The Orkney Temple Pic: BBC

On New Year’s Day, the BBC showed a program in the History of Britain series with Neil Oliver about the newly-discovered 5,000 year old Temple on Orkney. Built 500 years before the iconic monument of Stonehenge. The temple is opening new windows onto the beliefs of Neolithic people, turning the map of ancient Britain upside down. This is a vast site of undisturbed archaeology, set within one of the most important ancient landscapes in the world.

Already the site is revealing a series of incredible finds including the first ever discovery of Neolithic painted wall decorations, and even the pigments and paint pots used by Stone Age artists.

All the new archaeological evidence, and the wonders of special effects, has now been used to create a 3-D world of the entire temple, allowing Neil to walk inside in a bid to understand just how it might have been used. [BBC]

More amazing clips from this series can be found in the series clips library on the BBC website.

The Ness of Brodgar

The Daily Mail reports that a 5000-year-old temple in Orkney could be more important than Stonehenge, according to archaeologists. The site, known as the Ness of Brodgar, was investigated by BBC2 documentary A History of Ancient Britain, with presenter Neil Oliver describing it as ‘the discovery of a lifetime’.

So far the remains of 14 Stone Age buildings have been excavated, but thermal geophysics technology has revealed that there are 100 altogether, forming a kind of temple precinct. Until now Stonehenge was considered to have been the centre of Neolithic culture, but that title may now go to the Orkney site, which contains Britain’s earliest known wall paintings.

Oliver said:

‘The excavation of a vast network of buildings on Orkney is allowing us to recreate an entire Stone Age world.

‘It’s opening a window onto the mysteries of Neolithic religion.’

Experts believe that the site will give us insights into what Neolithic people believed about the world and the universe.

Nick Card, an archaeologist from the University of the Highlands and Islands, said:

‘It’s an archaeologist’s dream site. The excitement of the site never fades. This site is a one-off.’

Professor Mark Edmonds from the University of York, meanwhile, describes the excavation as ‘a site of international importance’.

Some parts of the temple are 800 years older than Stonehenge, which lies 500 miles to the south in Wiltshire.

The site is very close to the Ring of Brodgar stone circle and the standing stones of Stenness and is surrounded by a wall believed to have been 10-feet high.

Read more and see the incredible pictures at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2081254/Stone-Age-temple-Orkney-significant-Stonehenge.html#ixzz1j9UX5jHY

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Hazel Down Lynchets Pic: University of Oxford

The University of Oxford’s website tells us :A new five-year project has been announced looking at the history of the English landscape from the middle Bronze Age to the Norman period. The English landscape of fields, trackways and settlements is an ancient one.  While much has changed over the 3,500 years since the agricultural landscape was laid out, surprising continuities exist. ‘The English Landscapes and Identities project’ will use a mass of mapped data for the period from the middle Bronze Age to the Domesday Book (AD1086) to explore continuities and changes in the use of the land in different parts of England

The results will be publicly available on a website to be called ‘A Portal to the Past’, which is being created by the School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford. The project with funding of €2 million from the ERC (European Research Council) will not only map the whole of England, but also allow the research team to collect and analyse huge amounts of digital data – on a scale never attempted before.

The five-year project run by The School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford, will take as its starting point the middle Bronze Age when a settled agricultural landscape was laid out in England for the first time. It will then chart changes under the Iron Age inhabitants, the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, and up to the arrival of the Normans under William the Conqueror, who commissioned the famous Domesday Book of AD1086, a country-wide survey providing a wealth of information about life in England at the time.

English Heritage has used aerial photographs of over half of England showing ancient sites of interest and this will form the basis for the project.  Material will also be drawn from county archives, databases of ancient coins, and the Portable Antiquity Scheme (which records the archaeological finds made by metal detectors). Oxford researchers will also work with the British Museum, the Archaeology Data Service and local history experts with a good knowledge of the period to draw together the different regional histories and analyse what variations existed and why.

English Heritage has used aerial photographs of over half of England showing ancient sites of interest and this will form the basis for the project.  Material will also be drawn from county archives, databases of ancient coins, and the Portable Antiquity Scheme (which records the archaeological finds made by metal detectors). Oxford researchers will also work with the British Museum, the Archaeology Data Service and local history experts with a good knowledge of the period to draw together the different regional histories and analyse what variations existed and why.

Principal investigator Professor Chris Gosden, from the School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford, said:

‘England is extraordinary in the level of information about the ancient landscape. We want to discover what this huge database of information on ancient sites can reveal about England at a national level. Until now we have had fragments of information about landscape use during this period but this project allows us to form a bigger picture of overall patterns and regional variations within England.

‘Variety characterises the English landscape, with dispersed settlements in the south-west and north-west contrasting with more clustered settlements in the Midlands and elsewhere. The project will also provide the public for the first time with online access to a wealth of archaeological information about any part of England.’

Eighteen areas of the country have been picked out as case studies demonstrating how land was commonly used in the past. For example, in the Upper Thames Valley patterns of ancient field settlements are still evident in the landscape today. The researchers will also carry out new research to link distributions of metalwork and landscape forms.  In East Anglia a much metalwork was deposited by ancient communities and the researchers want to find out where on the landscape such deposits were made and whether this indicates that these were gifts to the gods or deposited for more pragmatic  reasons.

Oxford University’s School of Archaeology is collaborating with the University’s e-Research Centre to create this ambitious website, providing access to maps and databases on artefacts. John Pybus from the e-Research Centre said: ‘We are developing software to allow people to query the huge mass of archaeological data out there. Our software should allow cross-referencing and an ability to map national patterns in land use on a scale never attempted before. This will allow for a new understanding of archaeology at a local and national level.’

The Portal to the Past website is expected to go live in 2014. It will be available through the University of Oxford School of Archaeology website.

Source

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Descripition Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Appbrain at http://www.appbrain.com/app/celtic-myth-show/tv.wizzard.android.celticmythpodshow841 or by using the QR code opposite.
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Maiden Castle in Dorset Pic: AllEmpires.net

The desirability of a view is not new. Ancient peoples valued them as much as we do! The ability see a long distance over water or land today is visually aesthetic, a sought after asset giving pleasure to the owners. In earlier centuries it was defence. Small populations organised the building of forts overlooking a distant expanse in order to protect themselves from invaders.

That odd looking bump on a hill in the British countryside could well be a hill fort. A hill upon a hill, covered now in grass and trees.

The earliest hill forts in Britain are of the Bronze Age which is about three to four thousand years ago. Mostly these forts are of the following Iron Age which lasted until the Roman invasion.

(The population of Britain at the time of the Roman invasion would be around the four million mark. Sparsely populated by today’s standards.)

The Romans found some of the forts useful and took them over, others were abandoned. Quite a few were taken over again after the Romans left and Celts and Saxons fought over them. King Alfred the Great repaired and reorganised many in southwest England as camps and way stations along herepaths (military roads) in his campaign against the Vikings.

Many of these forts can still be seen and visited being protected by English Heritage or The National Trust. The largest and the most intricate in Europe is Maiden Castle in Dorset started well over 6000 years ago in Neolithic times, well before the Bronze Age. It is still in use today as a major tourist attraction.

A major battle took place here between the Romans under their great general, Vespasian, and the obdurate Celts. Dorchester Museum has the story and the artefacts. It must have been a terrible battle. Stand in the middle of the fort and just imagine that Durotrige Tribe trying to defend their home against a highly organised army. They did not let it go easily, but it was not built for that warfare. Nor did they have the weapons the Romans did.

The actual management needed to build those forts and keep them repaired would have been considerable whether it was a small one for the defence of a local population or a large one in a vulnerable or important position. All done by hand, no machines!

Everyone must have had to do their bit. Obviously they were built over time, gradually adding to the defences as needs arose. Time for many of these forts was centuries. Generation after generation called these structures home and added their contribution.

Some forts are actually animal enclosures, farmers feeding and protecting their herds and flocks.

Typically the hill fort is a complex and sometimes elaborate earthwork following the curves of the chosen site. They are sited so that the best view of the surrounding countryside is obtained in order to see the enemy coming and so be prepared for attack.

How big they were depended on whether the fort had to defend a small settlement, or in times of real trouble most of the tribe.

Not all are on the tops of actual hills, some are on ridges with steep slopes, very hard to attack. Two or more major tracks or major rivers leading to a settlement would be another. Perhaps protected by marshland or other natural obstacle. On the coast it was necessary to defend the shore from attack from the sea, here hill forts can be found on cliffs.

Most are multipart compounds with lines and circles of massive earthen ramparts. Stockades made of upright logs with sharpened spikes harvested from the local forest were used for further defence. The logs were placed side by side and stood right round the fort.

In later times a few forts had mud covering to the stockade to protect from the elements as well. Even later if the materials were to hand, stone walls were created. Might have spoilt the view however. Sentries perhaps? Certainly the beginnings of the castles. Some are known as castles.

Ditches, probably from where the earth had been taken, surrounded the stockade. This suggests considerable planning and working out of the whole site through the ages. Do not discount the wisdom of the ancients! Marvel at it. Marvel too at their industry.

That these forts were successful for their purpose is evident. The techniques lasted so long and over two thousand have been found in the country. Over one hundred of the larger, more important sites have been excavated.

Copyright Mary Temple 2009.

To find out more about Wessex, cycling, walking or holidaying in this lovely area please visit http://www.travelwessex.com/.

Author: Mary Temple
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Digital economy, mobile technology

Pic: Bronze Age Bressay

News at the Scotsman.com reports that a Bronze Age structure thought to have been used as a sauna has been saved from destruction by the sea after a team of archaeologists moved the entire find to a safer location. The building, which dates from between 1500BC and 1200BC, was unearthed on the Shetland island of Bressay eight years ago. It was found in the heart of the Burnt Mound at Cruester, a Bronze Age site on the coast of Bressay facing Lerwick.

But earlier this summer (2008), because of the increased threat of coastal erosion, local historians joined archaeologists to launch a campaign to save the building and to move it somewhere safer. A third of the mound had already been lost to sea erosion.

The central structure was carefully dismantled and each stone numbered before being moved to a site a mile way next to Bressay Heritage Centre.

And today (23/8/2008), following the completion of the unusual removal scheme, the Bronze Age building will be officially opened at its new location by Tavish Scott, the MSP for Shetland. Douglas Coutts, the project officer with Bressay History Group, said the structure was one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever made in the Northern Isles.

The building was hidden in a mound of burnt stones and is thought to have been used for feasts, baths or even saunas. The structure comprises a series of dry-stone, walled cells, connected by two corridors. At the end of one corridor is a hearth cell, thought to have been used for heating stones, and at the other end is a tank sunk into the ground which is almost two metres long, more than a metre wide, and half a metre deep.

Pic:Bronze Age Bressay

Mr Coutts said:

Burnt mounds don’t usually consist of very much more than a hearth and a tank and a heap of burnt stones. But in Shetland, we seem to have much more complex structures with little rooms or cells leading off from a main passageway which connects the hearth and tank.

He added:

We think these cells may have originally been roofed over in a beehive shape. One theory is that these structures may have been used for cooking meat or tanning hides. But it is possible they could have raised steam by heating the water and that these little cells could have been used as saunas.

Tom Dawson, a researcher at St Andrews University who also worked on the removal project, said coastal erosion was threatening thousands of archaeological sites around Scotland.

The local group here came up with a novel idea for dealing with the problem. It is great to have had the chance to give new life to this particular site and make it accessible to future generations, while also learning something new, not just about Cruester, but about burnt mounds in general.

This structure is important in world terms. There are thousands of burnt mounds in Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia but only a handful are known to have structures within them.

Mr Scott praised the partnership between the local history group and outside archaeological bodies.

He said:

This exhibition will be a great asset for visitors to Bressay and local people. The more we understand about the past, the better informed we are about the future.

[Source]

Look out tomorrow for more details on how the re-construction of the Burnt Mound is helping Education in 2009.

Pic: BBC

Skara Brae is a Stone Age village of subterranean houses abandoned 5,000 years ago – now tourists travel from all over the world to Skara Brae to get a 3D glimpse of what Neolithic life might have been like. They see remarkably well preserved and well ordered homes, each with a dresser, beds, a hearth, and underground passageways linking one house to another. All that’s missing are the roofs. Skara Brae in Orkney is just a few metres from the sea and it is a constant battle to save it from coastal erosion reports the BBC.

What remains is made of stone and that’s part of the reason Skara Brae has survived so long. The other is that when the village emptied of people it was slowly covered over by grass and sand.

For thousands of years it was hidden from view and protected from the harsh island weather, and it is that weather whipping up the sea nearby which is still Skara Brae’s greatest threat.

Orkney archaeologist Julie Gibson says recent geophysics have uncovered more of the village a short distance inland, but adds:

We don’t know exactly how much has disappeared into the sea over the years before proper coastal defences were put in.

Skara Brae will always be protected, but take a walk a little further down the beach and there’s a good illustration of the threat to other unprotected and unexcavated historic sites.

Scotland has thousands of historic sites around its coastline. Archaeologists would like to document as many as possible before coastal erosion washes some away, but some are already disappearing.

Read the full story on the BBC website.

Pic: Dun Dornagill Broch by orionforumpics

Scotsman.com tells us: Discovered only 13 years ago, the remarkably preserved ancient settlement at Old Scatness on Shetland (Scotland) forced experts to completely rewrite the history of Iron Age Britain. Old Scatness Broch, a mile from Sumburgh Head, was a pristine time capsule which enabled archaeologists to date the chronology of an Iron Age site in northern Europe with unprecedented accuracy. It has now been revealed that ambitious plans are being championed by the Shetland Amenity Trust to turn Old Scatness into a world-class heritage centre in a boost for the tourism industry on the islands.

The site is currently open to the public for a only limited season and large parts have to be covered up during the winter to protect it from the elements. But the trust aims to transform the settlement into a year-round visitor attraction with the addition of a dome-shaped building with a grass roof. Jimmy Moncrieff, the general manager of the amenity trust, said:

“This project could be huge for Shetland. There is nothing else like it anywhere in Britain; Old Scatness is the best preserved Iron Age village in Europe and the jewel in the crown of archaeological Shetland.”

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Originally posted 2009-02-05 05:58:26. Republished by Blog Post Promoter