sending slaves to the Vikings in Dublin

sending slaves to the Vikings in Dublin, Ireland

Exactly when the city was founded is unknown. The earliest relic is a silver coin in the Royal Collection at Stockholm, Sweden. The coin bears the image of Ethelred Unrede (978 – 1016) and was minted in Bricgstowe (Bristol) by a man named Aelfweld. If Bristol was important enough to have a mint by 978 it must have been in existance sometime before then.
It is fairly certain that no town existed here before 577 AD. The reason being that in 577 two Saxon kings (Cuthwine and Ceawlin) fought and killed three British kings (Commail, Condidan and Farinmail) at a village called Dyrham near Pucklechurch, just outside of the present city. Although the towns of Bath, Gloucester and Cirencester are mentioned in the account of this battle, Bristol isn’t mentioned at all, even though it would have been closer than those mentioned.
Thus, Bristol was founded sometime between 577 and 978 AD. Even by this latter date the town was known to be dealing sending slaves to the Vikings in Dublin, Ireland.
Bridges at this time were of vital importance. There are three reasons why Bristol, as a port, is situated 7 miles inland with access to ships up a very tortuous river. A bridge across the Avon nearer it’s mouth would have been technologically very difficult, the land there was very prone to flooding and the town would have been very exposed to attack. Ships would make their way up the Avon until they reached Bristol Bridge and lay beached at low tide on the mud ready to be unloaded.

Zoo wardens could use the recorded call of an escaped lynx's mother in a bid to capture it.

The wild cat, named Flaviu, was reported missing from Dartmoor Zoo on Thursday.
Staff believe the animal is on farmland around the zoo, near Plymouth.
Bedding from the creature's former home at Port Lympne Reserve in Kent will also be used as the round-the-clock search continues.
More on the missing wild cat, plus more Devon and Cornwall news

Image copyright Dartmoor Zoo

Image caption Keepers at Dartmoor Zoo found that newly-arrived Flaviu had escaped

Dartmoor Zoo owner Ben Mee said he was hoping to get the recording of Flaviu's mother Klementyna, who remains at Port Lympne.
He said: "Flaviu is a bit of a mummy's boy, so we think he is really missing his mum.
"That is why he could have escaped last week, because he was trying to get back to her."
Flaviu arrived in Dartmoor on Wednesday.

Image copyright Google

Image caption The zoo took delivery of the animal on Wednesday, but it escaped on Thursday morning

Park staff have set a number of humane traps after a sighting on farm land outside the boundary of the park in Sparkwell.
Mr Mee said he was sure Flaviu was still in the area.
He added: "We have definite signs - we would have expected to catch a badger or a fox by now, but something is scaring them off.
"Livestock in the area is herding around its young protectively and our wolves are prowling in that direction."
He said Flaviu would not be starving as he had been used to catching wild animals at his former home.
He also asked people to stay away or the operation could be compromised.
Police have also said Flaviu, which is the size of a large domesticated cat, could be dangerous if cornered.

Ivy killing trees in England

whilst driving and photographing large parts of somerset and devon many beautifull trees need urgent help strangled by Ivy
1st photos at tamerton foliot to warleigh

missing lynx.

A dog walker who came across a dead sheep near Dartmoor Zoo believes it may be connected to the missing lynx.
The resident of Lutton, who did not want to be named, said he was walking his dog this morning and accidentally strayed into a segregated area where Flaviu the lynx is believed to be living.
"I came across a sheep which had been killed," he said.
"It had an open wound on the top of its neck.

"It might have died of natural causes then something has tried to eat it, I'm not sure because I'm not a qualified vet.
"It seems a bit of a coincidence that this sheep has died in the segregated area while the lynx is still missing."


Read more: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/dartmoor-zoo-to-probe-sheep-attack-as-lynx-hunt-enters-second-week/

DUNSTER

DUNSTER17

there, though the historian quaintly adds that the plague was at the same time “ hot round Dunster.” Behind what is still called the Prince’s bedchamber is a secret chamber or hiding-place of small dimensions. Later, the Castle was besieged by Colonel Blake, the Parliamentarian Governor of Taunton, who, after a close siege of 160 days, forced Colonel Francis Wyndham to surrender, but with the honours of war. In 1648 the Castle was the prison of William Prynne, who had been sent there by Oliver Cromwell. During his imprisonment he employed his time in examining and scheduling the many documents connected with the history of the Castle. Perhaps the most interesting of these is a small slip of parchment bearing the original receipt of the Lady Joan de Mohun to the Lady Elizabeth Luttrell for 500 marks, the purchase money paid by the latter lady in 1376 for the right of succession to the Great Barony of Dunster.The Tor on which the Castle stands was the site of the Norman Keep, but all traces have disappeared, the Keep having been destroyed, by order of Parliament, in 1650. The Tor is covered with fine trees and every variety of flowering shrub, among which, growing in the open air on a wall in front of the Castle, is a lemon tree of remarkable luxuriance and beauty, bearing fine fruit. On it may be noticed the unusual sight of bud, blossom and fruit at the same time.

The view from the neighbourhood of the Castle is varied and imposing, including the extensive Deer Park, several miles in circumference, and, nearer, the verdant lawns, 300 acres in extent.On the heights of the Deer Park, on Gallox Hill, are two ancient camps. The prominences silhouetted against the sky mark the site of a roughly rectangular earthwork, known as Bat’s Castle, and often called the “ Roman camp.” It is enclosed by a double vallum of stones and a fosse, except on the southern side, where the steep declivity renders such protection unnecessary. Not far away, to the north-west, on the same hill, is a well-marked circular camp.The High Street.Dunster High Street, once called “ Chepyng-strete, ” is a broad and dignified thoroughfare, flanked by many charming Tudor houses with carved oak doorways and heavy window-frames, and quaint little old-fashioned shops. High above the Castle mounts guard over the lower end, and at the otherMinehead (c)

Nissen huts

U.S. wartime billets mystery solved

Nissen huts on Hockey Lane Estate were the home for military personnel working at various local aircraft establishments. NMLHS archive
A family from Welwyn Garden City has found the site of wartime billets in Brookmans Park occupied by American forces thanks to the North Mymms Local History Society.
Family members had made several trips to the area to try to find the location of the second world war accommodation without success. The father in the family remembered meeting his brother, who was an American serviceman, at the site during the war.
He remembered that there was a large building at the end of a long driveway. But despite lengthy searches he was unable to jog his memory. In the end his daughter e-mailed this site asking for help.
Now the local history society's secretary and archivist, Marian Benton, has dug into the archives and found details of a number of locations used by Americans.

The Nissen huts on Hockey Lane Estate were later used as temporary homes for families on the waiting list for houses in the new Hatfield Town. NMLHS archive
According to John Harris, the society’s membership secretary, North Mymms House and Hatfield House were both used as allied military hospitals during WW2.
Approximately 50 Nissen huts were built in the grounds of North Mymms House which were used for kitting out ATS personnel before they were drafted to the Middle East and also as local accommodation for military personnel working at local aircraft establishments.
After the war, what was known as the Hockey Lane Estate was taken over by the council as temporary accommodation in order that local people could be put on the permanent housing waiting lists for the new Hatfield Town. The site was sold off in the late 50’s.
To find the site of the old Hockey Lane Estate head for St Mary's Church, drive over the bridge but continue straight on when the road turns to the right and the foundations of the Hockey Lane Estate can be seen in the fields to the left of that road.
January 8, 2001
Related Item
Mystery of U.S wartime billets - January 5, 2001
On the Home Front - Chapter Seven - The North Mymms Auxiliary Hospital

Augustine

Augustine - 1st Archbishop of Canterbury

"Your words are fair, but of doubtful meaning; I cannot forsake what I have so long believed. But as you have come from far we will not molest you; you may preach, and gain as many as you can to your religion" Greeting of King Ethelbert, Isle of Thanet, to Augustine in the Summer of 597
Details of Augustine's life are scarce. Believed to have been a pupil of Felix, bishop of Messana, he became a monk and later Prior of St Andrew's in Rome. He was sent by Pope Gregory to lead a party of around 30 monks to bring England (such as it was) under the influence of the Roman world. The journey was halted at one point, the monks losing their nerve and returning to Rome, before successfully landing at Ebbsfleet in 597. Received cautiously by the King of Kent, Ethelbert, Augustine managed to estbalish a community of monks based first at St Martin's church, later transferring to the site of the present Cathedral.
Augustine struggled to establish his authority within the British Isles and did not bring to completion Gregory's plan to form an English church based on two provinces and twelve bishops.
He died on May 26th, now remembered as his feast day, but the year of his death is uncertain, between 604 and 609. He was buried at what is now called St Augustine's Abbey.
Research by Jenny Childs and Steve Empson
Detailed biography:
Augustine (? - c604)
St Augustine or Austin, of Canterbury (Evangelizer of England - as distinct from Roman Britain; feast day 26 May in England, 27 May in the RC Church since 1969 & outside England now). 'Bishop [or Archbishop] of the English' (as consecrated); 'Apostle of the English' (originally a description of Pope Gregory).
Italian by birth.
d. May c604; some reports put it as late as 609. Buried at the Monastery of St Peter and St Paul (afterwards known as St Augustine's) Canterbury.
Ministry
Prior St Andrew's Monastery Rome ? - ?; Leader 1st Mission to England 596-597; chosen by Pope Gregory I to lead between thirty and forty monks to Kent 596, departed 596, landed Summer 597 at Ebbsfleet and received in Thanet by Kentish K Ethelbert.
Archbishop of Canterbury 597- c604; Consecrated before his 1st arrival in England, possibly with the title 'Bishop of the English', possibly  at Arles, but also possibly after becoming established in England. The pallium  - the symbol of office - was sent from Rome by Pope Gregory I in 601.
His time as Archbishop coincided with with » Kings and Queens: Kent » Ethelbert 560? -616 » East Saxons » Sabert ? -616 » West Saxons » (Ceolric 592-97) » Ceolwulf 597-611 » South Saxons » ? » Mercia » Crida or Creoda or Cearl 593-626 » Northumbria » Ethelfrid 593-617 » East Angles » ? (Redwald ? -627) » Popes » Gregory I 590-604 » (Sabinianus 604-06) »
Known writings:
helped Ethelbert to draft the earliest Anglo-Saxon written laws to survive.
Firsts:
1st Abp of Canterbury.

Augustine - 1st Archbishop of Canterbury

The Alfred Jewel

The Alfred Jewel

The Alfred Jewel is among the most famous of Anglo-Saxon objects. It was discovered at North Newton in 1693, not far from the abbey at Athelney, founded by Alfred the Great. Around the edge are the words AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN (‘Alfred ordered me to be made’).
Over the years the jewel has been the cause of as much speculation as admiration. Precisely what its purpose was has remained a source of much uncertainty. The jewel may have been the head of a pointer used for following words in a book.
The original jewel is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and was made in about AD 890. This replica, which was made in 1901 to mark the thousandth anniversary of Alfred’s death, can be seen in the ‘Making Somerset’ gallery in the Museum of Somerset.

'Hundreds' of young in old people's homes

By Eleanor Bradford BBC Scotland Health Correspondent

• 29 February 2016
• From the section Scotland

Image caption Romana was placed in a care home after suffering a brain haemorrhage at 23

Younger people with neurological conditions are being cared for in old people's homes, according to the charity Sue Ryder.

It said there is nowhere else for them to go because of a lack of specialist facilities.
The Scottish government said it wants people to be treated in their own homes or as close to home as possible.
Minister Jamie Hepburn said it plans to invest £250m a year to "protect and grow" social care services.
Romana was placed in a care home for the elderly at the age of just 23, after suffering a severe brain haemorrhage when she was four months pregnant with her second child.

She couldn't see her children apart from short visits.
"It felt very strange because everyone around me was so much older; I was a very young girl at the time, and I felt I had lost my family," she said.

Image caption After two years at a Sue Ryder centre, Romana is preparing to move into her own flat

After two years, the Sue Ryder charity heard of her case and offered her a place at their neurological centre in Aberdeen.
With specialised rehabilitation, Romana learned to walk and live independently.
She is now looking forward to having her own flat, and sleeping under the same roof as her children for the first time in seven years.

Older people's care homes do a great job for people in their 80s and 90s but people like Romana need a differnt environment

Pamela Mackenzie, Sue Ryder

Sue Ryder asked every local authority and health board in Scotland how many people with neurological conditions are being cared for in old people's care homes.
Neurological conditions include Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Huntington's disease and brain injuries.
Only a third of local authorities provided figures. They said 63 people under the age of 65 were being cared for in such an environment.
If those figures were replicated across the remaining health boards it would mean about 250 people are in an inappropriate environment.
They said a further 182 people aged over 65 with neurological conditions were in a care home for older people.

Image caption The charity believes up to 1,000 people could be missing out on appropriate treatment

Image caption The charity has called on the Scottish government to "take immediate action"

The charity said this meant a total of nearly 1,000 people could be missing out on specialist treatment, support and rehabilitation.
Sue Ryder's assistant director Scotland, Pamela Mackenzie, said: "Romana was quite a different lady when she first came. She was withdrawn and depressed and she really had been written off.
"Older people's care homes do a great job for people in their 80s and 90s, but people like Romana need a different environment. Their conditions are quite different.
"It is clear from our research that the needs of people with neurological conditions have largely been overlooked in recent years.
"We urge the Scottish government to take immediate action to address these inequalities so people with neurological conditions get the chance of a better quality of life."

'Vital role'

The minister for health improvement, Jamie Hepburn, said: "Our 2016/17 budget sets out plans to invest a further £250m per year through health and social care partnerships, to protect and grow social care services, and invest £11.6m to implement self-directed support.
"We also recognise the vital role specialist nurses play in patient care. This is why we committed £2.5m of recurring funding for specialist nursing and care, including up to £700,000 to specifically target MND care.
"The health boards involved are currently recruiting additional nurses, or increasing the hours of existing nurses in order to fulfil our pledge to double the number of MND nurses in Scotland.
"Some posts have already been filled and the remaining posts are expected to be filled by spring 2016."

must

Archaeologists have uncovered Britain's "Pompeii" after discovering the "best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found" in the country.

The circular wooden houses, built on stilts, form part of a settlement at Must Farm quarry, in Cambridgeshire, and date to about 1000-800 BC.
A fire destroyed the posts, causing the houses to fall into a river where silt helped preserve the contents.
Pots with meals still inside have been found at the site.
Live updates about the dig and more stories from Cambridgeshire

Image copyright Cambridge archaeological unit

Image caption Archaeologists work on a wooden platform as they uncover the houses

Image caption Artist's impression of what one of the roundhouses might have looked like

Image copyright PA

Image caption Archaeologist Selina Davenport helped uncover the dwelling

An earlier test trench at the site, near Whittlesey, revealed small cups, bowls and jars.
In addition, archaeologists said "exotic" glass beads that formed part of a necklace "hinted at a sophistication not usually associated with the Bronze Age".
Textiles made from plant fibres such as lime tree bark have also been unearthed.
What did Bronze Age Britons eat and other things the site tells us
However, the roundhouses themselves are now being excavated.
Archaeologists think they have found about five houses but are not yet certain.

Bronze Age Europe and Britain

Image copyright British Museum Trustees

Image caption Gold cape discovered in Mold, north Wales - a supreme example of Bronze Age art

• The Bronze Age in Britain lasted from between 2500 and 2000BC until the use of iron became common, between 800-650BC
• It came after metalworkers discovered that adding tin to copper produced bronze, used for tools and weaponry which were much more hard-wearing
• The Greek poems of Homer - though composed later - look back to a time when bronze weapons were used
• In Britain, the Bronze Age lasted until about 800BC. Use of bronze seems to have coincided with fresh migration of people from the continent.
• Classic Bronze Age remains include sophisticated axes, precious gold objects, and round burial mounds or "barrows" of which many can still be seen in Britain

BBC History - Bronze Age Britain
BBC Bitesize - What was Bronze Age life like?

The work to uncover the settlement is necessary because there are concerns the water level at the site could fall some time in the future, meaning the remains of the houses cannot be preserved in situ.

Image copyright Cambridge Archaeological Unit

Image caption The stilts that held the houses can be seen, together with collapsed roof timbers

Image copyright Cambridge Archaeological Unit

Image caption These preserved Bronze Age textiles were made from plant fibres

Image copyright PA

Image caption A middle to late Bronze Age dagger was recovered from the site in 1969

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, which is jointly funding the excavation with land owner Forterra, described the settlement and contents as "an extraordinary time capsule".
He added: "A dramatic fire 3,000 years ago, combined with subsequent waterlogged preservation, has left to us a frozen moment in time, which gives us a graphic picture of life in the Bronze Age.
"This site is of international significance and its excavation really will transform our understanding of the period."

Image copyright Cambridge Archaeological Unit

Image caption After analysing pots found at the site, archaeologists found some contained food

Image copyright Twitter

Image copyright PA

Image caption Historic England said the site showed a "frozen moment in time"

'Unsurpassed finds'

David Gibson, from Cambridge Archaeological Unit, which is leading the excavation, said: "So much has been preserved, we can actually see everyday life during the Bronze Age in the round.
"It's prehistoric archaeology in 3D, with an unsurpassed finds assemblage both in terms of range and quantity."

Image copyright Cambridge Archaeological Unit

Image caption Glass beads found during excavation are thought to have been from a necklace

Well-preserved charred roof timbers of one of the roundhouses are clearly visible, together with timbers showing tool marks and a perimeter of wooden posts known as a palisade, which once enclosed the site.
While a number of Bronze Age settlements have been found in the UK, Mr Gibson said none had been as well-preserved as the Must Farm site.
"Most don't have any timber remaining, just post-holes and marks where posts would have been," he said.
"So far this is unique as we have the roof structure as well."
He said there were some well-preserved similar dwellings at Loch Tay in Perthshire, but these were about 500 years later than those in Cambridgeshire, dating from the early Iron Age.

Image copyright Cambridge Archaeological Unit

Image caption Charred timbers can be seen lying over a collapsed wall

Archaeologists digging two metres (6ft) below the modern surface at the quarry also found preserved footprints, believed to be from people who once lived there.
Once all the retrieved items have been cleaned and documented they are expected to be put on public display.

“Must Farm

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The roundhouse would have looked something like this Celtic Crannog (Credit: Christine Westerback/CC BY SA 2.0)

But the fire and the roundhouse’s subsequent collapse into the river contributed to its extraordinary preservation. Like the intact structures found at Pompeii, the flames helped to carbonize and maintain the wooden beams. Silt at the bottom of the river prevented air and bacteria from chewing away at the wood. And because the inhabitants were forced to leave everything behind, virtually everything remains where they left it. Archaeologists are describing it as a time capsule.

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“Everything suggests the site is not a one-off but in fact presents a template of an undiscovered community that thrived 3,000 years ago ‘beneath’ Britain’s largest wetland” — Mark Knight

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Posts and rafters stick up from the ground, while footprints of the inhabitants can still be seen in the sediment. A charred roof of a roundhouse remains visible, as are tool marks and a perimeter of wooden posts that once enclosed the site. Experts say the excavations are revealing “the best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found” in the country.

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“A dramatic fire 3,000 years ago combined with subsequent waterlogged preservation has left to us a frozen moment in time, which gives us a graphic picture of life in the Bronze Age,” noted Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of heritage organization Historic England. He says the site is of “international significance,” and that it’s poised to “transform our understanding of the period.”
The site, located at Must Farm near Peterborough, England, has already produced a treasure-trove of artifacts. Though the excavations are only half complete, the archaeologists have uncovered elaborate textiles made from plant fibers, along with small cups, bowls, and jars that still have their meals inside. The researchers also found glass beads that were attached to a necklace—a sophisticated item of jewelry not typically associated with the Bronze Age. This could mean that the inhabitants were at the upper levels of society.

These glass beads were once part of an elaborate necklace.
“Must Farm is the first large-scale investigation of the deeply buried sediments of the fens and we uncover the perfectly preserved remains of prehistoric settlement,” said Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) Site Director Mark Knight. “Everything suggests the site is not a one-off but in fact presents a template of an undiscovered community that thrived 3,000 years ago ‘beneath’ Britain’s largest wetland.”

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It’s prehistoric archaeology in 3D with an unsurpassed finds assemblage both in terms of range and quantity.” — David Gibson

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A human skull was also found at the site, but further excavations are required to determine if it belongs to a person who died in the fire. The team also plans to bring in a fire expert to determine if the fire was deliberate (e.g. the result of a hostile tribe) or accidental.

These textiles were made from plant fibers.
Archaeologists have known about the site for decades, but it hasn’t been touched since 2006. Efforts to fully uncover the settlement were given an added sense of urgency after fears emerged that falling water levels could cause the remains to degrade quickly.
The $1.58 million (£1.1 million), 4-year project is being handled by the CAU, who are being funded by Historic England. All items are being sent to labs for further analysis. A detailed paper is expected in a few years, after which time the items will go on public display.
Similar European prehistoric wetland sites have been found before, but nothing quite like this one. Other examples include the ancient loch-side dwellings known as crannogs in Scotland and Ireland, the stilt houses of the Alpine Lakes, and the terps—human-made hill dwellings—in the Netherlands.
“Usually at a Later Bronze Age period site you get pits, post-holes and maybe one or two really exciting metal finds. Convincing people that such places were once thriving settlements takes some imagination,” said CAU Archaeological Manager David Gibson. “But this time so much more has been preserved—we can actually see everyday life during the Bronze Age in the round. It’s prehistoric archaeology in 3D with an unsurpassed finds assemblage both in terms of range and quantity.”