Time out for surgery

Just to let you know that there may not be any posts for a couple of weeks, as I need to take some time out for surgery. Posts will resume again as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Man finds treasure estimated to be worth of £1 million

From News.Scotsman.com:

A metal-detecting enthusiast has unearthed a 2,000-year-old treasure hoard worth an estimated £1 million, it was revealed today.

Four gold neckbands dating to the Iron Age were discovered in a field near Stirling by the amateur hunter.

The man, who has not been identified, informed Scotland's Treasure Trove Unit which sent a team to excavate the site, the Daily Record newspaper reported.

The bands, or "torcs", made from twisted gold, are thought to date from the 1st and 3rd century BC.

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Iron Age treasure goes on show

From localhistoryonline:

You can now visit Harborough Museum in Leicestershire and see the Hallaton Treasure, described by a spokesman for the British Museum as a find ‘of national importance’.

This is the first time the Treasure has been publicly displayed. In 2000 metal detectorist Ken Wallace, and other volunteers from the Hallaton Fieldwork Group, came across some Roman pottery in a field outside their village. They were joined by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), which then found what turned out to be one of the most important Iron Age sites in Britain.

There is a suggestion that it may have been the location of a shrine. They discovered over five thousand silver and gold coins, the remains of an ornately decorated Roman parade helmet and some mysterious silver finds.

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EXCLUSIVE - Ancient Anglo Saxon and Iron Age artefacts and human remains found between Rudston and Boynton East Yorkshire

From Beverley Guardian:

ANCIENT human remains have been unearthed during an archaeological dig at the Caythorpe Gas Storage site between Rudston and Boynton.

Five human burials have been recovered by experts.

One set of remains dates to the late Iron Age and had been buried with a simple iron brooch.

Another dates back probably to the Anglo-Saxon period and had been buried with an iron knife.

Archaeologists have also found evidence of a settlement at the site, including an Iron Age round house and at least one Anglo-Saxon building.

Other finds recovered include a Roman brooch, an Anglo-Saxon coin, large fragments of a millstone and numerous fragments of pottery and animal bones.

Gas supply company Centrica believed during the early planning stages for its development that it would come across certain archaeological finds as part of the project.

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“A New Approach to Early Celtic Art” – Journal Article

Archaeologists date artifacts via both scientific carbon dating methods and sometimes using typology (relative chronological sequence – to match an artifact already documented within a well-established typological scheme) in order to determine its specific period. The most useful is of course radiocarbon (C14), although it does have its limitations, especially with regard to accuracy (due to poor sampling measures and thus contamination, as well as careless interpretation). On the whole, however, it does offer a broad pattern with similar types of finds being found relative to particular time periods. With regard to studies of Iron Age Celtic art, a great emphasis is still put onto the work of Paul Jacobsthal, which was carried out more than six decades ago. Four main styles were identified in his classic Early Celtic Art (1944) that are now generally accepted for the La Tène period: the Early Style, the Waldalgesheim Style, the Plastic Style, and the Sword Style. However, since that study, there have been numerous new and unusual finds and it is important to discuss further the implications of such unearthings. There is an interesting paper (published in 2004) that discusses this issue, although you will have to register to gain access to the full journal article. It is, however, possible to view the abstract without any prior registration and I have also pasted relevant information below for ease of access:

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“A New Approach to Early Celtic Art” from the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy – Volume 104, 2004, Pages 107-129: http://bit.ly/UMr6F

Publisher The Royal Irish Academy
ISSN 0035-8991 (Print) 2009-0048 (Online)
Issue Volume 104, Volume 104 / 2004
DOI 10.3318/PRIC.2004.104.1.107
Pages 107-129
Online Date Friday, August 24, 2007

PDF (1.1 MB) Authors Otto–Herman Frey Abstract All modern studies of early Celtic art begin with the work of Paul Jacobsthal. In the sixty years since his magisterial study, however, there have been many new discoveries and there has been much discussion concerning the deeper meaning of Celtic art. Particularly significant in this regard are the two recently discovered Early La Tène burial mounds on the Glauberg in Hesse in Germany. Not only did these burials yield bronzes of major significance, but a unique, almost life-sized human carving displaying weapons and personal ornaments was also found. The finds from the Glauberg shed much new light on the nature of early Celtic art. The influence of the Estrucans of north Italy is especially evident.

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Paul Jacobsthal’s work, “Early Celtic Art”, may be obtained by following this link: http://bit.ly/1NxOk9, although I must inform you that it is a little on the expensive side now that it has become a collector’s item.

UK mammals have 'Celtic fringe'

From the BBC News:

DNA tests on British populations of small mammals show a genetically distinct "Celtic Fringe", say scientists at The University of York.

Voles, shrews, mice and stoats in northern and western areas have different DNA from their counterparts in other parts of the British Isles.

The paper, in Proceedings B journal, says the different populations arrived at the end of the last ice age.

The authors say the work sheds light on the origins of the Celtic people.

The traditional view is that the ancestors of British Celts spread from central Europe during the Iron Age and were later displaced by the arrival of the Anglo Saxons.

However, recent genetic studies have challenged this theory, suggesting a much earlier origin, dating back to the end of the last ice age, 19,000 years ago.

This paper suggests that the study of small mammal populations could help resolve the controversy.

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Contentious M3 is 90% complete, says NRA

From IrishTimes.com:

THE CONTROVERSIAL M3 motorway in Co Meath, which has been the subject of several years of protests, is now almost 90 per cent complete, the National Roads Authority (NRA) has said.

At almost 60km of main motorway and a further 40km of link roads and interchanges, the it is one of the longest motorways under construction in Europe.

The M3 is not scheduled to open until July 2010. Work could still finish ahead of this scheduled date, but not before mid-spring next year, the NRA said.

Beginning at Clonee, north of the Dublin-Meath border, it runs to Kells where it switches to a motorway-grade dual carriageway for the last 10km to the Cavan border. It will have two toll booths, charging €1.40 for cars. Dunshaughlin, Navan and Kells are bypassed along the route.

Controversially, the route runs just over 2km from the Hill of Tara, and adjacent to the Lismullin national monument and the hill fort of Rath Lugh.

Protesters have occupied these latter two sites, blocking the road’s construction at various times in recent years, most memorably in March last year when conservationist Lisa Feeney, known as “Squeak” shut herself inside a chamber at the bottom of a 33-foot tunnel at Rath Lugh for 60 hours.

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