New scientific dating research unravels the story of life in prehistoric Orkney

A new study, published today in Antiquity journal, is challenging the previously understood narrative for prehistoric life on Orkney. It was led by Professor Alex Bayliss of Historic England and is based on the interrogation of more than 600 radiocarbon dates, enabling much more precise estimates of the timing and duration of events in the period c.3200-2500 BC.

Excavating the Smerquoy Hoose [Credit: © Colin Richards]

The study is part of a much wider project, The Times of Their Lives, funded by the European Research Council (2012-2017), which has applied the same methodology to a wider series of case studies across Neolithic Europe. That project has demonstrated many other examples of more dynamic and punctuated sequences than previously suspected in 'prehistory'.

Neolithic Orkney is well-preserved and is a time of stone houses, stone circles and elaborate burial monuments. World-renowned sites such as the Skara Brae settlement, Maeshowe passage grave, and the Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness circles have long been known and are in the World Heritage Site (given this status in 1999). They have been joined by more recent discoveries of great settlement complexes such as Barnhouse and Ness of Brodgar.

The new study reveals in much more detail than previously possible the fluctuating fortunes of the communities involved in these feats of construction and their social interaction. It used a Bayesian statistical approach to combine calibrated radiocarbon dates with knowledge of the archaeological contexts that the finds have come from to provide much more precise chronologies than those previously available.

Aerial view of Barnhouse [Credit: © Colin Richards]

Professor Alex Bayliss of Historic England, leader of the Orkney study, said: 'This study shows that new statistical analysis of the large numbers of radiocarbon dates that are now available in British archaeology really changes what we can know about our pasts. People in the Neolithic made choices, just like us, about all sorts of things - where to live, how to bury their dead, how to farm, where and when to gather together - and those choices are just beginning to come into view through archaeology. It's an exciting time to be an archaeological scientist!'

The study indicates:

• Orkney was probably first colonised in c. 3600 cal BC (cal indicates dates calibrated by radiocarbon dating). There was an expansion and growth of settlement and building of monuments from c. 3300 cal BC.

• Settlement peaked in the period c. 3100-2900 cal BC

• There was a phase of decline c. 2800-2600 cal BC, measured by the number of stone houses in use

• Settlement resumed in c. 2600-2300 cal BC, but only away from the 'core' area of the Brodgar-Stenness peninsula in western Mainland. It was probably about this time that the Ring of Brodgar itself was erected, probably bringing people together from across Orkney but into what was now a sacred, not a domestic, landscape

Excavating Ring of Brodgar [Credit: © Colin Richards]

The study suggests that the period saw competition between communities that was played out in how they buried their dead and in their communal gatherings and rituals.

The study also throws up other complexities in the sequence of development on the island:

• An overlap between the construction of different kinds of burials tombs - passage graves and large stalled cairns - in the later fourth millennium cal BC

• An overlap between the emergence of the new pottery style, flat-based Grooved Ware, characteristic of the Late Neolithic in Orkney, and the round-based pottery of earlier Neolithic inhabitants

• The first appearance of the non-native Orkney vole, Microtus agrestis, c. 3200 cal BC. This is significant as it is found today on Orkney and on the European continent but not in mainland Britain. It was probably introduced via direct long-distance sea travel between Orkney and the continent. The study therefore also considers whether new people from continental Europe were part of this complex cultural scenario.

Ring of Brodgar [Credit: © Colin Richards]

Professor Alasdair Whittle of Cardiff University, Principal Investigator of The Times of Their Lives, said: 'Visitors come from all over the world to admire the wonderfully preserved archaeological remains of Orkney, in what may seem a timeless setting. Our study underlines that the Neolithic past was often rapidly changing, and that what may appear to us to be enduring monuments were in fact part of a dynamic historical context.'

Professor Colin Richards of the University of the Highlands and Islands in Kirkwall, Orkney, and co-author of the study, said: 'Our study shows how much remains to be discovered in Orkney about the Neolithic period, even though it may appear well known. This applies throughout the sequence, including in the period of decline at its end.'

Source: Historic England [September 20, 2017]

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Medieval porpoise 'grave' on Channel island puzzles archaeologists

Archaeologists digging at an island religious retreat have unearthed the remains of a porpoise that, mystifyingly, appears to have been carefully buried in its own medieval grave.

Dr Phil De Jersey, right, and Mike Deane alongside the skeleton of a medieval porpoise 
[Credit: Guernsey Press/SWNS.com]

The team believe the marine animal found on the island of Chapelle Dom Hue, off the west coast of Guernsey, was buried in the 14th century.

When they first spotted the carefully cut plot they were convinced it was a grave and would hold human remains, but they were taken aback when they dug further and unearthed the skull and other body parts of a porpoise.

Quite why the porpoise was buried so carefully on the island, which is thought to have been used by monks seeking solitude, is a mystery.

Porpoises were eaten in medieval times but it would have been easier to dispose of the remains in the sea, which is only 10 metres from the site.

Philip de Jersey, a States of Guernsey archaeologist, said: “If they had eaten it or killed it for the blubber, why take the trouble to bury it? Some effort was made to create a neat hole.”

De Jersey said it was possible that a monk hid the body of the porpoise because he was not supposed to have it, or that the body was placed in the hole in salt to preserve it.

“It may have been packed in salt and then for some reason they didn’t come back to it.”

Another intriguing theory is that the animal had some sort of religious significance to the people who used the island. “The dolphin has a strong significance in Christianity but I’ve not come across anything like this before,” said De Jersey. “It’s the slightly wacky kind of thing that you might get in the iron age but not in medieval times.”

He said it was the most unusual find in his 35-year career. “It’s very peculiar, I don’t know what to make of it. Why go to the trouble of burying a porpoise in what looks like a grave. It’s a wonderful surprise.”

As well as the porpoise remains, shards of 14th-century pottery, a prehistoric stone tool and what is believed to be the remains of the walls of the monks’ retreat have been found.

The porpoise remains have been removed and will be studied by a marine expert.

Author: Steven Morris | Source: The Guardian [September 19, 2017]

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'Exceptionally rare' crucifix found by metal detectorist in England

An "exceptionally rare" ancient crucifix has been unearthed by an amateur metal detectorist. The 2cm (0.78in) tall lead object, which depicts Christ on the cross, was found in the village of Skidbrooke, Lincolnshire, by Tom Redmayne. It is thought to date from between AD 950-1150.

The 2cm artefact depicts Christ on the cross [Credit: Adam Daubney]

Archaeologist Adam Daubney, from Lincolnshire County Council, said it is one of only three known examples in the country.

Mr Redmayne, who found the crucifix on Sunday, said he did not initially realise the significance of his discovery. He said he knew it was a crucifix, and was possibly old due to its crude design.

However, he said it was only when he researched the item online he realised it was something special. Despite the artefact having little monetary value, he said, it offers a unique insight into the lives of ordinary people at the time.

The object was found by a metal detectorist in the village of Skidbrooke, Lincolnshire 
[Credit: Adam Daubney]

Finds officer Mr Daubney said the crucifix was probably made overseas. He said it was likely to come from an "archaeologically invisible" period in terms of everyday artefacts. "We have lots of place names founded at the time, but in terms of artefacts they are few and far between," he said.

The crucifix bears an image of Christ on the cross, similar to types found in Scandinavia. "This object is probably telling us something about cross-channel trade and religion," he said. He said his task now was to try and find out more about the crucifix's origins.

Similar items have been found in Cottam, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and at Swinhope, near Binbrook, in Lincolnshire.

Source: BBC News Website [September 19, 2017]

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Secrets of ancient Irish burial practices revealed

A new analysis of bones taken from a century-old excavation at Carrowkeel in County Sligo has revealed evidence of the burial practices and death rites of the ancient people of Ireland.

Some of the jawbones from the original Carrowkeel excavation a century ago, which were re-discovered 
in the Duckworth Laboratory at the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies 
at University of Cambridge [Credit: IT Sligo]

The findings, which have been published in the journal Bioarchaeology International, are part of a project applying modern techniques and research questions to the human remains.

The team of researchers includes Sam Moore, lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology at IT Sligo, and the group’s work focussed on the 5300 years-old Passage Tomb Complex at Carrowkeel. This site is one of the most impressive Neolithic ritual landscapes in Europe.

“The bones were analysed from an original excavation of Carrowkeel in 1911, led by Prof R.A.S. McAlister,” explains Sam.

“They were subsequently presumed missing or lost until a group of boxes with the name ‘Carrowkeel’ on them was discovered in the archive in the University of Cambridge in 2001. The bones date from between 3500 and 2900 BC."

A view of Cairn K at the Carrowkeel Passage Tomb site in County Sligo [Credit: IT Sligo]

The project was led by Dr Thomas Kador (University College London), with osteological research undertaken by Dr Jonny Geber from the Department of Anatomy at New Zealand’s University of Otago. The group also included Sligo based archaeologist Dr Robert Hensey and independent researcher Pádraig Meehan.

The team analysed bones from seven passage tombs that included both unburnt and cremated human remains from around 40 individuals.

Dr Geber says he and his colleagues determined that the unburnt bone displayed evidence of dismemberment.

“We found indications of cut marks caused by stone tools at the site of tendon and ligament attachments around the major joints, such as the shoulder, elbow, hip and ankle,” he says.

Cut marks on some of the human remains which were discovered at Carrowkeel. Cut marks, marked in white (above) 
and magnified (below), observed on a left humerus (upper arm) from Cairn K (a), the ilium of a left coxae (part of pelvis) 
from Cairn K (b), and a right femur (upper leg) from Cairn K (c) [Credit: Jonny Geber]

Dr Geber says the new evidence suggests that a complex burial rite was undertaken at Carrowkeel, which involved a funerary rite and placed a particular focus on the “deconstruction” of the body.

So why would people in pre-historic Ireland have performed such rituals?

“Attempting to understand the reasons these ancient communities dismembered the bodies is one of the real fascinations with this research,” says Sam Moore.

“In the societies of the past, ancestry had more to do with group identity. This appears to have held real importance in Neolithic Ireland.”

An aerial view of Carrowkeel in County Sligo, showing Cairns E & F in the foreground; 
Lough Arrow in the background [Credit: IT Sligo]

While evidence of similar pre-historic funerary rites has been uncovered in the UK, this is the first definitive discovery of similar practices during the same period on the island of Ireland.

The re-analysis of the bones uncovers high level of complexity and diversity of the funerary rites, which perhaps was not fully recognized previously.

The new study has been able to show that the Carrowkeel complex was a highly significant place in Neolithic society in Ireland, which had an important role in facilitating interaction with the dead and a spiritual connection with the ancestors.

Source: Institute of Technology Sligo [September 15, 2017]

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'Mysterious' ancient fossil was definitely an animal, research confirms

It lived well over 550 million years ago, is known only through fossils and has variously been described as looking a bit like a jellyfish, a worm, a fungus and lichen. But was the 'mysterious' Dickinsonia an animal, or was it something else?

A Dickinsonia fossil was first described in 1947 [Credit: Alex Liu]

A new study by researchers at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, and the British Geological Survey provides strong proof that Dickinsonia was an animal, confirming recent findings suggesting that animals evolved millions of years before the so-called Cambrian Explosion of animal life.

Lead author on the paper is Dr Renee Hoekzema, a PhD candidate in Oxford University's Mathematical Institute who carried out this research while completing a previous PhD in Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences. She said: 'Dickinsonia belongs to the Ediacaran biota -- a collection of mostly soft-bodied organisms that lived in the global oceans between roughly 580 and 540 million years ago. They are mysterious because despite there being around 200 different species, very few of them resemble any living or extinct organism, and therefore what they were, and how they relate to modern organisms, has been a long-standing palaeontological mystery.'

In 1947, Dickinsonia became one of the first described Ediacaran fossils and was initially thought to be an organism similar to a jellyfish. Since then, its strange body plan has been compared to that of a worm, a placozoan, a bilaterian and several non-animals including fungi, lichens and even entirely extinct groups.

Co-author Dr Alex Liu, from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge, said: 'Discriminating between these different hypotheses has been difficult, as there are so few morphological features in Dickinsonia to compare to modern organisms. In this study we took the approach of looking at populations of this organism, including assumed juvenile and adult individuals, to assess how it grew and to try to work out how to classify it from a developmental perspective.'

The research was carried out on the basis of a widely held assumption that growth and development are 'conserved' within lineages -- in other words, the way a group of organisms grows today would not have changed significantly from the way its ancestors grew millions of years ago.

Dickinsonia is composed of multiple 'units' that run down the length of its body. The researchers counted the number of these units in multiple specimens, measured their lengths and plotted these against the relative 'age' of the unit, assuming growth from a particular end of the organism. This data produced a plot with a series of curves, each of which tracked how the organism changed in the size and number of units with age, enabling the researchers to produce a computer model to replicate growth in the organism and test previous hypotheses about where and how growth occurred.

Dr Hoekzema said: 'We were able to confirm that Dickinsonia grows by both adding and inflating discrete units to its body along its central axis. But we also recognised that there is a switch in the rate of unit addition versus inflation at a certain point in its life cycle. All previous studies have assumed that it grew from the end where each "unit" is smallest, and was therefore considered to be youngest. We tested this assumption and interpreted our data with growth assumed from both ends, eventually coming to the conclusion that people have been interpreting Dickinsonia as having grown at the wrong end for the past 70 years.

'When we combined this growth data with previously obtained information on how Dickinsonia moved, as well as some of its morphological features, we were able to reject all non-animal possibilities for its original biological affinity and show that it was an early animal, belonging to either the Placozoa or the Eumetazoa.

'This is one of the first times that a member of the Ediacaran biota has been identified as an animal on the basis of positive evidence.'

Dr Liu added: 'This finding demonstrates that animals were present among the Ediacaran biota and importantly confirms a number of recent findings that suggest animals had evolved several million years before the "Cambrian Explosion" that has been the focus of attention for studies into animal evolution for so long.

'It also allows Dickinsonia to be considered in debates surrounding the evolution and development of key animal traits such as bilateral symmetry, segmentation and the development of body axes, which will ultimately improve our knowledge of how the earliest animals made the transition from simple forms to the diverse range of body plans we see today.'

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Source: University of Oxford [September 14, 2017]

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Stonehenge road tunnel gets go-ahead despite protests

Years of protests from druids and archaeologists have failed to derail plans for a new road tunnel near Britain's Stone Age site of Stonehenge, which received final approval from the government on Tuesday.

The site of Stonehenge in England was built in stages, from around 3,000 BC to 2,300 BC 
[Credit: AFP/Chris J. Ratcliffe]

The 1.8-mile (2.9-kilometre) tunnel is planned to reduce frequent congestion on a major east-west road axis across England and has a budget of £1.6 billion (1.8 billion euros, $2.1 billion).

Officials have moved the planned route away from the UNESCO World Heritage site in response to criticism.

But Stonehenge Alliance, a group of non-governmental organisations, said it would cause "severe and permanent damage to the archaeological landscape".

"The project needs a complete re-think, not a minor tweak which still threatens major harm to this iconic landscape," said Kate Fielden from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, a member of the alliance.

Conservation groups English Heritage and the National Trust gave their approval to the plan, however.

"We welcome the amended route and believe it can, if designed and located with the utmost care, deliver a lasting legacy for the World Heritage Site and restore peace and tranquility to the Stonehenge landscape," the charities said in a statement.

Transport Minister Chris Grayling said the new tunnel would provide "a huge boost for the region".

"Quicker journey times, reduced congestion and cleaner air will benefit people locally and unlock growth in the tourism industry," he said.

Stonehenge was built in stages, from around 3,000 BC to 2,300 BC.

Thousands of people gather at the mysterious circle of standing stones on Salisbury Plain for the pagan fest of the summer solstice every year.

It is one of the most impressive prehistoric megalithic monuments anywhere due to its size, sophisticated plan and architectural precision.

Archaeologists have identified similar prehistoric monuments in the area, including another buried circle of stones measuring 500 metres (yards) across.

Source: AFP [September 12, 2017]

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Carlisle Roman bath house archaeological dig begins

A four-week dig has begun on the site of a Roman bath house that it is hoped will become a major tourist attraction.

Dozens of volunteers are preparing the site for a more detailed dig [Credit: BBC]

Volunteers are preparing the site of 4th Century remains uncovered near the River Eden in the Stanwix area of Carlisle in May.

It is believed older structures may lie underneath.

Archaeologist Frank Giecco said: "It's the largest community dig Carlisle's ever had and the response has just been incredible."

Some finds have already been made [Credit: BBC]

Carlisle City Council and a local businessman, Fred Story, have donated £30,000 towards the cost of excavations.

Nearly 90 people have signed up to help dig and clean up artefacts.

Archaeologists have called the find "premier league" and of "national significance".

It is believed the bath house was used by an elite cavalry unit based nearby.

Source: BBC News Website [September 11, 2017]

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Cache of Roman cavalry weapons found at Vindolanda

Swords, arrow heads and ballista bolts amongst a cache of artefacts discovered during cavalry barrack excavations at Roman Vindolanda.

Aerial view of remains of 4th century stone fort at Vindolanda [Credit: Sonya Galloway, Vindolanda Trust]

During the past few weeks archaeologists at the Roman fort of Vindolanda have made one remarkable discovery after another in what has been an exceptional year for the research excavations.

Test pit excavations, below the stone foundations of the last stone fortress revealed a layer of black, sweet smelling and perfectly preserved anaerobic, oxygen free, soils in an area where they were completely unexpected. Hidden in this soil were the timber walls and floors, fences, pottery and animal bones, from the abandonment of a Roman cavalry barrack. The excavated rooms included stables for horses, living accommodation, ovens and fireplaces.

While excavating the material from the corner of one of the living rooms a volunteer excavator made an outstanding discovery.

Dig volunteer Sarah Baker with one of the cavalry swords [Credit: Sonya Galloway, Vindolanda Trust]

The earth surrounding the object was slowly pulled back under careful supervision to reveal the tip of a thin and sharp iron blade, resting in its wooden scabbard. As the archaeologists excavated further the shape of a hilt and handle slowly emerged from the black soil and it became immediately clear that the Romans had left behind a complete sword with a bent tip. It was the ancient equivalent of a modern soldier abandoning a malfunctioning rifle.

Dr Andrew Birley recalled the moment as “quite emotional” and went on to say, “you can work as an archaeologist your entire life on Roman military sites and, even at Vindolanda, we never expect or imagine to see such a rare and special object as this. It felt like the team had won a form of an archaeological lottery.” Rupert Bainbridge, the volunteer who made the initial discovery described the moment as overwhelming, commenting, “I was so excited to excavate such an extraordinary artefact, especially something that resonated so much with the fort setting that we were digging in.”

A few weeks later, Vindolanda archaeologists accompanied by a new team of volunteers were finishing working on a room adjacent to the one in which the sword was discovered. Here they remarkably discovered a second sword, this time without a wooden handle, pommel or scabbard, but with the blade and tang still complete and sitting on the floor exactly where it had been left thousands of years before.

Cavalry sword unearthed at Vindolanda [Credit: Vindolanda Trust]

Dr Birley commented, “You don’t expect to have this kind of experience twice in one month so this was both a delightful moment and a historical puzzle. You can imagine the circumstances where you could conceive leaving one sword behind rare as it is…. but two?” Both blades came from separate rooms, and are likely to have belonged to different people. One theory is that the garrison was forced to leave in a hurry, and in their haste they left not only the swords but also a great number of other perfectly serviceable items which would have had great value in their time.

The swords are truly remarkable, but they form only part of an outstanding collection of artefacts left behind in those cavalry barrack buildings. In another room were two small wooden toy swords, almost exactly the same as those that can be purchased by tourists visiting the Roman Wall today.

Roman ink writing tablets on wood, bath clogs, leather shoes (from men, women and children), stylus pens, knives, combs, hairpins, brooches and a wide assortment of other weapons including cavalry lances, arrowheads and ballista bolts were all abandoned on the barrack room floors.

Copper alloy cavalry strap junction [Credit: Sonya Galloway, Vindolanda Trust]

Quite spectacular are the copper-alloy cavalry and horse fitments for saddles, junction straps and harnesses which were also left behind.

These remain in such fine condition that they still shine like gold and are almost completely free from corrosion.

The swords and other objects form a remarkable discovery of one of the most comprehensive and important collections of this type of material from a Hadrian’s Wall site.

Visitors to Vindolanda will be able to see this cache of cavalry finds displayed in the site museum this autumn, just as a major Hadrian’s Cavalry exhibition along the line of Hadrian’s Wall comes to a close another has arrived!

Dr Andrew Birley with sword [Credit: Vindolanda Trust]

Historical facts

The Garrison at Vindolanda at this time (cAD120) was made up of a combination of peoples including the 1st Cohort of Tungrians who heralded from modern day Belgium. They were joined by a detachment of Vardulli Cavalrymen from northern Spain. It is likely that the base held more than 1000 soldiers and probably many thousands more dependants including slaves and freedmen, representing one of the most multicultural and dynamic communities on the Frontier of the Roman Empire at the time.

The new finds give an intimate insight into the lives of people living on the edge of the Roman Empire at a time of rebellion and war before the construction of Hadrian’s Wall in AD122.

Source: Vindolanda Charitable Trust [September 09, 2017]

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Ancient settlements 'lost to the sea' discovered in Yorkshire

Long-lost Roman and medieval settlements have been discovered in east Yorkshire, near the Humber River. The sites were considered lost to the sea for thousands of years, but now archaeologists have retrieved pottery, animal bones and charred organic matter from them.

Remains of lost settlements were found during the Outstrays to Skeffling Managed Realignment Scheme, 
which is currently in the planning stages [Credit: Environment Agency]

The villages were abandoned hundreds to thousands of years ago due to historic coastal erosion and sea level rise. Many of the lost settlements were thought to be in the area from records in historical documents. But exactly where they were – as well as how big and how old – was not known until now.

"They are sites that we know of from the historical records but we've never before found traces as to why they were founded," Stephen Kemp, senior archaeologist at the Environment Agency, told IBTimes UK. "We've known they were in this area, but they were lost."

The Environment Agency has been investigating the land as a potential site for regeneration of the area's saltmarsh habitats, to compensate for future coastal development and loss of inter-tidal land in the region. The agency has worked with York Archaeological Trust and Historic England to investigate the area's historical significance.

This included archaeological digs, revealing traces of human activity in the area stretching back thousands of years. The land was much more densely inhabited than previously known, with two main periods of occupation standing out.

Roman pottery unearthed from between Outstrays and Skeffling during the archaeological research 
[Credit: Environment Agency]

"There's an extensive array of prehistoric Iron Age and Roman settlement remains – small villages, pocket farms and the field systems around that," said Kemp. "We can see through those the signs of a heavily occupied landscape that we'd previously suspected but not seen."

One of the sites, Pensthorpe, dates from the medieval period and had large quantities of pottery almost at the ground surface, as well as traces of buildings and structures. Elsewhere, a Benedictine priory was found in the fields to the south of Skeffling.

"The coastline has changed quite considerably over the past. Historic people have been managing the balance. They've been building their own flood defences to shore up settlements, and they've been moving out at times when they've been able to and technology and climate have allowed them to," said Kemp.

The people of the area would typically retreat to settlements on higher ground when sea levels rose and threatened the settlements. When the lower lands were habitable, they would expand out onto the coastal plain to exploit the resources of the wetlands.

A small excavation pit. The dig revealed pottery dating from Roman times 
[Credit: Environment Agency]

The most developed settlement discovered in the dig was Roman, said Ian Milsted of York Archaeological Trust, who led the fieldwork for the investigation.

"That consists largely of field systems with pitches and pits. We were only able to excavate very small fragments of those features, to understand the condition they were in."

The Romans tended to build their land on higher ground, as they didn't have the technology of later medieval people to drain the wetlands. Many more of the later human settlements in the region are now inaccessible and underwater.

"That feeds into a wider message about this landscape, which is one of change," Milsted said.

The archaeologists are curious about how far back in this constantly changing landscape their work can take them. Earlier occupation of this landscape was affected even more profoundly by the natural environment.

The view from the beach near Spurn Point, close to Skeffling 
[Credit: Freddie Phillips]

At the end of the last ice age, about 12,000 years ago, much ocean water was locked up in ice. This meant sea levels were lower, and more land was available for people to live on and farm. At this point, it was possible to walk from the Humber to Denmark via a landbridge. The researchers hope that further investigation of the area could reveal the nature of the land as far back as the Mesolithic period, about 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.

"So far we've picked up evidence from the landform at that time. We've found potential beaches dating to about 5,000 to 7,000 years old. We've picked up some evidence for how the landscape has evolved since then, from an inland river to a tidal estuary," Milsted said.

The researchers have been able to access this deeper past using boreholes in their preliminary investigation, which are essentially keyholes into the archaeological past. A lot more work would be necessary to reveal the details of how the landscape changed in this period and who, if anyone, was living there. Milsted says that it's perfectly possible that boats or fishing equipment from the period might turn up – but they won't know for sure until they look.

"It's a huge and very, very complicated area. At the moment all we can say is that there was potential for human occupation in that period. We need to do more work to understand exactly what was happening," Milsted said. "That's a terrific opportunity coming out of this scheme. It's an opportunity to understand the deep past on a large scale."

Author: Martha Henriques | Source: International Business Times [September 08, 2017]

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Bronze Age stone tools unearthed in Clwydian range hillforts dig

A new type of ancient stone tool has been uncovered by archaeologists working in the Clwydian range hillforts in Denbighshire, North East Wales.

Students excavating an iron age hillfort at Penycloddiau [Credit: Denbighshire Council]

An area between the Moel Arthur and Penycloddiau was being excavated when half a dozen unusual tools were found at the bottom of an ancient stream bed.

They date back to about 2000 BC and are thought to be the oldest found there. It suggests there were people at the site long before the Iron Age Hillfort was established.

It was the first time the archaeologists who uncovered the stone tools had seen this type of implement [Credit: BBC]

Previous excavations found burnt stones used for boiling water and an oven from about 5000 BC. Radiocarbon dates indicate that activity there may go back to neolithic, and possibly mesolithic, times.

Ian Brooks, a professional archaeologist employed by The Clwydian Range Archaeology Group (CRAG) was CRAG, said neither he or his colleagues had seen that type of stone tool before.

The tools were made of limestone [Credit: BBC]

He said they are made from the local limestone, come in a range of sizes and have "battering on the end where they have been used for pecking at something, possibly rock faces".

He said despite working in archaeology for a long time, that sort of find always gave him "a thrill".

The tools were thought to have been used by hunter gatherers [Credit: BBC]

Denbighshire county archaeologist Fiona Gale said the tools showed them that people were there a long time before the Iron Age hillfort.

"We're talking about 8,000 years ago," she said. "We think they were hunter gatherers."

They have been dated as from 2000 BC [Credit: BBC]

"They were the same as us. They had different issues to deal with but their capacity, their brainpower and understanding was the same, and that makes you feel quite humble."

She added that they were "really keen to go back next year" to find some more items.

Source: BBC News Website [September 08, 2017]

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Scientists find fossilised cosmic dust in white cliffs of Dover

Researchers from Imperial College London report that the white cliffs of Dover contain the fossilised remains of cosmic dust.

The white cliffs of Dover [Credit: Imperial College London]

The significance of this discovery, published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, is that the fossilised cosmic dust could provide a new source of information about the early solar system.

Mr Martin Suttle, lead author and a research postgraduate from Imperial's Department of Earth Science and Engineering, said: "The iconic white cliffs of Dover are an important source of fossilised creatures that help us to determine the changes and upheavals the planet has undergone many millions of years ago. It is so exciting because we've now discovered that fossilised space dust is entombed alongside these creatures, which can also provide us with information about what was happening in our solar system at the time."

The team also report in a separate study published in the journal Geology that they've discovered a way for determining if cosmic dust was clay rich. Clays can only form if water is present, so a method for determining clay content could act like a cosmic divining rod for determining the presence of water rich asteroids in our solar system.

Martin Suttle at the white cliffs taking chalk rock samples 
[Credit: Imperial College London]

Dr Matt Genge, lead author from the College's Department of Earth Science and Engineering, said: "In the distant future, asteroids could provide human space explorers with valuable stop offs during long voyages. Being able to source water is vital because it can be used to drink, to make oxygen and even fuel to power spacecraft. The relevance of our study is that cosmic dust particles that land on Earth could ultimately be used to trace where these water-rich asteroids may be, providing a valuable tool for mapping this resource."

White cliffs of Dover study

Cosmic dust has been previously found in rocks up to 2.7 billion years old. However, until now only cosmic dust that was very well preserved could be studied by researchers. The significance of the their new study says Mr Suttle is that less well preserved fossilised cosmic dust can now also be located and examined in detail.

The intricate microscopic patterns on a fossilised cosmic dust specimen 
[Credit: Imperial College London]

Previously, scientists had not known that the white cliffs of Dover contained fossilised cosmic dust, although it has been located in other rocks before.

The researchers suggest that the reason it has been overlooked is that the fossilisation process masked the true identity of the dust particles. This is because when the dust fossilised it replaced the original mineral content with different materials. At the same time the original minerals in early fossilised creatures were also being replaced with similar materials, masking the identity of the space particles.

The team determined that fossilised cosmic dust was present in the chalk samples by spotting their distinctive spherical structure and christmas tree-like shape of their crystal content.

A cosmic dust fossil with Christmas tree-like crystal structure 
[Credit: Imperial College London]

In geological terms, pristine cosmic dust particles are a relatively recent record of events in the solar system. Now that they've located a new source of cosmic dust, which is much older, the team says it could help them to understand events beyond Earth such as major collisions between asteroids, which have occurred much earlier, perhaps even around 98 million years ago – a time when cosmic dust records have been difficult to unearth.

Cosmic dust divining rod

In the study in the journal Geology, the Imperial researchers have calculated that olivine crystals in cosmic dust act as a proxy for clay particles and the presence of water.

The holes in this cosmic dust particle shows where the water has bubbled 
to the surface and vaporised [Credit: Imperial College London]

As cosmic dust enters the atmosphere it can reach searing temperatures of more than 600 degrees Celsius and this causes its original mineral content to undergo transformations where they turn into glass and crystals. The heat also vaporises any trace of water molecules, making it difficult to determine if it was present.

Now, Dr Genge and his colleagues have analysed past studies and carried out some calculations to determine that shattered pieces of olivine crystals contained in cosmic dust is a proxy for water. This is because the loss of water from the interior particle has a cooling effect leading to extreme differences in temperature between the surface and the core of the particle. Olivine crystals shatter when one part is hotter than the rest because huge stresses develop owing to differences in expansion.

Dr Genge has calculated that around 75 per cent of the cosmic dust that lands on Earth contain shattered olivine crystals. As cosmic dust particles are the pulverised remains of asteroid and comet collisions in our solar system, it suggests that clay content and thus water content of these space rocks are high.

Now that the team knows that clay rich asteroids may be abundant in supply the next step will see them trying to trace the origins of the cosmic dust to asteroids orbiting the solar system. They plan to do this by comparing how cosmic dust and asteroids reflect infra-red radiation to find parent asteroids that match the dust particle's infrared signatures.

Author: Colin Smith | Source: Imperial College London [September 07, 2017]

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