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ENGLAND - Prehistory

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Bianca
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« Reply #15 on: January 18, 2009, 07:55:08 pm »




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                                             Putting the clock back 10,000 years




« on: February 02, 2008, 09:24:09 pm » Quote 

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Putting the clock back 10,000 years
02/02/2008 12:29:48 AM EST
WESTERN DAILY PRESS

Chock-full of famous Roman Baths, Celtic kings, Georgian crescents and Jane Austen, the history of Bath already ran to quite a weighty tome.

But archaeologists admitted yesterday that two new chapters would have to be written after amazing discoveries made while a new sewer was being dug.

At the very depths of the site of a new GBP350 million shopping centre in the heart of the ancient city, archaeologists found new evidence that extends the history of the city thousands of years further back.

The archaeologists found the first evidence of human activity near the banks of the River Avon dating back to 8,000BC, that's before any kind of recorded history and even before the idea of farming had reached the British Isles.

The first Bathonians were hunter- gatherers, following herds of deer and other game along the river valley, attracted by the hot springs and the plentiful fish in the River Avon.

And on the spot where people would later settle and use the hot springs, they made tools, fished and left scraps of archaeological evidence, according to Bath and North East Somerset archaeologist Richard Sermon.

"Previously, archaeological interest has been on the Roman and medieval times in Bath, but this has given us a glimpse right back into the very first people who would have come to what is now Bath," he said.

"The hunter-gatherers would have been attracted by the game here and the fishing, and possibly by the micro-environment caused by the hot springs. It takes the history of Bath right back to 8,000BC.

"It's not perhaps rewriting the history of Bath, but giving us a new chapter. It tells us that people came here that long ago. Flint tools and other items were found in the alluvial deposits." The archaeologists also found evidence that Alfred the Great viewed Bath as part of his chain of fortified towns right across southern England, as he built a line of defences against the Danes.

Back in 880, two years after Alfred returned from the Somerset marshes to defeat the Danes and push them out of Wessex, he ordered a chain of towns to have their defences beefed up. So such towns as Malmesbury and Cricklade in Wiltshire, and Barnstaple in Devon became effectively huge castles with defensive ramparts to repel any Viking invasion.

And while Bath's Dark Age history has remained elusive, Mr Sermon said the exciting evidence showed that Bath was part of his plans too.

"Here we have found evidence of a very early ditch which would have been defensive and crossed where Southgate Street later ran.

"It was actually found while work went on to construct a combine sewer outfall for the new shopping centre. We dated it and discovered it was late Saxon, which would match the defensive work in other places at the time of King Alfred," he added.

The evidence for new chapters in Bath's history has captured the imagination of 21st-century Bathonians. A lecture held last month in which the archaeologists revealed their findings, was so popular people had to be turned away.

So heritage bosses are holding a repeat on Monday, February 11, at 7pm in the Guildhall.



Copyright © 2008 Northcliffe Newspapers Group Ltd, Source: The Financial Times Limited

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« Reply #16 on: January 18, 2009, 08:01:17 pm »









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    Older than the pyramids, buried for centuries – found by an Orkney plumber
« on: March 20, 2008, 10:27:46 pm » Quote 

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                 Older than the pyramids, buried for centuries – found by an Orkney plumber






By Tristan Stewart-Robertson

A RARE piece of Neolithic art has been discovered on a beach in Orkney.

The 6,000-year-old relic, thought to be a fragment from a larger piece, was left exposed by storms which swept across the country last week.

Local plumber David Barnes, who found the stone on the beach in Sandwick Bay, South Ronaldsay, said circular markings had shown up in the late-afternoon winter sun, drawing his attention to the piece.

Archeologists last night heralded the discovery as a "once-in- 50-years event". But they warned that a search for other fragments in the area would be hampered by a lack of funds.

"At first, I just thought it was an interesting pattern from the erosion," said Mr Barnes, 44. "Then I knew it was fairly rare. It's a miracle I spotted it."

He said he realised the find could be significant after he read more about the local history of the area.

Archaeologists compared the discovery to the Westray Stone, a Neolithic carved stone discovered in 1981 during routine quarrying work.

It has been in Orkney Mus-eum for more than 25 years but is due to be returned to the area this week and exhibited in the new Westray Heritage Centre in Pierowall.

The Westray Stone was once part of a Neolithic chambered cairn which is thought to have been destroyed in prehistory. A second part, and two smaller carved pieces, were found the following spring in a dig led by Niall Sharples, of the University of Cardiff.

Mrs Julie Gibson, Orkney county archaeologist, said the latest discovery must be the result of erosion from recent storms, as the carved patterns would not have successfully survived so many thousands of years' exposure on soft sandstone.

She said: "This piece is really a once-in-50-years discovery. I was very pleased to find out David really had such a piece of Neolithic art. It's not something that happens every day.

"Natural stones always have patterns in them and quite often people mistake patterns for art. It was surprising David was able to see this on the beach.

"The stone is perhaps from a chambered tomb and could be as old as 5,000 or 6,000 years, and would have possibly been used as a ceremonial, sacred object. This is art made in the same style as art from the Newgrange stone tomb in Ireland or tombs in Brittany. It's part of this Neolithic world linked by the Irish Sea."

The world heritage site at Newgrange in County Meath is estimated to be 600 years older than the Giza pyramids in Egypt.

The concentric circles in the latest find indicated "something special", said Mrs Gibson.

She added that the Sandwick Bay beach now warranted more investigation but she feared that would be constrained by a lack of resources.

She said: "The budget for 'rescue' archaeology has been flat-lined since Margaret Thatcher's time, and it's gone down since then by £200,000 a year, down to £1.5 million in Scotland each year for all rescue archaeology.

"We would like to do more, but the chances are pretty slim."

The stone will now be passed to Orkney Museum and brought to the attention of the Queen and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer to determine if it is a treasure trove or not. Ancient objects without an owner are automatically property of the Crown.
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« Reply #17 on: January 18, 2009, 08:03:41 pm »









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    Re: Older than the pyramids, buried for centuries – found by an Orkney plumber
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2008, 10:28:47 pm » Quote 

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But Mrs Gibson added: "An object like this becomes the property of everyone."





                                 TREASURES FIND THEIR WAY TO THE CROWN






ALL historical finds – whether made by chance, fieldwalking, metal detector or archaeological excavation – are subject to the laws of Treasure Trove in Scotland.

The objects become the property of the Crown and may be claimed as treasure trove, and must be reported so they can be assessed.

The Queen and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer is the Crown Office employee responsible for claiming objects for the Crown under the law of Treasure Trove.

The role of the QLTR also includes deciding on the allocation of objects to museums and the payment of rewards to finders.

The Crown Office, on behalf of the Scottish Government, is given the first chance to claim the object for the overall benefit of the nation. Small museums, including Orkney Museum, can also bid for the found objects to stay in the area where they were found.

Finds not claimed by the Crown are returned to the finder along with an individually numbered certificate stating that the Crown is not exercising its right to claim.



The full article contains 767 words and appears in
The Scotsman newspaper.
Last Updated:
17 March 2008 12:04 AM



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« Reply #18 on: January 18, 2009, 08:12:32 pm »









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    6000-Year-Old Trade Link Between Clare & Cumbria Identified
« on: May 22, 2008, 12:17:42 am » Quote 

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                            6000-Year-Old Trade Link Between Clare & Cumbria Identified
 





2008-05-20 10:20:32 -
Tuesday, 20 May 2008

- Clare Museum and the Irish Stone Axe Project (ISAP) at University College Dublin have uncovered evidence of a 6000-year-old trade link between Ireland and Great Britain.


A stone axe uncovered in Doolin, County Clare in 2000 was this week confirmed as having likely originated in the Great Langdale and Scafell areas of Cumbria.

According to John Rattigan, Curator of Clare Museum, 'The linking of this stone axe with Cumbria suggests there was contact between Neolithic people in Ireland and in mainland Great Britain.'

The Neolithic or ‘New Stone
Age' (4000-2500BC) is generally regarded as the period in which Ireland became a predominantly agricultural-based society.

As well as being the first Irish farmers, the people of this period were the creators of field systems and the builders of great tombs such as those found in the Burren in County Clare. Tools, usually in the form of stone axes, were used to clear great tracts of oak and elm woodland, which covered most of the country.

'Studies on the finely polished implement have found that it is different to the typical dark grey shale axes produced at a site close to the cobble beach at Doolin. More significantly, petrological analysis indicates that the pale green axe was of a type of stone known as tuff, which is typical of the tools produced in Cumbria. This discovery reinforces suggestions that trade links existed between the west of Ireland and western Britain during the Neolithic era', stated Mr. Rattigan.

The stone axe will be on display at Clare Museum in Ennis from tomorrow (Tuesday May 20). Also included for display will be a recently conserved bronze axehead acquired by the museum in 2004.

Mr. Rattigan explained, 'This socketed and looped axehead was discovered at Knockliscrane in Kilmurry-Ibrickane, County Clare. Although badly damaged by time and weathering the metal has been conserved and stabilised, thus ensuring its survival into the future.'

Clare Museum acquired a collection of archaeological objects from Doolin townland in North Clare in 2000.

As a designated museum under the National Monuments Act the museum was legally entitled to retain these objects on behalf of the state. Wishing to know a bit more about the axes in its care and wanting to contribute to a national study, the implements were sent to Irish Stone Axe Project (ISAP) at UCD in Dublin for analysis in November 2007.

The aim of the ISAP is to establish a database of all known Irish stone axes and analyse the data to enhance knowledge of the different types, roles and significance of stone axes in Ireland.

-ENDS-



Notes to Editor:

- Mr. John Rattigan (087-2065404) is available for interview and further comment.
- High-resolution images of the artefacts are available on request. Please contact Mark Dunphy of Dunphy PR on

086-8534900 or media@dunphypr.com



- Clare Museum is located in a restored former convent built by the Sisters of Mercy congregation in 1861. The museum exhibition 'The Riches of Clare: its people, place and treasures' occupies two galleries and incorporates the traditional method of displaying original artefacts from the county with modern interpretive tools such as colourful display panels, audio visual and computer interactive presentations, models, some replicas and commissioned art pieces. The collection comprises a large display of archaeological material of local provenance on loan from the National Museum of Ireland, the De Valera Museum collection transferred from the Clare County Library, and locally collected artefacts never seen before in public.



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« Reply #19 on: January 18, 2009, 08:17:22 pm »









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    Archaeologists piece together prehistoric Mann
« on: July 01, 2008, 03:25:20 am » Quote 

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                                     Archaeologists piece together prehistoric Mann







Video
Watch footage from the site and an interview with Manx National Heritage head of professional services Andrew Foxon RONALDSWAY DIG: Given the likelihood of new finds being made, experts from Oxford Archaeology were drafted in from the outset and were there to see the first finds being unearthed

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30 June 2008
By ADRIAN DARBYSHIRE

AS aircraft soar into the sky, a team of archaeologists are busy piecing together the lives of prehistoric Mann.
The contrast between the new and the very, very old could not be greater.

Within hours of work starting on the multi-million runway extension project, Ronaldsway was beginning to reveal fascinating and remarkably well preserved evidence of human habitation that had remained unearthed for 5,000 years.

As heavy machinery scrapped away the top soil, a human skull was found in a cairn hidden just beneath the surface. A second skull was later discovered in the same cairn.

Nearby a series of circular constructions were uncovered with charred earth showing evidence of cremation.

>> Click here to view photo slideshow
>> All pictures available to view and buy at photostoday.co.uk

The discoveries, described as being of British and possibly European significance, were not unexpected as Manx National Heritage's head of professional services Andrew Foxon explained.

He said: 'We know Ronaldsway is one of the most significant archaeological areas in the Island. Finds from the earliest settlements have been found there.

'When the airport was built in the 1940s remains of a Neolithic house and an Iron Age village were found. We provided the Department of Transport with advice on what might be there and how best to cope with it. The information proved right and there is significant archaeology there.'

MNH had been involved right from the very beginning of the project, ensuring the scheme was designed to reduce collateral damage to archaeology by reducing the number of equipment compounds, for example.

Given the likelihood of new finds being made, experts from Oxford Archaeology were drafted in from the outset and were there to see the first finds being unearthed.

Pointing to fragments of prehistoric pottery in what appears to be a Neolithic building, archaeologist Julian Thorley said: 'It's amazing archaeology - absolutely extraordinary. No excavations I've done before could compare to this.'

MNH field archaeologist Andrew Johnson said the skulls had now been removed from the site: 'Human remains are human remains, it doesn't matter how old they are - you need to treat them with as much respect as possible under the circumstances.'

He said the remains of habitation were well preserved.

'There is very very little damage,' he said. 'In some way this site has been protected by the fact that it's not farmland. The only ploughing there has been here was by horse plough which can't plough any more than six inches.'

The finds were unearthed on a 60-metre stretch of a proposed taxiway extension in the north east of the airfield. So far the discoveries have not delayed work on the runway scheme.

But the field archaeologists believe they are working on just a small sample of a much-wider settlement and there is a chance that further finds will be uncovered.

Mr Johnson said the team were working to a time limit and were expecting to be off the site by mid to late July to ensure the project was not held up.

Artefacts removed from the site are expected to go on display at the Manx Museum, Douglas, but it is hoped that a display could be arranged in the atrium at the airport.

The remaining archaeology with everything of interest removed will then be buried again for many hundreds more years to come.

Transport Minister David Anderson said a contingency fund in excess of £100,000 had been included in the capital budget for the scheme to cover the possibility of archaeological discoveries.



The full article contains 600 words and appears in n/a newspaper.Page 1 of 1

Last Updated: 30 June 2008 12:15 PM
Source: n/a
Location: Isle of Man



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« Reply #20 on: January 18, 2009, 08:29:37 pm »










                     Prehistoric child is discovered buried with 'toy hedgehog' at Stonehenge






By Daily Mail Reporter
10th October 2008

This toy hedgehog, found in a child's grave at Stonehenge, is proof of what we have always known - children have always loved to play.

The chalk figurine was probably a favourite possession of the three year old, and placed next to the child when they died in the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age, around 3,000 years ago.





 Can you guess what it is yet?
This carved toy hedgehog was found
by archaeologists digging near Stonehenge
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« Reply #21 on: January 18, 2009, 08:31:12 pm »




             








Archaeologists who discovered the grave, where the child was laying on his or her side, believe the toy - perhaps placed there by a doting father - is the earliest known depiction of a hedgehog in British history.
The diggers were working to the west of Stonehenge in what is known as the Palisade Ditch when they made the remarkable discovery last month in the top of the pit in which the child was buried.
Archaeologist Dennis Price said: 'It is not difficult to envisage the raw emotion and harrowing grief that would have accompanied the death of this child.

'Amid the aura of gloom that surrounds Stonehenge, it comes as a beam of light to find a child's toy lovingly placed with the tiny corpse to keep him or her company through eternity.

'I'm not aware of hedgehogs having any significance in pagan tradition so the discovery must rank as yet another unique and baffling aspect of one of the most famous and instantly recognisable prehistoric monuments on Earth. To my mind, the hedgehog possesses a real charm and an innocent beauty. '
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« Reply #22 on: January 18, 2009, 08:33:03 pm »




             

               Burial ground: The toy hedgehog was dug up here





Dr Joshua Pollard, of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, said: 'Representational art from this period is very rare and so far as I'm aware, if the identification is correct, it's the only known prehistoric depiction of a hedgehog from Britain.'

Fay Vass, of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, said: 'We are very excited to hear about this find. It shows humans have taken hedgehogs to their hearts for a very long time.'
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« Reply #23 on: January 18, 2009, 08:35:50 pm »










                                  Britain's Oldest Toy Found Buried with Stonehenge Baby?






James Owen in London
for National Geographic News
October 21, 2008

A carved animal figurine found buried alongside a prehistoric baby at Stonehenge may represent Britain's earliest known toy, researchers say.

The unique chalk relic of a hedgehog or pig, thought to be at least 2,000 years old, was unearthed in September near the stone monument on southern England's Salisbury Plain.

"Whether it's a hedgehog or a pig you can argue about, but I like the hedgehog idea myself," said the dig's co-leader, Joshua Pollard of the University of Bristol.

The Bronze Age figurine was likely made as a toy or in memory of the baby being stillborn or dying in infancy, the archaeologist said.

The discovery was made during the Stonehenge Riverside Project, a seven-year archaeological investigation of the Stonehenge area supported by the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society.)

The burial was uncovered during the excavation of an ancient palisade—or timber wall—and ditch, the latter of which is thought to have stretched eastward from the megalithic circle.

Archaeologists have speculated that the estimated 6-meter-tall (19.5-foot-tall) timber structure served as a boundary fence to Stonehenge.

"We thought it might be related to the stone [portions] of the monument, but in fact it turned out to be a much later feature," Pollard said.
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« Reply #24 on: January 18, 2009, 08:37:32 pm »









Very Rare Find



Evidence of toys during this period in British history is "extremely scant," Pollard said.

"In fact, it's very rare to find any kind of representational art in British prehistory—almost to the extent where you get the impression there's a bit of a taboo on making images of animals or people."

The young child's grave, tentatively dated to between 800 B.C. to 20 B.C., included a pottery vessel, which may have contained food intended for the child's journey to the afterlife, the team said.

The excavation of the palisade also revealed the body of a second infant and the skeleton of a sheep or goat.

A pile of stones had been placed over the animal's head, indicating a sacrificial burial, Pollard said.

While it's possible the two infants were human sacrifices, more than likely they died naturally, he said.

"You're dealing with a period when infant mortality was very high, so there would have been a lot of natural death," Pollard added.

The newfound artifact "is, as far as we know, without parallel," according to Stonehenge expert Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology magazine.

Pitts agrees that it appears to have been "made for a child as a personal toy."

However he strongly disagrees with those who say it depicts a hedgehog.

"I would say it's without doubt a pig," said Pitts, who noted that both domestic and wild pigs were widespread in the region at the time.

Later, from the start of the Iron Age in 1200 B.C., animal figurines become relatively commonplace, Pitts added.

"And once we get into historical times, we know the pig is quite important in Celtic mythology, though not—to my knowledge—hedgehogs," he said.
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« Reply #25 on: January 18, 2009, 08:39:19 pm »










Stonehenge Fence?



Initial results indicate the palisade—of which only a short timber section was found—was constructed 1,000 to 1,500 years after Stonehenge's famed stone circle. An older ditch appears to form part of a longer boundary system that runs for about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers), dig co-leader Pollard said.

The new findings hint that Stonehenge was still in use as a religious site until much later than previously suspected.

"The monument is in a reserved part of the landscape that was probably being regarded with a degree of veneration or significance," Pollard said.

(Related: "Stonehenge Partiers Came From Afar, Cattle Teeth Show" [September 12, 2008].)

"It's telling us something about the attitude of later communities to the presence of what by that stage would have been quite an ancient monument," he added.

But Pitts of British Archaeology said that the new dating evidence suggests the palisade and ditch may have little connection to Stonehenge.

"It may actually have more to do with a network of new land-boundary divisions that spread across Salisbury Plain, in common with much of southern England in the Bronze Age after Stonehenge was going out of active use," Pitts said.

People and animals were often buried in such ditches, he said.

"For example, we have a number of curious burials of cattle and horse heads and parts like that in ditches elsewhere on Salisbury Plain. It may be part of the way in which boundaries are marked as land is being parceled up into different units." 
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« Reply #26 on: January 18, 2009, 08:44:37 pm »










                 Stone Age string: Unearthed, the twine that was twisted into shape 8,000 years ago






By Neil Sears
7th December 2008
MailOnLine.uk


How old is a piece of string? In this case, 8,000 years  -  making it the oldest length of string ever found in Britain.

Our ancestors made it by twisting together what seem to be fibres of honeysuckle, nettles, or wild clematis, and used it in their struggle for survival as the last ice age ended.

This early piece of technology, measuring about 41/2in must have been a revolutionary advance at the time, useful for binding together weapons or tools.


It has only survived thanks to the huge floods that followed the melting of the ice caps that once covered much of Britain.

It was discovered by archaeologists examining an undersea site 200 yards off the coast of the Isle of Wight, some 30 feet below sea level.
The experts say that 8,000 years ago, in the Stone Age, hunter gatherers had a camp there. They believe the string was found in the remains of what could be Britain's oldest boat yard.

When the glaciers melted, however, the whole area was inundated as sea levels rose  -  a scenario repeated in coastal areas across the globe, providing, some claim, the source of the Noah's Ark story.

This underwater dig was carried out by the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology, led by Gary Momber.

The prehistoric village  -  wooden remains of which were seen by chance by divers  -  seems to have been close to where the Solent estuary once was.

Divers cut blocks of sediment from the sea bed and brought them to the surface for analysis. Preserved within one was the string.

The results of the underwater dig have now been published in British Archaeology magazine.

Editor Mike Pitts said of the string: 'It is a fantastic find. I don't think the average person realises what an important piece of technology string has been over the ages.'

Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology expert Jan Gillespie said: 'The string was found with wooden planks and stakes and some pits containing burnt flint.
We believe they may have been heated up to help work timber into boats.

'This inundation followed the retreat of glaciers at the end of the Ice Age. It is a fascinating time in our pre-history.'
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« Reply #27 on: January 18, 2009, 08:52:12 pm »




             

              The remains are being taken
              back to Oxford to be examined








                                                   Ancient burial ground uncovered 
 





BBC NEWS
Dec. 30, 2008

More than a dozen skeletons thought to be thousands of years old, have been found by Oxford archaeologists working at an ancient burial site in Dorset.

Excavations are taking place at the site in Weymouth before builders move in to build an access road to the Olympic sailing centre for 2012.

Archaeologist David Score said they had catalogued finds from almost every period of human life.

He said it "really added to knowledge of the Bronze and Neolithic eras".

"Building the relief road has given archaeologists an excuse to excavate and record finds dating back thousands of years," Mr Score said.

"I think it is very important because it's not very often that you get the opportunity to excavate an area of this size, in a location of such importance with so many burials from a wide span of time.
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« Reply #28 on: January 18, 2009, 08:54:51 pm »



             

              The remains are being taken
              back to Oxford to be examined








                                                   Ancient burial ground uncovered 
 





BBC NEWS
Dec. 30, 2008

More than a dozen skeletons thought to be thousands of years old, have been found by Oxford archaeologists working at an ancient burial site in Dorset.

Excavations are taking place at the site in Weymouth before builders move in to build an access road to the Olympic sailing centre for 2012.

Archaeologist David Score said they had catalogued finds from almost every period of human life.

He said it "really added to knowledge of the Bronze and Neolithic eras".

"Building the relief road has given archaeologists an excuse to excavate and record finds dating back thousands of years," Mr Score said.

"I think it is very important because it's not very often that you get the opportunity to excavate an area of this size, in a location of such importance with so many burials from a wide span of time.
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« Reply #29 on: January 18, 2009, 08:56:07 pm »










                                         Why Did Ancient Britons Stop Eating Fish?







John Roach
for National Geographic News
September 24, 2003

When cattle, sheep, pigs, and wheat arrived on the shores of Great Britain about 5,000 years ago, fish quickly fell off the Neolithic menu, according to an analysis of human bones scattered throughout the island.

The research helps resolve a debate over whether the adoption of domesticated plants and animals introduced to Great Britain from the European mainland was a gradual or rapid process, said Michael Richards, an archaeologist at the University of Bradford in England.

"The traditional archaeological evidence is somewhat ambiguous, hence the debate," he said.

By 4000 B.C. the archaeological record shows that pottery and large stone-built tombs and domesticated plants and animals were present in Great Britain, but it is not clear whether they replaced the marine-based hunter-gatherer lifestyle quickly or piecemeal over several hundred years.

Mark Copley, a chemist at the University of Bristol in England who studies the Neolithic diet by analyzing residues left on shards of ancient pottery, said understanding how quickly diet changed in England provides insight to what happened to the people who lived in Great Britain during the Mesolithic (9,000 to 5,200 years ago). The ensuing Neolithic period (5,200 to 4,500 years ago) is the last phase of the Stone Age.

"Farming really took off in Britain during the Neolithic. The main questions concerning the speed of change relates to how quickly Mesolithic peoples adapted—or otherwise—to the new farming methods and/or the spread of farming into Britain by new farming communities," he said.

The research by Richards and colleagues Rick Schulting at Queen's University Belfast and Robert Hedges at the University of Oxford tracks the shift in diet by examining the dietary signature stored in the bones.

They find that the shift was rapid and complete at the onset of the Neolithic. "Marine foods, for whatever reason, seem to have been comprehensively abandoned," the researchers conclude in the September 25 issue of the journal Nature.
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