Archaeology Courses at the Oxford Experience 2012

1 July to 11 August 2012

The 2012 Oxford Experience Programme is now online.

The Oxford Experience is a residential summer school held at the college of Christ Church, University of Oxford.

The programme consists of 6 weeks of courses and participants attend for one or more weeks.

It offers a choice of twelve seminars each week over a period of five weeks. Participants do not need any formal qualifications to take part, just an interest in their chosen subject and a desire to meet like-minded people.

You can also find details of the various archaeology courses offered at Oxford Experience here...

Staffordshire Gold Hoard

One day, or perhaps one night, in the late seventh century an unknown party traveled along an old Roman road that cut across an uninhabited heath fringed by forest in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Possibly they were soldiers, or then again maybe thieves—the remote area would remain notorious for highwaymen for centuries—but at any rate they were not casual travelers. Stepping off the road near the rise of a small ridge, they dug a pit and buried a stash of treasure in the ground.

For 1,300 years the treasure lay undisturbed, and eventually the landscape evolved from forest clearing to grazing pasture to working field. Then treasure hunters equipped with metal detectors—ubiquitous in Britain—began to call on farmer Fred Johnson, asking permission to walk the field. "I told one I'd lost a wrench and asked him to find that," Johnson says. Instead, on July 5, 2009, Terry Herbert came to the farmhouse door and announced to Johnson that he had found Anglo-Saxon treasure.

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Bicester Anglo-Saxon skeletons re-interred

Fifteen Anglo-Saxon skeletons unearthed in Oxfordshire last year have been re-interred in a church memorial garden.

A requiem mass was held on Saturday before a wicker coffin containing all the remains was buried at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Bicester.

The Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, whose diocese covers Bicester, led the Roman Catholic ceremony.
The burial led to a disagreement with the church and local archaeologists, who wanted the bones put in a museum.

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Converting the Isles

On Friday and Saturday 23 - 24 September 2011, the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (University of Cambridge) hosted a two-day interdisciplinary conference on conversion to Christianity in North West Europe. It featured papers by an international group of historians, archaeologists and philologists, who were given a unique forum in which to explore conversion comparatively by focusing on different parts of Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and Iceland in the early and central middle ages. The combination of places chosen for the discussion reflects our wish to establish a wide comparative framework, covering areas that are of significance to the study of conversion in both the pre-Viking and the Viking era. The talks were recorded and audio podcasts will be posted online soon.


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Loftus royal treasure attracts 28,000 to Redcar museum

A collection of 7th Century treasure found in Loftus has attracted more than 28,000 visitors after being put on display in Redcar.

The artefacts, on display since May, were found between 2005 and 2007 at the only known Anglo-Saxon royal burial site in north-east England.

On show at Kirkleatham Museum, they have been hailed by archaeologists as some of the rarest discovered.

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Das »Internationale Sachsensymposion« lockt rund 100 Experten ins Landesmuseum Hannover

Das »Internationale Sachsensymposion« lockt rund 100 Experten ins Landesmuseum Hannover 

Archäologen, Historiker und Anthropologen aus ganz Europa widmen sich derzeit während einer fünftägigen Konferenz der interdisziplinären Erforschung des frühmittelalterlichen Stammesverbands der Sachsen und ihrer Nachbarvölker im ersten Jahrtausend.

Die Sachsen des frühen Mittelalters haben die politischen und historischen Abläufe in Europa entscheidend geprägt. Am Landesmuseum Hannover bildet die landesgeschichtlich orientierte »Sachsenforschung« einen Schwerpunkt der wissenschaftlichen Forschungsarbeit im Bereich der Ur- und Frühgeschichte. Dabei steht zum einen die Erschließung der umfangreichen Sammlungsbestände des Hauses zur Geschichte des ersten Jahrtausends in Niedersachsen im Vordergrund. Zum anderen werden die Entstehung und Entwicklung des frühmittelalterlichen Stammesverbandes erforscht.

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Historic Leper Hospital

Archaeologists have uncovered further evidence of one of the country's earliest hospitals, built specifically for people with leprosy. They've been working in a field on the outskirts of Winchester. And, they've been able to find out more about how patients were treated. In his report David Woodland spoke to Dr Simon Roffey from Winchester University. Watch the video...

Life in a Saxon hall

The re-enactment society Regia Anglorum is reconstructing an early medieval Saxon hall in Kent using materials and construction methods of the time. Regia Anglorum is a re-enactment society that aims to recreate as accurately as possible life in Anglo-Saxon and Viking Britain. Over the past 10 years, we have been building the Wychurst project – a fortified manor hall, using materials and construction methods of the time – on three acres of land in Kent. We have a rotation of 60-odd people who work on the project in the middle weekend of each month. The hall is 30ft high, 60ft long and 30ft wide, and is based on the West Hall at Cheddar, built around 850. No buildings of this type from the period have survived, so we did an enormous amount of research from archaeological dig reports and written accounts. It is built entirely in English oak, mostly sourced from within a mile of the site, which makes it a very accurate reconstruction. It is a great hall, where the local lord would have lived with his family and a few of his men. It would have served as town hall, law court, police station and as a place for protection. Read the rest of this article...

Amateur treasure-hunter's haul

We take a look at what amateur treasure-hunter David Booth found...

An ANGLO-SAXON STRAP-END and three ANGLO-SAXON COINS, found near Dumfries, have been allocated to Dumfries Museum.

The fragmentary strap-end, above, dates from the ninth century. Such items are not uncommon finds in southern Scotland, but this example is all the more significant in being recovered alongside three Anglo-Saxon coins, which also date from the ninth century.

Medieval experts say this small group of finds is a substantial reminder of the cultural ebb and flow which constituted the Scotland of the Early Historic period.

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Sapphire ring 'belonged to Anglo-Saxon or Viking royalty'

A unique gold and sapphire finger ring, found by a metal detectorist and just purchased by the Yorkshire Museum, almost certainly belonged to Anglo-Saxon or Viking royalty, very senior clergy or a leading member of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy, say historians.

Of very great historical importance, it is the only Anglo-Saxon era sapphire ever found in the ground in Britain. The only other sapphire from the period is the one that the Queen wears in her Imperial State Crown, used at the opening of Parliament. Known as St. Edward’s sapphire, this latter gem was once part of King Edward the Confessor’s finger ring and is now the oldest gem in the British crown jewels.

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More 'medieval' skeletons found in Kempsey

Another 16 graves have been found in a Worcestershire village where new flood defences are being built.

The 16 are in addition to the 12 uncovered in Kempsey last week next to St James Church.

It is thought that some of the skeletons could date back as early as 500 AD.

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Yorkshire Museum buys rare sapphire ring

A rare sapphire ring, discovered by a metal detector enthusiast, has been bought by the Yorkshire Museum.

The museum has raised £35,000 to purchase the piece of jewellery, which archaeologists described as a "spectacular" find.

The ring, found near York and measuring 2.5cm across, could have been made as early as the 7th Century.

It was found by Michael Greenhorn from the York and District Metal Detecting Club in April 2009.

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Langstone Harbour Saxon logboat in Portsmouth display

A 1,500-year-old logboat found buried in the mudflats of a harbour in Hampshire has gone on display.

The Saxon boat excavated from Langstone Harbour in 2003 can be seen in an exhibition at Portsmouth City Museum.

The hollowed out oak tree formed a wooden canoe, which was probably used by local people around 500 AD.

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Sad News

I am sad to report the death of our former colleague Dr David Hill yesterday, less than a year after his marriage to (another former colleague) Margaret Worthington.

David was a member of our Extra Mural Studies Department, and latterly in the English Department. He was one of the great figures of our time in medieval archaeology, and a great personality too. Since retirement from the University he has remained very research active, and despite his appalling health problems -- which he bore cheerfully for many years -- his death was unexpected, and peaceful.

He will be sadly missed by colleagues and his army of disciples -- many of them former students of his Anglo-Saxon Diploma and MA classes.

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Weymouth Relief Road dig reveals dental discovery

A GRUESOME dental discovery has been unearthed during analysis of the Viking burial pit remains found during construction of the Weymouth Relief Road.

Experts analysing the findings have come across a filed pair of front teeth to add to the unravelling story about the beheaded victims.

The burial pit containing 51 decapitated skulls with their bodies strewn nearby was discovered on the Ridgeway in June, 2009, an experts have been busy examining the remains.

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.New discovery shows Vikings used to cut 'army stripes' into their teeth

Viking warriors may have given a new meaning to the expression 'cutting your teeth in battle' after archaeologists discovered the Norsemen filed stripes into their incisors to show their fighting status.


..The distinct grooves would have been made using a form of chisel to show the Viking was a proven warrior – similar to the various army stripes denoting rank of today, archaeologists believe.

The teeth were discovered in a mass grave containing 54 headless bodies and 51 skulls of Vikings which were unearthed two years ago by workers building a relief road near Weymouth, Dorset.

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Weymouth burial pit shows Vikings filed their teeth

Archaeologists have discovered that teeth belonging to a Viking warrior, found under the Weymouth relief road in Dorset, had been filed.

They were among remains found in a burial pit which was discovered two years ago. The pair of front teeth have deep horizontal grooves cut into them.

Experts are not sure why the teeth were filed, but believe it may have been to frighten opponents in battle or to show their status as a great fighter.

Watch the video...

Dorset burial pit Viking had filed teeth

Archaeologists have discovered one of the victims of a suspected mass Viking burial pit found in Dorset had grooves filed into his two front teeth.

Experts believe a collection of bones and decapitated heads, unearthed during the creation of the Weymouth Relief Road, belong to young Viking warriors.

During analysis, a pair of front teeth was found to have distinct incisions.

Archaeologists think it may have been designed to frighten opponents or show status as a great fighter.

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