Thursday 19 June 2008

Saxon bowl on show

AN exciting archaeological find has been donated to Andover Museum.

The bronze, Saxon hanging bowl was discovered near Kimpton by local metal detectorist Michael Robbins.

He took it to the Hampshire finds liaison officer, Rob Webley, in Winchester.
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Mr Webley, whose post is part of the national portable antiquities scheme, said: "It was covered in mud and a far cry from its current appearance."

The bowl dates to between 600 and 700AD. Such bowls appear to accompany what archaeologists call sentinel burials of men on the edge of a tribal boundary. Intere-stingly the bowl was found near to a Bronze Age barrow cemetery, which was investigated by the Andover Archaeological Society in the 1970s. It's not unusual to find Saxon burials near to those of earlier periods.

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Wednesday 18 June 2008

Archaeologist's search for ancient Lanky tribe

AN amateur archaeologist has been given a lottery grant to help him dig into Bolton's hidden past.

Paul Kay, the founder of the Bolton Cambrian Archaeological and Historical Society, believes the moors around Bolton and Lancashire have secrets to be unearthed which may give a rare insight into life in Anglo-Saxon times and earlier.

He has been awarded £9,900 by the National Lottery Awards For All scheme to help set up the society's headquarters and website, and to start exploring the moors.
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"I want to look at the commonly held notion that Lancashire was unremarkable before modern times," said Mr Kay, aged 39, who is a student teacher. "The moors have a lot of archaeological evidence suggesting the area might be a repository for a culture that was altered elsewhere in Britain when invaders arrived from other nations."

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Thursday 12 June 2008

LEICESTERSHIRE BURIAL MOUNDS REVEAL ANCESTRAL INSIGHTS

Researchers from University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) have recently completed work on the results of three closely related Bronze Age round barrows excavated at Cossington, Leicestershire.

Their excavations revealed a variety of burial practices from Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and Anglo Saxon times, showing how the three barrows were used in repeated ceremonies to honour the dead. They offer the first definite example of an Anglo Saxon cemetery sited on an earlier monument to be found in Leicestershire.

One of the barrows included the crouched burial of a child of around eight years, who lay with grave offerings including two pots, a stone bowl and three flint knives. One of the knives had been made from a much earlier object, perhaps making a physical link to past ‘ancestors’.

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Saturday 7 June 2008

Rare find could be Saxon

EXPERTS now believe a dozen skeletons discovered in a mass grave in the centre of Oxford may have belonged to executed criminals from Saxon times.

A team of three archaeologists have been digging in the quadrangle of St John's College in Blackhall Road, off St Giles, for almost two weeks since the discovery was made.

The bones of 12 or 13 bodies have gradually been uncovered after a body part was discovered 80cm below ground level by diggers excavating the plot before a new quadrangle is built.

City archaeologists have labelled the find the most exciting in Oxford for nearly half a century, and predict more bodies could be found in the area.

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Friday 6 June 2008

BURIALS REVEAL ANCESTORS' LIVES

Archaeologists have made remarkable discoveries at an ancient burial ground.

Excavations in Cossington revealed a variety of burial practices from Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon times, showing that three barrows were used repeatedly in ceremonies to honour the dead.

The finds are the first definite example of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, on the site of a monument at least 1,000 years older, that have been found in Leicestershire.

Researchers from University of Leicester Archaeological Services have now published the results of their excavations.

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