Pic: BBC News

A Bronze Age road has been found below Swansea’s shifting foreshore (Wales). The short section of track was discovered by a metal detector enthusiast and archaeologists have now dated it to around 4,000 years ago. Woven from narrow branches of oak and alder the structure was covered in a thin layer of brushwood to provide a level walking-surface

It was found in March when it was uncovered by storms but has since disappeared back under the marine clay. Brian Price, a member of the Swansea Metal Detecting Club, reported the discovery opposite the Brynmill area to the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust. A sample was sent to the Beta Analytic Radiocarbon Laboratory in Florida for dating and was found to be from the early Bronze Age – sometime
between 2140 and 1930 BCE.

Andrew Sherman, assistant project officer, said:

“During the early Bronze Age the climate was drier and warmer than today and the
sea level was significantly lower. The trackway was therefore probably
built through a wet, marshy environment. Because it has been eroded by
the tide it is impossible to tell whether the entire trackway was
composed of hurdles, or whether occasional hurdles were laid to cross
particularly wet patches of ground.”

The trust said there was very little evidence of Early Bronze Age
settlements in the area with lots of funeral and ritual sites such as
barrows, cairns and standing stones, but no habitation structures.

The explanation for this may simply lie in the nature of a nomadic
existence, which militates against the construction of substantial
dwellings,”

added Mr Sherman.

Source

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Pic: Zone SF

Mark Chadbourn’s Age of Misrule fantasy series set in the world of Celtic Mythology hits the US shores this June (2009). Already, the first edition is creating something of a stir. Mark Chadbourn says: Book collectors in the US are racing to snap up Pyr’s first edition of World’s End, Book One of the Age of Misrule, I’m told. A printer’s error resulted in the Pyr logo being left off the spine. It will be corrected for the forthcoming second edition, making those first Pyr-less copies unique and – apparently – collectable.             His current fantasy trilogy, The Age of Misrule (World’s End, Darkest Hour and Always Forever) has received acclaim not only for its detail, but also for its academic research, states his website.

An expert on British Folklore, Mark also studied volumes of research on prehistoric Britain, including the sites of Stonehenge, Avebury and Tintagel, as well as Celtic culture and neolithic life. He spent six months on the road touring Britain, mapping out a detailed path for his characters to follow, including not only famous historical sites, but also industrial estates, pubs, cafes, shopping centres and more. It’s possible to use these three volumes as a travel guide to the UK. Continue Reading »

Pic: Walking Inishowen

An ancient underground chamber which could date back 2,000 years has been unearthed near Clonmany in Inishowen reports the Derry Journal. Discovered by Clonmany man Sean Devlin, the previously unrecorded structure appears to be an underground tunnel or souterrain. Mr Devlin revealed yesterday that he first discovered the underground chamber several  years ago while landscaping his front garden, but didn’t make much of a fuss about his amazing find at the time.

 The historic significance of the tunnel only became apparent recently after Mr Devlin showed it to amateur archaeologist friends. Mr Devlin, owner of Devlin’s Fireplaces in Bridgend, told the ‘Journal’:

I knew it was an exciting find and I did show it to some people but never to any real experts. I had been doing my lawn and dug it out accidentally with a digger. It was a big round circle with a tiny dark tunnel leading off it which seems to go quite far. Continue Reading »