Natasha Sheldon's Blog
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
One of the most complete examples of a Neolithic log house has been found at kingsmead Quarry, not far from Windsor castle. The structure, dating to the 4th millennium BC was 11m long and 6 m wide with a central passage splitting the house in two. Built from split logs and probably roofed with turf or reeds, it is one of only 12 such structures found in Britain, as well as one of the most complete.
Only one feature of a wider Neolithic landscape, the house was revealed as part of a series of excavations that are a prelude to gravel extraction in the area
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Iraq's ancient monuments may not be under threat from looting anymore but recent war damage coupled with lack of funding for restoration mean that the country’s Mesopotamian past could crumble away from neglect.
An International group of scholars recently visited 8 sites within a 200 mile radius of Bagdad and reported that looting is significantly down since 2003. Reasons given are more effective security from the Iraqi Facilities Protection Service and also local tribes who have taken it upon themselves to guard the sites.
However, sites such as Ur which were targets for bombing not only in 2003 but during the Gulf War are in serious danger of collapse. The Kassite temple next to the famous ziggurat and the royal tombs are beginning to crumble because damage inflicted during the Gulf War has not been addressed. The activities of coalition forces around the ancient city have simply made a bad situation worse, eroding and damaging the site further. Funding and attention are what these sites urgently need if they are to survive.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Archaeologists from two British Universities are currently attempting to unravel the mysteries of Peru's Nazca lines
The spectacular designs in the Peruvian desert portray a range of geoglyphs that can only be appreciated aerially. This has lead to speculation as to the purpose of the lines.
The lines are being located and measured using GPS and compared to the distribution of pottery to help identify which came first. Many of the designs over lap each other. By identifying which came first and how they were built up, it is hoped not only to build up a chronology of the designs but to decide whether they had a spiritual or functional relevance to the societies that designed them.
Perhaps the Nazca lines won't be such an enigma for much longer
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Archaeology is a vast discipline. It has many subdivisions relating to different time periods, societies, methods of investigation and different areas of the world. It’s impossible to be an expert in every possible field of archaeology but it is possible to gain an overview of what's involved.
This month will see the start of a series of articles that aims to do just that. We’ll begin to look at the various scientific and historical subdivisions that make up modern archaeology. Find out how modern scientific techniques can be used to get relics of the past to reveal their secrets. Begin to explore specialist areas such as historical, industrial and underwater archaeology.
You won’t end up an expert. But you will get a taste of just how diverse archaeology can be.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
It seems that the recent one year rescue package for Pompeii is woefully insufficient for its needs. Experts believe that what is required is a meticulous, permanent programme of intervention and preservation to protect the site form visitors and the environment.
Many of the site's problems stem from the fact that visitor's have so much uninhibited freedom to explore. The more unscrupulous are taking advantage of the site's lack of security to help them selves to souvenirs from the site, scrawl graffiti on the buildings and take pictures of delicate frescos which can potentially destroy them. Then there is the fact that the current organisation is finding it difficult to manage the upkeep of the site. Many buildings under maintenance, such as the house of the Vettii have been closed for years whilst other buildings are slowly crumbling due to neglect.
Attempts to maintain the site are sporadic and need to be more carefully organised and implemented to keep the site open but more importantly preserve it for future generations.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
It seems that modern neglect is threatening to finish the job started on Pompeii by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD. The Roman city, declared a UNESCO world heritage site, is slowly crumbling, with many of its buildings and frescos disappearing as a result of inefficient maintenance.
Two thirds of the site has been excavated. However, the remaining third lies buried under a slowly accumulating rubbish dump resulting from the ongoing refuse collection dispute in nearby Naples.
The government are proposing to pump funds into the rescue operation and appoint a special commissioner for the site to overcome the problems of poor management, litter and looting.
The state of emergency is expected to last a year and will not involve closing the site to the general public.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
A unique first century AD burial ground has been found near Rome's main airport, dedicated not to the privileged elite but to Rome's lower classes. It not only offers an insight into the lives and ailments of Rome's working class but also provides evidence that at least some with disabilities were cared for.
It is usually assumed that those with any physical flaws were exposed as children. Whilst the Emperor Claudius acts as evidence that this was not always the case amongst the upper classes, it was likely that the lower classes would be more pragmatic about the matter.
Amongst the 300 skeletons excavated was that of a man in his 30's with a fused jaw. Archaeologists indicate that this was a lifelong condition that would have necessitated the individual being fed with liquids or semi solid food through a hole in his teeth.
Whilst this indicates that the man's family did not discard him because of his infirmity, its dangerous to read too much into the discovery The man's disability would not have prevented him from earning a living. That is likely to have been the deciding factor in his salvation.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
The Cosmati Pavement is one of Westminster Abbey's hidden treasures. Completed in the 13th century, it takes its name from geometric design known as Cosmati work, after the Italian family who created it in medieval Rome.
The design has been described as 'carpet like', incorporating fragments of semi precious stone, marble and metal into a design that that would have made the floor before the High Altar quite literally shine.
After being hidden for years under carpet, the pavement is about to shine again. Conservators are cleaning and stabilizing it with the ultimate aim of putting it on public display once more.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Seahenge has a new home at the Lynn Museum in Kings Lynn, UK. The timber circle, first discovered in the coastal marshland of Holme-next-the Sea ten years ago, has been reconstructed. The display includes a backdrop recreating the scenery that surrounded the structure. 'Seahenge' was neither on the sea or a henge monument. In the Bronze Age, the structure was surrounded by oak woodlands rather than by the seaside. Lacking either the ditch or bank that typifies a henge monument, its exact function remains a mystery. Although the upturned oak stump is a reproduction as the original is still undergoing conservation at the Mary Rose trust, the palisade surrounding the trunk incorporates timbers recovered from the monument, giving a real sense of what it looked like.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
The diets of hunter gatherers were healthier than those that arose as after the Neolithic revolution and the rise of farming. An experiment with volunteers in Sweden has established that a diet rich in lean meat, fruit, nuts and berries and devoid of dairy products and grain based foods lowers blood pressure and guards against obesity. So our Neolithic ancestors were fitter and slimmer although on the downside they were more prone to osteoporosis due to the lower levels of calcium in their diet.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Manchester Museum is currently running an exhibition of Lindow Man. The 2000 year old bog body was found at Lindow Moss in Cheshire in 1984. Currently on loan from the British Museum, he will be on display in Manchester until the 19th April 2009.
The museum’s website makes the point that it is important to ‘treat human remains with respect and dignity.’ This raises several interesting questions. Whilst it is understandable and important that forensic scientists and archaeologists analyse such remains to help rebuild a picture of the past, is it justifiable to put a body on display in a museum once the research is complete? Indeed, is it right for any human remains to be displayed in such a way? What does the public really gain from the experience? And do we have a right to discount the beliefs and wishes that might have accompanied a ritual burial, even if those beliefs are lost to us and were never our own besides.
Perhaps the question we should be asking is how we would feel if our own vacated remains were on public display. Some of may not care. Others might even find the idea quite interesting. I for one find the idea slightly disconcerting.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Mention mummification and most people automatically think of the ancient Egyptians. But mummification is a world wide phenomenon and not necessarily the result of deliberate embalming to preserve a corpse for the afterlife.
After death, decomposition immediately beings due to the actions of bacteria naturally present in the body. However, by preventing these bacteria from starting work, it is possible to preserve a body indefinitely. This can be acheived by deliberate embalming, the process most people associate with mummification and the source of it's name, coming from ‘mummya’ the Persian word for bitumen or pitch.
However, in the right conditions, mummification can occur naturally. The Chinese desert has yielded up the Takla Makan mummies, preserved almost perfectly by the aridity of the environment whilst extreme cold has produced the Qilakitsoq mummies of west Greenland and Inca Ice mummies. Then there are the bog bodies of northern Europe, preserved by peat acid and oxygen free conditions. Each of these accidental mummies offers up fascinating details of life and death in ancient cultures worldwide, not just amongst the elite but ordinary people.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
The Levant is one of the most fascinating zones of archaeology to explore. The area of the Euphrates, known as the cradle of civilisation was the site of some of the earliest cities in the world. It was an area vital to the Romans and strategically crucial in the crusades.
Starting next month, a series of articles will offer a taste of the archaeology of this fascinating region. We'll explore Palmyra and Bosra, ancient cities that reached their zenith in the Roman era as well as Ugarit, the Phoenician city that is reputedly the home of the world's first alphabet. Finally, there is Crac des Chevaliers, the best preserved crusader castle.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Between 250BC and 750 AD, the Zapotecs ruled much of southern Mexico. Theirs was the first Mexican urban state. Yet very little is known about them.
Professor Bill Middleton plans to change all that with his innovative plan to map the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. By using satellite technology to closely examine changes in natural resources across different sites, Professor Middleton hopes to identify how the Zapotec economy and environment changed as the society developed.
Two main sites will be concentrated on in the Chichicapam Valley. By analysing the variations in light reflection from objects on the ground, the researchers hope to identify variations in mineral deposits, plant species and different uses of land in relation to the sites.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
A team of Argentinean evolutionary analysts claim to have proved that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were two completely different species.
Focusing on changes in skull types, the team looked at 3D casts of 17 hominid types as well as a gorilla, a chimpanzee and Homo sapiens. The base of the skull and its shape, jaw protrusion and the position of the face relative to the base of the cranium were all studied.
The results show that Homo sapiens’s most direct ancestor was Homo habilis whereas Neanderthal’s can at best be regarded as distant cousins as their skull types do not correspond with descent from this species.
No doubt this isn't the end of this particular debate.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Athens’s expanded metro system not only allows sightseers to reach the city's attractions quicker than before; it allows them to appreciate history as they travel.
During the construction of the new stations and lines, much of the city's previously undiscovered past was unveiled to the modern world. Pottery, graves and everyday objects have been found in quantities. Although the finds may seem mundane when compared to the Parthenon, they are none the less impressive and offer a glimpse of everyday life in ancient Athens.
The way the finds are displayed is unique too. Station entrances are turned into mini museums with cases displaying pottery, tools, even statues. Inside, between platforms each station has a wall set aside as a display case. Behind a clear Perspex window, the stratigraphy of the site is perfectly preserved, with key finds labelled and in situ, allowing commuters to view a cross section of time.
The station of Monastiraki is particularly effective. Commuters literally walk over history. A clear, Perspex floor has been set over a Roman sewer, workshops and an ancient river bed that have not seen the light of day for a couple of millennium.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
A new museum is planned to house the preserved remains of Henry VIII favourite ship.
The aim is to build over the existing museum. On its anticipated completion, it will allow visitors a real experience of life on a Tudor war ship. Built in the shape of the ship, it will house the real hull on one side with a replica hull on the other. Here, finds from the ship will be displayed, recreating their positioning on the ship at the time of its rediscovery.
Unique and innovative, this imaginative re modelling will allow visitors to see 70% of the ships finds compared to the current 6%. It will also allow them to experience the finds in context rather than in isolation in a display case, making the whole Mary Rose experience more meaningful.
Finds include many mundane items from the period whose survival is unique such as staved wood tankards, ointment canisters, and even a velvet flat cap of a similar style to the one famously worn by Henry VIII.
The museum is still in the planning stages but it is hoped that work will begin in 2009 for a 2011 completion date.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Well the excavations are over and now the analysis begins. It seems that archaeologists are hoping not only to establish the exact date that the bluestones were erected but also how the site was used after its prehistoric abandonment.
Carbon datable material from the site is now undergoing analysis. The aim is to establish whether animal bones on the site are just evidence of discarded rubbish or if they are evidence of ritual activity. Soil samples will be used to help identify what Neolithic flora and fauna was present to help establish environmental conditions during the various stages of the megalith’s development whilst it is hoped that carbon dating will help establish more conclusively the various construction dates.
Without waiting for the results, it seems that evidence has been found to suggest the bluestones were moved more frequently than previously supposed. Examinations of the sockets have revealed constant re-cutting through and into each other, suggesting the site was in a constant state of transition rather than being construction being in fixed phases
What’s more, there is evidence to support the healing stones theory. Fragments of chipped bluestones in the virgin excavation area were quite intense, leading the archaeologists to deduce that people were hacking off fragments to take away with them. This seems to have happened well into the Roman period suggesting the meaning of Stonehenge continued long after its construction ceased.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
At first glance, there isn’t much left of ancient Carthage. The original Phoenician city was destroyed by the Romans in 146BC. Later they rebuilt. But today, the city they re-established is gone. All that appears to remain is a residential suburb of modern Tunis.
But fragments of ancient Carthage do remain. Excavations in the 1970s around the Byrsa hill have revealed the remains of the Punic city under the Roman forum. The Punic ports also survive with their harbours clearly visible. And amongst the modern villas, there is the tophet cemetery where the remains of young children were interred alongside emblems of the City’s guardian deities Baal and Tanit. Human sacrifice or a children’s cemetery? The debate continues.
Then there are the remains of Roman Carthage; its forum, the Antonine baths and along a roadside hidden amongst the trees, the amphitheatre.
Put these fragments together and a sense of the cities ancient glories can be recreated.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Stonehenge is being excavated for the first time since 1964 by a team of British archaeologists. The dig covers some ‘old ground’, re visiting areas of the site previously excavated in the ‘60s ad the 1920s. However, it’s also excavating previously untouched areas of the site in an attempt to discover more about this iconic henge monument.
The finds have been fascinating. Highlights for me from the ‘virgin’ trenches include a hammer stone of non local material found with fragments of smashed up bluestones Does this imply that the builders of certain phases of the monument were incomers too? It’s an intriguing idea and entirely possible although proving it is another matter.
Then there is the evidence of the sites continued use beyond the Neolithic into the historic era. Previously undiscovered bluestone sockets have been found to been carved into the bedrock during the 4th c AD. How do they know the date? Well a coin depicting the emperor Constantine was found in the socket. This raises all sort s of interesting questions about the continued use of pre historic sites.
It's the last day of the dig today.
Posted by Natasha Sheldon
Situated in western Turkey, Allianoi is rare and wonderful in so many ways. The visible Roman remains represent the peak of the development of the spa complex. However Allianoi was functioning as a Spa for centuries before. The threat of destruction by the waters of the Yortanly Irrigation Dam means its full significance may never be fully understood.
The Hadrianic spa complex survives in places up to two stories high, with well preserved floor mosaics and colonnaded courtyards. Its baths, situated over still active thermal springs are an example of one of the few rural bath sites to survive from the Roman world.
In addition, archaeologists have discovered evidence of glass and pottery production, paved streets and a temenos to Demeter, suggesting the existence of a settlement of some considerable significance. With only 20% of the site uncovered, there is so much more this unique site could tell us about the development and social and religious significance of ancient thermal spas.
Discoveries are being made even in the last days of the site. It would be a tragedy if this site was lost under water. Europa Nostra certainly thinks so and they are organising a petition to try and hold back the tide and prevent Allianoi from being lost beneath the waters.