S News.com


Guidelines for reburial of old Christian bones

After years of uncertainty, archaeologists and church leaders in the UK have agreed a set of guidelines governing excavations of Christian graves.

New Scientist


Ancient monument may be reclassified

An attempt will be made today to have a hill reclassified as a building to protect one of the most enigmatic prehistoric structures in Europe.
Ramblers may gain a theoretical entitlement to walk up the sides of Silbury Hill in Wiltshire if the largest manmade mound in Europe is classified as "open countryside" under the countryside and rights of way bill.

Guardian



Vikings launch new trail in Norwich


Vikings made a return visit to Norwich on Saturday to help launch an exciting new history trail and competition.

Warrior Falco and friends caused a stir when they set up camp at the Forum to promote the trail, which starts at Cow Tower, Riverside, and takes in Viking sights across the city.

EDP 24


Repatriation of remains: now it's the Christians' turn

After years of uncertainty, archaeologists and church leaders in the UK have agreed a set of guidelines governing excavations of Christian graves.

The move is a response to calls for excavated human remains to be reburied on consecrated ground, and follows controversies over repatriating remains from North America and Australia held in museums . . .

Cronaca

Sunday, May 16, 2004



Uncovering city's historic past

Excavations revealing part of Belfast's maritime past have been described as some of the most exciting in the city's archaeological history.

BBC News


Roman fort goes on the web

IT REMAINS one of the most remarkable Scottish archaeological excavations of all time, carried out by a self-taught amateur, and without the benefit of the aerial photographs and geophysical surveys that are considered essential today.

A hundred years ago a Melrose solicitor, James Curle, was hatching plans to unlock the secrets of the largest Roman settlement in Scotland, where Agricola’s army of 2,000 soldiers and 1,000 camp followers developed a sprawling fort and annexes on 340 acres in the lee of the Eildon Hills from 80AD.

The Scotsman


Restored Roman house to open soon

More than Lm111,000 are being invested to restore the building formerly known as the Roman Villa in Rabat, which has been renamed the Roman Domus.

The Roman Domus is expected to open again in a few months' time after intensive restoration and with new electricity and plumbing, security services, sanitary facilities and offices.

Times of Malta


THE SHIP "KERINIA II ELEFTHERIA" SAILED INTO THE PORT OF PIRAEUS

The ship “Kerinia II Eleftheria” sailed into the port of Piraeus this afternoon. It is a ship of historic value as its original was built in the 4th century BC. Its crew will deliver the gifts of Cyprus and the islands it has visited along the way to the city of Athens, the host of the 2004 Olympic Games.

The ancient builders of the ship used timber from the Aegean island of Samos to build it and probably they also came from Samos. The ship was sunk in 370BC near the coasts of Kerinia in Cyprus. Andreas Kariolou, a diver from Kerinia, found the ship at the bottom of the sea and the operation for its recovery got underway in 1967 by two US universities, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas.

MPA News


Turkey displays Troy treasures in time for film

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Istanbul Archaeology Museum has thrown open the doors to its ancient Troy exhibition, shut for years due to lack of funds, just in time for the world premiere of the mega-budget film "Troy" starring Brad Pitt.

Ancient Troy is located in the northwest of modern-day Turkey, not far south of Istanbul.

Reuters


Medieval necropolis found in Portugal

An important medieval necropolis has been discovered at Castelo Branco in the center of Portugal, in the course of restoration work on the city's cathedral . . .

A group of 32 burials, including several granite sarcophaguses containing the skeletal remains of ten different individuals, was discovered outside the cathedral of Castelo Branco. The burials probably date to the 14th or 15th century, according to Portuguese archeologists. . .

Cronaca


A dig into history excites experts

Archaeologists will move onto the site of the new Focus DIY store at Fosse Lane in Shepton Mallet at the end of this month. The site is subject to an exploratory dig before any building work gets under way and archaeologists' hopes of interesting discoveries are high owing previous Iron Age finds and to its close proximity to the Roman settlement found in 1990 at a nearby factory warehouse building site.

Megalithic Portal


Viking artifacts looted?

A Clinton Township company that tried to sell Viking artifacts from Sweden on the Internet has Swedish officials up in arms.
The artifacts, including several swords and knives dating from 800 to 1050, were discovered on a Web site that was seeking bids for the antiquities, said Christian Runeby, an archaeologist who oversees the collection and preservation of antiquities on the Baltic sea island of Gotland.

Cronaca


Stonehenge road inquiry ends

The wrangling over the future of the roads near Stonehenge has come to an end, after almost three months of hearings. Since the inquiry began on February 17, Inspector Michael Ellison has heard arguments supporting the construction of a 2.1 km tunnel under the World Heritage site from the Highways Agency and English Heritage, along with heated objections from the National Trust, environmental campaigners and archaeological groups. Mr Ellison has also studied eight official alternative routes for the A303, which include converting the current road into a dual carriageway, extending the tunnel, and rerouting the stretch to either the north or south of the stones.

Stonepages

Thursday, May 13, 2004



Help to save Silbury Hill

Here's your chance to do your bit to save Silbury from further collapses and lobby EH to 'Fix the Hill!' Organised by Heritage Action, this protest meeting and open air conference is sure to attract attention. Please be part of it on Saturday 29 May. Meet at Avebury at 12noon an march to Silbury for speeches and rally.

Megalithic Portal

Wednesday, May 12, 2004



Druid Order's doubts over Stonehenge tunnel plan

Modern pagans are clashing with the custodians of Britain's most famous neolithic site over the fate of their buried predecessors. As it is known, British Government plans to dig a 1.3 mile tunnel under Stonehenge. The Highways Agency says its plan will save the world heritage site from what it calls '20th century clutter', by sending the traffic clogged A303 under Salisbury plain.

Stone Pages


Iron Age tool marks move to steel

A tiny Iron Age tool found in Holland is one of the oldest objects unearthed in Europe made from the alloy steel.

The 6cm-long punch has a carbon content (2%) rarely seen in iron-based objects from the region at the time.


BBC News


Medieval mansion uncovered on Old Town building site

THE remains of a medieval "mansion" have been uncovered on a building site in Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Archaeologists carrying out an extensive excavation of the site beside Old Fishmarket Close have unearthed the well-preserved ground-floor remnants of the house.

The Scotsman


Restoration of Nine Maidens stone circle

Archaeologists are starting work to restore one of Cornwall's prehistoric stone circles. Three of the stones at the Nine Maidens circle at Madron near Penzance (England) which have fallen over will be re-erected in time for the summer.

Stonepages

Tuesday, May 11, 2004



2ND JOAN PYE LECTURE

Monday, 21st June 2004
5.30 p.m.

The Silchester Town Life Project: after the first eight years

Professor Michael Fulford
(University of Reading)

Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London (nearest Tube: Green Park / Piccadilly Circus)

Admission is free. The lecture is followed by a wine reception.

For more information on the Roman Research Trust, please visit the Trust's website (http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/rrt/) or contact John Pearce


Site of ancient university found in Egypt

A Polish-Egyptian team has unearthed the site of the fabled University of Alexandria, home of Archimedes, Euclid and a host of other scholars from the era 2,300 years ago when the coastal Egyptian city dominated the Mediterranean.

Seattle Times


Christlich-orientalische Bleisiegel als Belege kultureller Vielfalt

Dr. Claudia Sode vom Institut für Altertumswissenschaften und PD Dr. Stefan Heidemann vom Institut für Sprachen und Kulturen des Vorderen Orients der Universität Jena werden im Juli und August in Dumbarton Oaks, der Forschungseinrichtung für byzantinische Studien der Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. tätig sein.

Archäologie


VRMAG UNVEILS MEGAPIXEL PROJECT OF MEDIEVAL PARMA, ITALY

LUGANO, Switzerland --November 18, 2002 --VRMAG®, the online magazine dedicated to exploring the world with virtual reality (VR), announced its special Parma Project, which features 360-degree cubic VR panoramas of the historical Parma Baptistery and Duomo in 600,000,000-pixel (six hundred million) detail, enabling viewers to zoom in for high-resolution close-ups of the medieval artwork.

VR Way

or Link to the project


Wooden pipe find excites Irish archaeologists

Archaeologists are dancing with delight after discovering a set of musical pipes believed to have been used 4,000 years ago by prehistoric man in Ireland, making them the world's oldest wooden instruments.

Archaeologists discovered the six wooden pipes, which are not joined, during excavations of a housing development site near the coastal town of Greystones, south of Dublin.

ABC News


Underwater islands add to the mystery of Orkney

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have re-discovered a lost chapter in Orkney's history which will develop the understanding of mysterious ancient monuments found across Scotland.

Underwater researchers are examining small, artificial islands in Orkney's inland waters, which have lain undiscovered for generations.

The Herald

Monday, May 10, 2004



Could the boomerang be British?

For centuries we've believed that the boomerang was invented by Australia's aborigines.

But now a top North author says it was the Brits that didgeridid it!

Top-selling children's author and historian Terry Deary claims to have uncovered evidence of early boomerang usage that predates their appearance Down Under . . . in Yorkshire!

I C Newcastle


Archaeologists discover alma mater of Archimedes

A Polish-Egyptian team has unearthed the site of the fabled University of Alexandria, home of Archimedes, Euclid and a host of other scholars from the era when Alexandria dominated the Mediterranean.

The team has found 13 lecture halls, or auditoriums, that could have accommodated as many as 5,000 students, according to archeologist Zahi Hawass, President of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Salt Lae Tribune


Reconstructing Stonehenge-era sailboat

An engineer has challenged scholars who believe that sailing boats were first built in 500BC by reconstructing a Bronze Age vessel which can sail.
Edwin Gifford’s boat is based on a 50ft vessel dating from 1800BC, whose remains were unearthed on Humberside before the Second World War.

Cronaca

Saturday, May 08, 2004



Seized: an entire museum of illicit antiquities

Spanish police raided a winery in Aguilar de la Frontera near Cordoba in southern Spain on 21 March and seized over 5,000 archaeological artefacts which were on display in a clandestine museum in the cellars of the building.

Initial police suspicions that the antiquities collection in the Bodegas Toro Albalá was unauthorised were confirmed by the Culture Ministry of the Regional Government of Andalusia, and the raid followed a three-month investigation dubbed “Operación Toro.”
The objects, which filled several rooms, were carefully arranged in glass cabinets and bookcases, and organised into chronological order with labels and other documentation. Details of where the objects were found were not provided.

The Art Newspaper


Bad blood flows as Medicis go digging up their past

When your family history is history, the family does not always get along.

Take the Medici, one of Italy's most celebrated clans. Known for writing cheques to Michelangelo, the Medici have of late been airing some dirty laundry as a handful of their descendants fall into a spat.

SMH.com


British claim on boomerang
A BRITISH historian has claimed to have uncovered the world's oldest evidence of the returning boomerang – in Yorkshire.

Terry Deary says his research indicates a rock carving on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire is of a four-armed boomerang which dates back as far as 4000BC.

The Australian


Bronze Age treasure hoard found in Surrey

A treasure hoard dating back to the late Bronze Age has been unearthed in Mickleham. The ancient stash, which includes two axe heads and the end of a sword scabbard, was discovered at Norbury Park on December 9 2003, but only came to light at an inquest last week.

Megalithic Portal


Late Bronze Age treasure hoard unearthed in Surrey

The ancient stash, which includes two axe heads and the end of a sword scabbard, was discovered at Norbury Park (Surrey, England) on December 9 2003, but only came to light at an inquest last week. The find, which was made by metal detectionist Martin Hay was uncovered on land belonging to Surrey County Council. At the inquest opened by Surrey coroner Michael Burgess in Woking, the court heard how the treasures were submitted to Surrey finds liaison officer, David Williams, who took them to the British Museum. Mr Burgess explained: "This was a small hoard of three complete bronze objects."

Stone Pages


BOOK ON ARCHAEOLOGY OF PARK LAUNCHED

ARCHAEOLOGY in Northumberland National Park has been uncovered in a new book launched at Alnwick Castle last week.

The event attracted more than 100 people including eminent archaeologists who have worked in the national park and landowners on whose land projects have taken place.

Hexham Courant


Dig shows Welsh were evolving at faster pace

During the middle Bronze Age, farming communities in North Wales were developing well, say archaeologists. The early Bronze Age had been characterised by communities based around monuments similar to Stonehenge. But Dr Robert Johnston of Bangor University says that in North Wales the pattern of dwellings was determined by the size of extended families and a more advanced culture. The number of weapons found indicate that conflicts existed between different groups which were settled by violence. However there was no evidence of any large invasions during this period, Dr Johnston said. Rather people who settled across North Wales managed to evolve into more sophisticated societies than other areas.

Stone Pages

Thursday, May 06, 2004



Archaeologists OK Shot Put in Olympia

ATHENS, Greece - Archaeologists have approved a request by Olympic organizers to stage the shot put competitions at the site of the ancient games, the Culture Ministry said Wednesday.

The State


Physics meets archaeometry in ancient Greece

Physics-based techniques are playing an increasingly important role in the analysis of archaeological artefacts. At the 34th Symposium of Archaeometry in Zaragosa, Spain, this week Manolis Pantos and colleagues at the Daresbury and Rutherford Appleton Laboratories in the UK will describe how they used beams of synchrotron radiation and neutrons to examine a bronze helmet from ancient Greece. The non-destructive techniques employed by the group have helped to unravel the object's unusual history and could now used to investigate other ancient artefacts.

Physics Web


Dutch garden may hold Musketeers' skeletons

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) -- Are the three musketeers and four swashbuckling chums buried under an unassuming Dutch garden in the town where legendary swordsman D'Artagnan was killed?

CNN News


Treasure hunters hit jackpot

Three metal detector enthusiasts are to receive a windfall after Bronze Age artefacts they uncovered were classed as treasure.

BBC News


Royal Medieval Manuscript Back to Bulgaria

The medieval Bulgarian manuscript of the Tsar Ivan Alexander's Tetraevangelia (Four Gospels) will be displayed in Bulgaria.

A set of unique Old-Bulgarian manuscripts dating to late medieval times will also return for an expo tour in their homeland at the beginning of next year, Bozhidar Dimitrov, head of the National History Museum announced.

Novinite

Wednesday, May 05, 2004



Bronze age gold hoard declared treasure

A Bronze Age hoard of international significance has been declared treasure today by H.M. Coroner for North East Wales.

Dating to the Middle Bronze Age, this hoard includes a torc, bracelet, a necklace pendant and a collection of beads and rings, all of gold.

News Wales


"Long tunnel better for site"

BUILDING a longer tunnel under Stonehenge is the only way of reunifying the World Heritage site, an Amesbury couple told the inquiry.

Martyn and Sandra Aubrey said the Highways Agency's plans for a 2.1km tunnel was a good start but another 1.2 km of the new dual carriageway should also be built underground.

This is Wiltshire


An ancient statue dated on the Roman period was discovered in occupied Ayios Theodoros village

Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRIS newspaper (04.05.04) reports that an ancient statue was discovered yesterday in the occupied Ayios Theodoros village. As the paper writes, the statue is dated on the early Roman period and it is around two thousand years old. It has a height of one metre and it is without the head. It belongs to a man. It was found in a rather good condition.

Cyprus PIO


Mudlarks dig up medieval toys

Members of the London-based Society of Thames Mudlarks look very different today from the Victorian street children the group takes its name from. Where ragged waifs once searched for bits of bone and coal to sell, men in overalls, gloves, and rubber boots now comb the River Thames foreshore with metal detectors.

Mirabilis

Tuesday, May 04, 2004



Site of Portuguese shipwreck to stay secret for time being

Marine archaeologists are examining the site of a Portuguese shipwreck off Western Australia's northern coast.

The Correio da Azia was discovered yesterday by a Maritime Museum team after a hunt lasting more than 16 years.

ABC News


Church to remove Moor-slayer saint

A statue in a Spanish cathedral showing St James slicing the heads off Moorish invaders is to be removed to avoid causing offence to Muslims.

Cathedral authorities in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela, on Spain's north west coast, plan to move the statue to the museum.

BBC News

Monday, May 03, 2004



New Web Address for The Friends of Thornborough

The Friends of Thornborough now have a new domain name.

For news of the campaign to further protect Thornborough Henge complex please visit

www.friendsofthornborough.org.uk


The sky at night ... as seen by the Chinese 1,300 years ago

The oldest known map of the stars will go on display in Britain this week in an exhibition that will demonstrate the supremacy of early Chinese astronomy.

Independent


Scientists to search for Noah's ark on Turkish mountain

Expedition will study 'man-made object' shown by satellite photos

The CIA calls it the "Ararat anomaly". Mountaineers call it the peak of the unforgiving range on the Turkish-Armenian border. But some scientists think it might hold a far greater historical significance as the great archaeological mirage - the remains of Noah's ark.

Guardian

Sunday, May 02, 2004



Clay tablets hold key to tale of Helen, Paris and the siege of Troy

New archaeological finds show that Homeric and Hollywood epics may be based on more than just myth

The legend has dominated Western culture for more than 3,000 years - the kidnapping of the most beautiful woman in the world, the thousand ships sent to bring her back, and the bloody 10-year war that followed.

Independent


Viking artefacts found on Waterford road route

A suspected Viking settlement has been discovered along the planned route of the €300m Waterford City By-Pass.

The National Roads Authority has confirmed to RTÉ News that it is treating the site as one of 'special interest' and it could demand 'a significant amount' of additional expenditure.

RTE News


Roman remains could be reburied

One of the greatest archaeological treasures in Sussex - the remains of a Roman bath - may have to be buried unless funds are raised to save it.

BBC News


Artefacts dating back 4,000 years found in Londonderry

Artefacts dating back around 4,000 years have been uncovered by archaeologists in Londonderry.

The team, led by John O'Neill from Queen's University, was working on a Bronze Age lake settlement at Ballyarnet, when they found large quantities of decorated pottery, flint arrowheads and scrapers, hammerstones, fishing weights and grinding stones.

4 NI


The holy grail of archaeology

AMERICAN researcher Robert Sarmast yesterday officially launched an expedition that he hopes will result in the discovery of the lost island of Atlantis. The launch of the expedition is expected to be marked today when the scientists submerge a copper canister with the flags of Cyprus, the EU and a specially designed Atlantis flag five hours out at sea from Limassol port.

At a news conference aboard the vessel that will take the team of experts to a submerged continental shelf – where he believes was the plain of Atlantis – Sarmast said the search for the lost island was the holy grail of archaeology.

“After years of research, and having developed the most accurate maps and models of the eastern Mediterranean seafloor, we believe that we have found Plato’s legendary island of Atlantis and we aim to prove it this summer,” he said.

Cyprus Mail


Another dip in the Mediterranean in search of Atlantis

A quest for the lost island of Atlantis began off the southern shores of Cyprus yesterday.
After a decade of intense study an American, Robert Sarmast, claims to have assembled evidence to prove that the fabled island lies a mile deep in the sea between Cyprus and Syria. He says he has detected "around 48" of the 50 geographical features Plato described the island as having before it was "swallowed up by the earth".

Guardian


MAJOR DIG FOR ROMAN BRIDGE

A BURIED Roman bridge in Corbridge – thought to have been a spectacular representation of the power of the Empire – will be rescued in a major archeological dig.

It is hoped the remains of the largest stone bridge in Roman Britain will uncover vital clues to the movement of the Romans in Corbridge, and reveal more about the origination of the village itself.

Hexham Courant


4,000-year-old artefacts found in Londonderry

Artefacts dating back around 4,000 years have been uncovered by archaeologists in Londonderry (Northern Ireland). The team, led by John O'Neill from Queen's University, was working on a Bronze Age lake settlement at Ballyarnet, when they found large quantities of decorated pottery, flint arrowheads and scrapers, hammerstones, fishing weights and grinding stones. According to Mr O'Neill, the investigation revealed that the substantial lake settlement may have only been occupied during a relatively short period of time.

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