ripple flaked arrowhead, An Update on the dig at Marden Henge – Archaeologists have uncovered a 4,500 year old dwelling! According to the BBC, English Heritage volunteer archaeologist Jim Leary was excited by the discovery, saying “It’s exceeded all of our expectations”. The dwelling appears to have been constructed between 2500BC-2400BC and appears to be different to a normal home, with Leary suggesting it may have been a priest’s quarters. The finds echo those discovered a couple of years ago at Durrington Walls where several neolithic dwellings were also discovered. The newly discovered dwelling at Marden Henge, Wiltshire included an…
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A second henge has been discovered near Stonehenge, less than one kilometre away from the iconic stone circle. A cutting edge archaeological survey (view images), part of the ‘Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project‘ has uncovered the henge-like monument. Because of the circular monument’s shape, the archaeologists believe the henge to be contemporary to Stonehenge. The henge comprises of a segmented ditch, surrounded by a ring of pits up to one metre in diameter. It is possible the pits held a free-standing timber structure and inside the circle is a burial mound, which was added later. With two entrances on the north-east…
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The Venus of Orkney, a 4,500-year-old Neolithic sandstone figurine hailed as Scotland’s earliest depiction of a human face, has been a darling of British archaeology since it was excavated last year on the remote island of Westray. Now, the Venus, which earned a nomination at the recent British Archaeology Awards, will have to share the limelight archaeologists at the Links of Noltland site on Westray have uncovered a second remarkable Neolithic figurine, less than 100 feet from where the Venus was discovered. Like the Venus, the recently excavated figurine is a tiny, delicate pendant-like figurine. Standing less than two inches…
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Archaeologists excavating in the Guatamalanjunglehave discovered a royal tomb, filled with colourful 1,600-year-old Mayan artefacts, beneath the El Diablo pyramid. The well preserved tombis packed with carvings, ceramics, textiles, and the bones of six children, possibly the remains of a human sacrifice. The archaeological team, led by Stephen Houston, professor of anthropology at Brown University, uncovered the tomb beneath the El Diablo pyramid in the city of El Zots, Guatamalain May. Last week, the discovery of the tomb, dated to between 350 and 400AD, was made public. Houston said the first pointer to the discovery was something odd in the…
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More than 300 looted antiquities, estimated to be worth more than EUR15 million, were displayed to the press this morning in Rome, having been repatriated to Italy after they were discovered in a warehouse in Switzerland. It was a scene slightly reminiscent of a Victorian detective novel, in which the robber and his looted candlesticks is unveiled before an impressed gathering of country house guests. Only today’s unveiling took place inside the Colosseum rather than on the pages of a 19th century novel and while there was no criminal present, there was plenty of loot, which consisted of objects such…
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A unique piece of 4,500-year-old rock art has been unearthed in the Cambridgeshire village of Over. The prehistoric slab of sandstone is unlike anything previously found in Eastern England. The hand-sized neolithic artefact, which possible dates back as far as 2,500 BC, was found at Needingworth Quarry by Open University student Susie Sinclair. Intothe stone’ssurface, two pair of concentric circles are etched, typical of late Neolithic ‘Grooved Ware’ art. Researchers do not know if the motif represents a type of meaningful art, or if it is nothing more than Neolithic doodling. Examples of similar Grooved Ware art have been discovered…
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The BBC has officially announced its TVschedule for this autumn and winter, promising its audience a big focus on history, with new programmes and new presenters. What to expect from the Beeb this autumn and winter, when the rain and cold keeps you locked into your home? The autumn & winter 2010/2011 programming includes ‘Behind Closed Doors’ with Amanda Vickery, ‘The Do-Gooders’ with Ian Hislop and programming to mark the Battle of Britain’s 70th anniversary, with a drama-documentary based on Geoffrey Wellum’s book, First Light. Ancient history specials served on these coldand dark winter nights will be ‘Pompeii’with Mary Beard,…
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Archaeologists excavating at Ahnasia in Upper Egypt, have unearthed the remains of a 3,300-year-old temple built by pharaoh Ramesses the Great. According to a statement released by the SCA, excavations at Ahnasia, an archaeological area in Beni-Suef, recently uncovered remains of a temple that can be dated to the reign of 19th Dynastyking Ramesses II . Dr. Sabri Abdel Aziz, Head of the Pharaonic Sector in the SCA, said that inside the remains of the New Kingdom temple, excavators uncovered ten cartouches of Ramesses II and beneath them a relief saying that the ruler had ordered the construction of this…
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An Italian study of the plaster casts of the 79 AD Vesuvius eruption victims showsmost were not suffocated by ash, as is often assumed. Neither were they knocked down by fast-moving currents of hot gas. Rather, the extreme heat was the main cause of the instantaneous deaths at Pompeii. At temperatures up to 300C, the unfortunate citizens, including those seeking shelter inside buildings, were cooked alive. Italy, 79 AD. Vesuvius erupts, throwing up a high-altitude column from which ash began to fall, blanketing Pompeii and surrounding areas, and creating an invaluable archaeological record,preserved for almost 2,000 years. It is estimated…
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Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, the multi-millionaire musical impresario, has expressed a wish to purchase Highclere Castle, near Newbury, Berkshire. The Victorian castle has been the family seat of the Carnarvons since the 1670s, and was home to the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, who funded Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun‘s tomb (watch the video). Andrew Lloyd Webber’s offer came after the current Earl applied for permission to sell pieces of land on the fringes of the Highclere estate in the hope of raising 11 million to fund badly-needed repair works to the Victorian mansion. In a letter sent to the Earl…