Town hillfort site comes to life

From Denbighshire Free Press:

Since the beginning of the year, Caer Drewyn pupils from years five and six have been hard at work with Patricia of Classical Mosaic and the Heather and Hillforts Project to create a large mosaic, which will be displayed outside Corwen Leisure Centre.

“The aim was to incorporate imagery of the hillfort and its historical Celtic associations, as well as flora and fauna of the area and references to distinctive buildings from the town of Corwen,” said Patricia.

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Iron age town found at Roman site

From the BBC News:

Archaeologists from Berkshire say they have discovered evidence of an Iron Age town underneath the remains of a Roman settlement in north Hampshire.

The University of Reading's Archaeology Department has been excavating at the Silchester Roman site, Calleva Atrebatum, since 1997.

Now the team believe they have found evidence of one of Britain's earliest Iron Age towns with a planned layout.

A street-grid was found to have been in place before the Romans came in AD 43.

Archaeologists have also discovered evidence of widespread burning at the site.

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Kids experience life in the Iron Age at town museum

From the Wiltshire Times:

An Iron Age expert thrilled children who visited Bradford on Avon Museum on Saturday after bringing along an array of animal skins and weapons, including shields, swords and daggers.

Matt Russell, from Portsmouth, helped the museum launch its Iron Age exhibition, which is due to run until August 2, with an interactive open day attended by about 170 people.

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Students uncover hundreds of Iron Age remains

From The Copenhagan Post Online:

There was a sensational find when Århus archaeology students uncovered the bones of around 200 bodies dating from the Iron Age

What was supposed to be a simple three week long research exercise for archaeology students at the University of Aarhus developed into a unique excavation project.

Remains of more than 200 bodies have been found at the dig site near Skanderborg in Jutland dating from around 2,000 years ago.

The Illerup River Valley was a deep lake measuring about 10 hectares during the Iron Age and archaeology digs have established that it was used as a major sacrificial site during that period.

The area, which is a popular location for archaeologists, is now a mixture of bog and meadow, much of which is subject to conservation laws.

The student dig began on 20 June and almost immediately began turning up human remains.

‘This was a defeated army that was sacrificed to the lake at the time. The majority of remains are large arm and leg bones, skulls, shoulder blades and pelvises,’ said Ejvind Hertz, curator from Skanderborg Museum and excavation leader.

According to Hertz, the 200 victims found so far are just a small fragment of what lies in the area, which has only been partially excavated, and estimates suggest that the figure could run to well over one thousand.

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Secrets of 'unlucky' Bradford hill fort under the microscope

From the Wiltshire Times:

Described by one archaeologist as the unluckiest hill fort in Wiltshire, the Iron Age past of Budbury in Bradford on Avon remains to this day shrouded in mystery.

Local historians have been trying to unlock Budbury’s secrets ever since eminent archaeologist GJ Wainwright uncovered evidence of a substantial hill fort in the area, which is now developed into housing, dating back to as early as 600BC.

Wainwright believed he was on the verge of uncovering a burial mound, so the discovery of the hill fort, thought to cover up to six acres of land, came as a complete surprise.

From Monday, Bradford on Avon Museum will host a three-week long exhibition charting the history of Budbury, which will include 16,000 pieces of Iron Age pottery, as well as needles made out of bone and bronze fingerings, discovered during Wainwright’s excavation on loan from the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes.

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Go back to the Iron Age at museum

From This is bath.co.uk:

An Iron Age expert will be bringing history to life with a day of activities in Bradford on Avon this weekend.

Historian Matt Russell will be offering people the chance to have their own Iron Age tattoo as well as building shields, spear tips and pouches.

Iron Age weapons, metal and clothing will also be on display at the free event, which runs from 10am to 4pm on Saturday. It is the first in a month of activities and exhibitions at the Bradford on Avon Museum.

Ancient artefacts including 16,000 pieces of Iron Age pottery discovered during an excavation of Budbury, near Bradford, in 1969 will be available to view in the museum's library meeting room from Monday, July 13 to Sunday, August 2.

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Iron Age coins declared treasure

From the BBC News:

It was the biggest collection of Iron-age coins found in Britain in 160 years

One of the UK's largest hauls of Iron Age gold coins has been declared treasure at an inquest in Suffolk.

The 840 handmade coins, called staters, were unearthed in a field near Wickham Market, Suffolk, in March last year.

After Michael Dark made the discovery with his metal detector, archaeologists found more coins, which are now at the British Museum in London.

Experts believe they were produced by predecessors of the Iceni queen Boudicca and date from 40BC to AD15.

It is the largest haul of coins to be discovered in 150 years and could be worth up to £500,000.

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