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March 1999 | |
 Inverted tree found inside timber ring
British Archaeology magazine reports that recent storms have eroded peat deposits on the Norfolk coast near Hunstanton (England), revealing a well-preserved ring of 54 posts set close together to almost form a wall, with a large inverted tree acting as an "altar" in the centre. The structure is a ring of 54 closely-set, cleft oak posts enclosingthe root buttresses of an inverted tree stripped of bark and wrapped in honeysuckle.
Provisionally the site has been dated to the Bronze Age. Francis Pryor suggests that a body could have been placed on the tree's roots and the sea would come in and take the body away. But this site could also be a wooden ritual structure in freshwater wetlands behind the saltmarshes. Bronze Age and Iron Age structures in peats in Britain and Ireland are common enough too, but usually interpreted as huts and shelters.
However, the half-split planks of the Norfolk site all have their cleft surface facing inwards and the report suggests that the structure was meant to be viewed from the inside. Probably, an external viewer looking at the bark was meant see the whole structure as a giant tree, the re-creation of a natural thing in its own raw material, with a tree inside it again.
Sources: British Archaeology, BRITARCH mailing list
Puzzling circle unearthed beneath downtown Miami
What is likely prehistoric ruins from an extinct tribe have been unearthed on land slated for a condominium high-rise in Miami (U.S.A.).
The discovery of a perfect circle 38 feet in diameter, formed of dozens of holes bored into the limestone bedrock with rudimentary tools and located just a few steps from the mouth of the Miami River, has captured the imagination of city dwellers. One of the carved holes faces directly east, toward Biscayne Bay, and is in the shape of an eye with a stone pupil. The mouth of the Miami River would have been a preferred place to be if you were a prehistoric hunter and gatherer, said John M. Ricisak, historic preservation specialist with Miami-Dade County.
Researchers believe that most likely the oval is some type of religious building for the Tequesta Indians and that many of the carved holes probably held posts. The tribe lived in South Florida before being wiped out by war and disease once Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon landed on the Peninsula in 1513 in his quest for the Fountain of Youth. But another theory also has been advanced: that the circle is a celestial calendar, perhaps made by a breakaway band of Mayas. It looks like Stonehenge in negative. Instead of stones -- holes, said T. L. Riggs, a surveyor who has studied Mayan culture. Some of the holes in the circle were meticulously cut into the shapes of marine creatures, such as the manatee, turtle and dolphin, Riggs said. This is unique in the world. I don't think anyone has ever discovered where glyphs have been carved into the ground, he said. But Michael Coe, a Yale University professor and leading expert on Mayan culture, downplayed the likelihood that the circle is Mayan.
Pottery shards date the site at least 2,000 years, but the prehistoric structure circle probably dates back to around 1100. Just before Christmas another clue surfaced: the complete remnants of a 5-foot shark. It suggests it was buried for a purpose, it was buried as an offering, Ricisak said.
Large quantities of flint and two ax heads fashioned from basalt were found at the site; neither occurs naturally in south Florida. That the building is built on a perfect east-west axis to mark the equinox may mean it was used to mark the seasons or for religious purposes.
Sources: Associated Press, The Washington Post
First meeting of Stonehenge Steering Group
Creating an environment for the monument at Stonehenge worthy of its status as a World Heritage Site is the top priority for the group given the task of realising the Stonehenge Master Plan, Britain's Culture Secretary Chris Smith said.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Stonehenge Steering Group which brings together all interested parties - both nationally and locally - behind the common aim of reuniting the monument with its landscape, he said: The first meeting of the Stonehenge Steering Group has shown our joint determination to create a more dignified future for this internationally-renowned site. We all share a common aim to get rid of the present mess. We want to remove all the unsightly modern surroundings from the vicinity of the stones, take away the traffic noise and intrusion, return the stones to the original downland landscape and respect, at the same time, the needs and communities of local residents.
The next stage in the project will be an exhibition and consultation on the A303 Trunk Road improvements, to take place next month.
Source: DCMS press release
Cyprus ancient settlement listed as World Heritage
Cypriot neolithic settlement of Choirokitia has been inducted into the world cultural heritage list by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Another 29 sites from various states were also incorporated in the list at the annual UNESCO meeting. Currently, a total of 582 archaeological sites from 114 countries were listed as the world cultural heritage.
Deputy Director of Cyprus' Antiquities Department Pavlos Flourentzo described the Choirokitia neolithic settlement as one of the most important ancient sites in Eastern Mediterranean, which dates back to about 5,800 BC.
Choirokitia was founded by a community or primitive farmers, whose origin is uncertain. These people made a livehood by raising livestock, hunting wild animals and trading with neighboring countries.
In the excavations, which were started by the Cyprus' Antiquities Department in 1936, many primitive agricultural implements, domestic utensils, arrow heads, stone axes and chisels used in carpentry were found. The people lived in "bee-hive" or "Igloo" shaped buildings, with stone foundations, mostly river pebbles, and superstructures of mud or sun-backed mud bricks.
Source: CNN
Tara: enormous henge found
A huge circular structure, usually called a henge, has been discovered by archaeologists on Ireland's Hill of Tara, the former seat of the country's high kings, about 30 miles northwest of Dublin. Joe Fenwick, archaeology lecturer with the National University of Ireland in Galway, said the enclosure may have been a wooden henge similar to Britain's Stonehenge. Fenwick described the enclosure as absolutely enormous with a diameter of about 1 km (5/8 of a mile). He believes it may date to the late Neolithic period, or about 2500 BC. The feature was enclosed by a 3-meter (10-foot) wide ditch with a series of pits on either side of it. The pits are evenly spaced about 4.2 meters (14 feet) apart and may have contained wooden uprights. It lies 0.6 to 2 meters (2 to 6 1/2 feet) below the surface.
People have assumed Tara was mainly an Iron Age site, but it appears now it was a major religious focus for over a few millennia before it fell into disuse during the early Christian period. We were very lucky to find it. There was absolutely no evidence on the surface that it was there, Fenwick said.
Source: Miami Herald
Saving the Korean megaliths
The Korean Peninsula has over 40 percent of the world's prehistoric stone monuments, which are also destroyed here at the fastest rate in the world. The World Megalithic Association (WMA), an international organization that preserves and surveys megalithic culture, proposed a legislation to protect these relics here. There are presently about 60,000-70,000 megalithic remains from the Neolithic Age around the world. According to the association, some 25,000 exist in Korea. Thirty years ago, there were some 80,000 dolmens and standing stones identified around the country. Now over 60 percent of them have been destroyed due to land development, construction and public ignorance of their values, Yoo In-hak, WMA president, said.
Korean dolmens, with the largest one being 7.1 meters long and 5.5 meter wide, come in three different shapes, known as northern, southern and mixed types. The first kind, also called a table type is believed to have been influenced by Siberian culture. A high capstone is supported by two or four upright stone slabs, which are above the ground. In the southern type, supporting stones are erected between an underground chamber and capstone on the ground, while the mixed type consists of an underground chamber covered by a stone slab without supporting stones. There used to be a string of dolmens, stretching 2 km over low hills in the region, until the land was converted into farmland and rice paddies. Only five of them remain now.
Megalithic relics in four countries are currently on the Unesco list. Those in Korea should be considered since they also have a lot of historic value, Yoo said. The association is trying to develop these sites into tourist attractions. We expect that in 2000, Korean megalithic sites will draw over 2 million tourists including 200,000 foreigners, which accounts for 20 percent of foreign travelers in Korea last year, he said. But development will be carefully done so as not to damage the sites, he added. The association is also planning to hold the World Megalith Festival next year, which will be the first international cultural and academic event devoted to megaliths.
Yoo hopes the festival will help rally people around the world behind the association's cause. Megalithic culture is the first and greatest common cultural heritage of humans, originating from when the world had no borders, he said. To ensure the success the inaugural world festival, the association will hold a preliminary festival in Kochang in September and October with various programs, including photo exhibitions, demonstrations on constructing dolmens and folk art performances by troupes from five nations.
Source: Korean Herald
Prehistoric altar found in China
A team of Chinese and Japanese archaeologists has excavated a 6,000-year-old altar, believed to be the oldest ever found in China.
The 2,200-square-foot altar, in the shape of an ellipse, was found near Dongting Lake in Hunan province, central China. Nearby, archaeologists found some 40 pits containing bones of people believed to have been offered as human sacrifices.
He Jiejun, director of the Hunan Archaeological Research Society, said the altar apparently was used for community activities over a 300-year period.
Source: Associated Press
Miami Circle may be 2,000 years old
Scientific evidence now proves that the site of the Miami circle (see Archaeo News no.3), a 11,6 meter (38-foot) wide stone ring believed to be a sacred site carved by the Tequesta Indians is at least 1,800 years old and the circle itself could be much older than that, Miami-Dade County archaeologists said after receiving the results of radiocarbon tests.
Bob Carr, director of the Miami-Dade Historic Preservation Division, said tests showed that a piece of charcoal found within one of the 30 basins that form the Circle was 1,800 to 2,100 years old. Another piece of charcoal, found in the center of the Circle, was 1,850 to 1,990 years old, he said. There's certainly a suggestion here that the Circle could be 2,000 years old ore more Carr said, but the definitive answer to that will come from more dating tests.
The archaeological discovery in downtown Miami, on the south bank of the Miami River and just east of the Brickell Avenue bridge, has become a worldwide sensation. Archaeologists believe it was created by the long-extinct Tequesta tribe. The mysterious formation consists of stone carvings and post holes that link to form a perfect circle, apparently based on geometric calculations. Archaeologists speculate the circle could have been used to measure time or for religious purposes. In some deeper holes they have found the remains of a 5-foot shark and a sea turtle, possibly evidence of ceremonial sacrifices.
Amid enormous public pressure, Miami-Dade officials late last month blocked a developer from cutting up and moving the circle to a popular botanical garden nearby and began steps to buy the land (but buying back the property could cost more than $100-million) under eminent domain proceedings. Court action is pending.
Sources: Miami Herald, St.Petersburg Times
Stone Age ax found in Switzerland
During underwater digging at a late Stone Age village in the site in Cham-Eslen, 15 miles south of Zurich (Switzerland), archaeologists have found a stone ax more than 6,000 years old. The double-headed stone ax, with a well-preserved wooden handle about 1,2 meter (4 feet) long and a finely made blade, is unique in Europe, the archaeologists said.
Work at the site is concentrating on the parts of the Stone Age settlement under greatest danger from erosion. A team of divers has been working under the surface of Lake Zug since October 1998.
Source: Associated Press
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