9,000 year-old stone axe found in Northern Ireland
A large stone axe has been discovered buried in a garden at Culmore, Derry, in Northern Ireland. The axe was uncovered when Hugh Gillespie was digging the foundations for a garden wall, but he didn't realise it's significance until his son, Frank Gillespie, noticed that it had been worked.
Local archaeologists Ian Leitch and Tommy Gallagher were brought in, and dated the axe to the early or late Mesolithic period, around eight or nine thousand years ago. Although several stone axes have been found in the area in recent years, the Culmore axe is apparently unique. Made of "mud stone", it is larger than other local axes, and comes from the period when the earliest settlers in Ireland were still arriving from Scotland.
"This particular stone axe may have been brought into the area through local trading, as this stone axe has no similarity, on record, to other stone axes, which have been found in the locality," said Mr. Leitch.
The axe is now with the Environment and Heritage Services of the Department of the Environment for recording, but will be returned to the Gillespies, who may allow it to go on display at the Tower Museum in Derry at some point.
In January, more evidence of the first Irish settlers was found during the building of the Toome bypass, near Lough Neagh. A range of flint tools dating to the same period as the Culmore axe were found, including 8,000 pieces of flint, microliths as well as larger tools.
Source: icderry.icnetwork.co.uk (29 August 2003)
Ancient stone is modern art
An 'ancient' relic which had excited experts with its strange markings (as reported in Archaeo News on 30 August 2003) has been revealed as a modern work of art.
The Gorleston Stone, named after the Norfolk sea-side town were it was found, was thought to be thousands of years old - dating back to Neolithic or early Bronze Age. But the two-ton stone, which is engraved with swirls, dragons and runic inscriptions, was really made in 1995. Stone artist Barry Luxton, created the piece which has since been removed from Gorleston beach and is being examined by experts at Great Yarmouth Borough Council.
Mr Luxton said he never intended to deceive anyone with the stone. "What I wanted to do was to make this as a new age rather than an old age thing to do," he said. "The fire dragon was my conception, then I put on some runic engravings about the celebration of fire."
However, the Gorleston Stone did not fool Norfolk's county archaeologist Brian Ayers who said the markings were very strange. He said the fact there were swirling patterns in the centre, runic inscriptions below and swirls on the top of the stone did not add up. "To put these three things together on one stone is very odd indeed," he said. Mr Luxton is hoping to get his work back from the council.
Source: BBC News (1 September 2003)
Prehistoric Indian earthworks still exist in Louisiana
Well before the construction of Stonehenge in England or the Egyptian pyramids, prehistoric Americans were building earthen structures. Today, these mounds yield evidence of peoples who were both primitive and sophisticated, nomadic and yet builders. The best archaeological evidence available indicates this mound-building trend probably began in Louisiana (USA).
"At some time around 4000 BCe, the people who lived in North America started building these earthworks," state archaeologist Thomas Eubanks said. The purpose of the mounds often remains a mystery, he said. Some may have served ceremonial or political purposes. Some may have provided high points on which to locate huts. A few later ones served as burial sites, but not as many as people usually think, and archeologists are finding evidence linking the mounds to astronomy.
Archeologists are still learning from the sites, and state officials hope to use the mounds for tourism and public education. The oldest known site, Watson Brake, is located in the woods south of Monroe on an old channel off the Ouachita River, where 11 mounds connected by an earthen ridge form an oval. Archeologists have determined that the mounds were built in stages beginning about 6,000 years ago and were not used for burial. They also have theories about the purpose of the plaza in the middle because it contains no artifacts. “We know that the plaza was a sacred place,” Eubanks said. “It had some importance since no trash was being dumped there.”
The Poverty Point State Historical Site near Delhi is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in North America. The geometric earthwork complex there includes 11.2 miles of raised terraces arranged in six concentric octagons. It was built about 3,500 years ago.
The Marksville State Historical Site has mounds dated back 2,000 years. "The site is aligned with true north and positioned so that certain constellations could be viewed between the mounds on important days each year," said Chip McGimsey of Lafayette, southwest regional archaeologist.
Most of Louisiana’s Indian mounds sit on private property, and in many cases property owners may not even realize they are there.
Source: Gannet News Service (31 August 2003)
