• General

    Mike Pitts

    Attribution: Taken from the ‘One & Other’ live video stream. mike pitts Archaeologist and editor of British Archaeology magazine Mike Pitts is an influential freelance archaeologist and writer who edits British Archaeology magazine (since 2003). He has also written trade books such as Fairweather Eden and Hengeworld, and has produced features for BBC History, New Scientist and American Archaeology. A novel and a non-fiction book are also in the pipeline, and Mike has also waded into the world of radio broadcasting with a historical drama for BBC Radio 4. Mike claims his love for archaeology grew from his first observation of…

  • publication

    Magic Stones: The Secret World of Ancient Megaliths

    Magic Stones: The Secret World of Ancient Megaliths by Jan Pohribny, Julian C. Richards “Magic Stones” documents, in stunning and evocative photographs, our ancestors’ obsession with stone. Throughout Europe stone has been used to create dwellings for the living and the dead, as a canvas for our earliest art, to celebrate the heavens and in ways that are still, even today, beyond our understanding. From the sun-drenched temples of Malta and the great tombs and alignments of Brittany to the labyrinths of icy Finland, this fascinating book explores these stones in their landscape, as part of nature and as a…

  • event

    Stonehenge Spring Equinox 2011

    The exact time for the Spring (or Vernal) equinox 2011 is March 20th, 23.21 UCT. The sunset on the 20th is at 6.13pm and the sunrise on the 21th of March at 6.02am. English Heritage did not confirm the date for Open Access for Stonehenge for the Spring Equinox 2011 yet, but most likely this will be dawn on the 21th of March. Expect a short period of access, from approximately 5.45am to 8.00am. Event Details Event Dates: Monday 21 March 2011 to Monday 21 February 2011 – ended ERROR – end date before start date Event Start Time: 5am Event Length:…

  • Ann

    New Clues to Welsh Origins of Stonehenge Bluestones

    The source of Stonehenge’s bluestones a distinctive set of stones that form the inner circle and inner horseshoe of Stonehenge has long been a subject of fascination and considerable controversy. In the early 1920s, one type of bluestone, the so-called spotted dolerite, was convincingly traced to the Mynydd Preseli area, in north Pembrokeshire. However, the sources of the other bluestones – chiefly rhyolites (a type of rock) and the rare sandstones remained, unknown. Now geologists at Amgueddfa Cymru, the National Museum Wales, have further identified the sources of one of the rhyolite types. The find also provides the opportunity for…

  • Ann

    Silbury Hill’s true story – construction process was more important than design

    Standing 30 metres high and 160 metres wide, Silbury Hill in England is one of the world’s largest man-made prehistoric mounds. It was constructed in the Neolithic, about 25 kilometres north from Stonehenge. Silbury Hill Construction It is estimatedtheconstruction of Silbury Hill involved half a million tonnes of material and around four million man-hours of work equivalent to about ten years for a crew of a hundred people working 7/7 for more than ten hours a day. New and more precise dating of materials found inside the hill nowsuggests the main construction happened in about 100 years, involving some three…

  • Ann

    Stonehenge Acoustics: England’s First Ministry of Sound?

    London-based nightclub Ministry’s motto of sound system first, interior design second, lights third made them one of the most famous gathering places for those who worship bass. But how did those conceptualising Stonehenge plan to enchantthe Neolithic congregate? Rupert Till, an acoustics and music technology expert, asserts the stone circle would have created a perfect (early design) amplifier – making Stonehenge the place to be from the Stone Age onwards. Professor Tillsays Stonehenge when it was in perfect shape would have worked perfectly to resonate sound, creating trance-like music which would have aided rituals and worship at the site. To…

  • prad

    BBC Dimensions Overlays Ancient Cities on Modern Maps

    An interesting concept powers a new website launched by the BBC called Dimensions, which uses data from historical sources to map the area of ancient sites such as the Long Walls of Athens, Stonehenge and the Great Library of Alexandria. The outline of these heritage sites can then be overlayed on top of any other area, so you can see the size of the ancient cities relative to where you live yourself! In a similar sort of scheme as the recent oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico (which saw the British Museum targetted as part of a protest…

  • mary-ann-craig

    Britain’s Prehistoric Funerals – Six Feet Under, or a Bronze Age Mound?

    You might never have heard of Irthlingborough, in Northamptonshire, but an excavation there in the 1980s revealed some pretty spectacular archaeology, as explained in the first of a series of HKTV videos (Watch the Video). The archaeologists found a round burial mound with cremations buried in the sides. Below the cremation burials, there was a lattice of rotted cattle bones, which had been placed on the top of a heaped stone cairn. Below the cairn was a wooden platform that had now collapsed, and below the platform, at the heart of the mound, was a chamber, with a mans body…

  • prad

    Marden Henge Excavations Reveal Prehistoric Building

    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…

  • Ann

    Neolithic Henge Discovered at Stonehenge

    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…