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April 2003 | |
 Striking findings at Avebury
Work has begun in Wiltshire (England) to straighten two huge prehistoric standing stones which had started to lean at a precarious angle. The twin megaliths stand near the centre of the largest prehistoric stone circle in Europe at Avebury and have developed a list of 15 degrees. The movement was revealed by comparisons of a 3D computer-generated graphic of the stones in their present state with engravings by William Stukeley, an 18th-century Lincolnshire antiquary, says The Times.
The 16ft coffin-shaped stones each weigh an estimated 50 tonnes. The first job will be to excavate behind them to establish how deeply rooted they are and to create a gap into which each stone can be pushed. Once the stones are upright, cement will be poured in around them to prevent any further movement. The twin megaliths, known as the Cove, are within a massive circular ditch and bank earthwork 30ft deep and more than 1,400 yards in circumference. Although the two stones have stood undisturbed for at least 4,000 years, it is only in the past few decades that the tilt has developed. The National Trust, which owns the site, describes the stones as "perilously close to collapse"
Archaeologists started also digging around the site and have been surprised to uncover what could be one of the largest standing stones in the country. Experts at English Heritage and the National Trust say the stone could weigh in at 100 tons, rivalling the largest megaliths at its fellow site in Wiltshire, Stonehenge.
The team from the Universities of Wales, Leicester and Southampton found the stone was buried much deeper beneath the ground than previously thought. They found that one of the stones, which stands 14ft (4.4m) high above ground, exists at least 7ft (2.2 m) below the surface and could possibly go down to 10ft (3m).
Amanda Chadburn, Inspector of Ancient Monuments at English Heritage, which is the guardian of the stones, said: “We were amazed when we discovered that the stone went so much deeper than we expected. Ground penetrating radar and probing had suggested it existed to only about one-and-a-half to three feet below the surface. It is absolutely enormous and could weigh as much as the trilithon at Stonehenge.”
Although it was originally planned to bring both stones at the Cove to an upright position the investigations show that only the other stone, which is 16ft (4.9m) high above ground and predicted to exist to 1.25m below ground, requires straightening. The monster stone will now be left, as it is considered safe. Rob Mimmack, property manager at Avebury for the National Trust, which owns the monument, said: “The stone is being fixed in the ground with lime concrete. Within two to three weeks we will be taking down the scaffolding and people will have access to the stones again for the first time since 1997 when they were fenced off for safety reasons.”
The recovery of preserved organic material from soil samples during the excavations will enable radiocarbon dates to be taken. For the first time the Cove will be able to be dated by modern methods.
Sources: Ananova/Daily Telegraph News (8 April 2003); The Scotsman (17 April 2003), The Guardian (18 April 2003)
Stone Age dagger hauled out of a German lake
A Stone Age dagger dropped into a southern German lake 5,000 years ago has been fished out of the mud more or less intact, complete with its wooden handle. "It's the first time a complete dagger of this type has been discovered," said Helmut Schlichtherle, in charge of an archaeological dig in shallow lakeside waters at Allensbach where prehistoric people once lived in straw houses on stilts.
Comparison showed the finely worked flint knife was made in northern Italy and was a prized object, probably too good for everyday hunting. The handle did not rot because no oxygen penetrates the lake mud. The dagger is 16cm long overall, with a blade 9cm in length topped by a shaft that fits into a handle of wood from an elder tree. The two parts are held in place with pitch.
The archaeologist said previous daggers had been found without any shaft. The weapon was twice as long as a contemporary model found with Oetzi, the mummified body of a Stone Age hunter found in the Oetztal Alps in 1991.
Sources: Sapa-DPA/Iol.co.za/web.de (8 April 2003)
Found the oldest religious icon in Americas
Gourd fragments unearthed in Peru have pushed back clear evidence of religion in the Americas by a thousand years, to 2250 BC. The two key pieces are incised with an image of the "staff god", showing a fierce feline face with fangs, clawed feet, a snake for one hand and a staff -- a sign of leadership -- held in the other. It was a major deity in later Andean cultures, was discovered at a burial site in the Patavilca River valley and dated using carbon isotopes. Unlike undecorated gourds found elsewhere, it was likely inscribed with a hot implement and placed in a grave due to its ceremonial value. The gourd could also have served soup, though such details await a residue analysis of the fragment.
The site is in the Norte Chico region, 200 kilometres north of Lima, which was densely populated from 2600 to 2000 BC. The people left little graphic evidence behind as, while they built large stone monuments and pyramids, they did not sculpt or decorate stone, and lacked pottery. They did embellish textiles, but only small pieces survive and their dyes have faded away. The cartoon-like image on the gourd is the oldest clear depiction yet found.
The team of US and Peruvian archaeologists that found the gourd were studying the beginnings of irrigation. Winifred Creamer of Northern Illinois University says implementing such technology requires a highly organised society, and that religious symbols are also important in complex groups. The gourd fragments were in a dry, sandy burial site, which had been looted in modern times, leaving them on the surface. "This appears to be the oldest identifiable religious icon found in the Americas. It indicates that organized religion began in the Andes more than 1,000 years earlier than previously thought," said Jonathan Haas of The Field Museum in Chicago. "We have this window back to the beginnings of civilization ... to the role of religion and the emergence of a complex society, the role of religion in the development of social hierarchy, government, power, and leadership," he said.
Also found in the area were 75-foot-high (25-meter) mounds with staircases and ceremonial hearths with plazas below, as well as housing for various strata of society. Some 26 communities have been found that likely contained thousands of residents each, reflecting a much more complex civilization compared to earlier hunting and gathering bands that populated the Peruvian highlands or small fishing villages along the coast.
Sources; BBC News/New Scientist/Reuters (14 April 2003)
3,000-year-old gold ring found in Wales
A 3,000-year-old gold ring has been found by a metal detector enthusiast in Wales. Swansea and Gower Coroner Richard Morgan declared the Bronze Age "hair ring," discovered by 38-year-old Nigel Powell in Swansea Bay, was officially Treasure Trove and belonged to the Government. The coroner suggested the compensation fee payable to Mr Powell and landowners Swansea City and County Council should be split evenly. It is thought the delicate, gold-foil covered copper ring - which dates back to the 10th or 11th Century BC - will eventually be valued at around £3,000.
Finds of such rings are extremely rare and it is thought the piece of jewellery may have belonged to a person of wealth and influence, such as a Bronze Age chieftain or possibly a princess. Historians believe the rings, only occasionally found in Scotland, Ireland, England, and the Low Countries and rarely in Wales, were used as hair adornments and also as money. Mr Powell, of The Crescent, Crynant, Neath, who has been a metal detector enthusiast for two years, discovered the ring last year at a point on the Swansea foreshore opposite Brynmill Park. It was discovered in around 15cm of clay.
Adam Gwillt, Pre-historian at the National Museum and Gallery of Wales in Cardiff where the ring is now held, said there had only been two similar rings ever discovered in Wales, one in Gwynedd and the other at Port Eynon on Gower. Mr Gwilt said the ring contained intricate decoration and had probably originally been dropped in a peat bog.
Source: The Western Mail (26 March 2003)
Achavanich circle damaged by lay-by
Highland Council workers were preparing to tarmac over historic ruins to create a lay-by for visitors to the standing stones at Achavanich, a 4000-year-old ancient monument near Lybster (Scotland), before a concerned local historian pointed out the gaffe to embarrassed council chiefs.
Work ground to a halt while Historic Scotland assessed the damage and the local authority employed an archaeologist to ensure work can continue without further damage to the site. The project was funded by the Highland Council’s Scottish Executive windfall, and it was hoped the lay-by would provide “safe and convenient” access for the public to reach the ancient monument.
Ian Hargrave, acting Caithness area manager, revealed that the Highland Council believed the scheduled monumental site stopped at the fence, in off the roadside, when in fact it extends to the edge of the road. “Historic Scotland has examined the site and an archaeologist consultant has been engaged to ensure the project can be completed.
The council did not need planning permission for the project because it falls under the auspices of the roads authority. However, Richard Guest, the area transport, environmental and community services manager, admitted it would have been wise to consult Historic Scotland over the plans. Mr Guest added that an initial report by the archaeologist employed by the council suggested that the area dug up by the council to lay the foundations for the lay-by did not hold anything of archaeological importance.
However, an Historic Scotland spokeswoman said she believes the site destroyed by the council is part of the unusual horseshoe-shaped arrangement of small standing stones at Achavanich. She added: “Fortunately the damage was minimal.”
Source: John O'Groat Journal
Irish megalithic sites linked to the Sun and the Moon
Tombs at the archaeological site of Loughcrew in County Meath align with the rising Sun at the spring and autumn equinoxes. The inside of the chambers are spectacularly illuminated by a shaft of sunlight at dawn on Spring equinox, said Frank Prendergast of the Dublin Institute of Technology. It suggests settlers in the area some 5 to 6,000 years ago knew the yearly cycle of the Sun and perhaps centred their lives around it.
Tombs found elsewhere in Ireland have been found to point towards the rising Sun at the summer and winter solstices. At these times, the Sun reaches its most northerly and southerly points in the sky, which can be easily observed from any place on Earth. The equinoxes - in late March and late September - are not so obvious and can only be pinpointed by tracking the passage of the Sun across the entire year. Why tomb builders wished to do this remains a mystery but it suggests the Sun was at the heart of ritual and ceremonial practices of ancient people. "They would have attached a sense of sacredness to their landscape and the sky and they would have done that by building the monuments the way they did; decorating them with a kind of rock art; and associating some of these monuments with key astronomical events such as a significant rising and setting points of the Moon and Sun." said Frank Prendergast.
Details have also be revealed of how Bronze Age stone circles in Ulster relate to both the Sun and the Moon. Archaeologists believe there could have been separate lunar and solar traditions, possibly at different times in history. But Professor Clive Ruggles, of the University of Leicester, said great care was needed in interpreting them. "Just because a monument is aligned in a direction that we would be tempted to interpret as astronomically significant, such as the direction of sunrise or sunset on one of the solstices, this might not have been intentional," he said. He believes the study of astronomical alignments gives an insight into how people comprehended the world in the past.
Source: BBC News (9 April 2003)
Prehistoric finds unearthed in Norfolk
A Bronze Age axe mould is among the 17,000 significant finds discovered by Norfolk fieldwalkers and metal detectorists last year and taken to the Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service for identification and recording. The Bronze Age socketed axe mould was found with a hoard of three axes and a hammer at Hevingham and according to Dr Andrew Rogerson, senior landscape archaeologist, is extremely ancient. "Most of the Paleolithic handaxes are found in gravels where they've been washed by glaciers or rivers out from where they were discarded," he said. "This was found in a position where it hadn't moved and was sandwiched between two layers of boulder clay. It's one of the oldest found in the British Isles."
Dr Rogerson said he and his colleagues were grateful so many people had brought items to them during the course of the year. There is no compulsion to report finds, but those who fieldwalk on a regular basis often work closely with the archaeological service to ensure anything discovered in Norfolk is properly recorded. This helps the team build up a map of finds across the country, details of which are published every year.
Source: EDP 24 (11 April 2003)
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