Archaeology in Europe News Blog

Unique runestone included in UNESCO list

2012-02-26T21:16:00.000+01:00

A unique runestone that is the first to mention Norway as a country and that documents the establishment of Christianity there, has been placed on a list of world heritage documents of international importance.

The Kuli Stone. Image: NTNU Museum of Natural History of Archaeology

The “Kuli Stone” is the oldest object in the newly launched register of Norway’s list of documents to be included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme. The programme is an international register of documents that are seen as important aspects of our shared international heritage. The Norwegian version was launched on 8 February 2012 and lists documents that are especially important in Norway’s history and to its cultural heritage.

The text on the Kuli Stone is the first known occurrence and use of the term “Nóregi” – “Norway” – in the country it names. The stone has additional importance as it also dates to the establishment of Christianity in the country in a phrase that is often transcribed as:

“… twelve winters Christianity had been in Norway”.

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3D plan for Newport’s Medieval Ship

2012-02-26T21:10:00.004+01:00

A DIGITAL interpretation of Newport’s Medieval Ship will help experts piece it back together, a council report says.

Newport City Council will apply for a £21,000 grant from the Welsh Assembly Government’s museums archives and libraries division, CyMAL, to fund 3D designs of the 15th vessel.

A report to councillors says the project would see a digital reconstruction of the entire ship, based on archaeological evidence, traditional ship building knowledge and historical research.

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Norse settlement may help us adapt to global changes

2012-02-26T21:05:00.001+01:00

limate scientists have been examining the past environments and archaeological remains of Norse Greenland, Iceland and North Atlantic Islands for several years. They have been particularly interested in the end period of the settlements in the early part of the Little Ice Age (1300-1870 CE) and have been able to analyse how well the Norse responded to changes in economy, trade, politics and technology, against a backdrop of changing climate.

They found that Norse societies fared best by keeping their options open when managing their long-term sustainability, adapting their trade links, turning their backs on some economic options and acquiring food from a variety of wild and farmed sources. Researchers say their findings could help inform decisions on how modern society responds to global challenges but also warns of inherent instabilities that do not directly link to climate.

In the middle ages, people in Iceland embraced economic changes sweeping Europe, developed trading in fish and wool and endured hard times to build a flourishing sustainable society. In Greenland, however, medieval communities maintained traditional Viking trade in prestige goods such as walrus ivory.

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Lead poisoning in Rome: The skeletal evidence

2012-02-25T00:17:00.001+01:00

A recent article in the online publication io9, “The First Artificial Sweetener Poisoned Lots of Romans“ provided a (very) brief look at some of the uses of lead (Pb) in the Roman world, including the tired old hypothesis that it was rampant lead poisoning that led to the downfall of Rome - along with gonorrhoea, Christianity, slavery, and the kitchen sink.

The fact the Romans loved their lead is not in question, with plenty of textual and archaeological sources that inform us of the uses of lead – as cosmetics, ballistics, sarcophagi, pipes, jewellery, curse tablets, utensils and cooking pots, and, of course sapa and defrutum (wine boiled down in lead pots) – but what almost all news articles regarding the use of lead in ancient Rome seem to ignore is data from osteological evidence.

Contemporary medical knowledge allows us to understand that metabolic disorders can be caused by a lack of nutrients: a lack of vitamin C causes scurvy; and a lack of vitamin D can lead to rickets; but they can also be caused by an abundance of something, like too much fluoride, too much mercury, too much arsenic, or too much lead.

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So what have the Romans ever done for us?

2012-02-25T00:10:00.001+01:00

Ireland’s links with the Roman empire are being investigated in a new archaeological project in which science plays a large part writes ANTHONY KING

FIRST CENTURY AD. The Roman General Agricola reportedly says he can take and hold Ireland with a single legion. Some archaeologists have claimed the Romans did campaign in Ireland, but most see no evidence for an invasion. Imperial Rome and this island on its far western perimeter did share interesting links, however.

The Discovery Programme, a Dublin-based public institution for advanced research in archaeology, is to investigate Ireland’s interactions with the empire and with Roman Britain, aiming to fill gaps in the story of the Irish iron age, the first 500 years after the birth of Christ.

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Scientists revive sacred sounds

2012-02-24T22:47:00.001+01:00

Ancient peoples around the world seem to have designed their sacred spaces not only for ceremonial sights, but for ceremonial sounds as well, archaeologists say.

In Peru, for example, a 3,000-year-old Andean ceremonial center's design was optimized for the blare of a priest's conch-shell trumpet. In Mexico, the Chichen Itza temple site features a staircase that can make hand claps sound like the chirp of a quetzal bird. And one of the best-known ancient monuments of all, England's Stonehenge, has a layout that's acoustically pleasing as well as astronomically significant.

The big question is, did ancient societies really have acoustics in mind when they built their monuments?

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Neolithic settlers colonized Spain from N. Africa

2012-02-18T22:10:00.001+01:00

The Neolithic period, around 10,000 BC in the Middle East, a time when the nomadic economy became permanent, founded on farming and breeding, could have arrived on the Iberian peninsula through a third route of expansion - North Africa. This is according to a study carried out by the Autonomous University of Madrid, the University of Seville and the Higher Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) and other Spanish, Portuguese and American universities. The study has been published in the journal "Quaternary Research".

Stone Circle in Cromeleque dos Almendres [Credit: ANSA]
Until now, two routes had been traditionally accepted: one identifying a first expansion of the northern margin of the Mediterranean sea, and the second, by sea, which reached the Balearic islands from Cyprus. The new research, though, highlights a third route from North Africa, which would identify the Neolithic characteristics that are found in the south of the Iberian peninsula.

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Solent's Stone Age village 'had modern high street links'

2012-02-16T16:39:00.001+01:00

Work on an 8,000-year-old Stone Age settlement under the surface of the Solent in Hampshire is throwing up evidence of clear parallels of the modern "high street", archaeologists say.

After 30 years of excavating the area around Bouldnor Cliff, a boatyard was uncovered last summer, which teams have been working on ever since.

Since The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology spotted a swamped prehistoric forest in the 1980s, the Stone Age village was found by chance at the end of the last century.

Divers taking part in a routine survey spotted a lobster cleaning out its burrow on the seabed and to their surprise the animal was throwing out dozens of pieces of worked flint - which turned out to be the first sign of the village.

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‘Welsh Stonehenge’ Halts Work on Windfarm

2012-02-16T16:36:00.004+01:00

A multimillion pound windfarm could be scrapped after a Stone Age monument was spotted on the site using Google Earth.

Work to install the 15 wind turbines had already began after experts said they were unable to find anything of historical interest on the mountaintop in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

But a weekend rambler stumbled upon a row of stones while trekking across the site on the mountain and realised they were of historical interest.

Archaeologists were called in and discovered the stones on Mynydd Y Betws were between 3,500 and 5,000 years old and could have been part of an ancient site of worship.

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'Digger nearly destroyed Betws Mountain's Neolithic stone row'

2012-02-16T11:04:00.001+01:00

THE man who discovered the Neolithic stone row on Betws Mountain has told how the historic find came within 20 minutes of being destroyed.

Freelance archaeologist Dr Sandy Gerrard said a digger working on the construction of the 15-turbine MynyddyBetwswindfarm had to be halted in its tracks.

“In fairness to the developers they stopped work instantly – we have no criticism at all on that score,”
he told the Guardian.

“Asit is, the rowhas been cut in two places by the windfarm access road.

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Lombard cemetery unearthed near Udine

2012-02-16T10:53:00.001+01:00

Graves unearthed in the northern Italian region of Friuli over the last several days held objects belonging to ancient Lombard warriors

Archaeologists excavated the tombs of men, women and children, some of which showed signs of past intrusions.

Spears, swords, knives and bags containing coins and other iron objects were found in the men's tombs while combs and clips were found in the women's.

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'Unique' 11th Century coin discovered near Gloucester

2012-02-16T10:50:00.000+01:00

The silver coin was found just north of Gloucester

A "unique" medieval coin from the reign of William the Conqueror has been discovered in a field near Gloucester.

The hammered silver coin was found by metal detectorist Maureen Jones just north of the city in November.

Experts from the Portable Antiquities Scheme said the find "filled in the hole" in the dates the Gloucester mint was known to have been operating.

The coin, which dates from 1077-1080, features the name of the moneyer Silacwine and where it was minted.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme said that until the coin was discovered, there were no known examples of William I coins minted in Gloucester between 1077-1080.

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Suffolk Roman gold and silver coins declared treasure

2012-02-15T18:22:00.000+01:00

The discovery of Roman gold and silver coins on farmland in Suffolk suggests "relatively high status people" lived in the area, an archaeologist has said.

Fifteen silver coins and one gold coin were found by a father and son on farmland, near Mildenhall, on 12 October last year.

A treasure trove inquest in Bury St Edmunds heard they dated to between 355 and around 402.

Coroner Dr Peter Dean recorded the discovery as treasure.

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Well-Red Vikings sail in for festival

2012-02-15T18:19:00.002+01:00

YORK’S annual Viking invasion has created a combination between Norse history and a traditional fairy story.

A key event in this year’s Jorvik Viking festival saw youth and experience come together when Phillip Sherman, of Booster Cushion Theatre, and several young helpers performed Eric the Red Riding Hood at the Early Music Centre, in Walmgate, York.

The play involves the heroine of the story encountering a myriad of characters in a humorous retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.

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Brush with the Black Death: how artists painted through the plague

2012-02-15T18:17:00.003+01:00

From 1347 to the late 17th century, Europe was stalked by the Black Death, yet art not only survived, it flourished. So why are modern Europeans so afraid of epidemics?

The age when European art rose to glory was an age of disease and death. In 1347 the Black Death – probably bubonic plague – was brought by a Genoese ship to Sicily. In the next few years, it is estimated to have killed about a third of the entire population of Europe. Some cities, such as Venice, lost more like 60% of their people.

The Renaissance was just getting started, and the plague, too, was at the beginning of its reign of terror. The Black Death was more than a medieval explosion of horror: it kept coming back. For the next 300 years and longer, plague became a regular part of life – and death – in Europe. Terrible outbreaks periodically devastated cities. One of the very last, and most terrifying, of these plagues hit London in 1665 and is described in chilling detail in one of the first historical novels, Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year.

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Mapping the Medieval Countryside project receives £528,000 in funding

2012-02-15T18:16:00.000+01:00

A new project from King’s College London and the University of Winchester will allow researchers to explore the lands of medieval England as never before has received over half a million pounds in funding.

The three-year project is led by medieval historian Professor Michael Hicks at Winchester, and Paul Spence, Senior Lecturer at Kings’ College London’s Department of Digital Humanities. It will digitise hundreds of years worth of records showing the land held by tenants at the time of their death. The ‘Mapping the Medieval Countryside: The Fifteenth Century Inquisitions Post Mortem’ project has been made possible by a £528,000 grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

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The Seedy, Scandalous History of Valentine's Day

2012-02-15T17:59:00.001+01:00

Forget roses, chocolates and candlelight dinners. On Valentine's Day, that's rather boring stuff -- at least according to ancient Roman standards.

Imagine half-naked men running through the streets, whipping young women with bloodied thongs made from freshly cut goat skins. Although it might sound like some sort of perverted sadomasochistic ritual, this is what the Romans did until A.D. 496.

Mid-February was Lupercalia (Wolf Festival) time. Celebrated on Feb. 15 at the foot of the Palatine Hill beside the cave where, according to tradition, the she-wolf had suckled Romulus and Remus, the festival was essentially a purification and fertility rite.

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Snow damages Colosseum

2012-02-15T17:57:00.002+01:00

Rome - Heavy snow has caused extensive damage to the mediaeval walled townof Urbino and further deteriorated the Colosseum in Rome, already badly in needof repair, Italian newspapers reported on Tuesday.

Partial collapses have been reported at the convents of San Francesco andSan Bernardino in Urbino and the roof of the Church of the Capuchins outsidethe town centre has completely caved in, La Repubblica reported.

There is also water damage in the town's 12th-century Duomo cathedral.

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Firm helps protect Roman ruins

2012-02-14T14:02:00.003+01:00

Gallagher Group have helped preserve some Roman wallsdug up by archaeologists – by burying them again.
After being recorded by Maidstone Archaeology Group, the walls ofthe Roman building near East Farleigh were due to be back-filledanyway, but fears they could be damaged by frost meant the jobneeded to be done quickly.

The Maidstone-based building, civil engineering, quarrying andproperty business provided a digger and staff for a day to get thejob done.

Linda Weeks, Honorary Secretary of the Maidstone AreaArchaeological Group, thanked everyone who helped out, adding: “Wewere concerned that the ragstone walls of the Roman buildings wouldhave been damaged by the winter frosts, but Gallagher’s timelyintervention has meant these walls have now been preserved.”

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Bulgarian archaeologists uncovers 130 ancient sites along Nabucco pipeline route

2012-02-14T14:00:00.000+01:00

Bulgarian archaeologists surveying the route of Nabucco gas pipeline uncovered about 130 archaeological sites, Novinite Sofia News Agency reported with the reference to Bulgaria's National Archaeological Institute.

Nabucco gas pipeline is one of the Southern Gas Corridor projects, which is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region and Middle East to the European countries.

According to the Bulgarian Institute's Director Lyudmil Vagalinski, the surveying of the 420 km Bulgarian section of Nabucco has been carried out under a special GIS (Geographical Information System) technology.

He said that based on the data collected by the archaeologists, there will be excavations along the route of the Nabucco pipeline.

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Roar talent at Viking festival

2012-02-13T17:20:00.000+01:00

THE annual Jorvik Viking Festival swung into action with a skirmish in York city centre.

Viking characters wearing battle attire took over Coppergate to help start the popular festival, which is expected to attract 40,000 people.

This year marks the 27th festival and will feature more than 80 events culminating in a ferocious battle before the Festival Of Fire climax featuring fire jugglers, a firework display and the burning of a 60ft-longship on Bustardthorpe Field at York Racecourse on Saturday.

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Oxfordshire 12th Century church damaged by fire

2012-02-13T17:18:00.002+01:00

Fire crews worked for 12 hours to save a 900-year-old Oxfordshire church from going up in flames on Sunday.

Firefighters were called to St Mary the Virgin Church in Charlbury at 12:00 GMT as plumes of thick smoke were coming from the church roof.

They were forced to saw through the roof in order to create a fire break to stop the flames spreading.

Arson has been ruled out as the cause of the fire. The fire service said the church was empty at the time.

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In pictures: 12th Century church fire in Charlbury

2012-02-13T17:17:00.002+01:00

A fire has significantly damaged the 12th Century St Mary the Virgin Church in Charlbury, Oxfordshire.

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Exhibition marks custodian's death at Newark Castle

2012-02-13T17:14:00.001+01:00

The death of a Newark Castle custodian who swallowed weedkiller after his collection of artefacts was removed is being marked by an exhibition.

John Mountney who died in 1912, was the second custodian of the Nottinghamshire castle and spent years collecting items to illustrate the history of Newark.

In a dispute with the council, the castle's owners, Mr Mountney lost the collection and was left "heartbroken".

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Neanderthals Used Red Ochre Pigment 250,000 Years Ago

2012-02-13T17:07:00.000+01:00

We have seen cave paintings where the splashy red pigment was used to create images by ancient humans in present-day Europe tens of thousands of years ago. Scientists have said that ancient humans used it generally in Europe about 40,000 - 60,000 years ago, in West Asia as long ago as 100,000 years, and by the ancients in Africa as long ago as 200,000-250,000 years. Now, a new study suggests that Neanderthals were also using it in the present-day Netherlands region of Europe as far back as 200,000-250,000 years ago, if not earlier.

The study, conducted by a team of scientists led by W. Roebroeks of Leiden University, examined and analyzed a sample of red material retrieved from excavations originally conducted during the 1980's at the Maastricht-Belvédère Neanderthal site in the Netherlands. The excavations exposed scatterings of well-preserved flint and bone artifacts that were produced in a river valley during the Middle Pleistocene full interglacial period. During the coarse of the excavation, soil samples were also collected, a typical procedure when excavating a site. Within the soil samples were traces of a reddish material. The samples were subjected to various forms of analyses and experimentation to study their physical properties. They identified the reddish material as hematite, a common mineral form of iron oxide that was used for pigmentation by prehistoric populations.

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