Saturday 19 September 2015

western england

Amesbury in Wiltshire confirmed as oldest UK settlement

Amesbury – including Stonehenge – is the UK’s longest continually-occupied settlement

Historic Wiltshire

Stonehenge: Wiltshire’s most famous historic site built 2500BC
Avebury: Stone circle is thought to date back 4,000 years
Silbury Hill: Europe’s largest artificial prehistoric mound
West Kennet Long Barrow: One of the largest Neolithic chambered tombs in Britain
Westbury White Horse: Cut in the hillside in the 16th Century

“It provides evidence for people staying put, clearing land, building, and presumably worshipping, monuments.
“The area was clearly a hub point for people to come to from many miles away, and in many ways was a forerunner for what later went on at Stonehenge itself.
“The first monuments at Stonehenge were built by these people. For years people have been asking why is Stonehenge where it is, now at last, we have found the answers.”
Mr Jacques said the River Avon, which runs through the area, would have been like an A road with people travelling along it.
“They may have had the equivalent of local guides and there would have been feasting,” he added.
“We have found remains of big game animals, such as aurochs and red deer, and an enormous amount of burnt flint from their feasting fires.”
Site of the Amesbury dig

The dig unearthed the largest haul of worked flints from the Mesolithic period
Previously, Thatcham in Berkshire, 40 miles from Amesbury, held the record for the longest continuous settlement in the country.
The dig in Amesbury also uncovered 31,000 worked flints in 40 days as well as animal bones such as frogs’ legs.
Mr Jacques said our ancestors were eating a “Heston Blumenthal-style menu”.

Amesbury facts

Queen Eleanor of Provence – consort to Henry III – is buried at the town’s former abbey
Amesbury residents get a free visitors’ pass to Stonehenge each year
In 1965, the Beatles stayed at the Antrobus Arms Hotel whilst filming Help!
The area’s most famous resident – Police frontman Sting – lives in nearby Wilsford cum Lake

The find was based on a report by fossil mammal specialist Simon Parfitt, of the Natural History Museum.
Andy Rhind-Tutt, the founder of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, said there was “something unique and rather special about the area” to keep people there from the end of the Ice Age, to when Stonehenge was created and until today.
“The fact that the feasting of large animals and the discovery of a relatively constant temperature spring sitting alongside the River Avon, may well be it,” he said.
The dig was filmed and made into a documentary by the BBC, Smithsonian, CBC and others to be screened later in the summer.
The project was led by the University of Buckingham.

More on This Story

From other news sites

Daily Express UK’s OLDEST town revealed: Amesbury dates back more than TEN millenia 14 hrs ago
Guardian.co.uk Britain’s oldest settlement is Amesbury not Thatcham, say scientists 15 hrs ago
Telegraph Stonehenge discovery rewrites history books 16 hrs ago
Wiltshire Gazette and Herald Britain’s oldest town is in Wiltshire, say archaeologists 18 hrs ago
Western Daily Press Amesbury named oldest UK settlement 19 hrs ago
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broadcast nationwide from Monday, 29 April at 20:30 BST on BBC Four.

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Stonehenge general manager sought 20 APRIL 2013, UK

Amesbury clues to Stonehenge’s pastWatch 19 APRIL 2013, ENGLAND

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western england

Friday 18 September 2015

‘TAMARI OSTIA’ Plymouth

Plymouth

Upper Palaeolithic deposits, including bones of Homo sapiens, have been found in local caves,^[2] and artefacts dating from the Bronze Age to the Middle Iron Age have been found at Mount Batten showing that it was one of the main trading ports of the country at that time.^[3] An unidentified settlement named ‘TAMARI OSTIA’ (mouth/estuaries of the Tamar) is listed in Ptolemy’s Geographia and is presumed to be located in the area of the modern city.^[4]

TAMARI OSTIA/ GODRICH of Cornwall

552-560

GODRICH of Cornwall

The British nobles in an attempt to prevent the total dissolution of the state and to end the
civil war. gathered in an assembly and agreed on a compromise whereby Godrich. the Earl
(Duke/King) of Cornwall, would reign as regent and hold the Kingdom of Britain in trust for the
English heiress. Goldborough. the daughter of the late Anglican heir, Cymen. and his wife. Adela.
the Saxon heiress, only child and daughter of England’s first Bretwalda. Aella of Sussex Thus,
preserving the fiction of centralized rule which was accepted only because the alternative was
unthinkable
. Prince-Regent. Earl (Duke/King) of Cornwall, reigned
as regent of Britain in the absence of a national-kmg during the interregnum that followed the
murder of the boy-king, Huai, and his mother. Queen Lonle (Lenore, Lunette] There were civil
wars throughout Britain dunng his regency The episode of Havelock “The Dane* takes place
dunng the regency of Earl Godrich
X. CADROD (CATRAUT), the Arthunan heir, established his headquarters at a
castle (site unsure] called “CALCHVYNYDD” (‘hill of chalk or lime”], which name came to be his
epithet, somewhere in the Bntish midlands between the Thames and the Trent rivers. He fights
the Cerdicite heir Cynnc “of Wessex”
X. CYNRIC (CUNORIX). the Cerdicite heir, the other claimant to the Bntish
throne, held sway south of the Thames in Wessex with his headquarters at Winchester
One of the surviving ex-tnumvirs. Riwal of Dumnoma (Devonshire), meanwhile, was
expelled from Bntam by Caradoc ‘Strong-Arm”. Count of the Saxon Shore, in another
regional-war. and fled to Armohca (Bnttany] where he established himself at St. Bneoc. circa 552
Riwal was killed fighting Cynvawr II of Cornwall, circa 555. and his widow married King Cynvawr
Prmce ludwal of Domnonee (son of Riwal. the ex-thumvir] fled his murderous step-father
(Cynvawr II of ComwaH-Brittany] and found refuge at the court of King Childebert I of France
(534-558), in 558. Prince ludwal of Domnonee retook his throne Cynvawr II withdrew back to
Cornwall, area 558, and. circa 560. was murdered along with his wife (name] and son (St.
Tremeur] St Brieoc is attacked by King Childebert of France, and King Canao II leads the
resistance
Meantime, the civil war between the House of Arthur and the House of Cerdic continued
to rage Cynnc repulsed Cadrod’s offensive at Old Sarum (Salisbury] in 552. and slew him in battle
at Bart>ury Castle, near Swindon. Wiltshire, in 556 King Erp (Urban) of Gwent was killed in the
battle (fighting for the Arthurian heir]; and his kingdom was divided in halves, called Gwent and
Ergyng Cadrod ‘Calchvynydd” was survived by seven sons and three daughters His eldest son.
Cyndywyn. was murdered following his fathers death in battle Another son. Cyndeym “Wledic*.
rallied his father s old supporters and earned on the struggle He slew Cynrtc in battle in 560 and
set himself up as an anti-king although technically the throne was vacant while the country was
governed by Godhch. the Earl of Cornwall, who officially reigned as regent of Bntain in the
absence of a legitimate ‘national” king Cynric was survived by three sons Coelm (Ceawim).
Cutha. and Cwichelm. of whom the eldest Ceawlin (Coelin) succeeded to the Wessex kingdom
The name Ceawlin (Coelin) is Celtic, but the names of his brothers, possibly half-brothers, have a
Saxon favor to them Their mother may have been a Saxon princess; or perhaps by this time the
influence of Saxon culture was beginning to show itself in the Wessex royal house
560-565 9. HAVELOK ‘THE DANE”, barbarian-king. not usually numbered in the
regnal-lists. however, remembered in tradition, legend, and folklore, reigned for three years as
King of Bntain. or England. 560-562 The legend of Havelock “The Dane’ begins when he was a
boy and tells us that a fisherman was ordered by Denmark’s usurper-kmg to murder the true heir
to the Danish throne. Havelock, then a youth about age eleven, but instead the fisherman allowed
the young pnnce to escape to England Later, when Havelock had come of age. he found
employment with an English ealdorman He soon became famous for his prowess at sports, and

the sea which lies towards the North Wind

the sea which lies towards the North Wind,

A the sea which lies towards the North Wind,

group of leading scientists from around the world said on Monday that the leaders of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had left themselves open to the accusation that they had “gone beyond IPCC’s remit”.In March the Amsterdam-based InterAcademy Council (IAC) was called in after a number of errors were found in the IPCC’s landmark 2007 Fourth Assessment Report into man-made climate change

Friday 17 October 2014

Newport

The Newport Ship is the most substantial late medieval vessel excavated and recovered in Britain. The ship was discovered during development on the west bank of the River Usk in Newport, South Wales in 2002. More than twenty-three metres of the clinker-built ship were recovered, along with significant artefact and environmental assemblages. Finds point to strong Iberian connections during the active life of the ship, which arrived in Newport, in the Severn Estuary, after the spring of AD 1468. The dismantling and recovery of the ship has enabled detailed recording using innovative 3D digital techniques and approaches to hypothetical reconstruction. This archive makes available this digital data along with digitised versions of site records, post-excavation documentation of the ship and specialist reports and catalogues.

Select bibliography

Nayling, N. and Jones, T., 2013, The Newport Medieval Ship, Wales, United Kingdom, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.

Nayling, N. and Susperregi, J., 2013, Iberian Dendrochronology and the Newport Medieval Ship,International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.

Wednesday 8 October 2014

An eStonehenge occupied 5,000 years earlier than thoughtNew archaeological evidence from Amesbury in Wiltshire reveals traces of human settlement 3,000 years before Stonehenge was even builtxcavation funded with redundancy money shows Stonehenge was a settlement 3,000 years before it was built.

The archaeological dig, a mile from the stones, has revealed that people have occupied the area since 7,500BC.

The findings, uncovered by volunteers on a shoestring budget, are 5,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Dr Josh Pollard, from Southampton University, said the team had "found the community who put the first monument up at Stonehenge".

'Archaeological blind spot'

The small-scale project has been led by Open University archaeologist David Jacques, who had to plough his redundancy money into it to make it happen.

The first aerial photograph of Stonehenge was taken in 1906

He first spotted the Amesbury site in aerial photographs as a student.

The photographs, in an archive at Cambridge University, showed a site known as Vespasian's Camp just a mile from Stonehenge.

Assumed to have been completely landscaped in the 18th Century, Mr Jacques realised the area had not been and decided to investigate.

"The whole landscape is full of prehistoric monuments and it is extraordinary in a way that this has been such a blind spot for so long archaeologically," he said.

"But in 1999 a group of student friends and myself started to survey this area of Amesbury."

The site, which contains a natural spring, is the nearest source of fresh water to Stonehenge.

And Mr Jacques, with the theory it may have been a water supply for early man, believed there could be pristine and ancient archaeology waiting to be discovered.

"I suppose what my team did, which is a slightly fresher version, was look at natural places. Places in the landscape where you would imagine animals might have gone to, to have a drink," he said.

The Flying Archaeologist series

Aims to show how our knowledge of some of our most famous landscapes, and those more hidden corners of the country, is being transformed by the aerial view.

Presenter Ben Robertson's blog

"My thinking was where you find wild animals, you tend to find people, certainly hunter gatherer groups coming afterwards."

And he was right.

Over the past seven years, the site has yielded the earliest semi-permanent settlement in the Stonehenge area from 7,500 to 4,700BC.

And carbon dating of material found at the site show people were there during every millennium in between.

"Here we are in this little nook at the bottom of a hill with a river running round it and it probably had more people coming to it in the Mesolithic period than it's had people coming ever since," he said.

'Tip of iceberg'

For a project that has had limited funding it is already generating excitement amongst other leading archaeologists.

Professor Peter Rowley-Conwy, from Durham University, said: "The site has the potential to become one of the most important Mesolithic sites in north-western Europe."

And Dr Pollard, from the Stonehenge Riverside Project, said "being able to demonstrate that there were repeated visits to this area from the 9th to the 5th millennia BC" was significant.

"I suspect he's just hit the tip of the iceberg in terms of Mesolithic activity focussed on the Avon around present day Amesbury," he said.

The Flying Archaeologist - Stonehenge is broadcast on Friday, 19 April at 19:30 BST on BBC One West and South. The series is broadcast nationwide from Monday, 29 April at 20:30 BST on BBC Four.

Mesolithic life before Stonehenge found at Amesbury

Mesolithic life before Stonehenge

Help

Aerial archaeologist Ben Robinson visits Amesbury in Wiltshire where excavations have revealed that the history of people living in this location dates back much further than previously thought.

New evidence from the dig, at a site called Vespasian's Camp, has revealed traces of human settlement 3,000 years before nearby Stonehenge was built.

A team of archaeologists has uncovered evidence of sustained hunter gatherer activity which dates to 8,000 years ago - long before Stonehenge

David Jacques explains why the discovery is of international importance and what it means in terms of unlocking the secrets of Stonehenge, located less than a mile away.

The Flying Archaeologist - Stonehenge is broadcast on Friday, 19 April at 19:30 BST on BBC One West and South. The series is broadcast nationwide from Monday, 29 April at 20:30 BST on BBC Four.

Amesbury dig 'could explain' Stonehenge history

The excavation at Amesbury will be led by David Jacques (r) and filmed by a documentary crew

A group of archaeologists is undertaking a major dig in Wiltshire, which it is hoped could explain why Stonehenge was built where it was.

The team, which consists of leading experts in the Mesolithic period, also hopes to confirm Amesbury as the oldest continuous settlement in the UK.

The site already boasts the biggest collection of flints and cooked animal bones in north-western Europe.

The dig in Amesbury will run until 25 October.

The term Mesolithic refers to specific groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic.

'Something really special'

Andy Rhind-Tutt from Amesbury Museum said Amesbury pre-dated Stonehenge by as much 5,000 years, and could "go a long way" to explaining why Stonehenge is where it is.

"No-one would have built Stonehenge without there being something really special about the area.

"There must have been something there beforehand and Amesbury may well be it - [it could be] one of the greatest Mesolithic sites in the country."

Mr Rhind-Tutt said the team would also be looking to "find evidence of settlement for 10,000 BC".

"In previous excavations, they've found evidence of settlement up to 7,596 BC - a boar's tusk - but we're not at the bottom of the trench yet.

"Thatcham near Newbury [in Berkshire] is proving to be the oldest continuous settlement in the UK, but if Amesbury has older evidence this time, then it will be instead.

"At the moment, it is only 104 years short of being the oldest."

Well-preserved remains of a Mesolithic settlement dating from 7,700 BC have previously been found at Thatcham, which is 41 miles (66km) from Amesbury.

The Amesbury dig will also be filmed and made into a documentary by the BBC, Smithsonian, CBC and others to be screened at a later date. The project it being led by Buckingham University.

Amesbury in Wiltshire confirmed as oldest UK settlement

Amesbury - including Stonehenge - is the UK's longest continually-occupied settlement

A Wiltshire town has been confirmed as the longest continuous settlement in the United Kingdom.

Amesbury, including Stonehenge, has been continually occupied since 8820BC, experts have found.
The news was confirmed following an archaeological dig which also unearthed evidence of frogs' legs being eaten in Britain 8,000 years before France.
Amesbury's place in history has also now been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records.
David Jacques, from the University of Buckingham, said: "The site blows the lid off the Neolithic Revolution in a number of ways.

Historic Wiltshire

Stonehenge: Wiltshire's most famous historic site built 2500BC
Avebury: Stone circle is thought to date back 4,000 years
Silbury Hill: Europe's largest artificial prehistoric mound
West Kennet Long Barrow: One of the largest Neolithic chambered tombs in Britain
Westbury White Horse: Cut in the hillside in the 16th Century

"It provides evidence for people staying put, clearing land, building, and presumably worshipping, monuments.

"The area was clearly a hub point for people to come to from many miles away, and in many ways was a forerunner for what later went on at Stonehenge itself.
"The first monuments at Stonehenge were built by these people. For years people have been asking why is Stonehenge where it is, now at last, we have found the answers."
Mr Jacques said the River Avon, which runs through the area, would have been like an A road with people travelling along it.
"They may have had the equivalent of local guides and there would have been feasting," he added.
"We have found remains of big game animals, such as aurochs and red deer, and an enormous amount of burnt flint from their feasting fires."

The dig unearthed the largest haul of worked flints from the Mesolithic period

Previously, Thatcham in Berkshire, 40 miles from Amesbury, held the record for the longest continuous settlement in the country.
The dig in Amesbury also uncovered 31,000 worked flints in 40 days as well as animal bones such as frogs' legs.
Mr Jacques said our ancestors were eating a "Heston Blumenthal-style menu".

Amesbury facts

Queen Eleanor of Provence - consort to Henry III - is buried at the town's former abbey
Amesbury residents get a free visitors' pass to Stonehenge each year
In 1965, the Beatles stayed at the Antrobus Arms Hotel whilst filming Help!
The area's most famous resident - Police frontman Sting - lives in nearby Wilsford cum Lake

The find was based on a report by fossil mammal specialist Simon Parfitt, of the Natural History Museum.

Andy Rhind-Tutt, the founder of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, said there was "something unique and rather special about the area" to keep people there from the end of the Ice Age, to when Stonehenge was created and until today.
"The fact that the feasting of large animals and the discovery of a relatively constant temperature spring sitting alongside the River Avon, may well be it," he said.
The dig was filmed and made into a documentary by the BBC, Smithsonian, CBC and others to be screened later in the summer.
The project was led by the University of Buckingham.

Monday 14 April 2014

Fairview Road in Cheltenham

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Dartmoor pony contraceptive scheme at risk

About 100 mares are due to be injected with the drug on Dartmoor in April

The first UK trial to use contraception on wild hill ponies is at risk of failing, a charity says.

The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association is trying to reduce the slaughter of hundreds of foals each year because there is no market for them.

Two years ago a small number of mares were injected with contraceptives and now the charity wants to extend the trial to 100 animals.

However, it has been unable to find enough land for a new trial.

The pony charity said the first trial proved successful but it needed to carry out further tests, in a controlled area, to ensure the contraception would be effective across the moor.

'The last straw'

The contraceptive drug was donated by pharmaceuticals company, Pfizer, and imported from Australia.

The trial has the support of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, which described the ponies as "a national park emblem".

But Charlotte Faulkner, from the association, said if it was not able to get the land it would be "very much the last straw" for the scheme.

The charity had approached the Forestry Commission for permission to use a piece of of its land, but it was declined.

The commission said it wanted to enter into a long-term partnership with one environmental organisation to manage its estate "as a whole".

The aim is to reduce the slaughter of hundreds of unwanted foals each year

Ms Faulkner has appealed to any Dartmoor landowners for help finding suitable land.

"If there's anyone who can think of any ideas that might be able to help us get this project to work, please help us to do so," she said.

"If we don't, it's very much the last straw."

dumnonia

Saturday 19 September 2015