British Archaeology

The remains of a "possible temple" from 1,400 years ago showing the "power and wealth" of the East Anglian kings have been discovered on farmland near Sutton Hoo in Suffolk.

Excavations in the summer at Rendlesham revealed the foundations of three timber buildings, including the possible temple - and identified evidence of 7th century metal working.

Two graves of an unknown date, and evidence of earlier settlement and activity from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman periods, were also uncovered.

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Suffolk County Council said the latest find comes after the remains of a large timber royal hall were uncovered at Rendlesham, near Woodbridge, last year, which confirmed the spot as a settlement of the East Anglian kings.

This year's digs found evidence of fine metalworking associated with royal occupation, including a mould used for casting decorative horse harnesses similar to those found at Sutton Hoo, the council said.

Sutton Hoo is thought to be the final resting place of King Raedwald, who ruled in the seventh century.

SOMETIME AROUND THE 1980S, MAYBE, a rough, yellow-tinged piece of fabric, slightly larger than a placemat, was pulled from a peat bog in Glen Affric, Scotland. The cloth is a swatch of tartan, the fabric associated with Scottish kilts, featuring the telltale interlocked stripes of various sizes and colors. (The term also applies to the pattern, which many know as plaid. But not all plaids are tartan, and to add to the confusion, in Scotland a plaid is a long piece of tartan that is pleated and wrapped around the body.) How and when this fabric, now known as the Glen Affric tartan, found its way into the peat is a bit of a mystery, and now, researchers are starting to unravel its checkered past, one that places it in a unique position in Scottish cultural and sartorial history.

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While who wore it is uncertain, how it ended up in the bog—where anoxic conditions preserved it—is a bigger mystery. “The really intriguing question, apart from who it belonged to, was what were the circumstances that led to it? It wasn’t just dropped,” he says. “It’s obviously a deliberate act. Was it sacrificial? Was it murder? Was it ceremonial? All of those things are open to question because there are no other elements associated with the find that can help us with that.”

In 1952, a schoolboy was digging up potatoes, assisting a gardener in the grounds of his school in Fife as part of a punishment. He stumbled across a bulbous shape that he initially mistook for a potato, only to discover later that he had found an Egyptian masterpiece made some 4,000 years ago.

The idea of finding ancient treasures buried in the Scottish countryside, rather than beneath the sands of Cairo, is somewhat unlikely. Yet this was to be the first of 18 Egyptian antiquities unearthed on three separate occasions by schoolboys over some 30 years in the most unexpected of places – Melville House, a historic building near the small parish of Monimail in Fife.

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The story of the discoveries is being told for the first time by Goring and her successor, Dr Margaret Maitland, in the forthcoming Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, to be published on 30 November.

One possible explanation is that they were acquired by Alexander, Lord Balgonie, heir to the property, who visited Egypt in 1856 with his two sisters to improve his poor health after falling ill during service in the Crimean war. But he returned to Britain weaker, and died in 1857, aged only 24, from TB.

It is possible that grief and the sad association of the antiquities with his early death prompted someone to dispose of them. It also could be that stories of “the mummy’s curse”, dating to the 1860s, linked such antiquities with ill fortune, prompting someone to bury them.

Over its 200-year history, its premises were cramped and overcrowded, bleak and bug-ridden. However, when the St Pancras workhouse opened in 1809, it was meant to bring comfort to those who had fallen on hard times, site excavations have revealed.

Archaeologists from Mola (Museum of London Archaeology) have been astonished to uncover “a significant portion of these original buildings” and “incredible new details about the lives of the residents and masters”.

Gwilym Williams, a project manager at Mola, said the evidence conjured up “a very different picture compared with the dark, dingy workhouses often depicted in popular culture”, most notably in the writings of Charles Dickens.

An ancient Roman Road said to be used by key historical figures including William the Conqueror, Oliver Cromwell and every King and Queen of Scotland, has been found in a garden near Stirling.

Dating back almost 2,000 years, the cobbled road was built by the Roman armies of general Julius Agricola in the first century and would have connected to a ford through the River Forth.

Many of the key historical figures of Scottish and wider British history would have used the road for military campaigns given its strategic importance for crossing the Forth and reaching the Highlands, as well as its proximity to Stirling – Scotland’s former capital.

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The cottage is a former drovers inn built in the 17th century, and resident Jennifer Ure had no inkling the ancient road was buried in her garden until approached by Stirling Council archaeologist, Murray Cook, who believed the route may go through there and arranged the dig.

He said: “This crossing would have been used by the Romans, the Picts, William the Conqueror, Oliver Cromwell and every King and Queen of Scotland, including MacBeth, Kenneth McAlpin and Robert the Bruce – but not Bonnie Prince Charlie who we know crossed the river at a ford at Frew to the west of Stirling.

“It is the most important road in Scottish history so it’s an amazing discovery.

“To literally walk where Wallace and Bruce went, let alone the Romans, Picts and Vikings is astonishing. It has also never been clear before this find where this road ran.

“To the south the road heads towards Falkirk and would eventually take you to England. To the north, it would take you a crossing over the Tay and the edge of the Roman Empire.”

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A gold coin minted by a little-known ruler in ancient Britain — an Iron Age man who said he was as "mighty" as a god — has been found by a metal detectorist and auctioned off in England.

The rare coin was discovered in March 2023 in Hampshire county and was auctioned Sept. 28 for 20,400 British pounds ($24,720), Spink auction house said in a series of statements.

A Latin alphabetic inscription on the coin bears the name "Esunertos," which can be translated as "mighty as the god Esos," (also spelled Esus) the statements said.

cross-posted from: https://derp.foo/post/346632

There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.

The Heslington Brain is a 2,600-year-old human brain found inside a skull buried in a pit in Heslington, Yorkshire, in England, by York Archaeological Trust in 2008. It is the oldest preserved brain ever found in Eurasia, and is believed to be the best-preserved ancient brain in the world.

The ruins of a 5,000-year-old tomb in a construction that reflects the pinnacle of neolithic engineering in northern Britain has been unearthed in Orkney.

Fourteen articulated skeletons of men, women and children – two positioned as if they were embracing – have been found inside one of six cells or side rooms.

At the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft in remote hills, Ioan Lord is shocked to see a tiny pair of boot prints next to his own in the darkness.

They look fresh, but were made 200 years ago - by child miners, the last people to set foot in the passage.

The student, 24, from Ceredigion, has made it his mission to rediscover long forgotten mines in Wales.

Their existence and whereabouts have been lost from knowledge for hundreds of years.

"It's very much like an Indiana Jones film," said Ioan, who has uncovered ancient objects, some dating back to the Iron Age.

"The difference is I don't fly to these locations, I just walk to them.

"There's over 1,000 mines in mid Wales altogether. I can only say I've been into 300 or 400 of them. There are hundreds that are still lost."

Ioan, who is studying for a PhD in the social history of metal mining in south Wales at Cardiff University, is the first person in hundreds of years to access many of these sites.

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What appeared to be a wooden salad spoon he found deep underground was later confirmed by academics to be the oldest complete wooden mining tool ever found in Wales.

Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology are conducting a project to rediscover the medieval manor of Court De Wyck.

The researchers are excavating on the outskirts of the village of Claverham in North Somerset, England. During the medieval period, a settlement recorded in the Domesday Survey of AD 1086 consisted of two hamlets: Claverham and Week.

The latter was primarily centred around the manor of Court De Wyck, named after the De Wyck family, which was founded in the 12th century by the Bishop of Bath and Wells.

An experimental catapult designed to launch World War Two bomber planes into the sky has been excavated.

The prototype Royal Aircraft Establishment Mark III Catapult was unearthed at the site of a development at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.

It was made to enable take-offs using shorter runways and so the planes could be loaded with more fuel.

The contraption was built between 1938 and 1940 when the site was RAF Harwell.

However, the project was abandoned without ever launching an aircraft, because the engines would wear out and the design did not properly fit the bomber planes.

A cache of coins secreted away in a Scottish stone fireplace may have belonged to a clan chief killed in a 17th-century massacre, according to archaeologists excavating the remains of a hunting lodge in Glencoe. The diverse collection of coins was likely hidden by someone unable to return and retrieve them.

The 36 silver and bronze coins vary in date from the late 1500s through the 1680s. Most of them were made locally, but coins from France and the Spanish Netherlands (today, largely the area of Belgium and Luxembourg) were also present, possibly mementos of Maclain's youthful travels abroad.

"What's really exciting is that these coins are no later than the 1680s," Michael Given, a senior lecturer of archaeology and co-director of the project, said in the statement. "So were they buried in a rush as the Massacre started first thing in the morning of the 13th February 1692?

A new study has thrown new light on the likely origins of the Altar Stone at Stonehenge.

The largest of the attraction's "bluestones" was previously though to be sourced from west Wales.

The Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, some 180 miles to the west of the site in Wiltshire, is where the majority of the bluestones have been sourced.

For the last 100 years the Altar Stone at Stonehenge was also considered to have derived from the Old Red Sandstone sequences of the region.

But no specific location had been identified for its source.

Now, researchers say it is time to "broaden our horizons" as they propose to look more closely at northern Britain, including Cheshire, the Lake District and parts of Scotland.

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In the paper, experts say considering the Altar Stone as a "bluestone" has influenced the long-held view it came from Wales.

They now say the stone should be "de-classified" as such, breaking the link to bluestones derived from the Preseli hills.

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The Altar Stone, a sandstone, has an unusually high level of barium compared to other similar sandstones, which may be helpful in finding its source, and Professor Pearce thinks the research will lead to a change in mindset when considering Stonehenge.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/2720591

A quartz surface – possibly laid deliberately to enhance the setting of a double stone row – has been uncovered during excavations at Piles Hill.

A metal detectorist discovered two 1,800-year-old Roman cavalry swords still protected in remnants of their wooden scabbards, or sheaths in the North Cotswolds, England.

Archaeologists determined that due to their long, straight-edged blades that they were spatha swords, a type of weapon that was commonly issued to cavalry officers riding on horseback during the Roman Empire between the first century and third century A.D., according to a statement.

Based on the style of the newfound swords, they date to the late second century A.D. and were likely used by either calvary or civilians, Simon James, an archeology professor at the University of Leicester, said in the statement.

Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman Statue of Triton during excavations in preparation for a housing development in Kent, England.

Archaeologists from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT) have discovered artifacts, including a mausoleum which is to be buried within a roundabout, which are more than 1,700 years old during an investigative dig related to a new housing development close to London Road in Teynham.

Robert Masefield, Director for RPS, said: “We expected interesting Roman archaeology, perhaps a cemetery, but the finds including the lively and unique statue of a Triton and the mausoleum remains have by far exceeded that. These finds are now part of Teynham’s local legacy and the nations rich Roman story. Further study will place the findings in their full historical context.”

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The Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT) was tasked with leading the dig, which revealed elements of a 30m square walled enclosure surrounding a c.7m square structure. Further excavations revealed that the structure is a Roman mausoleum containing a Roman coin dating from around 320 to 330 AD. The site also included Roman, and possibly later, burials with various grave goods.

However, the highlight of the findings was the discovery of a stone statue, representing the sea god Triton.

The Triton statue is substantial, appropriately 70cm (27.5 inches tall) and 70cm wide. It weighs more than 132lb (60kg). Archaeologists did not need to dig far. It was only 1.3 feet (40cm) below ground.

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Dr. Richard Hobbs, senior curator of Roman Britain at the British Museum, told MailOnline it is ‘spectacular’.

He said that, although a few fragments of Triton sculptures are known from Roman Britain, ‘nothing quite like this has been discovered before’.

Of the up to 1,000 vessels, from military warships to fishing boats, lifeboats and pleasure craft, that scrambled to help the stranded men, hundreds were sunk during the nine-day Operation Dynamo with the loss of many lives.

More than eight decades later, French and British archaeologists are embarking on a joint survey of the waters off the northern French town, using the latest technology to scour the seabed for shipwrecks from the heroic rescue armada.

They hope to learn more about 37 wrecks whose locations are known in the vicinity, and to locate other sunken ships – the exact whereabouts of which are unknown.

The project, jointly run by France’s department of underwater archaeological research (Drassm) and Historic England, will begin next week with a surface-level scan of the seabed, using geophysical survey equipment including a multibeam echosounder, side-scan sonar and magnetometer.

An archaeological dig within the churchyard at Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow has uncovered a "remarkable" early medieval 'Govan Warrior' stone.

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The early medieval carved stone is "quite unlike" any others discovered at the ancient site - which is celebrated for the richness of its Viking-age sculpture.

The stone portrays a man side-on carrying a round shield and a shaft over their shoulder. The man is probably carrying either a sword or a spear and can be described as a warrior.

While much of the warrior’s face has been damaged since it was carved over a thousand years ago, remarkable details suggest a flowing pony-tail and a sharply pointed beard.

The oldest known Christian site in Glasgow, Govan Old was built in 1888 and stands on a religious site dating back to the sixth century.

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The Govan Warrior is unique within the existing collection due to its stylistic characteristics, which has drawn parallels with Pictish art and carvings from the Isle of Man. Unlike the other stones in the Govan collection, whose chunky style of carving is so distinctive that it has been described as a school of carving in its own right (the ‘Govan School’).

The Govan Warrior is lightly incised, which may bring parallels with famous Pictish stones like the Rhynie Man from Aberdeenshire.

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About the discovery, Professor Stephen Driscoll said: “It’s a style that makes us think both about the Pictish world and also about the Isle of Man and it’s interesting that we are halfway between these two places. Govan is the ideal place for these two artistic traditions or styles to come together.

Archaeologists want permission to carry out a new survey of the site of Jersey's largest coin hoard to stop people illegally searching and looting.

The Le Catillon II hoard was discovered in the east of the island in 2012 by two metal detectorists after a similar find on the site in 1957.

The hoard contains about 70,000 coins as well as valuable Iron Age artefacts.

Societe Jersiaise is seeking planning permission to carry out archaeological surveys in the same area of the island.

Plans submitted online said the move had been "prompted by recent instances of nighthawking and archaeological looting, which have been reported to the authorities since 2021".

An intact Bronze Age pot and a previously unknown Saxon village with a large hall were among the "exceptional" finds unearthed during a dig.

Britannia Archaeology experts have been working on the site near Ely, Cambridgeshire, for nearly a year.

They expected just a few months' work, but instead found evidence of thousands of years of occupation.

Archaeologist Alice Schute praised the craftsmanship of the artefacts, saying "it's a site that keeps giving".

"Exceptional really is the word. It's something you won't come across often in your career, the sheer intensity and amount of finds," she said.

The nearly intact 35cm-high (14in) late Neolithic or early Bronze Age urn, dating back about 4,000 years old, was a particularly rare find.

Project officer Miss Schute said: "Normally we find fragments of pots which are a bit smashed and broken. We don't usually get a whole vessel that's 95% complete and still standing."

Martin Brook, Britannia Archaeology director, said they expected the pot's sides to cave in as they retrieved it from the earth, but this was not the case.

The team has began a dig investigating an Iron Age complex near Corfe Castle.

Time Team, which ran on Channel 4 for 20 years between 1994 and 2014, returned last year to YouTube.

Now fan supported and fan lead, the YouTube channel is supported by subscribers and still showcases archaeological digs with a mix of old and new members to the team.

The site at Corfe Castle, was put forward by Time Team’s own Dr Derek Pitman and Dr Lawrence Shaw.

Archaeologists excavating land for a proposed housing development say they have made some significant finds.

The team from Oxford Archaeology North (OAN) said the site in Lancashire has evidence of an Iron Age settlement and Roman occupation as well.

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Mr Dunn said like other Iron Age excavations in the county the dig at Thornton, near Blackpool, had revealed round houses with their surrounding ditches, but the discovery of Iron Age bowls and Roman pottery marked it out from other excavations.

He added: "Lancashire was wet with marshland and settlements tended to be on a hill.

"It is a significant site because there of signs of a long occupation from the Iron Age to Roman Britain."

A collaborative project has brought to light the lives of a 19th-century community living and working in Fewston, North Yorkshire. Among their number were many children who were indentured to work in the nearby mills, and whose lives may have ultimately been cut short by this labour. Kathryn Krakowka talked with Rebecca Gowland to learn more.

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While there exist many historical records documenting this phenomenon, there remains comparatively little archaeological evidence from this period, and the exact physical impact that this labour had on children is largely unknown. Recently, however, a collaborative, community-led project between the Universities of Durham and York and volunteers from the Washburn Heritage Centre in Fewston, a small village near Harrogate in North Yorkshire, was able to shed new light on these rural pauper apprentices, highlighting just now nasty, brutish, and short their lives likely were (see CA 400).

Between 2009 and 2010, part of the churchyard of St Michael and St Lawrence in Fewston was excavated by John Buglass Archaeological Services in advance of constructing the heritage centre at the side of the church. While the graveyard was in use from the 14th century until its closure in 1896, the 300m2 section that was excavated revealed 154 graves mostly dating to the later part of its lifespan, as attested by the 19th-century dates found on some of the associated coffin plates and headstones.

This work provided the rare opportunity to learn more about a small rural area at this time, since, previously, most post-medieval cemeteries have been excavated from urban settings and predominantly from the south of the country. The discovery was particularly exciting given that the names of 22 of the individuals were known from the above-mentioned coffin plates and headstones, allowing researchers to trace the ancestry of some of the burials.

Archaeologists and students from Australia, the USA, Canada and the Netherlands have descended on a field outside the village of Ancrum.

Earlier digs have identified a "substantial" medieval building, without establishing its purpose.

Archaeologist Ian Hill said: "We are now trying to determine exactly what the building was."

Documents show that the Bishop of Glasgow, William de Bondington, had a summer residence at Ancrum, near Jedburgh, from the 1230s until his death in 1258.

The palace entertained Scots royalty with at least three charters being signed there by Alexander II in 1236.

Archaeologists from the he Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) have uncovered some ‘curious’ and ‘exciting’ finds while surveying the £10million regeneration of to the Market Square.

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Among the many medieval Market Square surfaces were fragments of medieval shoes, textiles, pottery dating from 1200 to 1350, animal bones and wood, archaeologists have also uncovered the remnants of several structures, according to WNC.

Mark Roberts, senior project manager with MOLA, said: “A fine stone building was found in the centre of the Market Square and seems to be later than most of the medieval layers. It may be a previously unknown market hall.

“We have found a stone building in the south-west dated perhaps to 1100 to 1150 and may predate the first use of area as a market in 1236.

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“We have also identified the Great Conduit of Northampton at the south of the Market Square, thought to have been built by Edward IV and documented as being repaired in 1509 – it gives its name to Conduit Lane.”

The Great Conduit and Little Conduit were constructed to deliver water to Northampton Castle which was situated nearby.