Speed maps

400-year-old atlas of Britain to go on display

John Speed‘s Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine is regarded as one of the world’s great cartographic treasures. Each page is coloured and illustrated by hand, with the county maps featuring drawings of famous battles, local coats of arms and historic sites.
The atlas was first published in 1611-12 and acquired by the Cambridge University Library in 1968. To mark the 400th anniversary, the university has digitised each page and put them online for the public to view.
Anne Taylor, head of the map department at the library, said: These hand-coloured proofs are one of the library’s greatest treasures.”
Accompanying each map is a description of the county, and in Cambridgshire’s case it is less than flattering. “This province is not large, nor the air greatly to be liked, having the Fenns so spread upon her North that they infect the air far into the rest,” it reads.
The atlas was an immediate success on publication, with the first print of 500 copies selling out. Many editions followed and Speed became the most famous cartographer of the age.

Colchester spearmen

Anglo-Saxon warrior burials – a link with late Roman Colchester? [pics with link]
Archaeological excavations on the site of the Hyderabad and Meanee barracks off Mersea Road in Colchester have revealed a number of burials including two ‘spearmen’ likely to be of Germanic, possibly Saxon, origin. The two men had each been equipped with a round shield and a spear. One of them also had a dagger held in a belt around his waist. They were laid to rest on their backs with their shields on their chests and their spears by their sides. The wooden parts of the weapons have almost completely decayed away but the ironwork (mainly shield bosses, spear heads and the dagger) survived in situ. The men were not buried with metal helmets or body armour although they may have worn cheaper leather alternatives instead.

The burials are part of a cemetery of unknown extent only part of which as yet been examined. At least than eleven burials have been identified in the current phase of work. More are expected to be found when excavations resume later in the year.

The site lies immediately adjacent to a housing estate where many Anglo-Saxon spears and shield remains from burials were found in the late 19th century when it was built. This recent discovery is evidently part of the southern end of the same cemetery. A few years ago, more burials were found close to the south side of the Roman circus. These were 4th century or so in date and were characterised by the presence of small ring ditches containing a single burial in their centres. This latest discovery includes two examples of the same kind of ring ditch suggesting an ethnic link between the two groups, ie the Anglo-Saxon burials may have been the dead of descendants of the group whose dead where buried next to the Roman circus.
The date of the two warrior burials is as yet unclear. They are probably Anglo-Saxon (c 5th or 6th century) and thus post-Roman but there is the tantalising possibility that they were 4th or early 5th century in which case they would have lived in the town in Roman times. If they are the latter, they will be very significant because, if as seems possible, they would presumably have been part of a local, Roman-period militia. Their apparent close association with the Anglo-Saxon cemetery discovered in the late 19th century would provide physical evidence backing up the story of the end of Roman Britain which comes down to us from two ancient histories of Britain by Gildas and Bede. Here the two monks, one writing in the 6th century and the other c AD 700, describe how peoples from outside the Roman empire who were settled in Britain in exchange for military service came to revolt against their British masters and defeat them thereby opening the way to the conquest of much of eastern and central Britain by their own kind from across the North sea.
More work remains to be done on the date and ethnic origin of the two men since this will help clarify if they were indeed part of the garrison of the late Roman town or if they were part of a group of incomers who arrived after the collapse of Roman Colchester. To this end, we hope to commission some isotope analysis on their teeth to see if their country of origin can be identified and we may also explore their dna to see if more can be gleaned about their genetic background and familial relationships.
Developer Taylor Wimpey has been working hard with the Colchester Archaeological Trust to make sure that these important remains are fully explored and recorded before the site is redeveloped for housing. Director of the Archaeological Trust, Philip Crummy, said that ‘Taylor Wimpey deserves huge credit for the very significant archaeological successes of recent years on the Garrison site including, of course, the discovery of the Roman circus. Nothing would have been achieved without the company’s continued support and very substantial funding.’
Also involved with the excavations is RPS who act as archaeological consultants to Taylor Wimpey and manage the project on their behalf.

video report with Philip Crummy comments

Iron Age hill fort massacre

Mass burial suggests massacre at Iron Age hill fort

Archaeologists have found evidence of a massacre linked to Iron Age warfare at a  hill fort in Derbyshire.
A burial site contained only women and children – the first segregated burial of this kind from Iron Age Britain.
Nine skeletons were discovered in a section of ditch around the fort at  Fin Cop in the Peak District.
Scientists believe “perhaps hundreds more skeletons” could be buried in the ditch, only a small part of which has been excavated so far.
Construction of the hill fort has been dated to some time between 440BC and 390BC, but it was destroyed before completion.
The fort’s stone wall was broken apart and the rubble used to fill the 400m perimeter ditch, where the skeletons were found.
A second, outer wall and ditch had been started but not finished.

The findings provide a rare insight into warfare in pre-Roman Britain, according to Dr Clive Waddington of Archaeological Research Services, who directed the excavations.
“There has been an almost accepted assumption amongst many archaeologists that hill forts functioned as displays of power, prestige and status and that warfare in the British Iron Age is largely invisible,” he said.
Archaeologists excavated along the line of the fort’s perimeter wall and ditch
“For the people buried at Fin Cop, the hurriedly constructed fort was evidently intended as a defensive work in response to a very real threat.”
The skeletons are of women, babies, a toddler and a single teenage male. The archaeological team believe they were probably massacred after the fort was attacked and captured.
All were found in a 10m long section of ditch, the only part to be excavated so far. The ditch was 5m wide with 2m deep vertical edges and would have guarded a 4m high perimeter wall.
Animal bones, also found in the ditch, suggest the fort’s inhabitants kept cattle, sheep and pigs. There were also remains from horses which indicate some of the fort’s inhabitants were of high status.
The human and animal remains at Fin Cop are relatively well preserved, at least partly due to the limestone geology – the alkaline chemistry slows down decay of organic material including bone.
This may also help explain why similar evidence of Iron Age warfare has not been found at other sites; many hill forts are built on gritstone or sandstone whose acidic soil accelerate the decay of organic matter.

  Iron Age Mass Grave — The Sacking of Fin Cop Fort? [Dr Clive Waddington ]

 Unearthing the Story of Fin Cop [Video by The Longstone Local History Youth Group - with comments by Dr Clive Waddington, footage of the dig and folklore]

 Fin Cop – decorated Late bronze Age/ Iron Age pottery

Update: Massacre at Fin Cop

Viking face

Dundee Academics help reconstruct Viking Britain
Academics at the University of Dundee have helped recreate the most accurate picture of Viking life yet as part of a £150k investment at York’s JORVIK Viking Centre.
York Archaeological Trust, owner of JORVIK, has used the most advanced scientific and archaeological research techniques to bring York’s Vikings to life and allow the public to come face to face with the most accurate picture of Vikings at two new exciting exhibitions at the Centre, launched this week.
The Trust has enlisted the skills of academics at the University of Dundee to produce a facial reconstruction of a female skeleton – one of four excavated at Coppergate in York over 30 years ago.
Says Caroline Erolin, Lecturer at the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee, “We laser scanned the skull to create a 3D digital model onto which we could produce the reconstruction. The reconstruction process is carried out utilising specialist computer equipment which allows the user to ‘feel’ what they are modelling on screen. The anatomy of the face is modelled in ‘virtual clay’ from the deep muscles to the superficial.
“I was pleased to be involved in this project as 10 year previous as a medical art student I produced 2D reconstruction artwork of an individual from Fishergate in York as a part of my Masters research project, which ended up on display at JORVIK. It was good to be involved with the attraction again, this time through my post as a medical artist at the University of Dundee.”
Janice Aitken, Lecturer & Researcher at the University of Dundee, took Caroline’s digital reconstruction and added the lifelike finishing touches. Says Janice, “I use the same sort of software as is used to create 3D animations in the film industry. I digitally created realistic eyes, hair and bonnet and added lighting to create a natural look. It is very satisfying knowing that the work we create at Dundee University will be seen by thousands of visitors to JORVIK and being part of a process which can so vividly help people to identify with their ancestors.”
York Archaeological Trust’s new Investigate Coppergate exhibition examines the Vikings’ diet, displays the Viking facial reconstruction and also investigates the diseases from which the Vikings suffered. The concluding The end of the Vikings exhibition looks at the final battles of Viking-age in York that heralded the end of the Viking era and the coming of the Normans. It features skeletal remains showing battle wounds and a full skeleton with evidence of severe trauma, alongside discussion about how they died.
Says Sarah Maltby, York Archaeological Trust Director of Attractions, “Archaeological research capabilities have moved on considerably since the original Coppergate excavations which took place over 30 years ago. The new exhibition areas mark a shift in how archaeological finds are analysed and the techniques available to researchers. We now have a much more accurate and physical image of what Viking life was like, what they ate, what they wore and even what they looked like thanks to Dundee University – all of which is now on display at JORVIK.”

Further reading:

Computerised 3D facial reconstruction
History of facial reconstruction

Computerised 3-D Facial Reconstruction: Research Update

Forensic facial reconstruction by Caroline Wilkinson (2004)
Making Faces: Using Forensic and Archaeological Evidence by Prag and R. Neave (1997)

Elephant in Wales

Female African elephant from Colchester Zoo

University archaeologists start Tregaron elephant dig [video with link]
Archaeologists are digging up a pub beer garden in search of a legendary Victorian circus elephant.
The Tregaron Elephant has long had its place in local folklore, and is thought to have been buried behind the town’s  Talbot Hotel after dying on tour.
The small-scale excavation started on Saturday morning and the hunt for clues about the animal’s final resting place will continue until next Thursday.
But the hotel once owned 100 acres, and the remains could be elsewhere.
On Sunday, project leader Dr Jemma Bezant, from the  University of Wales Trinity St David, said nothing had been found so far apart from some Victorian pottery and some teeth, thought to be from a sheep.
About 10 people from the university are taking part.
The elephant was said to have fallen ill after drinking contaminated water in the Ceredigion town in 1848.
It is believed to have been part of Batty’s Travelling Menageries, a circus troupe which entertained widely in the area that year.
Dr Bezant said: “We have started excavating and we’ve picked some Victorian debris such as clay pipes and pottery, so we’re in the right period.
“We’ve also found some teeth, which are thought to have come from a sheep, but there’s no sign of the elephant yet, but it’s early days.
“Since we’ve been here we’ve heard a number of stories that the elephant was buried elsewhere in the town. The hotel once owned 100 acres of land, so it could be buried elsewhere.
“The land is owned by someone else now, but he’s happy for us to return another time to search his land (if the elephant is not found).”
Dafydd Watkin and his partner Tracy Batt are licensees of the Talbot Hotel, and they said about 30 people had watched the start of the dig on Saturday.
Mr Watkin said the archaeologists were working in the hotel’s beer garden, but had found nothing so far.
“They started digging this morning and they’ll be here until next Thursday,” said Mr Watkin.
“There’s been quite a crowd here. About 30 people have been in and out watching the dig in the beer garden, and we’re expecting more people over the weekend.
“Before the dig started the local councillor Catherine Hughes said a few words.”
Mr Watkin said he was not worried about losing trade because of the dig, and added that it would probably draw in more customers.
The dig is part of a wider project by the University of Wales Trinity St David’s archaeology department.
Dr Bezant, of the School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology, said last month that the project was about celebrating the story of the Tregaron Elephant and less about “finding out the truth”.
She added that it was likely the effort would generate more questions than answers.

Further reading:
A brief history of the British travelling menagerie