Mystery Neolithic wooden structures in Orkney
The only wooden prehistoric structures found so far in Orkney (Scotland) have intrigued archaeologists and could produce some of the earliest dates for the islands. The most exciting discovery was of a series of large post-holes that show the position of a number of circular structures, each with a central hearth. Lack of stone foundations may indicate that that the buildings were wooden, perhaps dating back 6,000 years. Dr. Colin Richards of Manchester University, in charge of the recently completed excavation at the foot of Wideford Hill, explains: "We just never expected we would find wooden buildings in Orkney - there just aren't any timber buildings in Orkney. What we've got here are circular structures made up of a circle of timber posts and a central hearth." Originally thought to go back to the Mesolithic period, the Neolithic dating results from the find of a shard of characteristic pottery at the base of one of the post-holes.
The size and distribution of the post-holes suggest a number of substantial buildings, possibly with wooden or wicker walls. Also found were the remains of a stone Neolithic structure which appears to be contemporary with the nearby houses at Stonehall and possibly dates from around 3,600 BCe. A short distance away is an area rich in finds, including stone axes, broken tools, quantities of flint and, especially, the decorated pottery known as Unstan Ware. Says Dr. Richards: "This is one of the richest sites I've ever dug on. There has been tons of Unstan Ware pottery, which only turned up in small quantities at the Knap of Howar. It looks like we've got a big working area away from the main house. There, when they broke their tools, they were just leaving them, which explains why there's so much intermingled with other finds." The circular post-holes structures were possibly built and used over several years, and followed by the later stone built house with an associated work area. The site gives a substantial assemblage of Neolithic material that can be now be compared with Stonehall. On the final days of the excavation Dr. Richards summed up the discovery: "There's a lot here we just don't understand yet. It's not much to look at but it's going to prove very important." Radiocarbon dating will now be used to determine the ages of the various structures.
Source: Orkneyjar.com (1 May 2003)
The wildcat's pile of stones
At the center of the megalithic site of Rujm al-Hiri in the Golan Heights (Israel), a burial area was added about one thousand years after its construction, according to Dr. Yoni Mizrachi, who headed the dig in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Known in Arabic as "the wildcat's pile of stones" Rujm al-Hiri is one of the most mysterious archaeological sites in the region. The huge complex of 42,000 basalt stones, some of which weigh more than 5 tons, dates to the end of the 3rd millennium BCe. The site is in the form of a series of walls - concentric circles and ellipses - with an outside perimeter of almost half a kilometer and a diameter of more than 150 metres.
Calculations by Dr. Mizrachi and colleagues suggested that openings in the walls allowed the first rays of the sun at the midsummer solstice to pass from the northwestern gate to the centre of the complex. Two stones, 2 metres high by 5 metres wide, allowed the ancients to determine the precession of the equinoxes. Dr. Mizrachi has conjectured that the site as a whole relates to star positions at the time of its construction. Similarity with the form of Stonehenge and other sites in England and France caused a wave of speculation when Rujm al-Hiri was first surveyed in 1967-68.
The original site apparently had religious, mythological and cosmological significance for its builders. It served for astronomical observations and for planning the agricultural calendar. During the second millennium BCe a burial area and a large monument of stones, 20 meters in diameter and 5 meters high, was added at the centre of the site. There is evidence that tomb robbers entered the burial chamber in the fourth century BCe and plundered gold jewelry, bronze arrowheads, beads, ceramic statuettes and worked flints, some of which were lost as the thieves left the chamber. The adoption of the already ancient ritual site and the richness of the grave goods suggests the burial of a person of considerable prestige.
Virtually nothing is known of the original architects or the people who added the burial. The Golan is the dividing line between the fertile lands west of the Jordan and the Syrian deserts to the east, and has seen relatively brief periods of permanent settlement, often suddenly truncated. The theory is that the original ritual centre was dedicated to the fertility cult of Ishtar and Tammuz, but it remains unclear whether Rujm al-Hiri provides testimony of long term occupation by a single flourishing culture, or use by successive occupants over the millennia.
Source: Haaretz Daily (6 May 2003)
Ancient community may have helped build Stonehenge
Archaeologists hoping to find the medieval town walls of Malmesbury (England) have discovered Stone Age flints and the remains of a massive Iron Age wall. According to a new report published by Bristol and Region Archaeological Services, carbon dating has placed the Neolithic flints at around 2,500 BCe and the foundations of the Iron Age wall at about 800 BCe. The Neolithic material indicates that the site of the modern town was occupied at the time when Stonehenge and Avebury were built, and raises the possibility that the ancient community may have been involved in their construction.
Malmesbury sits on the top of a steep hill on a bend of the River Avon, an ideal position for a stronghold. The latest discoveries, which include Bronze Age pottery fragments, indicate that Malmesbury may be the ancient British city of Caer Bladon ö the town was described as an ancient place of the Britons by 12th century historian William of Malmesbury. All told, finds in the town and the surrounding area suggest virtually continuous occupation of the site from Neolithic times onwards, making Malmesbury the longest continually occupied place so far known in Britain.
Source: This is Wiltshire (2 May 2003)
Oetzi: a 5300-year-old hi-tech warrior?
When hikers spotted a corpse poking from the Schnalstal glacier in the Austrian-Italian Alps in 1991, they thought they had found the body of a lost climber. Then researchers took a closer look and announced the iceman was an ancient shepherd, a primitive farm worker who 5300 years ago had got lost in the mountains and had died of hypothermia. Yet now, after 12 years scientists have completed the full reconstruction of the oldest, best-preserved human body known to science, discovering the truth about Oetzi the Iceman: that he was the Stone Age equivalent of a hi-tech trooper kitted with complex weapons and survival gear.
Far from being a poor shepherd who had got lost and wandered to a lonely, icy death, Oetzi was well-armed and well-protected when he died. His equipment included a flint dagger, a longbow of yew, plants with powerful pharmaceutical properties, three layers of clothing made of deer and goat hides, a bearskin hat, a framed backpack, a copper axe, dried fruit and other foods wrapped in moss for protection and a fire-making kit that included flints and ores for making sparks. "These items are testament to how intimately his people knew the rocks, fungi, plants and animals in their immediate surroundings" state the Otzi scientists in the latest issue of Scientific American. In addition, the iceman had tattoo marks on his back that suggest he had undergone acupuncture while food experts concluded that his last meal was made up of goat meat and bread cooked in a charcoal oven.
Analyses have forced researchers to overturn most of the initial ideas about Oetzi's supposed primitive status. For example, they reveal that Otzi's longbow was made of yew - 'the best wood for such purpose because of its great tensile strength,' they say. Long bows of yew gave the English army its crucial advantage at Agincourt, a power Otzi and his people had discovered thousands of years earlier. In addition, Otzi was found to have been carrying two pieces of birch bracket fungus, which is known to contain pharmacologically active compounds. In short, he had his own first-aid kit. Clearly, Stone Age Europeans were sophisticated individuals who exploited local resources and led lives that were far from brutish or short.
Source: The Observer (4 May 2003)
Burial chamber found on the grounds of a multi-million home
Michael Flatley, dancer, performer and musician has become famous for his show "Lord of the Dance". And his new 6-euro-million home Castlehyde in Cork (Ireland) happened to be built just on the grounds of an ancient site. In fact, his workmen uncovered a 4,000-year-old burial chamber while digging a septic tank on the grounds. It might have been less complicated for the billionaire to simply cover it up and say nothing. Fortunately, the talented dancer was delighted with the find which uncovered two perfect earthenware jars. He said "It's just incredible. It's possible there is a whole Bronze Age graveyard in this area. There certainly should be a major study done on this site, and what else could be lying undiscovered? But what I think is really important is that people alert the authorities to these finds. The fear is that in some cases it's easier to just rebury the find just because it will slow down work."
Source: Evening Herald (1 May 2003)
Largest prehistoric man-made cavern hidden in Wales?
The cavern is part of a Bronze Age copper mine complex which was first uncovered in 1987 at Great Orme's Head near Llandudno (Wales). Archaeologists excavating the 4,000-year-old site made their latest discovery 130ft below ground in December and have estimated it is at least 50ft in length. They know the roof area is large, but will have to dig down through many layers of silt before they discover exactly how deep it is. They have previously excavated four miles of tunnels at the complex, which is the largest Bronze Age copper mine in the world and is open to the public. Surveys indicate there are about 10 miles of tunnels in the area. The largest known cavern before the latest one was discovered was the Great Stope, which is 60ft long, 25ft high and 25ft wide.
The copper mined at Great Orme by the ancient Britons would have been used to make axes and other implements. Research showed that, initially, the copper was mainly used to make tools but, as time went on, more weapons were produced as people competed for food and land. Excavation was only carried out during the winter time, when the mine was closed to the public, and work will not resume on the site until October. "We have surveyed four miles of Bronze Age passages, and from time to time we find something." said Great Ormes Mines managing director Tony Hammond "We're the largest copper mine from Bronze Age Europe. So this find will make it a bit bigger. But you never know what you're going to find, and that's the exciting thing. " he concluded.
Source: BBC News (25 April 2003)
Farmer builds own burial chamber
A Devon farmer has realised his dream by building a replica of a Bronze Age burial chamber on his land. Gavin Dollard transported four huge pieces of granite from Dartmoor to his estate near Ivybridge (England) to carry out the construction. It is thought to be the first time in 2,000 years that a dolmen has been built in the UK.
Mr Dollard, 52, who wants to be laid to rest in the chamber, had hoped to have the edifice constructed in time for the Millennium celebrations. However, work was only completed on 29 April 2003, when a huge crane lowered a 14-tonne piece of granite on to three 10-tonne standing stones which had already been erected to create the chamber.
Part of Mr Dollard's estate at Delamore in Cornwood into an open-air art gallery. He sees the dolmen as another piece of sculpture for his collection. But he admits that, when he dies, it will serve its more traditional purpose as a burial site. He said: "The idea for this came to us in 1999, but it was impossible to get four stones that size safely off the moor in such a short period of time. But what's a year here or there when we are taking about 2,000 years?"
Source: BBC News (29 April 2003)
