Stone Pages Archaeo News: April 2004 Archives

April 2004 index:

2 April 2004: Henge Friends 'shocked' over site ownership; Campaigners fighting to preserve the Thornborough Henges in Yorkshire (England) have questioned the site's management after discovering part is owned by a construction group which quarries nearby. A pressure group...
: Police seize ancient Scottish axe; A rare Neolithic axe head found in Fife, Scotland - as reported here on 14 March 2004 - has been seized by the police. Officers from Fife Constabulary raided the...
: Scottish film studio plans threaten ancient sites; Plans for a massive film studio and housing development at Aberuthven in Perthshire, Scotland, have placed under threat an area rich in ancient sites. Qullico 100 has submitted plans for...
3 April 2004: Rare stone axe found in Caithness; A rare stone axe has been discovered in a field at Castletown in Caithness, Scotland. The axe is 6000 years old and was found by George MacDougall during field-walking organised...
: Builders of ancient tombs followed sun and stars; Two studies of ancient monuments in southwest Europe reveal the influence the Sun and stars had on their builders according to Dr Michael Hoskin, a historian of astronomy at Cambridge...
: 3,000 year-old mirror discovered in Scotland?; Experts from the national museum are rushing to the Borders after a rare piece of treasure was unearthed near Yetholm. Local historians are already describing the find as one of...
: Stone Age child's bones found in Norway; Norwegian archaeologists made a rare discovery at Aukra in Romsdal, north-central Norway. They've confirmed finding bone fragments from a child who must have lived in the area around 6,000 years...
10 April 2004: 7,400-year-old worship site found in China; A worship site discovered in the Gaomiao ashes in central China's Hunan province indicates the people there enjoyed a rich spiritual life 7,400 years ago, making it the oldest religious...
: Protection plan for ancient British sites; One of the most important of the ancient industrial sites in Britain, which can be found in the heart of the Lake District, is to be used as part of...
: Major conference on UAE's Prehistory; New discoveries of archaeological splendours dating back more than 7,000 years have been discussed at a major two-day conference in Al Ain (United Arab Emirates). the conference is the second...
: Ancient Chinese stringed instruments found; Archaeologists say that they have discovered three Konghous, an ancient plucked stringed instruments, during the excavation of the Yanghai Tombs in Shanshan County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. "The...
: Scientists dig out 2,450-year-old road in Bangladesh; A group of Bangladeshi scientists dug out an ancient road in northern Narsingdi, 50 km northeast of the capital Dhaka, suggesting 2,450-year-old civilization which redefines the history of eastern India....
: Committee to consider Hill of Tara motorway; The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Heritage and Local Government is to consider the controversial proposed motorway through the Hill of Tara and Hill of Skyrne in County Meath (Ireland),...
: Stone Age finds are unearthed in garden; An archaeological dig in the gardens of Coombe End House nursing home in London Road, Marlborough (England), has revealed exciting Stone Age finds that could cause the plans for the...
: New study to discover ancient coastal sites; A major hunt is on to uncover new archaeological sites around the north coast and Rathlin Island (Northern Ireland). It is being conducted by researchers from the Ulster University's Centre...
: Prehistory day in Malta; Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna held a first time event for Malta - a day-long pre-history day that attempted to recreate aspects of daily life as may have been lived in prehistoric...
: Mining and pollution impact on ancient rock art sites; Scientists have begun a major study in Australia's remote northwest into how mining and pollution is damaging the world's largest concentration of ancient rock art, a state government announced Tuesday....
: Rollrights stone circle vandalised (updated); On March 31 vandals splattered bright yellow gloss paint over the entire ring of stones at The Rollrights in Oxfordshire. The damage was discovered by a member of a geo-physics...
: Neolithic findings at the Yingpanshan Ruins site; After four years of painstaking work in the Maoxian County (SW China), the researchers have brought to light more findings pertaining to the Neolithic than in any previous excavation in...
: Northumberland hills were cultivated 3,500 years ago; Archaeological research shows that farming was more intensive and widespread than now in much of rural Northumberland (England). Cultivation around 3,500 years ago was taking place on hills at heights...
: Grave discovery is oldest 'pet cat'; The oldest known evidence of people keeping cats as pets may have been discovered by archaeologists. The discovery of a cat buried with what could be its owner in a...
12 April 2004: Prehistoric artefacts seized in France; French customs officers have seized a large number of prehistoric artefacts they believe were pillaged from archaeological sites in the desert in Niger, customs officials said. A statement issued by...
: Over 80 items unearthed in a Chinese tomb; Archaeologists claim that they discovered a tomb of the Western Zhou Dynasty (11 century BCE - 771 BCE) at the Zhouyuan site, Zhuangbai Village in Fufeng County of northwest China'...
: Split between English and Scots may be older than thought; Traditionally the difference between the English and Scots, Welsh, Irish and Cornish was attributed to the foreign influence of invading forces such as the Anglo-Saxons, Celts and Vikings settling in...
: Chinese village boasts recorded history of 6,000 years; Chinese archaeologists have discovered a village which boasts a recorded history of more than 6,000 years in central China's Henan province. Yuyang Village, located 22 km northwest of Anyang city,...
: International campaign to save the Hill of Tara; International voices have joined in opposition to the campaign to save the Hill of Tara from being bissected by the M3 motorway planned for Co Meath. The Archaeological Institute of...
: Anger at threat to Scottish heritage; Conservationists slammed an Executive plan to strip hundreds of ancient Scottish monuments of their protected status. Around 800 archaeological sites, including forts, carved crosses, standing stones and cairns, could be...
17 April 2004: Ancient burial site found in Ireland; A team of archaeologists from the Irish National Museum has completed an initial investigation at an ancient cist burial site discovered on a Co. Donegal farm. The tomb, believed to...
: New sewage works has Bronze Age past; Archaeologists have reached the next crucial stage in uncovering the historic past of East Sussex's (England) ancestors. They will begin digging a series of shallow excavations on land at Lower...
: Planned school may threaten ancient cursus site; Perth and Kinross Councillors put plans for a new primary school and playing field in Crieff (Scotland), but it was pointed out that the site is an archaeologically highly sensitive...
: Contingency plans for Solstice at Stonehenge; Traffic chaos on the night of the Summer Solstice around the Stonehenge area should be avoided, thanks to a raft of contingency plans recently announced. Last year's highly successful celebration...
: Oldest mound complex identified; Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 5,000-year-old shell mound, which is believed the oldest existing mound complex in New World. Constructed of cement-like floors, the mound, researchers say, is...
: Oregon's early natives; Were humans present 12,000 years ago in the Great Basin region of Oregon (USA) when buffalo, non-Spanish horses and even camels roamed the landscape? This, the central question of University...
: Humans took 1000 years to tame wild plants; Remnants of ancient barley, wheat, figs and pistachios nearly 10,000 years old are helping to solve the mystery about how and when nomadic hunter-gatherers became sedentary farmers. A team led...
: New technique to reveal the age of ancient tools; A team of archaeological scientists in the United States and Germany say they have developed a technique to accurately determine the age of stone tools and artifacts between 50,000 and...
: Cave paintings were part of a continent-wide culture; The people who created the first surviving art in Britain were committed Europeans, belonging to a common culture spanning France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, according to the man who...
: Warrior's grave points to Bronze Age burial site; The discovery of the body of a warrior - thought to have died in battle more than 2,000 years ago - could help archaeologists to pinpoint the site of an...
19 April 2004: Many finds in Northern China desert; Researchers claim that the Badain Jaran Desert in North China was once habitable. Archaeologists draw this conclusion from the large amount of finds and rock paintings excavated in this region....
: Metal detector expert's treasure goes on display; A massive haul of treasure discovered by a metal detector expert in England has gone on show. Bronze Age and Roman "treasures" found by archaeologist James Balme will be on...
: Prehistoric finds at a housing site in Scotland; Archaeologists will have a greater understanding of the lives of the people who built great ritual monuments following excavations at one of Scotland's largest rural settlements. A dig at a...
20 April 2004: Korean rock art hints at whaling origins; Stone Age people may have started hunting whales as early as 6,000 BCE, new evidence from South Korea suggests. Analysis of rock carvings at Bangu-Dae archaeological site in Ulsan in...
: Bronze Age pot goes on show; A bronze age pot goes on display at Barnstaple's museum (Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon; The Square, Barnstaple, Devon EX32 8LN England - Tel: 01271 346747 Email: museum@northdevon.gov.uk) Archaeologists discovered the...
: Scientists win new battle over skeleton; Anthropologists seeking to study the ancient Kennewick Man skeleton scored another victory when the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request by four Northwest tribes for a rehearing...
: Water main dig uncovers Bronze Age settlement; A 3,000-year-old hill-top settlement has been discovered during water mains digging in England. Pottery and flint have been found alongside burnt bones and storage pits at a site near Taplow...
22 April 2004: Turkmen diggers find ancient temple of water; Archaeologists have made a sensational discovery in Turkmenistan: a temple of water dating back to the third millennium BCE. The Margianskaya expedition has been digging on the site of an...
: Stonehenge is heading towards 1 million visitors a year; Stonehenge is heading towards the magical one million visitors a year mark, after its busiest Easter in five years. Over the bank holiday weekend, 18,000 pairs of feet tramped around...
24 April 2004: Ancient bird feather darts find; By examining 4,300-year-old bird feathers, scientists are gaining a glimpse into the pre-history of the Yukon (USA). Twelve feather samples were sent to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. after...
: Neolithic axe head charges dropped; Criminal proceedings against Michael Kelly, who found a neolithic axe head and initially refused to give it up (as we reported last 14 March and 2 april), have been dropped....
26 April 2004: Bronze Age society may predate ancient Mesopotamia; In Iran, an archaeologist is racing to uncover a literate Bronze Age society he believes predates ancient Mesopotamia. Critics say he may be overreaching, but they concede his dig will...
: Study shows ancient coastal life in California; Rubbish dug a generation ago from an oceanside archaeological site first occupied around 8,000 BCE in California (USA) is being re-examined for clues that could bolster the theory some of...
: Another ancient monument damaged by paint; In the light of the recent paint attack on the Rollright Stones, comes news of another case of paint damage to an ancient monument. Willy Hall's Wood Stone is a...
: Austrian Bronze Age settlements as centres of trade; Austrian settlements in the Region of the Danube were prosperous and cosmopolitan in the Bronze Age. That's what new studies undertaken by researchers in the Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian...
29 April 2004: Archaeology on High School doorstep; Students from Sacred Heart Catholic High School at McClennan, Calhoun County (USA) have discovered the remains of what may be an ancient Native American hunting camp within a stone’s throw...