Pre-Roman Settlement Excavated in Southern England

Archaeology students from Bournemouth University have found the remains of prehistoric people and animal sacrifices in a recently discovered Iron Age settlement in Dorset.

The site, which consists of typical Iron Age round houses and storage pits was discovered by archaeology students last September in Winterborne Kingston, Dorset. It dates from around 100 years BC, well before the Roman invasion of Britain.

Over the course of the last three weeks, a team of 65 students from the university have been excavating the site. During this time, they uncovered the bodies of women and men as well as animal body parts in storage pits originally used to hold grain.

“Sites across Dorset in the Late Iron Age are unique because the communities here buried their dead in defined cemeteries,” explained Dr Miles Russell, an archaeologist at Bournemouth University who is leading the dig. “Elsewhere in the country they would either be cremated or placed in rivers, but in Dorset, it seems they did things rather differently.”

The bodies were found in crouched positions in oval-shaped pits and had been buried with joints of meat and pottery bowls originally containing drinks.

The discovery of prehistoric people who lived on the site and items from their everyday lives is providing the team with fascinating new clues about the Iron Age lifestyle.

“We know a lot about life in Britain during and after the Roman invasion because so much has been written down,” said Dr Russell. “But we do not have anything written about life before, the answers to how they lived come solely from what we find in the ground.”

Teams of students and staff from the University have been surveying and excavating sites in the local area for several years.

In 2015 they carried out an excavation of a large iron age town which they named “Duropolis” after the Durotriges tribes who lived in the region. The settlement they are working on today is situated about half a mile to the north of Duropolis.

In particular, the latest discoveries will help archaeologists understand more about religious practices in communities at the time.

“The animal remains that we’re finding placed in the bottom of pits would have provided weeks of food for this settlement, so it’s a significant sacrifice to their gods to bury so much in the ground. In some pits, animal parts had been placed onto and together with other animals, for example, we found a cow’s head on the body of a sheep.

“We don’t know why they would have done this, to us it’s frankly bizarre, but it’s a fascinating new insight into their belief systems,” explained Dr Russell.

Archaeology student Nathan Sue has been cleaning and preserving the finds from the settlement, including pottery, animal bones and items of jewellery.

“Some of the most exciting finds we have excavated from the dig include a ring that we found on someone’s finger in an associated burial. It is a copper alloy, perhaps bronze and it’s nice to find that as rings of this age are not common,” Nathan said.

Sarah, also studying Archaeology at Bournemouth University, is part of the dig team. She said, “We’ve learnt that the people who lived here two thousand years ago back filled these storage pits with their rubbish and we have found pottery, bone, charcoal and flint. We know that they were burying their dead here and all their limbs are articulated, so they’ve been placed in the ground with care, and they bury their dead in a very specific way so they are very identifiable”.

The excavation will continue for another week and the human bone will be analysed at Bournemouth University before eventually being returned to the ground. The University team will then continue to survey and scan the area of East Dorset for further settlement activity that could reveal more secrets about life in pre-Roman Britain.

Watch the video above to hear more from students and staff on the site

Medieval Prayer Beads Discovered on England’s Holy Island

The first-ever example of prayer beads from medieval Britain has been discovered on the island of Lindisfarne, one of Britain’s most historic ancient sites, to the excitement of archaeologists.

Dating from the 8th to 9th century AD, they were made from salmon vertebrae. Fish an important symbol of early Christianity were clustered around the neck of one of the earliest skeletons – possibly one of the monks buried within the famous early medieval monastery.

Archaeologists are seeking to unearth the lost history of Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, off the coast of Northumberland. It was established by the Kings of Northumbria in the 7th century as an important religious centre and became the scene of the first major Viking raid on Britain in the 8th century.

It was there that monks created the Lindisfarne Gospels – the most spectacular manuscript to survive from Anglo-Saxon England – but there have been few tangible finds at the site.

Dr David Petts, the project co-director and a Durham University specialist in early Christianity, told The Telegraph that the fish vertebrae appear to be prayer beads for personal devotion: “We think of the grand ceremonial side of early medieval life in the monasteries and great works like the Lindisfarne Gospels. But what we’ve got here is something which talks to a much more personal side of early Christianity.”

He paid tribute to Marina Chorro Giner, a zooarchaeologist, for recognising the significance of the vertebrae: “This bright, eagle-eyed researcher looked at them and said, actually these aren’t just fish bones, they’ve been modified and turned into something.”

Discussing the significance of fish and the sea to the island’s medieval inhabitants, he referred to a monk called Cuthbert, who joined Lindisfarne in the 670s and went on to become the most important saint in northern England in the Middle Ages: “We also have the stories of Christ and the Apostles being fishermen and going on the Sea of Galilee and calming storms. We see in Bede’s Life of St Cuthbert, that Cuthbert calming storms. So the sea is symbolically important.”

The beads offer significant information for understanding how people in the past lived and expressed their beliefs through objects.

Their position around the neck suggested that they had been strung like a necklace. The naturally-occurring hole through the centre of salmon vertebrae had been widened, either before threading or through wear.

The discovery follows ongoing excavations at Lindisfarne by DigVentures, an archaeology social enterprise in which volunteers work alongside professionals, as well as Durham University.

‘Remarkable find’

Lisa Westcott Wilkins of DigVentures described it as “a remarkable find”: “Clearly it was important enough that this person was buried with it. This is the only artefact from within a grave on Lindisfarne, so it’s a significant item. As far as we’re aware, it’s the first example of prayer beads found anywhere in medieval Britain.”

She added: “We believe these beads were used as a personal object of faith, especially given that our modern word bead comes from the Old English gebed, meaning ‘prayer’.”

READ ALSO: ANCIENT CHRISTIAN SETTLEMENT DISCOVERED IN EGYPT’S BAHARIYA OASIS

Such is the enormity of the site that the team will continue their excavations for another four years. Other finds have included runic namestones, coins and copper rings.

Mrs Westcott Wilkins said that they are now focussed on the earliest layer within a cemetery that lies next to the ruins of the 12th-century priory: “There are just so many human remains.”

In 1997, at the nearby medieval chapel at Chevington, Northumberland, fish vertebrae were found with similar modifications. But they were from Atlantic cod, among other fish, and that burial dated from the 13th or 14th century, whereas this is so much earlier.

Metal detectorist believes he’s found King John’s 800-year-old lost treasure

A metal detectorist has begun excavating a farm field where he believes he has found the 800-year-old long-lost treasure of King John. Raymond Kosschuk, 63, has been waiting for two years to get approval from the relevant authorities to begin digging at the site in Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire.

The mechanical engineer says he is ‘100 per cent certain’ that the medieval artefact uncovered in 2020 at the undisclosed location belonged to the former King of England. King John, who signed the Magna Carta a year before his death in 1216, lost the treasure during an ill-fated crossing of Wash – an estuary that divides Lincolnshire and Norfolk on October 12, 1216.

Dying only a week later at Newark Castle in Nottinghamshire, from dysentery – or according to some historians by drinking poisoned ale – the hoard has been undiscovered ever since. Raymond is convinced he has struck gold after his equipment picked up ‘overwhelming evidence of the controversial monarch’s lost treasure.

Raymond and the farmer have now begun digging out their findings and will submit them to archaeologists and Lincolnshire’s Finds Officer.

He said: ‘With many ups and downs, the time has finally arrived for what looks and tested to be the prized lost possessions of King John to be excavated from its deep grave of 15 feet below the ground.

‘It will be finally recovered finally this year before the 810th anniversary of its being lost.

‘Nearly two years on from finding the site, and many weeks of testing, and finding other carts of interest but only one proved positive for multiple high-value targets.

‘There is a strong indication that the Royal Regalia is present, along with King John’s 55 rings and many items which have not been seen since, October 1216.

‘All the legal authorities have been contacted as respect to the legal requirements under the 1996 Treasures act, guidelines protocol which are required are being followed.

‘I am excited to be digging.’

Raymond first discovered the site in 2020 after equipment he had invented began to pick up anomalies in the readings of magnetic fields.

So far he has recovered a wealth of artefacts during a quick sweep with a metal detector including hammered blots, nails, an eyelet and even a metal buckle.

Coastal geologists have looked at the core samples taken from the site.

He added: ‘The geologist has confirmed that the ground is consistent with quicksand and they would have gone down quickly.’

He believes that King John had set off from King’s Lynn without a guide and the baggage train, made up of 2,000 people and more than a mile long, was then caught up in a thick fog.

Raymond, of Keighley in West Yorkshire, said previously: ‘In the 13th century they did not have compasses.

‘If the sun was blocked out because of the fog, they would have meandered off.

‘I am 100 per cent certain that this is it. This is the real thing. When I gained access, I isolated an area of high-value targets and it tested positive for elements of gold, silver, emeralds, sapphires and rubies.

‘The biggest attraction of this area I detected an is an accumulation of silver.

‘This tells me there is between 60lb-120lb of silver but it could be more. I believe this was the cash box that King John was carrying.

‘It is sitting out there and if it was so easy to find it would have been found. This has been hidden for 800 years.’

6,000-Year-Old Settlement Found Outside Stonehenge Could “Rewrite British History”

The culture that built Stonehenge might be much older than previously thought. In research that could “rewrite” long-established British history, University of Buckingham archaeologists have discovered a 6,000-year-old Mesolithic settlement located close to the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge.

The discovery of the site, which predates Stonehenge by at least 1,000 years, has massive implications for scholarly understanding of the origins of British civilization.

What they found: History.com reports that the site at Blick Mead is about 1.5 miles from Stonehenge and contains “untouched samples of stone tools, flints and even evidence of possible Mesolithic structures — the only finds of their kind in the Stonehenge World Heritage site.”

The encampment may be proof that Blick Mead was occupied by humans well before Stonehenge was completed between 3,000 and 1,500 B.C., and that Britain had been settled by people before its land bridge to Europe was submerged under what we now call the English Channel more than 8,000 years ago.

Previously, archaeologists had assumed that the Stonehenge site was unoccupied prior to its construction. But the new dig site contains evidence of feasting in the form of aurochs carcasses, indicating that it might have been a meeting site of special significance for hunter-gatherer tribes. It is also located near a valuable natural spring.

“It’s the first proof of people living there earlier, and indicates that Stonehenge could have been planned for years,” a project spokesman told the Daily Mail. “It’s the first indication of a settlement, not just people passing through and dropping tools.”

“British prehistory may have to be rewritten,” dig leader David Jacques said in a press release. “This is the latest-dated Mesolithic encampment ever found in the U.K. Blick Mead site connects the early hunter-gatherer groups returning to Britain after the Ice Age to the Stonehenge area all the way through to the Neolithic in the late 5th millennium B.C.”

“Blick Mead could explain what archaeologists have been searching for centuries — an answer to the story of Stonehenge’s past,” he said.

This has been a big year for Stonehenge: University of Birmingham experts have released other major findings this year, including the results of a sophisticated surveying operation that revealed the Stonehenge site was much bigger than previously understood.

Instead of a standalone structure, the findings suggested that the monument was just the centrepiece of a far larger complex involving at least 17 chapels and hundreds of smaller features.

The survey revealed other secrets of Stonehenge, such as the existence of a burial mound constructed at least 4,000 to 5,000 years ago atop the ruins of a gigantic 6,000-year-old wooden “house of the dead.” New Scientist Sumit Paul-Choudhury writes that the hall was “used to store bodies that had been ritualistically defleshed and disassembled.”

But there’s one major problem: The BBC reports that scheduled tunnel construction to alleviate congestion on the nearby A303 roadway poses the potential to disrupt archaeological study of the site.

“Our only chance to find out about the earliest chapter of Britain’s history could be wrecked if the tunnel goes ahead,” Jacques said. Some researchers worry that the new tunnel could radically alter the local water table, potentially causing serious damage to subsurface relics that have been buried for millennia. 

“There is nothing to celebrate about a proposal that would inflict at least a mile of massively damaging road building on the surface of our most iconic world heritage site,” Friends of the Earth spokesman Mike Birkin told the Guardian. “We have a global duty to safeguard the whole site. The international bodies who hold legal responsibility for world heritage sites have not even been consulted — and there are grave concerns about the damage a short tunnel could cause.”

Hopefully, the authorities can work out a plan that preserves Stonehenge and its remaining secrets for future study — because apparently, it still has much to teach us.

‘Stunning’ Anglo-Saxon burial site found along HS2 route

An Anglo-Saxon burial site containing the remains of more than 140 people interred with some of their most favoured objects, including jewellery, knives and even a personal grooming kit, has been discovered by archaeologists working on the HS2 route.

The site, near Wendover, Buckinghamshire, contained a “stunning set of discoveries”, said the historian Dan Snow. “Traditionally, this period has been dismissed as a dark age. But archaeology has filled the gaps.”

The findings would “tell us more about how our predecessors lived, fought and ultimately died”, he said. “It is one of the best and most revealing post-Roman sites in the country.”

One skeleton, a male aged between 17 and 24 at the time of death, was found with a sharp iron object embedded in his vertebrae, suggesting he suffered a violent death.

Osteologists who have examined the skeleton believe a weapon was thrust into his body from the front before embedding it in his spine.

A vivid blue stain on his collarbone came from a brooch used to hold up garments. Many of the site’s skeletons were found with two collarbone brooches keeping cloaks or peplos – long outer robes worn by women – in place.

One female skeleton was found with a vast array of goods, including a complete ornate pale green glass bowl thought to be made around the turn of the fifth century, indicating she was a person of high status. Other items found with her remains included rings, brooches, iron belt fittings and ivory objects.

The site contained 138 graves with 141 inhumation burials and five cremation burials, making it one of the largest Anglo-Saxon burial grounds uncovered in Britain. More than 2,000 beads were unearthed, along with 89 brooches, 40 buckles, 51 knives, 15 spearheads and seven shield bosses.

Dr Rachel Wood, the lead archaeologist for Fusion JV, the company that carried out the fieldwork, said it was a “once in a lifetime discovery”.

“It’s rare to discover Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, especially with this many individuals – men, women and children – and an amazing range of grave goods.

Almost all the individuals were buried with fantastically decorated brooches, but we’ve also found the glass and amber beads, swords, shield bosses, spearheads, fantastically decorated pottery jewellery – quite a lot of unique objects.

“The fifth and sixth centuries are not ones we know a lot about, and all the objects we found will be able to tell us a lot about these people. It gives us a great snapshot of society.”

Most of the individuals appear to have been relatively wealthy, able to import some of the items from across Europe. Two glass cone beakers that were uncovered intact would have been used to drink wine brought to England from abroad. The beakers are similar to ones that were made in northern France, although some were also made in England at the time.

The discoveries include personal grooming items, such as ear wax removers, toothpicks, tweezers, combs and a tube that may have contained a cosmetic such as eyeliner.

A team of 30 archaeologists worked on the site for almost a year, completing fieldwork in 2021. As well as the Anglo-Saxon burial ground, evidence of Neolithic, bronze age, iron age and Roman activity was discovered.

The HS2 route has proven rich in archaeological finds. More than 1,000 archaeologists have worked on 60 separate sites between London and the West Midlands over the past three years.

Objects that have been unearthed will be preserved and many will eventually be displayed in museums. But larger finds will be bulldozed to make way for the new rail line.

‘Rare and significant’ brooch found at site linked to KING ARTHUR

Archaeologists stumbled across the “rare and significant” piece of jewellery and hailed it as the first evidence that the area was home to the rich and powerful during the time. The Romano-British brooch was discovered in a field at St Mabyn, Cornwall, less than a mile from Castle Killibury hill fort, previously identified as the origin of Arthur’s Camelot.

The discovery has now raised the prospect that the brooch might once have belonged to his queen, Guinevere.

The hill fort is today known as Castle Killibury and has not previously yielded much interest after being ploughed for centuries.

The brooch was found in a meadow known as Chapelfield, where developers are now seeking planning permission to build 14 houses.

The piece of jewellery is made of a copper alloy and archaeologists think it dates from the 5th or 6th century – around the time a real King Arthur might have lived.

Although many sites claim to be associated with Arthur, what makes the Castle Killibury hill fort of potential significance is that the connection was first suggested by Welsh writers. 

Usually, claims are made to serve more parochial interests.

Romano-British copper alloy brooches signify that the people who lived here had some importance

The artefact is currently undergoing recording and conservation at the Royal Cornwall Museum.

The owners of the brooch, who also own the field where it was found, live in Malaysia.

But the publicly-available archaeological report attached to Cornwall Council’s planning documents says: “The brooch is a rare and significant find, suggestive of a reasonably ‘well-healed’ Romano-British farmstead settlement.”

The archaeologists were surprised by the discovery, as they had been expecting only medieval finds.

Some Arthurian scholars claim that the 11th-century Welsh tale of Culhwch and Olwen – thought to be the very first literary reference to a legendary King Arthur – placed his headquarters at “Celliwig in Cornwall”.

They suggest that the similarity of the name, and the fact that it is a hill fort from the right period in history, place the site at Castle Killibury. 

Other scholars dispute this and say the Culhwch and Olwen story places Arthur’s headquarters in Wales.

The St Mabyn brooch was found in May and is described in a report written last month. 

It comes just weeks after archaeologists, commissioned by English Heritage found evidence of an important Romano-British castle at Tintagel, long celebrated by poets as King Arthur’s birthplace.

The “Pompeii” Of Bronze Age Houses Was Just Uncovered In Britain

In the marshy fens of Cambridgeshire, archaeologists have uncovered what is being described as the “best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found” in Britain.

The incredible find provides a snapshot into the everyday life of those living in the marshes around 3,000 years ago. Following a fire, the circular houses and their contents collapsed into an underlying river and became enveloped in a thick layer of silt, perfectly frozen in time. 

The houses show an astonishing level of preservation. Not only have the posts that supported the floors and beams of the roof survived in situ but an array of objects from everyday life have also been spectacularly preserved.

From textiles and tools to cooking pots that still contain their last meal, the incredible conditions have led some to compare it to a Bronze Age Pompeii.

The extent of domestic objects found sandwiched between the roof and the floor when the house collapsed is unprecedented from any British site.

“It feels almost rude to be intruding,” explained Mark Knight, director of the site that is being excavated by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, to The Guardian.

“It doesn’t feel like archaeology anymore, it feels like somebody’s house has burned down and we’re going in and picking over their goods.” These goods were not just everyday objects either, many were precious and expensive at the time.

A bronze sickle has been found, for example, as have glass beads that may once have formed a necklace.

The dwellings were originally discovered in 1999 when a series of poles were noticed sticking out of the edge of the fen. But it wasn’t until 2006 when extensive excavations revealed the true extent of what had been preserved in the waterlogged ground, that the significance of the site really became apparent.

The settlement was built on a series of poles sunk deep into the river channel over which they sat. At the time they were standing, the region would have been a watery network of rivers winding their way through the marshes before emptying out into the Northern Sea.

And yet despite residing in the marshes, it seems that the people were not living off them. The researchers were surprised to find that they were not eating fish, eels or clams, nor were they using reeds to make things with. Instead, it seems they were eating domestic animals such as pigs and sheep.

The spine of a cow was even found in one of the smaller buildings, leaving some to suggest that the meat may have been left to hang before the fire destroyed everything.

Considering the closest dry land where grazing could have occurred at the time was around half a kilometre (0.3 miles) away, this completely changes how archaeologists thought Bronze Age people utilized the landscape and resources surrounding them.  

This could imply that the location of the settlement had less to do with food, and more to do with control.

During this time, the rivers would have been the main transport links, so perhaps by controlling these, the inhabitants could have gained wealth, power, and status, an idea supported by the variety of food found buried in the buildings.  

17th-Century British Shipwreck Found in International Waters

The discovery of a shipwrecked warship that sank while carrying a future king has been hailed as the most important maritime find since the Mary Rose. The Gloucester ran aground off the coast of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in 1682, nearly killing the Duke of York, who became King James II of England.

The find, which was discovered by divers in 2007, has only just been revealed due to security reasons. Maritime expert Prof Claire Jowitt said it was of “international importance”.

The Gloucester’s exact whereabouts were a mystery until it was discovered 15 years ago half-buried in the seabed 28 miles (45km) out to sea, having sunk while navigating treacherous sandbank. The disaster, in which hundreds of passengers and crew died, threatened to change the course of history. However, the then Duke of York fled the sinking ship with moments to spare and went on to become the Catholic heir to the Protestant throne in an era marked by religious and political unrest.

Prof Jowitt, an authority on maritime cultural history and based at Norwich’s University of East Anglia (UEA), said: “Because of the circumstances of its sinking, this can be claimed as the single most significant historic maritime discovery since the raising of the Mary Rose in 1982.

“The discovery promises to fundamentally change understanding of 17th Century social, maritime and political history.

“It is an outstanding example of the underwater cultural heritage of national and international importance… the full story of the Gloucester’s last voyage and the impact of its aftermath needs re-telling.”

Norfolk-based printer brothers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell, together with their late father, friend James Little and another unnamed friend, spent four years on diving expeditions to find the Gloucester’s watery grave. Lincoln said he was inspired by memories of the Mary Rose’s lifting, but the team was feeling defeated when he eventually spotted a large cannon on the seabed.

Listen: The Norfolk men who found HMS Gloucester

“It was awe-inspiring and really beautiful,” he said.

“It instantly felt like a privilege to be there, it was so exciting.

“We were the only people in the world at that moment in time who knew where the wreck lay – that was special and I’ll never forget it.”

His brother Julian said they initially had no idea how historically significant the Gloucester was.

“We had read the Duke of York was on board but that was it,” he said.

“We were confident it was the Gloucester, but there are other wreck sites out there with cannons, so it still needed to be confirmed.

“There is still a huge amount of knowledge to be gained from the wreck, which will benefit Norfolk and the nation.”

Although the team discovered the 340-year-old shipwreck in 2007, it was not until the ship’s bell was recovered in 2012 that the Receiver of Wreck and Ministry of Defence decisively identified it. Since then the “at-risk” site – in international waters – has had to be protected, which is why the discovery is only now being made public and its exact location undisclosed.

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A major exhibition is being planned to run from February to July 2023 at Norwich Castle Museum. An accompanying research project will also examine the circumstances of the tragedy and conspiracy theories.

While the Gloucester was not a slave-trading ship, many people from diverse cultural backgrounds lost their lives and historians will make sure their stories are told, the UEA said.

What was The Gloucester and what is left of it?

Launched in 1654 with 54 guns and 280 crew, The Gloucester is the only surviving third-rate Cromwellian warship. It took part in multiple battles and became part of the Royal Navy fleet after 1660, when King Charles II was restored to the throne. The shipwreck is split down the keel, with remains of the hull submerged in sand, and it is not known how much of it is intact. There are no plans to raise any part of it.

As well as the ship’s bell, divers have found clothes, shoes, navigational equipment, personal possessions and unopened wine bottles. One of the wine bottles bears a glass seal with the coat of arms of the Legge family – ancestors of George Washington, the first US President. No human remains have been found so far – only animal bones.

Did the future King save dogs and priests over crew?

The Gloucester had set sail from Portsmouth to Edinburgh to allow the Duke of York to conduct royal business at the Scottish Parliament. It struck a sandbank during a strong gale 28 miles (45km) off Great Yarmouth on the morning of 6 May 1682 and sank within an hour. The Duke of York and John Churchill, the future Duke of Marlborough, were rescued in the ship’s boat. While some of the estimated 330 people on board were rescued by boats from the fleet, it is believed between 130 and 250 sailors and passengers perished.

Witnesses claimed the future King saved Catholic priests and his dogs over courtiers and crew, and, given that a royal had to leave a ship first, caused countless deaths by delaying his escape. He accepted no responsibility for the tragedy – despite arguing over the ship’s course, as former Lord High Admiral – and blamed the pilot, who was later imprisoned. The diarist Samuel Pepys, who was travelling in the royal fleet, wrote that some survivors and victims were plucked “half dead” from the sea.

What would’ve happened if the Duke of York had died?

The Duke of York went on to become King James II of England and Ireland (and King James VII of Scotland) in 1685, on his brother’s death. Had he drowned in 1682, King Charles II’s illegitimate son, James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth, might well have inherited the throne. The reign of King James II – a Catholic – was marked by political and religious turmoil and he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Some of those who took part had taken a dim view of the Duke over his actions on The Gloucester.

The revolution created a new type of state, contributed greatly to the modern world and might not have happened had he died at sea, the UEA said. Alternatively, civil war might have ensued between those who supported the Duke of Monmouth against the claims of the Duke of York’s legitimate daughter, Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange, it added.