Archaeology in Europe Weblog Archaeology in Europe Weblog Archaeological news and information from Europe Articles
The Sea Stallion is back in its element!
2008-06-02 14:16:00 In a well-oiled operation last night, the Sea Stallion was returned to the harbour in Dublin. The ship must now be got ready for the long journey home.Via a total of five lifts from enormous cranes and giant trucks, the ship was hoisted out of Collins Barracks’ huge yard, over the electric railway and a large memorial, and driven all the way through Dublin’s streets to be put quietly and without fuss back in the Liffey.This was an operation that really called up boyhood feelings and dreams of toys worth millions! Giant cranes towered up to face each other like prehistoric monsters. Slowly they turned around their axes and lifted the ship quietly and carefully with almost loving devotion. Read the rest of the latest Newsletter... More About: Back , Element
Medicinal mercury in Medieval bones
2008-06-02 14:13:00 The Middle Ages, often referred to as Medieval times, spanned a long period in history from the 5th to the 16th Centuries. During this time, European society and culture enjoyed many advances and it could be argued that the quality of life improved beyond recognition. One area which progressed steadily was medicine and the treatment of disease, although these days we would not touch some of the medicinal compounds with a bargepole, let alone administer them to patients.One substance in popular use was mercury, used variously in gilding of jewellery and weapons, in inks and, yes, as medicines. Most Europeans would have had some mercury in their bodies, a lot more than background levels today, but those working with mercury compounds or being treated with them suffered far greater exposure.Mercury was used to treat diseases with symptoms that manifested themselves on the skin. One such disease was syphilis, which was widespread at the time and was treated by the administration of merc... More About: Bones
DNA explodes Greek myth about women
2008-06-02 14:11:00 British researchers have unearthed evidence that proves Helen was much more than a chattelWomen in Ancient Greece were major power brokers in their own right, researchers have discovered, and often played key roles in running affairs of state. Until now it was thought they were treated little better than servants.The discovery is part of an investigation by Manchester researchers into the founders of Mycenae, Europe's first great city-state and capital of King Agamemnon's domains.'It was thought that in those days women were rated as little more than chattels in Ancient Greece,' said Professor Terry Brown, of the faculty of life sciences at Manchester University. 'Our work now suggests that notion is wrong.'Read the rest of this article... More About: Greek , Myth
DNA Offers Clues to Greenland’s First Inhabitants
2008-06-02 14:10:00 A swatch of hair, so thick and tangled it could have belonged to man or bear, has provided answers about a mysterious culture and its origins half a world away.The culture is that of the first people to have occupied Greenland some 4,500 years ago. Known to archaeologists as the first Paleo-Eskimo culture, it gave way to a second Paleo-Eskimo culture some 2,500 years ago and then 700 years ago to the Thule culture of the present-day Inuit peoples. Some archaeologists suggested that each culture might have descended from its predecessor, but proof required obtaining DNA from the earlier cultures and comparing it with that of the Inuit.Eske Willerslev, an expert on ancient DNA at the University of Copenhagen, recently spent two months in the frozen wastes of northern Greenland. Dr. Willerslev wore a full body suit while digging so as not to contaminate samples with his own DNA. But human remains from the early culture are hard to find, and archaeologists have speculated that the dead ... More About: Offers , Clues
Stonehenge Was ''Domain of the Dead''
2008-06-02 14:09:00 Stonehenge stands out against night clouds set aglow by lights in nearby Amesbury town in an undated photo.Archaeologists may have finally solved the enduring puzzle of the prehistoric monuments: They are giant tombstones of the dead, says a new study released today by the National Geographic Society. (National Geographic News is owned by the National Geographic Society.)(See new photos of Stonehenge.)Newly dated human remains unearthed at the megalithic circle in southern England reveal Stonehenge was a place of burial from its earliest beginnings some 5,000 years ago, said Mike Parker Pearson, who leads the Stonehenge Riverside Project.Read the rest of this article... More About: Domain , Dead , Stonehenge
Stonehenge 'a long-term cemetery'
2008-06-02 14:07:00 Stonehenge served as a burial ground for much longer than had previously been believed, new research suggests.The site was used as a cemetery for 500 years, from the point of its inception.Archaeologists have said the cremation burials found at the site might represent a single elite family and its descendents - perhaps a ruling dynasty.One clue to this idea is that there are few burials in the earliest phase, but that the number grows larger in later centuries, as offspring multiplied.Read the rest of this article... More About: Stonehenge , Long , Term
Viking warship to begin homeward journey
2008-05-29 13:58:00 A Viking warship will be hoisted out of the National Museum today in preparation of its journey back to Denmark.The Sea Stallion will be lifted about 150ft out of Clarke Square, Collins Barracks, where it has been on show to the public for the last nine months.The vessel sailed back into Dublin last August, almost 1,000 years after its original departure.Weather permitting, it will be gently lowered into the main museum car park at 3pm in preparation for her return voyage to Denmark.Then at 2am the replica vessel will be lifted over the Luas track to the quays where it will be carried on a low-loader to Dublin port.Read the rest of this article... More About: Journey
Authentic Viking DNA Retrieved From 1,000-year-old Skeletons
2008-05-28 14:18:00 Although "Viking " literally means "pirate," recent research has indicated that the Vikings were also traders to the fishmongers of Europe. Stereotypically, these Norsemen are usually pictured wearing a horned helmet but in a new study, Jørgen Dissing and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, investigated what went under the helmet; the scientists were able to extract authentic DNA from ancient Viking skeletons, avoiding many of the problems of contamination faced by past researchers.Analysis of DNA from the remains of ancient humans provides valuable insights into such important questions as the origin of genetic diseases, migration patterns of our forefathers and tribal and family patterns.Unfortunately, severe problems connected with the retrieval and analysis of DNA from ancient organisms (like the scarcity of intact molecules) are further aggravated in the case of ancient humans. This is because of the great risk of contamination with abundant DNA from modern humans. H... More About: Year
Historic excavation wins funding
2008-05-28 14:17:00 Plans to excavate and reconstruct an historic but eroding burnt mound on Bressay have been awarded more than £70,000 of funding. Bressay History Group's plans at Cruester follow coastal erosion threatening the site. The plan is to rebuild the landmark near the local heritage centre. Different types of mounds are found across the country, and varying theories exist about their function, ranging from cooking sites to saunas. Read the rest of this article... More About: Funding , Historic , Wins
CARAL SUPE: THE OLDEST CIVILIZATION IN THE AMERICAS
2008-05-28 14:15:00 Location: Peru Length: 12 min. Recent research shows that cities in the New World arose nearly a millennium earlier than previously believed. Radiocarbon dates from the ancient city of Caral, Peru, show that monumental architecture was under construction as early as 2627 B.C., even before ceramics and maize appeared. The site is enormous, with platform mounds (or "pyramids"), sunken circular plazas, and residences. Caral is by far the largest pre-2000 B.C. recorded site in the Andean region and seems to be the model for the urban design followed over four millennia.Watch the video... More About: Civilization , Americas , The Americas
Mysterious pits shed light on forgotten witches of the West
2008-05-28 14:13:00 Evidence of pagan rituals involving swans and other birds in the Cornish countryside in the 17th century has been uncovered by archaeologists.Since 2003, 35 pits at the site in a valley near Truro have been excavated containing swan pelts, dead magpies, unhatched eggs, quartz pebbles, human hair, fingernails and part of an iron cauldron.The finds have been dated to the 1640s, a period of turmoil in England when Cromwellian Puritans destroyed any links to pre-Christian pagan England. It was also a period when witchcraft attracted the death sentence. Read the rest of this article... More About: West , Mysterious , Light , Witches , Forgotten
Archeologists Discover Unique Things in Veliki Novgorod
2008-05-28 14:11:00 A group of archeologists carrying out diggings in Veliki Novgorod have found several ancient feeding bottles for babies. The finds were discovered at the digging site in Mikhailova Street. Here the archeologists found wooden feeding devices made of cow horns. The Slavs used to attach leather sacks with milk to the broad ends of hollow horns and their babies would suck the milk through holes in the narrow part of horns. It is interesting to note that not far from the archeological excavation site there is a working municipal kindergarten. Read the rest of this article... More About: Unique , Things , Discover
Home For Sale, Comes With Skeleton In Basement
2008-05-28 14:09:00 York, England (AHN) -- Lovers of historical homes and buildings could be tested on how much they truly appreciate authenticity, that is, if they are interested in buying a Georgian style home that was recently put on the market, because it comes complete with a human skeleton entombed in the basement.When the home was built in the Georgian era, part of the basement was found to be the remnants of a Roman burial chamber. Workers built around it, and today the skeleton is visibly entombed in an archway.The current owner of the building dubbed the remains, his "Roman Princess."He told reporters he does not think the skeleton will be too much of a deterrent to buyers.Read the rest of this article... More About: For Sale , Skeleton , Home , Sale
Galilee cave reveals secrets of hunter-gatherers
2008-05-27 14:33:00 A wealth of new information about the way of life of early man in the eastern Mediterranean, long before the invention of the wheel, is likely to be uncovered after the startling discovery of a cave inhabited by hunter-gatherers between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago.Workers constructing a sewage line through a forest in northern Israel stumbled across a large cave containing stalactites and strewn with discarded fragments of prehistoric tools and the burnt bones of animals which have long been extinct in the region, including red deer, fallow deer, buffalo and even bears.While examination of the remains is at a preliminary stage, experts have hailed the discovery – at an undisclosed location in western Galilee – as the most important of its kind in the southern Levant for up to half a century. Dr Ofer Marder, the head of the prehistory branch of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), and an archaeologist colleague were lowered 30m down into the darkness by rope. He described the ... More About: Hunter , Secrets , Cave
Latest Newsletter from Havhingsten fra Glendalough
2008-05-26 09:13:00 The latest Newsletter from Havhingsten fra Glendalough (The Sea Stallion from Glendalough) in now available.The reproduction Viking ship will sail from Dublin back to Denmark on 29 June. This time the course will be south, round Land’s End, and into the English Channel. The Sea Stallion will stick close to the south coast of England with its famous seaside towns and historic harbours from the days of the full riggers, and then cross the North Sea to Danish waters. The voyage will end in Roskilde on 9th August.Read the newsletter…
Sea Stallion steps back in history
2008-05-26 09:05:00 AT three o’clock next Thursday afternoon Dubliners will be treated to an extraordinary spectacle. The Viking ship Sea Stallion , which has been on display at the National Museum in Collins Barracks, will be lifted 50 metres into the air by a giant crane. Then the huge vessel will be swung out over the three-storey museum building and deposited in the nearby Croppy’s Acre. In the middle of the night it will be moved to the River Liffey, prior to its long sea journey back to Denmark.The Sea Stallion was built at Roskilde, the ancient capital of Denmark, and now a quiet town at the head of a long narrow fjord. About 900 years ago ships were scuttled in the fjord to protect the harbour from pirates. In 1962 five of the wrecks were discovered, one of which turned out to have Irish timbers; it had been built in Dublin about the year 1042. A replica was constructed. It required 7,000 iron rivets and 340 trees had to be felled. On September 4, 2004, the ‘Havhingsten fra Glendalough’ ... More About: History , Back , Steps
Stonehenge builders had geometry skills to rival Pythagoras
2008-05-26 09:03:00 Stone Age Britons had a sophisticated knowledge of geometry to rival Pythagoras – 2,000 years before the Greek "father of numbers" was born, according to a new study of Stonehenge .Five years of detailed research, carried out by the Oxford University landscape archaeologist Anthony Johnson, claims that Stonehenge was designed and built using advanced geometry.The discovery has immense implications for understanding the monument – and the people who built it. It also suggests it is more rooted in the study of geometry than early astronomy – as is often speculated.Mr Johnson believes the geometrical knowledge eventually used to plan, pre-fabricate and erect Stonehenge was learnt empirically hundreds of years earlier through the construction of much simpler monuments.Read the rest of this article... More About: Builders , Skills , Geometry
Star watch - Archaeologists discover a “cosmic clock”
2008-05-26 09:02:00 Overcrowded in their lower reaches they might be, but the Canary Islands still possess some solitary mountain wilder-nesses, places little visited thanks to their rugged inaccessibility, and which have hardly changed since they were frequented by the pre-colonial aboriginal islanders.And traces of their presence are still turning up, often in the form of petroglyphs, enigmatic scratched marks on rocks and boulders which held some special significance about which we can only guess today.The latest find is, say archaeologists, one of the most exciting. They are calling it a cosmic clock, a description guaranteed to get the imagination of any sci-fi fans racing.But there are no flashing lights and strange dials. The reality, a piece of stone 44 centimetres high and 34 wide, would certainly disappoint them, but the experts are hailing the Summer Stone as a major discovery.Read the rest of this article... More About: Watch , Star , Discover
Danewerk und Haithabu sollen Weltkulturerbe werden
2008-05-26 08:59:00 Mit einem länderübergreifenden Antrag wollen Island, Dänemark, Schweden und Deutschland ihre Stätten der Wikingerkultur als gemeinsames UNESCO-Welterbe anerkennen lassen. Das internationale Propjekt fimiert unter dem Namen "Phenomena and Monuments of Viking Culture".Die Initiatoren betreten mit ihrem gemeinsamen Antrag weitgehend Neuland. Anträge mehrerer Staaten sind bei der UNESCO bisher selten. Die vier Partner sind zuversichtlich, dass ihr Antrag Erfolg haben wird. Auch hoffen sie, dass sich ihnen weitere Länder mit ihren Wikingerstätten anschließen werden. Erste Signale hierzu aus Kanada und Norwegen sind positiv.Read the rest of this article...
'Diabetes' as described by Byzantine writers from the fourth to the ninth c
2008-05-26 08:56:00 According to a study from Thessaloniki, Greece, "Diabetes was first extensively described by Aretaeus of Cappadocia, and his contemporary, Galen of Pergamum, in the second century AD. Aretaeus is said to have introduced the term diabetes, though there are some indications of previous references to the term.""When referring to the disease, Galen accepts that the term belongs to 'other writers'. There are, in fact, many other Graeco-Roman accounts of diabetes, and in this paper we also examine the texts of Pliny the Elder (first century AD), Rufus of Ephesos (early second century AD), Oribasius (fourth century AD), Stephanus Alexandrinus (fifth century AD), Aetius (sixth century AD), Alexander of Tralles (sixth century AD), and Theophilus Protospatharius (seventh century AD), together with his contemporaries Paulus of Aegina, Stephanus of Athens and Leon of Pella (ninth century AD). All these writers use almost the same terminology when referring to the disease, and consider that sy... More About: Writers
Unique Dutch settlement discovered from Bronze Age
2008-05-26 08:55:00 Amsterdam - Archaeologists have found a settlement dating back to the Bronze Age just north of Eindhoven, a city in the southern Netherlands, Dutch archaeologist Nico Arts told Dutch media Friday. The discovery was made during preparations for the building of a highway junction at Ekkersrijt, north of Eindhoven. The settlement may be the largest ever discovered in the Netherlands, and is definitely the largest settlement ever found in the southern Netherlands. Bronze Age settlements (1500-850 BC) have also been discovered in the province of Drenthe in the eastern Netherlands. However, these are smaller than the Eindhoven settlement. Read the rest of this article... More About: Unique , Settlement
Vandals in attack on Stonehenge
2008-05-26 08:52:00 Suspected souvenir hunters broke into Stonehenge and vandalised the ancient monument, English Heritage has said. A hammer and screwdriver were used to take a small chip the size of a 10p piece from the side of the Heel Stone. English Heritage said further damage was prevented by security guards who spotted the two men at the 5,000-year-old site in Wiltshire. Police believe the vandals could be the same two people caught on CCTV acting suspiciously a few days earlier. Read the rest of this article... More About: Attack
Tower found under mound
2008-05-26 08:51:00 WORK to repair Oxford Castle's mound has revealed a ten-sided tower that has been hidden for more than two centuries.The foundations of a 13th-century tower that once stood on top of the mound were discovered during work to deal with land slippage.Excavation work at the Oxford landmark on New Road has led to a section of the tower seeing the light of day for the first time since the 1790s.The current grass mound is the main surviving part of the Norman castle built by Robert D'Oilly in the 1070s.Read the rest of this article... More About: Tower
SAVING ASIA’S TREASURES: FOGUANG TEMPLE, SHANXI, CHINA
2008-05-13 18:42:00 Location: China Length: 12 min.The 1,200-year old Foguang Temple in Shanxi Province, China, is one the most important remaining wooden architectural jewels of Chinese civilization. Built during the Tang Dynasty, the temple is a tribute to the peak of Buddhist art and architecture from the 9th century AD. Without regular maintenance and conservation by successive Chinese dynasties, the structure has fallen into dangerous state of disrepair. Global Heritage Fund (GHF) will provide funding and expertise for the investigation, planning and scientific conservation of the site.Watch the video... More About: Saving , Treasures
Car park dig for ancient settlement
2008-05-13 18:41:00 ARCHAELOGICAL investigations have started in Neston looking for evidence of an ancient settlement.The results of the investigation will be used in connection with a planning application submitted for a major retail development in the present car park.The dig, between Brook Street and Raby Road, will establish whether more extensive archaeological work would be needed, if planning permission was granted.advertisementFragments of memorial stones from the parish church suggest that there has been a settlement at Neston for at least 1,000 years and examination of early maps and other documentary evidence indicate that the western part of the car park, behind the High Street, lay within the original settlement area.Read the rest of this article... More About: Park , Settlement , Ancient
Mitteldeutscher Archologiepreis
2007-01-29 19:15:01 Wer sich mit der Archologie Mitt eldeutschlands beschftigt, kann sich jetzt an der Ausschreibung des Mitte ldeutschen Archologiepreises beteiligen - Einsendeschluss ist der 15. Februar.Der mit 5.000 ? dotierte Mitteldeutsche Archologiepreis geht an Personen oder Forschergruppen, die sich in besonderem Mae um die Archologie Mitteldeutschlands verdient gemacht haben.Bercksichtigt werden hervorragende wissenschaftliche Leistungen - Magister- bzw. Diplomarbeiten, Dissertationen, Habilitationsschriften, Forschungsstudien oder interdisziplinre Untersuchungen - sowie sonstige herausragende Verdienste fr die Archologie Mitteldeutschlands.Read the rest of this article... More About: Deutsch , Cher , Reis
Private archaeological collection donated to Heritage Malta
2007-01-29 19:15:01 Heritage Malta has received a donation of over 300 Punic and Phoenician artefacts which will enrich the national collection. A selection of these artefacts is being exhibited at the National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta. The collection was donated by Chev. Joseph Sammut who inherited them from his late grandfather Ganni Sammut in 1958.Ganni Sammut was born in 1881; he was a blacksmith of humble origins but with a keen interest in Malta?s history coupled with an inherent talent in identifying and selecting artefacts of intrinsic value.The majority of this collection is made up of business gifts from local contractors which they found while digging the foundations of various buildings in the early 20th century. Another source of acquisition was direct purchase from local auctions. Ganni Sammut sometimes purchased items to prevent such artefacts being acquired by foreigners and hence being exported from Malta. He never sold any artefact, and the collection remained complete.Read the... More About: Heritage , Donate , Private , Logic
Irish river find may be first discovery of Viking ship
2007-01-29 19:15:01 An ancient boat discovered in a riverbed north of Dublin may be the first Viking longship found in the country, Environment and Heritage Minister Dick Roche said.The wreck in the River Boyne, close to the northeastern port of Drogheda, was described by Roche as potentially an "enormously exciting discovery".The vessel, nine metres (30 feet) wide by 16 metres long, was discovered accidentally during dredging operations last November but the find was not made public until now."It is described as clinker built, a shipbuilding technology dating from the Viking era but also still in use centuries later," Roche said.Read the rest of this article... More About: Discovery , Find , Iris , Irish
Paleontologists Discover Most Primitive Primate Skeleton
2007-01-29 01:13:01 The origins and earliest branches of primate evolution are clearer and more ancient by 10 million years than previous studies estimated, according to a study featured on the cover of the Jan. 23 print edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.The paper by researchers at Yale, the University of Winnipeg, Stony Brook University, and led by University of Florida paleontologist Jonathan Bloch reconstructs the base of the primate family tree by comparing skeletal and fossil specimens representing more than 85 modern and extinct species. The team also discovered two 56-million-year-old fossils, including the most primitive primate skeleton ever described.In the two-part study, an extensive evaluation of skeletal structures provides evidence that plesiadapiforms, a group of archaic mammals once thought to be more closely related to flying lemurs, are the most primitive primates. The team analyzed 173 characteristics of modern primates, tree shrews, flying lemurs with p... More About: Skeleton , Primi , Cover , Mate , Over
Archaeology checks for developers
More articles from this author:2007-01-28 13:12:02 Developers building in areas of historic interest in Jersey will have to pay archaeologists to oversee their foundation work under new laws. The planning guidelines were drawn up to protect sites of potential archaeological importance. The guidelines will be enforced on large building developments but on private projects, the government will foot the archaeologists' bills. Read the rest of this article... More About: Archaeology , Developer , Check , Developers , Develop 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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