Bronze Age burial chamber discovered on Dartmoor, England

Excitement has been felt among archaeologists over the discovery of a Bronze Age burial chamber on Dartmoor, which may provide fresh light on Devon’s prehistoric past.

This “enchanting” discovery could rival the significance of the 2011 find at Whitehorse Hill, where the remains of a young woman dating to circa 1700 BC were discovered.

The previous discovery was hailed around the world for its revelations about life in the early Bronze Age, and there are high hopes that the latest find will be just as enlightening.

Found in a secluded area to prevent tampering, the site’s exact location remains undisclosed. Peat erosion allowed for the discovery, which revealed what appears to be a Bronze Age cist or type of ancient coffin.

Dr. Lee Bray, a leading archaeologist involved in the excavation commented, “We have every potential for this to be something quite special,…. We don’t know for certain if this is a cist, but it certainly looks like one. All the evidence we have points to it being a cist from the early Bronze Age,” reports Devon Live.

The peat around it is waterlogged, meaning any clothing or artifacts inside could be very well preserved.

The Whitehorse Hill burial was preserved in this manner, and precious artifacts including the pelt of a brown bear, 200 beads, a copper alloy pin, and a variety of other grave goods were discovered, explains the Dartmoor National Park page.

Dr Bray said there were three options – to leave it where it is and let nature take its course, to try to halt the erosion or to excavate.

He dismissed the first option as irresponsible archaeology and noted that simply halting erosion wouldn’t eliminate the risk of air exposure damaging the contents. “They are deteriorating slowly as we speak,” he warned.

The Dartmoor National Park Authority is backing the excavation efforts, having set aside £90,000 from its reserves.

Given the site’s remote location, away from accessible roads, specialized equipment such as helicopters and laser scanning tools are required to safely remove and transport the burial chamber.

Also, this project is not only a significant step forward for local archaeology, but it could also benefit the larger historical community by providing a rare glimpse into the lives of those who walked these moors thousands of years ago.

Archaeologists uncover secret 19th century steelworks furnace, hidden near Sheffield city centre

Archaeologists have uncovered new evidence of Sheffield’s industrial heritage during recent excavations at the site of the city’s castle. Undocumented remnants of a 19th Century steelworks were found during work in the area once home to Sheffield Castle.

Experts at Wessex Archaeology said the findings highlighted the role steel had played in the city’s development. The team is carrying out a 10-week dig at the site as part of the council’s plans to redevelop the Castlegate area.

Their work has revealed the remains of the steelworks’ crucible furnace, which is not recorded on contemporary maps.

As well as helping the archaeologists to better understand the layout and workings of the furnace – which would have been used to refine blister steel into higher quality crucible steel – the team said they had uncovered several clues about the people who operated it, and the working conditions at the steelworks.

With temperatures reaching 1200C, the firing process was “unpleasant and challenging”, say experts.

The team said they had found the letter ‘H’ scratched into the brickwork on the walls of the crucible cellar and posited whether it was “the initial of someone who toiled in the cellar day in and day out”.

The archaeologists also uncovered a hole in the wall which had been dug out and then concealed with another brick.

They said they believed this to be “someone’s secret hiding place”.

Ashley Tuck, the archaeologist leading the dig, said: “These remnants of Sheffield’s industrial past not only remind us of the role steel working played in the growth and identity of this city, but also encourage us to consider the people behind it – who would, by modern standards at least, have worked in an unpleasant and challenging environment.”

Castlegate is the oldest part of Sheffield and has been inhabited since at least the 11th Century. Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned for 14 years at the castle and at Manor Lodge in the 1500s, under the care of the Earl of Shrewsbury.

The castle complex was destroyed in 1648 during the English Civil War. The remains were covered by Castle Market in the 1960s, with the only visible evidence of the original castle found in basements of the complex.

The indoor market was demolished in 2015, allowing excavation work to begin. Members of the public have been joining in with the current dig with further opportunities for people to get involved in May.

First Complete Roman Funerary Bed Found In Britain

During an excavation near the Holborn Viaduct in London, UK, archaeologists discovered a remarkably rare Roman funerary bed. This find, according to MOLA archaeologists, is the first complete funerary bed ever found in Britain.

The bed was crafted from high-quality oak with intricately carved feet and joints secured by small wooden pegs. It appears to have been disassembled prior to its placement within the grave and may have served as a vehicle for transporting the deceased to their final resting place.

Researchers speculate that it was likely intended as a grave good for use in the afterlife. Tombstones from various locations within the Roman Empire often depict images of the departed reclining on similar couches.

This site, as indicated by the presence of a funerary bed, served as a burial ground during the Roman era (AD 43-410). Excavations revealed not only skeletal remains but also personal artifacts like a glass vial and luxurious jewelry adorned with jet and amber beads.

A beautifully crafted lamp featuring an engraved image of a vanquished gladiator was also discovered. This design likely dates back to Britain’s early Roman period, around AD 48-80!

“We know the Romans buried their dead alongside roads, outside of urban centers. So, it was no great surprise to discover burials at this site, which during the Roman period would have been located 170m west of the city walls and next to the major Roman road of Watling Street.

However, the levels of preservation we’ve encountered – and particularly uncovering such a vast array of wooden finds – has really blown us away,” MOLA’s Project Officer Heather Knight said.

Finding wooden artifacts at archaeological sites is unusual. However, thanks to the damp mud along the River Fleet, these items have been remarkably preserved. The site has unveiled not just a Roman funerary bed but also an array of intriguing wooden objects from its later years!

In addition to these findings, excavations revealed another cemetery on this site dating back to the 16th century. This could potentially be linked to the nearby St Sepulchre’s church.

Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, this area underwent a transformation with new residential structures, commercial establishments, and even a pub being built – all of which were eventually replaced over time.

Scientists will continue researching and analysing all these amazing finds. These studies will reveal many new details about the people who lived, worked, and were buried here over the past 2000 years.

Young Boy Discovers Rare Ancient Roman Treasure In Sussex, UK

Children are often curious by nature, and they tend to pay attention to things adults would not even bother looking at.

The world of archaeology has seen numerous remarkable discoveries made by young enthusiasts, and 12-year-old Rowan Brannan is the latest addition to this list.

While on a walk with his mother Amanda and dog in the Pagham area of Bognor, Sussex, Rowan stumbled upon an extraordinary artifact. He spotted a rare gold Roman bracelet in a field, adding yet another significant discovery to the rich tapestry of archaeological finds.

“Rowan has always been into finding all sorts of bits and pieces, he’s very adventurous and is always picking stuff up off the floor,” his mother Amanda says. Rowan brought the object home and researched whether it was genuine gold. It fulfilled all the requirements on his checklist, but neither he nor Amanda realized its true significance until a visit from their hairdresser.

The hairdresser mentioned she was attending a metal detecting event, prompting Rowan to share about his recent discovery. Intrigued by the find, she took a photograph and later showed it to the leader of her metal-detecting group. Recognizing its antiquity, he advised that Amanda and Rowan contact a Finds Officer for further evaluation.

Rowan described how the excitement kept building over the months following his discovery.

“We took it to the jeweler and that got me a bit excited, and when it was sent away and it was like “gold” and then it got more exciting. Then it got to the treasure process,” Rowan said.

The Finds Liaison Officer was very interested, and the bracelet has been examined by the British Museum.

Experts have identified the object discovered by Rowan as a Roman armilla bracelet dating back 2,000 years. In the Roman Empire, bracelets were typically worn by women as an indication of their social status. Men generally did not wear bracelets due to their association with femininity.

However, there were exceptions for soldiers with exceptional bravery or merit. A Roman general would publicly award these individuals armilla bracelets; the soldiers wore them as badges of honor.

The item in question is a fragment, not a complete circular bangle. Its value lies in its age of over 300 years, and it is made from a precious metal. After evaluation, Rowan was informed that such an artifact is extraordinarily uncommon for someone to stumble upon during a casual dog walk.

Amanda further expressed her excitement about the discovery: “It’s been brilliantly fascinating. We have learnt so many things, and it is quite lovely to still be involved so we can follow its story. It’s like, wow—imagine who wore that. We have had a piece of history in our house.”

It is, without doubt, a wonderful discovery, and who knows what will happen in the future. If Rowan keeps picking up objects, he may soon find something more of archaeological value!

Medieval Lincoln imp found in hidden trapdoor above toilet

Tracy and Rory Vorster living in Lincoln, England, have discovered a trapdoor in their bathroom with a grotesque face bearing a striking resemblance to the local icon, the Lincoln Imp.

An imp is a legendary creature from European mythology that resembles a fairy or a demon and is widely mentioned in superstitions and folklore. It was first used in phrases like “imps of serpents,” “imp of hell,” “imp of the devil,” and so forth starting in the 16th century.

The Lincoln Imp, a carved stone grotesque with cow ears, cow horns, taloned hands, and a hirsute body with crossed legs, sits atop a pillar overlooking Lincoln Cathedral’s Angel Choir. He is a tiny little guy (approximately 30cm high), but he has made a big impact on the city.

He seems to have been adopted as their unofficial mascot. Probably carved in the 13th century.

The endearing little devil became the subject of legends. According to one story, Satan sent him and an imp friend to wreak havoc in northern England.

When an angel appeared out of a hymn book and turned the most rebellious, rowdiest imp to stone, they were in Lincoln Cathedral smashing stained glass, destroying furniture, and bullying the bishop.

Vorster couple removed the wooden panel, it revealed a large slab of stone featuring a carving of the Lincoln Imp. 

There was an opening in the mouth that indicated it was either a urinal or some kind of drain. An expert from the Lincoln Civic Trust confirmed the first impression upon examination: it was a drain dating to the middle or late 14th century.

The Vorsters’ house is on Vicar’s Court, a building founded by the college of priests in the 13th century in the Minster Yard just south of the cathedral.

According to the BBC, the couple moved into their property earlier this year.

They said the discovery is an example of why Lincoln is “amazing”, adding they are “proud” of their house’s history.

Mrs Vorster said: “You look at the outside of the house and that is historical enough but to now find something inside is amazing.”

Mr Vorster added: “The whole of the house has kind of a hollow walling, so we immediately thought there could be more. In fact, we’re almost certain now.

“The previous occupant had been here for over 20 years, so surely they knew. But we had absolutely no clue it was there.”

Human remains found at prison sewer site are 4,500 years old in East Yorkshire

Archaeologists investigating the site of a new sewer to serve a jail being built at Full Sutton in East Yorkshire, England, have discovered a burial monument containing human remains thought to be about 4,500 years old.

Parts of a Roman road and a burnt mound were also discovered during a £5m project to build a 5.2km (3.2 miles) sewer near Full Sutton.

The site of the previously unknown Roman road is close to Stamford Bridge, flanked by drainage ditches which suggested to experts that it ran northwards towards the settlement of ‘Derventio Brigantium’ – close to modern-day Malton.

The first site was a small circular burial monument discovered in the vicinity of Full Sutton. Yorkshire Water said the small, circular monument contained a buried individual who was placed in a pit in a foetal or “crouched” position.

The archaeological team said these prehistoric traditions are seen in similar monuments, or “round barrows”, found around the UK and they believe that the Full Sutton example could be approximately 4,500 years old.

Gavin Robinson, from Ecus Archaeology, which undertook the investigation, said: “It was disturbed by later ploughing, but, considering the ground conditions, the associated human remains were surprisingly well-preserved.

“The local sandy geology is usually too acidic for human remains to survive, however, the grave had been backfilled with a mixture of burnt stone and charcoal from the adjacent ‘burnt mound’ spread, which seems to have helped the bones survive.”

No artifacts were discovered in the grave, which was constructed close to the third find – called a burnt mound.

The monument is estimated to be either from a Late Neolithic or Bronze Age date and was covered by a dome-shaped mound of earth or stone. Remnants of the burnt mound included a small earth oven and a deep pit that appeared to have been a well. Part of the wooden lining of the well was preserved by waterlogging as well as the lower fills which archaeologists took soil samples from.

Yorkshire Water said this could provide “valuable and rare data” into what the site was used for and possible preserved remains of plants and insects.

Ecus Archaeology, working on the site for Yorkshire Water, said the three sites give a glimpse into the prehistoric and early historic past of the area.

‘World first’ intact Roman egg laid 1,700 years ago discovered by archaeologists

It was a wonderful find as it was, a cache of 1,700-year-old speckled chicken eggs discovered in a Roman pit during a dig in Buckinghamshire.

But to the astonishment of archaeologists and naturalists, a scan has revealed that one of the eggs recovered intact still has liquid – thought to be a mix of yolk and albumen – inside it, and may give up secrets about the bird that laid it almost two millennia ago.

The “Aylesbury egg” is one of four that were found alongside a woven basket, pottery vessels, leather shoes, and animal bone in 2010 as a site was being explored ahead of a major development.

Despite the experts extracting them as carefully as possible, three broke, producing an unforgettable sulphurous smell, but one was preserved complete.

Edward Biddulph, the senior project manager at Oxford Archaeology, which oversaw the excavation, said it had been amazing enough to find what is thought to be the only intact egg from the period in Britain. “We do often find pieces of shells but not intact eggs,” he said.

Discussions were being held last year about how to display the egg when Dana Goodburn-Brown, an archaeological conservator and materials scientist, suggested they scan it to help decide how best to preserve it.

Biddulph said: “The egg turned out to be even more amazing. It still contained its liquid, the yolk and the white.” The yolk and albumen appear to have become mixed together.

“We might have expected it to have leached out over the centuries but it is still there. It is absolutely incredible. It may be the oldest egg of its type in the world.”

Biddulph said the egg had been deliberately placed in a pit that had been used as a well for malting and brewing. “This was a wet area next to a Roman road. It may have been the eggs were placed there as a votive offering. The basket we found may have contained bread.”

The egg has been taken to the Natural History Museum in London. Biddulph said it had felt a little daunting riding on the tube and walking around the capital with such an extraordinary and fragile egg in his care.

Douglas Russell, the senior curator of the museum’s birds’ eggs and nests collection, was consulted about how to conserve the egg and remove the contents without breaking it.

There are older eggs with contents, such as mummified ones, but Russell said it was believed to be the oldest unintentionally preserved egg. A tiny hole may be made in the egg to extract the contents and try to find out more about the bird that laid it.

Goodburn-Brown said: “The egg ranks as one of the coolest and most challenging archaeological finds to investigate and conserve. Being the temporary caretaker and investigator of this Roman egg counts as one of the major highlights of my 40-year career.”

Roman Wooden Bed Unearthed in London

Archaeologists in London have made the “exceptionally important” discovery of a complete wooden funerary bed, the first ever discovered in Britain.

The remarkably preserved bed, described as “unparalleled” by experts, was excavated from the site of a former Roman cemetery near Holborn viaduct, central London, alongside five oak coffins. Prior to this dig, only three Roman timber coffins in total have been found in the capital.

Wooden remains from the Roman era in Britain (AD43-410) rarely survive to the present day but, because the waterlogged burial site adjoins the now underground river Fleet, its graves were well preserved.

The funerary bed is made from high-quality oak and has carved feet and joints fixed with small wooden pegs. It was dismantled before being laid within the grave of an adult male in his late 20s or early 30s.

“It’s been quite carefully taken apart and stashed, almost like flat-packed furniture for the next life,” said Michael Marshall, an artefacts specialist with archaeologists Mola (Museum of London Archaeology) – although he stressed there was much about the burials that is yet to be studied. Excavations at the site continue.

Part of the site, outside the walls of the Roman city and 6 metres below the modern ground level, had been excavated in the 1990s. However, “the bed was a complete surprise, because we’ve never seen anything like it before”, said Marshall.

While there are accounts of people being carried on beds in funeral processions, and sometimes depictions of them on tombstones, he said: “We didn’t know that people were buried in these kinds of Roman burials beds at all. That’s something that there is no previous evidence for from Britain.”

No other grave goods were found with the bed burial, but it was almost certainly a high-status person, said Marshall. “It’s an incredibly well-made piece of furniture.

This is a piece of proper joinery, as opposed to something has been sort of banged together. It’s one of the fancier pieces of furniture that’s ever been recovered from Roman Britain.”

Personal objects were recovered from elsewhere in the cemetery, however, including beads, a glass vial apparently still containing residue, and a decorated lamp, thought to date to the very earliest period of Roman occupation between AD43 and 80.

Strikingly, it is decorated with the design of a defeated gladiator, “which is kind of a wonderful thing”, said Marshall. Similar images have previously been found in funeral contexts in London and Colchester.

“There’s something about the symbolism of the fallen gladiator that makes sense in a funerary context. A defeated gladiator is somebody who is dying, obviously – but they also fight against death.

“So there’s evidence that some really quite subtle choices about how people mourned their dead are starting to come through from analysing these burials.”