Medieval Boat

Medieval boat uncovered
ARCHAEOLOGISTS working on the north Suffolk coast have unearthed an early medieval boat.

Excavations being carried out in Sizewell in advance of the onshore works for the Greater Gabbard Wind Farm unearthed the remains of the craft.

The boat, which was probably a small inshore fishing vessel, had been broken up some time between the 12th and 14th Centuries and parts of the hull re-used to create a timber lining for a well, experts said.

The waterlogged conditions has ensured that the planks are very well preserved and this will allow archaeologists a rare opportunity for study. Although much more modest, the boat was constructed using the same techniques as the great Sutton Hoo ships.

The excavations are being undertaken by Suffolk County Council’s Archaeological Service and a council spokesman said: “It is clinker-built with the planks joined together along their edges with closely spaced iron rivets before being attached to the boat frame with wooden pegs; and there is evidence of luting, wool like fibres between the planks to seal the joints.

“It is hoped that tree-ring dating will provide an accurate date for the boat.”

Lisa Chambers, Suffolk County Council’s portfolio holder for economic and cultural development, said: “This is an extremely exciting find and gives us a rare opportunity to find out more about life in our county during medieval times.”

The site would have been part of the property of Leiston Abbey and is located outside Sizewell, which was an urban centre during the medieval period.

The site follows the edge of a low-lying channel, which would have formed a fresh water lagoon and would have been the focus for industrial activities.

Evidence of timber buildings, hearths and wood-lined water pits have been found clustered at the channel’s edge.

The spokesman added: “Hemp retting for the manufacture of linen and rope is known to have taken place in the area. This is a noxious process as there is documentary evidence of practitioners being fined for fouling the water.”

Finds include a wide range of pottery, dating from the 12th to 14th Centuries, part of a wooden platter, animal bones and various personal items such as buckles and clothing fasteners. Fishing hooks, weights and fish bones have also been found.

On the higher ground a large aisled barn, measuring 16m x 5m, and groups of external ovens suggest to archaeologists that the drying and storage of grain was also taking place.

The dig is being jointly funded by Greater Gabbard Off Shore Winds Ltd and South East Electricity Substation Alliance, a partnership between National Grid and construction companies AREVA, Skanska and Mott MacDonald.

EADT

Newport medieval ship

Nevern Castle

Dig history at Nevern Castle

Visitors to Nevern Castle, Pembrokeshire, will have the chance to dig up ancient history and intrigue this coming week.

A two-week dig, organised by Nevern Community Council, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and Dr Chris Caple, of the University of Durham, began today Sunday.

On the final day, Thursday July 3, visitors are invited to find out what has been happening on site during an open evening run by the community council.

Phil Bennett, Archaeological Heritage Manager at the National Park Authority, says the whole of the Nevern area has a fascinating history, with everything from battles to pilgrimages to an ancient Irish script called Ogam [or ogham].

He said: “We are hoping the dig will help us fill in some historical gaps. In the church of St Brynach below the castle there are two inscribed stones that relate to important people in the 5th or 6th century, so the chances are Nevern Castle was an important Welsh site before the Normans were recorded as building the castle in the early 12th century.”

The castle, a scheduled ancient monument, is owned by Nevern Community Council.

It is a motte and bailey (a large mound, topped by a tower, with the bailey being the encircling defences) and built on what was probably an Iron Age promontory fort.

The council secured a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to produce a leaflet with the National Park Authority on a historic trail around Nevern village, which includes the castle. It is hoped the dig findings will give visitors even more information.

Phil Bennett added: “We know from anecdotal evidence that thousands visit the church, but not so many go to the castle – yet the castle is a huge part of the Nevern story and one that we want to help tell.”

Archaeology students are part of the dig team along with archaeologist Dr Caple. If the dig is a success, a bigger excavation will take place in future.

The dig is open to the public on Thursday at 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

Update on dig close:  Exciting finds as Nevern dig ends

London Skeleton Map

Museum of London’s skeleton key to the bodies under city’s streets

Tens of thousands of skeletons that lie hidden beneath the streets, houses and offices of London have been revealed for the first time on a map, in a collaboration between the Museum of London and The Times.
The electronic map allows readers to zoom in on streets to see how many bodies they walk over on the way to work. It pinpoints the location of many of the 37,000 skeletons the museum found in the capital. Curators have kept 17,000 of these in storage at the museum’s headquarters in Central London, but reinterred the rest.
The map is available in the UK news section of Times Online.
The skeletons on the map represent only a fraction of the number of bodies lying beneath the city. They were discovered when buildings were demolished and new foundations dug.
The 26 skeletons with the most fascinating stories will be put on display at the Wellcome Collection in London. The most gruesome example is the skeleton of a young woman who died around the beginning of the 19th century. She had such severe syphilis that her skull still bears the scars of where the disease entered her bones.
Bill White, senior curator of the museum’s bio-archaeology department, said that the woman would have had open sores on her forehead. “By that time she would have been out of her mind, so she wouldn’t have known much about it,” he said. “She was in her twenties when she died. We think she may have been a prostitute, because Southwark, where she was found, was well known for prostitution at the time.” She also suffered from rickets, probably from being kept indoors away from sunlight as a child, and had chronic tooth decay.
Another skeleton was found with a metal spike lodged in its spine. Its owner, a man who was buried in Smithfield, East London, in about 1350, was probably hit with an arrow or spear, but the attack did not kill him. He survived only to catch bubonic plague in his late thirties or early forties. “Somehow the injury didn’t cause an infection,” Mr White said. “The body has reacted by building bone around the projectile. He survived for months or possibly years. He was found in a large plot of land set aside for burying victims of the Black Death.” It is not known why the man was attacked, but it is thought that he may have been a soldier in the Hundred Years War.
Nicholas Adams, whose remains were discovered in Chelsea, led a more charmed life and died in 1827, aged 78, with a full head of hair. The hair is still attached to the skull, kept in place by a hairnet placed on it by curators.
Archaeologists exploring the Chelsea graveyard also discovered the Hand brothers, imaginatively named Richard Gideon and Gideon Richard, whose family invented the Chelsea Bun. Richard Gideon, whose skeleton will not be in the exhibition, was an officer in the Staffordshire militia and known to his men as “Captain Bun”. To his neighbours in Chelsea he was seen as a bit of an eccentric. “He used to go around in a fez and a long gown,” said Jelena Bekvalac, an osteologist at the museum.
Archaeologists who unearth the skeletons occasionally take fright when they discover bodies. Mr White said: “At Christchurch in Spitalfields they found someone with smallpox scars in soft tissue. They dropped it and ran away. They sent it to one of the two laboratories in the world that can deal with smallpox.” The labs said that smallpox spores were present, but not enough to be a danger.
It is now routine to rebury unbreached lead-lined coffins without opening them in case the disease that killed the occupant is still a threat.
The Wellcome Collection exhibition will also feature a skull with green teeth, which came from a woman in her thirties who was buried near the Royal Mint. Copper deposits from the mint leached into the soil and stained skeletons buried beneath. Skeletons are usually off-white, but minerals and moulds mean that purple and black bones have also been found.
Unfortunately, the public will not get a chance to see one of the most bizarre finds. Archaeologists exploring a graveyard at St Pancras stumbled across a coffin containing a mysterious set of bones. They were later identified as belonging to a walrus. An explanation for the animal’s dignified burial has not yet surfaced.
— The exhibiton takes place at the Wellcome Collection, London NW1, from July 23 to September 28.

Neolithic IOM

Excitement at Ronaldsway excavations

The Neolithic site being excavated near the airport runway is continuing to excite those working on it.

Although still at a relatively early stage, a number of items have already been discovered; most significantly two human skulls, which are extremely rare to find here.

Archaeologists think one of these could still be attached to the full skeleton of someone buried there around 5000 years ago.

Manx National Heritage Field Archaeologist Andy Johnson says the conditions down at Ronaldsway are unique among ancient sites here on the Island :

Ensuring the airport runs smoothly – with all the security issues – while hosting one of the Island’s biggest construction sites – is something of a headache for the management team.

But Airport Director Anne Reynolds says so far – so good.

She says all involved – from contractors to archaeologists – are working together brilliantly.

And Mrs Reynolds says there was always a strong possibility of unearthing ancient remains.

Another big find at Ronaldsway : Audiofile and pic

Update: 30th June : includes Video footage

Newbury 12th-century well

Archaeologists digging in Newbury’s Park Way have found a 12th century well and shards of pottery
ARCHAEOLOGISTS excavating the site of Newbury’s Park Way development have uncovered 12th century finds.
The dig site at the rear of Marks and Spencer has unearthed a well preserved wooden barrel that had been buried to act as a shallow well and could date back as far as the 12th century.
Oxford Archaeology project manager for the dig, Steve Lawrence, said the barrel had survived intact because it had been submerged in water which stopped the normal decay process.
Shards of pottery and animal bone waste, including the thigh bone of a horse, have also been found in Park Way at the back of what is believed to have been Jack of Newbury’s house, a wealthy cloth merchant who once dined with Henry VIII.
Ditch and fence boundaries dating from the late 12th century have also been discovered at the site.
“Essentially all of the modern boundaries that can be seen as short walls, fences and kerbs between the car parks and alike reflect the survival of these ownership boundaries for over 800 years,” said Mr Lawrence.
The original ditch boundaries are now buried by 1.5metres of soil, which was dumped within the ‘back garden’ plots to raise the ground above what was a wet low lying area. An old water course would have run behind the Park Way properties in the 15th century before giving way to marsh land where Victoria Park currently stands.
Mr Lawrence said the pottery found helps date when each ditch was last used whilst the animal bone can provide evidence for specific crafts or trades in that area.
A series of trenches dug in 2005 at the back of Marks and Spencer unearthed a 15th century medieval leather tanning pit and a few medieval yard services.
The team of archaeologists have now finished digging in the first area of excavation to the rear of Marks and Spencer.

Andover Museum: Anglo-Saxon hanging bowl

Person Victoria Park

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Chichester Baths update

Update about Roman Baths dig

Excitement at city Roman baths site
Archaelogists have descended on a Chichester city-centre car park to check the condition of the Roman baths buried underneath. The temporary uncovering of the baths at the site in Tower Street is giving visitors a taste of what they can expect to see when the proposed Chichester District Museum is built there.

It is the first time the remains have seen the light of day in 17 years.

Workers have found the baths to be in ‘excellent’ condition with little or no deterioration since they were first discovered in the 1970s by Chichester archaeologist Alec Down and his team of volunteers.

A spokesman for Chichester District Council said: “Project conservationists have drilled to take discrete samples of brick and mortar and these will be analysed for moisture and salt content so a suitable preservational display environment can be designed.

“Given the very good state of preservation, it appears the remains can easily, though with care, form a permanent display.

“The Roman sewer that runs through the site has been re-opened and intensively sampled.

“Archaeologically, this aspect of the investigation is very exciting as during earlier excavations, relatively few environmental samples were taken.

“The application of new analytical techniques applied to newly-recovered samples will allow parasite eggs, seed cases and other classes of environmental remains to be examined, and from these, we can reconstruct aspects of the Chichester Romans’ health and diet.”

Archaeologists found the 1970 and 1990 excavations plans and details to be accurate to within about 2cm-3cm, allowing plans of known archaeology to be rectified.

Plans to millimetre accuracy will be supplied to engineers and architects of the new museum.

The car park is closed while the work is undertaken but the lower, larger part of it will be re-opened next week when it is complete.

The upper area will remain shut to protect the remains.

Beedings, Pulborough

Neanderthal mystery in Pulborough
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL excavation at a site near Pulborough has thrown remarkable new light on the life of northern Europe’s last Neanderthals.
It provides a snapshot of a thriving, developing population rather than communities on the verge of extinction.

Tools discovered at the site are technologically advanced and potentially older than tools in Britain belonging to our own species, homo sapiens, according to the team leader Dr Matthew Pope of Archaeology South East based at the UCL Institute of Archaeology.

“It is exciting to think there is a real possibility these were left by some of the last Neanderthal hunting groups to occupy northern Europe.

The impression they give is of a population in complete command of both landscape and natural raw materials with a flourishing technology – not a people on the edge of extinction.”

The team, funded by English Heritage, is undertaking the first modern, scientific investigation of the site since its original discovery in 1900. During the construction of a monumental house known as Beedings, some 2,300 perfectly preserved stone tools were removed from fissures encountered in the foundation trenches.

Only recently were the tools recognised for their importance. Research by Roger Jacobi of the Leverhulme-funded Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) Project showed conclusively that the Beedings material has strong affinities with other tools from northern Europe dating back to between 35,000 and 42,000 years ago.

The collection of tools from Beedings is more diverse and extensive than any other found in the region and offers the best insight into the technologically advanced cultures which occupied Northern Europe before the accepted appearance of our own species.

Dr Pope said: “Dr Jacobi’s work showed the clear importance of the site. The exceptional collection of tools appears to represent the sophisticated hunting kit of Neanderthal populations which were only a few millennia from complete disappearance in the region.

“Unlike earlier, more typical Neanderthal tools these were made with long, straight blades – blades which were then turned into a variety of bone and hide processing implements, as well as lethal spear points.

“There were some questions about the validity of the earlier find but our excavations have proved beyond doubt that the material discovered here was genuine and originated from fissures within the local sandstone.

“We also discovered older, more typical Neanderthal tools, deeper in the fissure. Clearly, Neanderthal hunters were drawn to the hill over a long period of time, presumably for excellent views of the game-herds grazing on the plains below the ridge.”

The excavations suggest the site may not be unique. Similar sites with comparable fissure systems are thought to exist across south east England. The project now aims to prospect more widely across the region for similar sites.

Barney Sloane, head of historic environment commissions at English Heritage, said: “Sites such as this are extremely rare and a relatively little-considered archaeological resource.

“Their remains sit at a key watershed in the evolutionary history of northern Europe. The tools at Beedings could equally be the signature of pioneer populations of modern humans, or traces of the last Neanderthal hunting groups to occupy the region.

“This study offers a rare chance to answer some crucial questions about just how technologically advanced Neanderthals were, and how they compare with our own species.”

The project, which has been running with the assistance of the landowners since February 2008, has been directed by Dr Pope and Caroline Wells of Sussex Archaeological Society, working closely with specialists from the Boxgrove Project and the Worthing Archaeological Society.

Dr Pope was on BBC’s Breakfast programme this morning with some of the artefacts.

Science News picture

Person Roger Jacobi

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The Calderstones

City’s past set in stones

MILLENNIA before Liverpool was given its name – never mind the charter that would allow it to grow into a great port or the Capital of Culture title that would secure its future – its people scratched markings on to boulders and shaped them into a great tomb.
Whole eras came and went, yet the Calderstones remained standing, one of the few consistencies between descriptions of the area from as early as the 16th century and today.
These days they are kept, for safety, in a glasshouse in Calderstones Park, not far from where their neolithic owners had first placed them.
After centuries of speculation, National Museums Liverpool (NML) and the Merseyside Archaeological Society have joined forces in a book about the stones’ origin.
Dave Roberts, 55, a member of the society, explains: “It is a reprint of one that NML’s curator of prehistoric archaeology, Ron Cowell, wrote in 1984. When the archaeological society got a grant for a project on Calderstones Park recently, we decided to bring the book up to date.”
The stones are all that remain of a 5,000-year-old Neolithic burial tomb that was destroyed in the 19th century.
“We had two archaeological professors, George Nash and Adam Stanford, who did a new survey of the Calderstones with digital cameras, and we used the photos in place of the book’s original line drawings,” says Dave.
The Calderstones: a Prehistoric Tomb in Liverpool investigates how the stones came into existence using tombs from Ireland and Wales as evidence of their purpose. It also includes an analysis of the patterns and carvings engraved on them.
“The markings are based on spirals and circles and the place you’d normally find these are on burial chambers. These are mostly in Ireland and they show some kind of link between the Irish Sea and the Mersey,” explains Ron Cowell, 58.
“As for the markings themselves, everyone has an opinion. They are something to do with rituals, ceremonies and beliefs carried out around the ceremonial monument.”
Although the more common markings on the Calderstones are spirals, there is also evidence of footprints and single and multiple lines. Footprints have also been found on stones and tombs as far away as Scandinavia.
As far as the new survey was concerned, a lot of the information uncovered was common knowledge to the archaeological team.
The surviving stones were set into the ground in the Harthill greenhouses at Calderstones Park in 1964, where they are laid out in a circle, but Ron is quick to warn people that the way they currently stand is no reflection of their history.
“People think they actually make up a stone circle, but they don’t. These stones have different purposes, and a stone circle is a much different kind of monument,” he says.
The exact history, as much as knowledge and records will allow, gives an insight into why these stones are so important to the city.
“Only a few people were ever allowed in the tomb at one time,” Ron continues. “They mediated between the body and the crowd outside. It was so dark inside that they needed lamps and torches.”
This was something the archaeological society discovered when they undertook their new survey last year. The lack of natural light was of benefit to the team, however, as it made it easier to discover more patterns.
Ron says: “When the light falls on the stones in certain ways, you can see markings much clearer.
“Liverpool was one of the first communities we know of, big in terms of the number of people settling down. The difference in outlooks, beliefs and the way of life can be seen in Liverpool’s earliest monument.”
THE Calderstones – A Prehistoric Tomb in Liverpool is priced £2.50 from Merseyside Archaeological Society, 3 Carlton Avenue, Mossley Hill, Liverpool L18 1EL

Person Adam Stanford

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Rushen Abbey

More Manx archaeology:

Digging for the truth at Rushen Abbey

THE protective covers are coming off at Rushen Abbey as archaeologists gear up for their annual excavations at the Island’s most important religious site. Archaeologists from the Centre for Manx Studies, on behalf of Manx National Heritage, along with local volunteers, will return to continue their work to build a fuller picture of what life was like for the people who lived in and around the abbey during its time as a medieval monastery.

The 2007 digs unveiled evidence of the later life of the structure of the abbey.

Allison Fox, curator of archaeology for Manx National Heritage, explained: ‘Slowly but surely we’re starting to get more of an insight into how people lived on the site at Rushen Abbey, both when it was a home for the monks and after it was demolished.

‘Finds of roof tiles and medieval glass have indicated that, rather than being just demolished, the abbey buildings were carefully and systematically dismantled — probably to reuse much of the material — Medieval recycling!

‘We’ve also found some really interesting small examples of the everyday things used by people.’

The star find of last year’s excavation was a finely-carved bone ‘ear-scoop’ — a very handy tool to remove unwanted wax!

This year, once again, all of the finds from the excavations will be cleaned, recorded and labelled on-site, so visitors will be able to see everything that’s come out of the ground.

The excavations, which began this week, will continue to Friday, August 1.

Volunteer guides from the Friends of Manx National Heritage are on site most days to help explain the latest archaeological discoveries.

Salford Reds’ stadium site

Dig discovers the Salford flint stones

THE site of the new Salford City Reds’ stadium has revealed unexpected treasures, after archaeologists unearthed evidence of a settlement possibly from as far back as the Bronze Age.
The archaeological evaluation of the site comes as part of planning conditions placed on the developers.
However, Red City Developments, have been quick to alleviate any fears among fans that these findings could cause delays to the stadium’s 2010 launch.
Ruth Garratt, from the Manchester Archaeological Unit, said: “The site was considered low potential but needed to be evaluated because of its setting close to the river system.
“We thought it unlikely to find anything and had no expectations going into the dig as it’s so unusual to find surviving early archaeology in the north west – most was lost during the industrial revolution.”
However, the team were surprised after their early evaluation of this site, adjacent to the A57, exposed ancient artefacts including a flint blade that is thought to have belonged to a Stone Age Salfordian hunter up to 8,000 years ago.
And a previously unknown settlement has been discovered at the site with the remains of post holes from Bronze or Iron Age houses and domestic waste such as fire-cracked stones, used to heat water.
Ruth added: “For those early people, it appears to have been a very desirable bit of real estate.
“We can’t say how big this settlement was at this time, but the archaeology we can see on the site probably dates from the bronze to late iron age, between 3,000 and 100 BC.”
Charcoal has now been removed from the site and sent for carbon dating, in order to get an accurate idea as to when the settlement was occupied.
In light of Salford’s most recent discovery, a more extensive dig is planned for the site with the archaeology team hoping that Red City Developments will fund a full excavation, which must take place before any landscaping or development goes ahead.
But, according to managing director of Red City Developments, Adam Thomas, any further excavation work that does take place will not cause any significant delays to the building project.
He said: “We are now working closely with the team to ensure the site is excavated and investigated fully to maximise the heritage benefit.
“We are assessing the implications, but as the area of most interest is at the entrance to the site and not where the stadium is actually being built, we are confident that the additional work will not significantly affect the building schedule.”