Bronze Age logboat remains found at Faversham boatyard

In a Cambridgeshire quarry in the suburbs of Peterborough, a group of eight ancient vessels, including a float about nine meters long. The boats, all purposely sunk more than 3,000 years ago, are the largest group of vessels in the Bronze Age in the same UK, most of whom are remarkably well preserved.

One is covered inside and out with decorative carving described by conservator Ian Panter as looking “as if they’d been playing noughts and crosses all over it”.

Another has handles carved from the oak tree trunk for lifting it out of the water. One still floated after 3,000 years and one has traces of fires lit on the wide flat deck on which the catch was evidently cooked.

Many had ancient repairs, including clay patches and an additional section shaped and pinned in where a branch was cut away. They were preserved by the waterlogged silt in the bed of a long-dried-up creek, a tributary of the River Nene, which buried them deep below the ground.

“There was huge excitement over the first boat, and then they were phoning the office saying they’d found another, and another, and another, until finally, we were thinking, ‘Come on now, you’re just being greedy,'” Panter said.

The boats were deliberately sunk into the creek, as several still had slots for transoms – boards closing the stern of the boat – which had been removed.

Archaeologists are struggling to understand the significance of the find. Whatever the custom meant to the bronze age fishermen and hunters who lived in the nearby settlement, it continued for centuries. The team from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit is still waiting for the results of carbon 14 dating tests but believes the oldest boats date from around 1,600 BC and the most recent 600 years later.

They already knew the creek had great significance – probably as a rich source of fish and eels – as in previous seasons at the Much Farm site they had found ritual deposits of metalwork, including spears.

The boats themselves may have been ritual offerings or may have been sunk for more pragmatic reasons, to keep the timber waterlogged and prevent it from drying out and splitting when not in use – but in that case it seems strange that such precious objects were never retrieved.

Some of the boats were made from huge timbers, including one from an oak which must have had a meter-thick trunk and stood up to 20 meters tall. This would have been a rare specimen as sea levels rose and the terrain became more waterlogged, creating the Fenland landscape of marshes, creeks, and islands of gravel.

“Either this was the Bermuda Triangle for bronze age boats, or there is something going on here that we don’t yet understand,” Panter said.

Kerry Murrell, the site director, said: “Some show signs of long use and repair – but others are in such good condition they look as if you could just drop the transom board back in and paddle away.”

The boats were all nicknamed by the team, including Debbie – made of lime wood, and therefore deemed a blonde – and French Albert the Fifth Musketeer, the fifth boat found. Murrell’s favourite is Vivienne, a superb piece of craftsmanship where the solid oak was planed down with bronze tools to the thickness of a finger, still so light and buoyant that when their trench filled with rainwater, they floated it into its cradle for lifting and transportation.

Because the boats were in such striking condition, they have been lifted intact and transported two miles, in cradles of scaffolding poles and planks, for conservation work at the Flag Fen archaeology site – where a famous timber causeway contemporary with the boats was built up over centuries until it stretched for almost a mile across the fens.

“My first thought was to deal with them in the usual way, by chopping them into more manageably sized chunks, but when I actually saw them they just looked so nice, I thought we had to find another way,” Panter, an expert on waterlogged timber from York Archaeological Trust, said. “I think if I’d arrived on the site with a chainsaw, the team would have strung me up.”

Must Farm, now a quarry owned by Hanson UK, which has funded the excavation, has already yielded a wealth of evidence of prehistoric life, including a settlement built on a platform partly supported by stilts in the water, where artifacts including fabrics woven from wool, flax, and nettles were found. Instead of living as dry-land hunters and farmers, the people had become experts at fishing: one eel trap found near the boats is identical to those still used by Peter Carter, the last traditional eel fisherman in the region.

The boats will be on display at Flag Fen, viewed through windows in a container chilled to below 5c – funded with a £100,000 grant from English Heritage which regards their discovery as of outstanding importance – built within a barn at the site. At the moment conservation technician Emma Turvey, dressed in layers of winter clothes, is spending up to eight hours a day spraying the timbers to keep them waterlogged and remove any potentially decaying impurities. They will then be impregnated with a synthetic wax, polyethylene glycol, before being gradually dried out over the next two years for permanent display.

Murrell is convinced there is more to be found down in the silt.

“The creek continued outside the boundaries of the quarry, so it’s off our site – but the next person who gets a chance to investigate will find more boats, I can almost guarantee it.”

A 1,800-year-old Roman signet ring engraved with the goddess of Victory Found in a field in Somerset.

An amateur treasure hunter has made a ‘stunning’ find from the Roman era in the south-west of England.  With the help of a metal detector, the man discovered a golden ring at a site being investigated by local archaeologists.

The find is being hailed as very important and one of the most significant finds from the Roman-era in the area in recent years. This discovery has kindled a new excitement regarding the importance of the location where it was discovered and illustrates once again the significant role amateur archaeologists play in unearthing the past.

The Roman gold signet ring with an engraving of ancient victory goddess Victoria / Nike has been found by Jason Massey in a field near Crewkerne, BBC News reports.

Massey, who is part of the Detecting for Veterans group, found the Roman gold ring last Sunday after he unearthed some 60 Roman coins.

At first, he thought he had found his first gold coin but the find turned out to be a gold ring weighing 48 grams (1.7 oz).

The Roman ring is described as one of the most substantial archaeological finds in the recent history of England’s Somerset County and is thought to date back to the period between 200 and 300 AD.

The 3rd century AD Ancient Roman gold ring has been discovered in the same spot. Massey and other amateur detectorists stumbled upon a large number of coins and a Roman grave containing coffin lined with lead.

According to Massey, the site in question near Crewkerne, Somerset County, may have once housed a “very high-status Roman villa”.

“There’s a load of figures floating about [for the value of the ring] but we’re interested in the villa, who’s lived there and where they’ve come from and who the person was that wore this ring,” he says.

“There are a couple of gold rings of that sort of date from Somerset but they’re not common. Gold is… an indication that the owner is fairly wealthy,” comments Ciorstaidh Hayward-Trevarthen, finds liaison officer for South West Heritage Trust.

The Ancient Roman grave containing a lead coffin and over 250 coins that Massey and other amateur detectorists found in last year that was dated to ca. 400 AD

A total of six out of some 200 similar Roman lead coffins found in all of the UK have been discovered in the southwestern Somerset County.

In 2016, there were a total of 37 reported cases of treasure found in Somerset in 2016, the largest for five years.

Somerset County is in England’s top 10 local authority areas for treasure, according to official figures from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Norfolk County topped the list with 130 discoveries in 2016.

Pompeii of the North: London’s most important excavation ever unearths a Roman treasure

Just yards from the River Thames – in what is now the capital’s financial district – archaeologists have found coins, pottery, shoes, lucky charms, and an amber Gladiator amulet which date back almost 2,000 years.

Situated on the largest swathe of the lost Walbrook River still remaining in the City, the wet conditions have created perfect conditions for the survival of archaeological material, giving an extraordinary glimpse into life in bustling Roman Londinium. Even objects and structures made of wood and leather – which normally rarely stand the test of time – have been discovered, leading archaeologists to dub the site “the Pompeii of the north.”

Experts excavating the site, which lies alongside a huge building project for new offices on Queen Victoria Street, have uncovered wooden structures from the 40s AD around 40ft (12 meters) beneath the ground.

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The discoveries have been so well preserved in the muddy waters of the lost Walbrook River that archaeologists have nicknamed the site ‘the Pompeii of the North’.

Sadie Watson, the site director  from the Museum of London Archaeology, said: ‘Certainly the archaeology on this project so far is probably the most important excavation ever held within London, certainly within Roman London

‘The depth, the preservation, the extent of the archaeology – the entire Roman period is represented by fantastic buildings as well as artifacts.’

The three-acre site, which was once on the banks of the River Walbrook, is also home to the Temple of Mithras, discovered in the 1950s.

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It has offered experts an unprecedented glimpse into life in the bustling center of Roman Londinium. Archaeologists from the museum were able to excavate the area when work to build the vast Bloomberg Place development began.

Since then around 10,000 accessioned finds have been discovered by 60 archaeologists – the largest haul of small finds to have ever been recovered on a single excavation in the capital.

Approximately 3,500 tonnes of soil have been excavated by hand, which is around 21,000 barrows full.

More than 100 fragments of Roman writing tablets have been unearthed, while 700 boxes of pottery fragments will be analyzed by specialists.

This site has provided the largest quantity of Roman leather to have ever been unearthed in the capital, including hundreds of shoes.

Sophie Jackson, from the museum, said: ‘The site is a wonderful slice through the first four centuries of London’s existence.

‘The waterlogged conditions left by the Walbrook stream have given us layer upon layer of Roman timber buildings, fences, and yards, all beautifully preserved and containing amazing personal items, clothes, and even documents – all of which will transform our understanding of the people of Roman London.’

Everyday Life In A Bronze Age Village Emerges In U.K. Excavation

Must Farm, an extraordinarily well-preserved Late Bronze Age settlement in Cambridgeshire, in the East of England, drew attention in national and international media as ‘Britain’s Pompeii’ or the ‘Pompeii of the Fens’.

The major excavation was funded by Historic England and Forterra Building Products Ltd, which owns the Must Farm quarry.

What did villagers in England eat for dinner 3,000 years ago? And what were they wearing?

These are the kinds of questions that archaeologists believe they can answer with a Bronze Age-era discovery at the Must Farm Quarry, some 80 miles north of London.

“What’s special about this is, it’s not the archaeology of the important people. It’s not burial mounds. This is the archaeology of the home,” David Gibson from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit says in an interview with All Things Considered.

The research team says say these circular Bronze Age homes were perched on stilts above a river.

Archaeologists believe that when a fire started, the residents fled, and their dwellings sunk into the river where they were preserved by the silt, creating a unique snapshot of everyday life thousands of years ago.

Among this treasure trove are whole pots with food inside, textiles made from plant fibers, a longboat, weapons, and colorful beads.

Gibson says they’re sending off pots for analysis. “It might even tell us exactly what their last meal was before the fire struck,” he says. And somewhat chillingly, “we know it was sudden because one of the pots with the food still had its wooden spoon stuck in it.”

He adds that they’ve found 29 complete food vessels and pots, ranging in size from 2 feet high to 2 inches. “It’s almost like someone has gone to the department store and ordered the full set for their house,” Gibson says.

It’s the “best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found in Britain,” preservation group Historic England says in a statement.

Historic England and the Forterra Quarry are funding this $1,588,000 project over four years.

“Normally, when we do archaeology, we see the decay of a settlement, we see it going out of use, and we see the slow back-fill overtime of the ditches and the pits.

We don’t see a snapshot. So this is almost like, you get the opportunity to peek through the curtains and see people actually in their daily moment,” archaeologist Selina Davenport told the BBC.

Archaeologists are still excavating the site. They say the findings will eventually be displayed at nearby museums.

Solid gold ring with the lord of rings inscription found in the field

A gold ring engraved with a romantic message has been unearthed centuries after it was last seen.

Amateur treasure hunter Morley Howard was metal detecting in a newly ploughed field in Highbridge, Somerset, when he made his discovery.

The ring, with a Lord of the Rings-style inscription reading ‘In thee my choys I do rejoys’ is thought to be a 300-year-old posy ring, traditionally given by lovers in Elizabethan times.

Mr Howard, from Burnham-on-Sea, is now waiting for the ring to be dated by the British Museum.

He said: ‘When previously metal detecting on this land I’d only unearthed pre-decimal and modern items, but when the farmer recently ploughed the land, I thought I’d give it a couple of hours again.’

‘My metal detector was quiet initially, but just as I was about to turn around, my machine gave a good strong signal and I dug a small plug and lifted the soil to reveal a small band of yellow.

‘It was a marvellous moment – I thought what a loss it must have been for the owner at the time, but it was also a joy for me to get a treasure find.’

He took the ring to the Somerset Heritage Centre before sending it on to the British Museum where it will be verified by jewellery experts.

But Mr Howard believes it is an Elizabethan posy ring, which were traditionally given by lovers with romantic messages engraved on the inside in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.

He said: ”Many posy rings were made for women and are smaller, but this one is a male ring and weighs 6.8 grams.  It’s hard to date as there are no maker’s initials or hallmarks.

‘These posy rings can have a value of between £1,500-£4,000, and if it’s proven to be more than 300 years old it will be offered to a local museum to acquire.

‘If a museum wants it, they’ll have to pay the land owner 50 per cent and myself 50 per cent once it’s been valued. 

‘If the ring is not acquired by a museum, then it’s returned to me and the land owner and we’ll decide what to do with it.’

The inscription is typical for a ring of the period. 

Burnham-on-Sea dates back to Roman times, making it a favourite with treasure hunters.  In 1607 the Bristol Channel flooded, swamping Burnham and leaving many treasures buried under the mud the water brought.  

Found with a metal detector: 52,503 bronze and silver Roman coins in a ceramic pot

The Frome Hoard is a hoard of 52,503 Roman coins found by metal detectorist Dave Crisp near Frome in Somerset, England.  The coins were contained in a ceramic pot 45 cm (18 in) in diameter, and date from AD 253 to 305.

Most of the coins are made from debased silver or bronze. The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain and is also important as it contains the largest group ever found of coins issued during the reign of Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from 286 to 293 and was the first Roman emperor to strike coins in Britain.

The Museum of Somerset in Taunton, using a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), has acquired the hoard, officially valued at £320,250.

The hoard was discovered while Crisp was metal detecting in a field near Frome where he had previously found late Roman silver coins.

The late Roman coins, eventually totalling 62, were probably the remnants of a scattered hoard, 111 of which had been found on the same farm in 1867.

Whilst searching for more coins from the scattered hoard he received what he called a “funny signal” and on digging down about 35 cm (14 in) he found a small radiate coin and the top of the pot. Realizing that this must be an intact coin hoard he stopped digging and filling in the hole he had made.

Crisp notified Katie Hinds, the Portable Antiquities Scheme Finds Liaison Officer for Wiltshire, that he had found the hoard of coins.

Hinds, together with Anna Booth (Finds Liaison Officer for Somerset) and Alan Graham—an independent archaeologist contracted by Somerset County Council—visited the site to carry out an emergency excavation.

The excavation, led by Graham and assisted by Hinds, Booth, Crisp, and members of the landowner’s family, was performed over three days.

Graham initially excavated a 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) trench around the small hole that Crisp had dug and identified the pit in which the pot had been deposited.

A small black-burnished ware bowl had been inverted over the mouth of the larger pot, to form a lid.

First, he excavated the pit fill around the exterior of the pot, identifying organic matter which might represent packing material to protect it, and determined that the pot had been broken in situ long before its discovery.

He then excavated the pot itself. Due to the weight of the contents, the need for speedy excavation due to security concerns and the difficulty in lifting the broken pot with the contents still inside—which would be the preferred archaeological method, so that the contents could be excavated in controlled, laboratory conditions—the decision was taken to excavate the coins in the field.

The coins were removed in 12 layers, by which method it was hoped to determine if there was any chronological pattern in the deposition of the coins; that is, whether the earliest coins were at the bottom and the latest coins at the top.  

The coins were collected in 66 labeled bags, and in total weighed approximately 160 kg (350 lb). Graham excavated and recorded the finds, and the others bagged the coins as Graham lifted them out.

The face of Priest Buried at Lincoln Cathedral Reconstructed

A facial reconstruction of a medieval priest found buried at Lincoln Cathedral has been unveiled.

The clergy members ‘ discoveries and facial reconstruction have been shared by archeologists who unearthed a particularly rare Medieval priestly burial in the Lincoln cathedral earlier this year to allow us to see the priest’s face and to give us an insight in what life would have been like for him.

Allen Archaeology Ltd, Lincoln, has uncovered the priest’s burial during an excavation –as part of the Lincoln Cathedral Connected project – to enable drainage works and landscaping around the Cathedral, in the area that is now the building’s West Parvis.

The skeleton analysis has confirmed that the medieval priest was a man, about 169 cm tall and died between the ages of 35 and 45 years old, but most likely in his late 30s.

Regarding the associated grave goods interred with him – a pewter chalice and paten which are key symbols of the work of a priest and used during communion – the report shows that these objects were plain in style, and similar examples have been dated back to as far as the 12th and 13th centuries.

Inverness-based forensic artist Hew Morrison, used Allen Archaeology’s findings and photographs of the skull, to build up a reconstruction of the priest’s face.

The outcome looks like a real-life photo; enabling the people of Lincoln and Lincolnshire to come face to face with the medieval priest.

Forensic studies have shown that facial reconstruction techniques do not create an exact likeness, but a close representative image of a particular person that could be recognized by those who knew them.

In this instance, without the availability of DNA testing, the colour of the hair and eyes, etc. are conjectural, but the features of the priest’s skull – his close-set eyes and slightly asymmetrical chin – plus his estimated age at the time of death, are factual information that forms the basis for facial reconstruction.

From the bone report, a number of interesting and unusual traits were found on the rest of the priest’s body.

There was little sign in the skeleton that he had suffered from any disease or injury during his life, with the exception of a small lump resulting from deep tissue bruising and small deposits of mineralized dental plaque.

Hypoplasia (underdevelopment of tissue) which was seen in a neck vertebra, may have been associated with asymmetry of the blood vessels, but whilst this has been shown to increase predisposition to certain types of stroke, it is not possible to conclude that the priest had any associated symptoms.

The degeneration of the discs of his lower spine shows that the priest was involved in some level of physical activity, and are within the changes that would be expected to have occurred with age. His remains suggest that he was apparently well-nourished and had a relatively risk-free lifestyle.

The Revd Canon, John Patrick, Subdean of Lincoln, said: “These excavation findings are truly captivating and the historical insights we gain are a testament to the rich history of the religious site.

This burial was one of many significant objects discovered during renovation works and we look forward to being able to see many of these treasures in the new visitor center.

“The whole cathedral team and I hope everyone is keeping well in these unprecedented times and we are eager to welcome people back to the cathedral once government lockdown measures are lifted.”

During this excavation, a host of other fascinating historic artifacts were unearthed which are currently being studied and dated. It is planned that some will be displayed as part of the new Lincoln Cathedral visitor centre, which is currently under construction due to complete later this year.

A senior manager at Allen Archaeology, Natasha Powers, said: “This burial is just one of the fascinating discoveries that our team has made during the Cathedral Connected project. We have revealed new evidence of Roman, Saxon, medieval, Tudor and Victorian activity within the site, and full analysis of the 50 or so burials that have been unearthed will provide us with a window into understanding the lives of the medieval population of Lincoln.”

The area between the West Front of the cathedral and the neighboring Exchequergate Arch is known to have been used as a burial ground for not only the cathedral but the church of St Mary Magdalene, in nearby Bailgate. Part of the area of the Dean’s Green was also used as a burial ground for the cathedral, as were the many green spaces surrounding it.

The National Lottery-funded Connected project includes the delivery of vital restoration and renovation works to the iconic Lincoln Cathedral which is due to complete in 2022. The works will provide news spaces for all to enjoy, including a new visitor center, and will help to protect and safeguard the cathedral for generations to come.

Well-Preserved Medieval Brooch Discovered in England

The origins of a 1,100-year-old brooch found in a lorry-load of soil may be “a mystery” that is never solved, say archaeologists.

According to the archaeologists who think the brooch being discovered in a lorry full of soil means its original resting place will stay a mystery.

The valuable silver item dates back to the end of the 9th century. It was found in a field of Great Dunham, Norfolk, UK, when landscaping of a field was being developed.

The brooch was found in a lorry full of soil being used during the landscaping project. The landowner doesn’t know exactly where the soil came from.

It is not known where the soil came from, but experts say the find is similar to the nearby Pentney Hoard. The British Museum said the discovery was of “national importance”.

An inquest – the process by which the find may be officially declared treasure – has been opened in Norwich and will conclude on 9 June.

The brooch was found by an inexperienced detectorist on 9 May 2019, on just his third-day detecting.

He initially thought the piece was Victorian, but when archaeologists at Norfolk County Council were alerted they visited the scene to excavate further.

During the dig, the team found a 19th Century plough buried beneath the level of the Saxon brooch, suggesting the brooch had been deposited from elsewhere.

The landowner said he had dumped topsoil on the field to level it, but did not know where the delivery had come from.

“He said he flagged down the occasional lorry,” said Steven Ashley, the council’s senior finds archaeologist.

“They wouldn’t have moved the soil very far, so it’s likely to be from central or west Norfolk somewhere.

“I think it would be very hard to trace the provenance of the brooch now. I think it will remain a mystery.”

‘National significance’

The brooch, about three inches (7cm) in diameter, features a cross with concave arms, over a saltire, and is decorated with animals in the Trewhiddle style, with a fastening pin on the back.

Mr Ashley said the “remarkable” piece had similarities to the Pentney Hoard, a find of six disc brooches in 1978 in West Norfolk.

“It looks to me that they were made by the same craftsman or in the same workshop,” he added. Prof Michael Lewis of the British Museum said it was “of national significance”.

He said the brooch was likely to have belonged to someone of “relatively high status” because of its high silver content.