Polynesian cemetery unlocks ancient burial secrets
The first people to settle Polynesia went to surprising lengths to honour their dead. Remains from the oldest cemetery in the Pacific suggest the Lapita people buried their dead in...

Greenhouse effect occurred 5,000 years ago
It is common sense nowadays that excessive carbon dioxide in the air caused by excessive lumbering leads to global greenhouse effects. But a team of archaeologists from China and the...

Dig near Tucson, AZ Uncovers ancient settlement
Archeologists are finding the people who lived in this area northwest of Tucson, Arizona (USA) three thousand years ago have more in common with us than we might think. One...

Oldest dragon totem found
A 3,700-year-old antique in the shape of a dragon, made up of over 2,000 pieces of turquoise, is believed by many Chinese scholars as the oldest Chinese dragon totem. The...

Bosnian explorer finds 'Europe's first pyramids'
Bosnian explorer Semir Osmanagic is convinced he has found Europe's first pyramids, which he states are a new "World Wonder" dating back to ancient times. "I was amazed when I...

3000-year-old warrior still fighting at Gohar-Tappeh
A team of archaeologists working at the 3000-year-old site of Gohar-Tappeh in Iran's northern province of Mazandaran have recently unearthed a skeleton of a warrior buried in an attacking pose...

Prehistoric observatory discovered in China
Chinese archaeologists said they have found the world earliest observatory, dated back to some 4,100 years ago, in north China's Shanxi Province. The ancient observatory in the Taosi relics site...

New find in Iran may be ancient musical instrument
A team of archaeologists recently discovered an unidentified artifact in a grave beside a skeleton at the ancient site of Gohar-Tappeh in Mazandaran Province. The director of the team, Ali...

Archaeologists discuss man's origins in the USA
A University of Texas archaeologist opened the highly anticipated "Clovis in the Southeast" conference at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center by rejecting the premise on which many experts once based...

Ancient Indian burial site found in Riverhead park
Last week's stormy weather uncovered what experts said may be an important early American Indian burial site at Indian Island County Park in Riverhead (New York, USA). The site was...

A dozen Iron Age roundhouses uncovered in Inverness
Archaeologists are excavating in Scotland what they describe as "the most important site found in Inverness for decades". They discovered the remains of an entire village, 'industrial estate' and trading...

Prehistoric sites discovered near carriageway in Ireland
Nineteen archaeological sites including a Neolithic settlement have been found along the route of the next stage of the Belfast to Dublin road upgrade. Construction of the nine-mile high quality...

2,000-year-old burial site found on Shetland
Archaeologists working on Shetland's most northerly isle have discovered a burial site more than 2,000 years old. The site at Sand Wick on Unst, thought to date back to the...

Ancient ritual cauldron unearthed in Bulgaria
Bulgarian treasure-hunters discovered an ancient bronze cauldron, used for ritual funerals more than thirty centuries ago. The cauldron was found near the Utroba cave, close to Kurdzhali, Southern Bulgaria. It...

Carved stone intrigues Scottish archaeologists
One of the oldest carved stones ever found in the Highlands of Scotland has given experts an intriguing mystery to solve. Archaeologists say designs on the 5000-year-old stone slab discovered...

Excitement at Neolithic site find (News by Jane)
From BBC online, Wednesday, 2 November 2005:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4399194.stm



Archaeologists have unearthed what is thought to be one of the largest Neolithic settlements in Britain.

The discovery, which includes buildings, a human burial pit, tools, pottery and ritual objects, was uncovered at a Northumberland quarry.



It is hoped it will boost understanding of the period, which dates back thousands of years.



The discovery was made during routine archaeological investigation of the ...

Caradon Hill project update including Hurlers re-erection (News by Mr Hamhead)
The project to get funding to improve the area around Caradon Hill has "reawoken". A new project officer has been appointed and "experts" brought in to assess the whole thing.

At a meeting on the 31st October Bryn Tapper of Cornwall Historic Enviroment Service (what used to be CAU) discussed what role the archaeologists would like in the project.

Keeping away from the 19th century mining remains he has looked at over 1000 sites in the area which stretches from Bearah Tor in the north ...

Unique designs found on slab in Beauly cairn? (News by Rhiannon)
Unusual designs have been found on a 5000-year-old stone slab discovered inside a cairn near Beauly. The sandstone slab formed one side of a burial chamber within the cairn, and was discovered after Highland Council ordered a quarry company to undertake an archaeological survey on the site at Balblair prior to extracting rock and gravel.



Andrew Dutton, a senior archaeologist with Headland Archaeology, said:

"It has certainly got people scratching their heads, " he admitted. "It is unique. ...

'Poignant finds' at Unst dig (News by Rhiannon)
The excavation of an Iron Age site at Sand Wick on Unst, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland, was initially aimed at training volunteers how to excavate eroding coastlines. However, archaeologists from Glasgow University, the Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problems of Erosion Trust (SCAPE) and local volunteers have excavated many artefacts and an interesting skeleton. The skeleton was found lying on its back with a polished stone disc tucked inside its mouth. Near the arm was a ...

EH working with local police to protect Eston Moor (News by Rhiannon)
Kate Wilson, inspector of ancient monuments for English Heritage North-East has called for action to stop arsonists on Eston Moor who are destroying the heather which protects archaeological sites. Trials bikes and off-road vehicles are also damaging the earthworks.



Detective Constable Trevor Smith, of Cleveland Police, who said: "By building a closer relationship with English Heritage, we can reduce the number of incidents of damage to scheduled monuments and, where necessary, secure convictions ...

Terror on the Tor (News by BrigantesNation)
By Mark Ford

09:30 - 20th October 2005



The spectre of occult practices in the West reared its head yesterday as

police investigated a second case of ritual sheep slaughter near an ancient

Pagan altar on an isolated moor.



Six sheep were found with their necks broken and their eyes removed on land

at Moortown near the edge of Dartmoor. Four of their bodies were arranged

in a regular square shape, another two were lying next to a pattern of stones.



In January, seven sheep were found just half-a-mile away ...

Art to raise Ridgeway's profile (News by Kammer)
From an article published on the BBC News web site on 19th October 2005:<blockquote>A campaign to raise public awareness of a historic countryside area to safeguard it for the future is to be launched next month.



The campaign is to use a range of arts to get people interested in and to understand the history of the South Dorset Ridgeway, north of Weymouth.



Photography and painting competitions are among the ways ...

Ancient roadway unearthed (News by Jane)
from www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk 15 October 2005



A team of archaeologists from Sheffield University have revealed significant new insights into the role of Stonehenge after discovering a prehistoric ceremonial road. The team, also from four other universities, discovered the avenue.



It proves there was a walkway between a henge (a circular momument) at Durrington Walls, and the River Avon, three miles away, blowing a hole in the theory the standing stones at Stonehenge were a one-off feature.



The new find ...

Bid to help Dorset folk love 'lumps and bumps' (News by ocifant)
A new project aims to increase people's awareness, knowledge and appreciation of the amazing landscape between Weymouth and Dorchester.



It is being launched on November 5 by the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team which hopes the project will appeal to everyone who enjoys the countryside, including artists, photographers and amateur historians.



Among outstanding features of the area are the strange `lumps and bumps' which litter the skyline between Broadmayne and Hardy's Monument - and which ...

A 6,000-year Dales story of ritual and cannibalism... (News by Hob)
From the Yorkshire post:



"They roamed the earth almost 6,000 years ago, performing rituals on animal remains and devouring human body parts.

But these are not the strange creatures of film or fiction – they were farmers in the Yorkshire Dales.

New research on bones discovered in six Dales caves has revealed that farming in the area dates back thousands of years –and with it a history of cannibalism."



<a ...

Wetland sites being lost through drainage (News by Rhiannon)
A study has highlighted how rural development and drainage for agriculture in the Somerset levels has badly damaged nationally important archaeological sites.



When ground water levels drop in the summer, the waterlogged remains dry out: current farming methods don't leave enough water inthe peat to protect them.



The study focused on 13 of the most important sites near Glastonbury, including prehistoric trackways and villages. Some sites had already been lost while others were suffering gradual decay. ...

Neolithic Trackway found in Doncaster (News by Paulus)
On Thursday, October 6, Emma Dunlop of the 'Yorkshire Post' ran the story, "Walker Discovers 5000-year-old Log Path on Moor," which told:



"For 5,000 years one of the world's oldest ever footpaths has remained a hidden secret, locked deep beneath the earth in South Yorkshire.

That was until walker Mick Oliver quite literally stumbled across it while one day traipsing across Hatfield Moor, near Doncaster, shortly after it was re-opened to walkers in October last year.

"I looked down and ...

Castle Hill Conservation Management Plan (News by daveyravey)
Consultation is underway, please see...



http://www.kirkleesmc.gov.uk/community/castlehill/consultation/index.shtml

Call for independent henges opinion (News by BrigantesNation)
Campaigners are calling for an independent assessment by archaeologists of the threatened quarry site near the Thornborough Henges.

Last week North Yorkshire County Council put off a decision on controversial plans by quarry firm Tarmac to extract 2.2 million tonnes of sand a gravel from the Ladybridge Farm site, half a mile from the triple henge complex north of Ripon.



But campaign group TimeWatch has voiced concerns regarding the agreed strategy of allowing Tarmac a further four months to carry out ...

Palaeolithic burial of twins? (News by jimit)
The bodies of two new-born infants have been found in northern Austria at a site which dates them to between 27 to 40,000 years old. DNA testing might be possible and may confirm if they were twins.

The bodies had been wrapped in, probably, an animal hide, covered in ochre,decorated with ivory beads and protected by the shoulderblade of a woolly mammoth,propped up by pieces of tusk.



Fuller story here... http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8063

Menhir now back in original position (News by Mr Hamhead)
The latest newsletter of the Cornwall Archaeological Society brings news that the Eathorn Menhir, long stuck at the side of a field and covered in ivy and chicken wire, has now been re-erected in its original position.

With the help of Steve Hartgroves of CAU and the Earth Mysteries Group the original base was found and the stone placed back in it using a local farmers crane.

Sadly this news came 24 hours too late for me...I was down on the Lizard yesterday and if I had known would have popped round for a ...

Mold Cape on display at home - from 26th Sept (News by Rhiannon)
The Mold Cape has gone on display in its home town this week - as part of the 'Re-creations' programme of events (including a talk by the man who restored the artefact).

It runs from 26th Sept to 17th December at Wrexham County Borough Museum.



http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/english/council/news/recreations.htm

Archaeology in the Lake District 2005 - Day Conference (News by fitzcoraldo)
26th November 2005



The annual archaeology conference at the Lakes School , Troutbeck Bridge, Windermere.

Including -

Exploring Lower Eskdale.

Re-Opening of Leverswater mine, Coniston

Bales sites smelting in Yorkshire & Cumbria

Rock Art in Cumbria: Context & Connections

Monks Farmers & Raiders - The early Medieval Period in the Lake District.

Conservation & Interpretation at Force Crag Mine.



Tickets 8 including tea & coffee. 14 with lunch

Avilable from The Lake District National ...

Volunteers needed to record rock art (News by Rhiannon)
Rock Art project officer Tertia Barnett said: "It is

fascinating work and we are uncovering more all the time. Help from volunteers has been invaluable so far and we are looking to recruit more."



The one-day training programme is at County Hall, Morpeth on October 21 and anyone interested is asked to contact Tertia on (01670) 533076 or tbarnett@northumberland.org.uk



The volunteers will be working in small teams using a range of methods to document the rock art, including a ground-breaking 3D ...

Update on North Park Farm (News by Hob)
Archaeologists at the mesolithic site have found "more than 1,000 finds ranging from shards to complete axes and entire pots."



More from the BBC here

Another review of the A303 around Stonehenge announced
The formation of a cross-government steering group to take forward the review of the options to ease congestion on the A303 and improve the setting around Stonehenge has been announced by Transport Minister, Dr Stephen Ladyman.

Happy Hallowe'en!
Hallowe'en, Samhain, Bonfire Night and ancient fire festivals - we want your pictures!Bonfire Night is really "bone-fire" night when the bones of slaughtered animals were burnt - Guy Fawkes just happened to do his thing at the same time of year. Do you celebrate Samhain as the old festival marking the end of summer and the beginning of winter, or is it the time when spirits of the dead draw near? Do you hold a ritual or simply have fun with pumpkin heads and trick or treat? Whatever you do over the Hallowe'en period - send us your best photographs and show us what it means to you.

The Great Stone Circles – How they Work Part 10
Glaciers
Following my fantastic trip touring the Viking sites of Greenland in August this year, which included, on a lovely sunny day, a visit to the ‘Twin Glaciers’, I have decided this week to make a slight detour from the main series of articles and to discuss the significance of glaciers on the landscape with reference to prehistoric sites in this country. During the last Ice Age large areas of the UK were ravaged by glaciers, creating the characteristic countryside we see today. Rocks and boulders were ripped up by the flow of ice and redeposited, sometimes hundreds of miles from their original location. In some areas, such as the low-lying areas of the Cheshire Plain, glacial erratic boulders were the only real main source of hard rock for the ancient builders.

3000-year-old instrument discovered in Iran
The latest archaeological excavations in the 7000-year-old site of Gohar Tepe led to the discovery of an unknown instrument beside a skeleton, which seems to be musical instrument and as believed by some well-known musicians of Mazandaran province is similar to a clarinet.

Excitement at Neolithic site find
Archaeologists have unearthed what is thought to be one of the largest Neolithic settlements in Britain. The discovery, which includes buildings, a human burial pit, tools, pottery and ritual objects, was uncovered at a Northumberland quarry. It is hoped it will boost understanding of the period, which dates back thousands of years.

Ancient Artifacts to Be Returned to Mexico
U.S. customs officials plan to return a pair of seized ancient stone artifacts to Mexico this week during a repatriation ceremony. Roger Maier, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the 'metates' once used to grind grain, were seized during a traffic stop at the Columbus, N.M., border crossing in August 2004. Officials with the El Paso Museum of Archaeology have identified the artifacts as prehistoric relics from the Casas Grandes region of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Thornborough Central
The monument complex of Thornborough in Yorkshire is an archaeological landscape of national and international importance and represents what would have been one of Britain's premier sacred landcapes during the third and second millenium BC. However that landscape is now at risk due to the expansion of quarrying.

Tsunami reveals ancient temple sites
Archaeologists say they have discovered the site of an ancient temple in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
It is the latest in a series of archaeological discoveries in the area struck by December's tsunami, which desilted large areas of the coastline. The brick temple dates back more than 2,000 years to the late Tamil Sangam period and was discovered on the beachfront near Saluvankuppam, just north of a famous World Heritage site at Mahabalipuram.

German Stonehunting
Germany is now revealing thousands of little known megaliths as members of the Portal’s European Team search, discover and photograph exciting prehistoric sites across the country. The cataloguing of sites on the European mainland is proceeding at a steady pace and the photos are pouring in. After a different team, led by TheCaptain, successfully completed the indexing of all known French and Dutch sites earlier in the year, Klingon, RunaStera and Alex Hunger are steadily adding sites in Germany and occasionally across the borders in Switzerland, Belgium and Denmark.

Chinese discover Ancient Observatory Stone Circle
Chinese archaeologists claim to have discovered the world’s earliest observatory, dateing back to some 4,100 years ago, in north China’s Shanxi province. The ancient observatory in the Taosi relics site is at least 2,000 years older than the 1,000-year-old observatory built by the Mayans in central America, a research fellow with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, He Nu said.

CBA Day School
The CBA in the West Midlands is organising a Day School in honour of Mike Stokes.

No more digging around to find historical teaching resources!
Thursday 6th October, saw the launch of the Scheme's child friendly website - Past explorers with the attendance of the Minister for Culture David Lammy.

Exhibition opens at Marlipins Museum, Shoreham
A Private View of the touring exhibition on the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Sussex was held on Thursday 18th August, at Marlipins Museum, Shoreham (West Sussex).

Rare Roman souvenir is acquired in unique agreement by three British museums.

The Staffordshire Moorlands Pan has been acquired in a unique tripartite arrangement between the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery (Stoke-on-Trent), the Tullie House Museum and Gallery (Carlisle), and the British Museum (London). This important and exciting find will be joint-owned and displayed equally between the three partners. The pan has been acquired with the substantial and generous support of a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of £112,200.

Artefacts stolen in Museum raid - Northampton
On Sunday night Abington Park Museum in Northampton was broken into, one of their cabinets smashed and a number of Egyptian artefacts stolen.

Serving Archaeology:Current Approaches to Sharing Archaeological Information Online
The Institute of Archaeology, University College London, is hosting a one day conference in its Gordon Square building for the discussion of heritage on the web. Funding for the conference has been generously provided by the Packard Humanities Institute, through Fasti Online (www.fastionline.org)

New Minister for Arts, Heritage, Museums and Galleries, Libraries and the GAC
David Lammy, Member of Parliament for Tottenham, is the new Minister for Arts, Heritage, Museums and Galleries, Libraries and the GAC.

The search is on for the Roman centre of Wetherby
The search for the Roman centre of Wetherby will be the quest for schoolchildren taking part in Leeds Metropolitan University’s archaeology project, running from Monday 25 April until Thursday 28 April at Deighton Gates Primary School in Wetherby.

Discover objects of desire at Museums and Galleries across the UK
Museums and Galleries Month 2005 runs from 1 - 31 May. During May, museums and galleries throughout the UK will put the focus on their objects, with special events and activities to encourage the public to explore collections and treasures in a new light.

Small Things Considered in Essex – Can you help?
'Small Things Considered' is a travelling exhibition on the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Essex, sponsored by the Museums in Essex Committee.

An uplifting moment!

A second attempt to lift the historic granary in the village of Sutton Waldron was a resounding success. Check back next week to see our video footage and in-depth web pages.

Second attempt to move historic granary
Vale Farm, Sutton Waldron, near Shaftesbury, Dorset
Weather permitting, a second attempt is to be made tomorrow (2nd November) to move a 150 year old building by crane and carry it to a new location. The first attempt was made on 20th October, but was postponed due to a technical ...

Archaeocast #3: Winchester Excavation Podcast
The latest episode of “Archaeocast”, our archaeology podcast, is now available to download from our Events blog.

Roman finds in Winchester
Update! We now have a project homepage for this site with more detailed information.
The latest discovery at Jewry Street has been a row of up to 8 Roman cess pits, running in a line north to south through the middle of the site. They lie half way between two ...

Excavation continues in Winchester
Update! We now have a project homepage for this site with more detailed information.
Archaeologists from Wessex Archaeology continue to uncover evidence of Winchester’s past at 19-20 Jewry Street before the start of building work later this month.
Apart from the medieval cellar which extends the full width of the property, ...

Lifting of Historic Building postponed
The proposed lifting of a Victorian granary in the Dorset village of Sutton Waldron has had to be temporarily postponed due to technical difficulties. A new lifting date has yet to be confirmed, but once the new date is set it will be posted here on Wessex Archaeology’s website.

Historic Building to be lifted by crane and to new site

On: Thursday 20th October 2005, 10:30-15:00
At: Vale Farm, Sutton Waldron near Shaftesbury, Dorset
A 150 year old building will be picked by a crane and carried to a new location this Thursday.
The building is a type of granary which was once common across Wessex, but which is now rare. The granary ...

Excavation in historic Winchester
Update! We now have a project homepage for this site with more detailed information.
An excavation is being carried out in Jewry Street, Winchester, ahead of development on the site by Mr M Bakhaty. The site is in the north-west corner of the historic core of Winchester. This area ...

Excavation Podcast!
Wessex Archaeology are pleased to announce the launch of our first podcast. A podcast is just like a mini radio programme, which you download as an audio file to your computer or mp3 player (such as an iPod) to listen to.
The podcast was recorded live from our practical archaeology course ...

Dig Blog! Training excavation online
The blog on this years annual training excavation run by Wessex Archaeology is now online at http://events.wessexarch.co.uk/
As 15 beginners experience excavation for the first time, the blog will chart their story.
The excavation runs for two weeks, until Friday 16th September.

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