Stone Pages Archaeo News: July 2010 Archives

July 2010 index:

3 July 2010: Anglers catch prehistoric canoe in Ireland; Historians are probing links between an ancient dugout canoe discovered on the banks of the Boyne and the landmark Newgrange site (Co Meath, Ireland). The canoe, which has an unusual...
: Motorbikes and 4x4s wrecking Welsh heritage sites; A campaign has been launched to crack down on illegal off-road bikers who are wrecking North Wales heritage sites. Moel y Gaer hillfort is just one of a number of...
: Irish crannóg site revealed after lake's level drops; A recent prolonged dry weather spell which put pressure on water supplies in the west of Ireland has proven to be good news for archaeologists. The low water table on...
: 10,000-year-old weapon found in the Rocky Mountains; Craig Lee, a research associate with University of Colorado-Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research has found an atlatl dart, a spear-like hunting weapon, melting out of an ice patch...
: Prehistoric rock engravings were primitive cinema; Austrian and British researchers, who are working to understand ancient rock engravings from the Copper Age found in many hidden locations throughout Europe, said the displays may have been prehistoric...
: Orkney Venus dig resumed; Excavations have resumed at the Links of Noltland, in Westray (Orkney, Scotland), which last year revealed the Orkney Venus figurine, the earliest carving of a human figure found in Scotland....
: Archwilio website maps Welsh archaeological finds; A new website, Archwilio - which means 'to explore' in Welsh - catalogues the historic environment records of Wales, allowing users to freely explore details of thousands of different archaeological...
: Tibetans adapted to altitude in under 3,000 years; Tibetans took less than 3,000 years to adapt to living at high altitude, said a new study. "This is the fastest genetic change ever observed in humans," said Rasmus Nielsen,...
: Dig to discover Jersey's Ice Age; A team of archaeologists have announced they are to investigate an Ice Age site in Jersey, a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy (France). An initial 18-day dig...
: New bus service connecting Avebury and Stonehenge; A minibus service connecting Avebury and Stonehenge is being planned by the Devizes-based Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. The society, which runs Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes, hopes to...
15 July 2010: Neolithic amputation in France; A skeleton discovered in 2005 at a Neolithic site in Buthiers-Boulancourt, 40 miles south of Paris (France), has yielded rare evidence of early amputation. While trepanation is widely known to...
: Figurine exhibition in Norwich; A major exhibition is currently running at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, at the University of East Anglia in Norwich (England). Entitled 'Unearthed', the exhibition brings together Japanese figurines...
: Ancient tomb site uncovered in Vietnam; Archaeologists made an incredible discovery, days before they were about to complete a dig working at a site in Ha Noi's Dong Anh District (Vietnam). They stumbled across eleven tombs,...
: Were Neanderthals steroid muscle men?; An article published in Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia describes Neanderthal men as having a level of hormones much higher than is found in modern humans. This would have...
: New program in Malta offers access to little known sites; The Old Temples Study Foundation, a U.S.-based non-profit has joined with Elderhostel to provide visitors to Malta access to historic sites ranging from WW II to the oldest standing buildings...
: Skeleton Blodwen, aged 5,500, comes home in Wales; The skeleton of a woman who lived 5,500 years ago has gone on display in her home town, more than a century after she was discovered. Blodwen is the nickname...
: Bronze Age settlement in Cyprus yelds rich finds; Excavations of the late Bronze Age settlement at Dromolaxia Vizatzia (Hala Sultan Tekke) have unearthed a rich array of imported and local bronze and pottery artefacts in Cyprus. The finds...
: Tools from oldest known northern Europeans found in Britain; A spectacular haul of ancient flint tools has been recovered from a beach in Norfolk (England), pushing back the date of the first known human occupation of Britain by up...
: Bronze Age burial mounds saved in Yorkshire; Two ancient mounds which may contain the remains of farmers who worked the land 4,000 years ago have been saved for posterity in Yorkshire (England). The Bronze Age burial mounds...
: Indus Valley site ravaged by floods; Floods in Haryana state (North India) may have consumed a piece of ancient Indian history. The archaeological site of Jognakhera, from where copper smelting furnaces along with copper slag dating...
18 July 2010: Bronze Age site at risk in Berkshire; A Bronze Age settlement in Berkshire (England) has been labelled at risk from damage and is in need of conservation. The unexcavated settlement is listed 'At Risk' on the English...
: Dig aims to unearth Tullos Hill's secrets; Ian Suddaby of CFA Archaeology is calling for volunteers to help unearth the secrets of a historic site at Tullos Hill in Aberdeen (Scotland). The area has long been know...
: Drought shows up south Oxfordshire Bronze Age graves; The hot dry weather is revealing some of Oxfordshire's Bronze Age history normally hidden from view. Hot air balloon pilot Michael Wolf was training another pilot near North Stoke (Oxfordshire,...
: The first Europeans in Bulgaria; The 8000 year-old skeleton of a man was recently discovered by archaeologist Georgi Ganetovski at a site near Ohoden in northwestern Bulgaria, and is on its way to the Regional...
: Prehistoric artefacts turning blue in Italy; A number of artefacts ranging from flint tools to Neanderthal bones from around Verona (Italy), have begun to turn blue, causing worry and consternation, and potentially legal action. The objects...
19 July 2010: Further excavations at Orcadian burial mound; Excavations were re-started last year at a site at Cantick, South Walls, in Orkney (Scotland). The excavations were led by the Orknet Research Centre for archaeology (ORCA), and supported by...
: Bronze Age skeleton discovered in Norfolk; Excavations at Sedgeford in Norfolk (England) have been carried out for some time and, during last year's dig-season, a carbon-dated skeleton put the site at 2,300 BCE. Just when they...
: Unusual broch discovered in Scotland; Brochs, multi-storied roundhouses, are found across Scotland. They represent a sophisticated understanding of engineering with two thick outer walls separated by an air space and strengthened with reinforcing lintel slabs....
: A kit to see how much Neanderthal you are?; In May, scientists finished mapping the genes of the Neanderthal and determined that as much as 4% of those genes are in people today. Now one company has unveiled a...
: Experts dig at Native American site in Illinois; South of Jerseyville (Illinois, USA) a team of state archaeologists, students and volunteers excavating about 4 acres of land has found evidence of a 1,400-year-old Native American settlement. "We have...
: Neolithic carvings discovered in Cambridgeshire; A remarkable piece of Neolithic rock art, unlike anything previously found in Eastern England, has been unearthed in the Cambridgeshire village of Over. The hand-sized artefact, which could date back...
: Life in Bronze Age Lebanon is rediscovered; The Lebanese site of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida was nearly destroyed by a bulldozer in 2004. Fortunately for posterity, an American University of Beirut (AUB) graduate student spotted pottery shards and the...
: Dig beneath a 9th Century Welsh monument; Archaeologists start excavations on a suspected ancient burial site in Wales to try to understand the significance of a Llangollen landmark on which it stands. But the team will have...
: A second Venus found in Orkney; A partner has been found for a rare 4,500-year-old Neolithic figurine discovered at an archaeological dig site on a remote Scottish island. The second carved figure was unearthed just 100...
: Unique Stone Age house and trade goods found in Finland; A large 'terraced house' excavated at Järvenkylä (Finland) has proven to be a treasure trove of history. The design of the structure is similar to ancient dwellings in North Ostrobothnia...
: Cairn circle rediscovered in North Yorkshire; A cairn circle which has laid hidden at a place called Snowden Crags, Askwith Moor, North Yorkshire (England) for a long time has been recently rediscovered by a group of...
23 July 2010: Ancient Bedouin statue found in Jordan; A joint team of Jordanian and German archaeologists has announced the discovery of a 6000 year-old statue in the Jordanian desert near the border with Saudi Arabia. The statue, which...
: Prehistoric Swedish dildo - or is it a tool?; A dig in Motala (Sweden) recently turned up a carved antler bone that bears a strong resemblance to an erect penis. The phallic object is 10.5cm long and 2cm in...
: Neolithic monument discovered close to Stonehenge; Archaeologists have discovered a second henge at Stonehenge, described as the most exciting find there in 50 years. The circular ditch surrounding a smaller circle of deep pits about a...
26 July 2010: Marden Henge discovery; Work started recently at a site near Devizes, Wiltshire (England), known as Marden Henge. The area covered by the prehistoric henge is approximately 15 hectares (37 acres) but, due to...
: Indian megalithic tomb in dire need of protection; The pathetic condition of the biggest megalithic tomb known as the Dolmen at Hirapur village in Chimur tehsil of Chandrapur district (India), has the local chapter of the Indian National...
: Computer modeling reveals 'Woodhenge' secrets in Ohio; Moorehead Circle, 2,000 year-old concentric rings of timber posts, lies northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio (USA). It was first discovered in 2005 by ground-penetrating technology. Now archaeologists using computer models have...
: British Volunteers win archaeology prize; The British Museum hosted amateur archaeologists from the Peak District in Derbyshire (England) for the British Archaeological Awards. The Longstone Local History Group began excavation of an iron-age fort in...
: Tourists heave menhirs in France to solve ancient mystery; In the Asterix comic books you only had to drink a magic potion to be able to lift a menhir. But in reality you need vast quantities of muscle power...
: Walkers invited to Welsh hillfort; Walkers are invited to the hillfort of Caer Drewyn, Corwen (Denbighshire, Wales), as part of the Festival of British Archaeology. Known locally as Mynydd y Gaer, the fort is unique...
: Ancient stone knives unearthed in Israel; Archaeologists digging in a cave in Israel have found tiny stone knives dating back at least 200,000 years that would have been used to cut meat during a meal. Made...
: A window on ancient farming in Cyprus; Excavations at Politiko-Troullia on the foothills of the Troodos mountains in the Nicosia district (Cyprus) have brought to light a series of households around a large communal courtyard with evidence...
: Swiss find may be oldest evidence of dog domestication; A jaw fragment found in a Swiss cave comes from the earliest known dog, according to scientists who analyzed and radiocarbon-dated the fossil to a period between 14,100-14,600 years ago....
: Remains of ancient Mexican woman suggest diverse migration; A scientific reconstruction of one of the oldest sets of human remains found in the Americas appears to support theories that the first people who came to the hemisphere migrated...
: Great deal of prehistoric findings unearthed in Syria; The American- Dutch archaeological expedition working at the site of Tal Om al-Mara, 50 kms to the east of Aleppo (Syria), has unearthed two archaeological tombs dating back to the...
: Prehistoric settlement discovered in Bulgaria; Bulgarian archaeologists have found what has been described as a 'wealthy' 8000-year-old town close to the Danube city of Ruse. The town, which flourished between 5,800 BCE and 5,500 BCE...
: Ancient Aboriginal skull suggests head reshaping practice; 11,000 years ago a tall and solidly built Aboriginal man lived a hard life. His bones reveal he had arthritis in his jaw, multiple breaks in both forearms and a...