* Prehistoric carved stone back home on English moors

* 2,700-year-old bronze ware discovered in northwest China

* Archaeologists unveil calendar of pre-Colombia cultures
* Campaigners accuse council of agenda to destroy heritage
* Axe heads finder looks set for a windfall
* Callanish not in line up as World Heritage Site
* Burial mounds move housing in Oxfordshire
* Archeological site gives Taiwan's prehistoric insight
* Houses halted by prehistoric find in Scotland
* Sacred landscape discovered in Oxfordshire
* 4,000-year-old cemetery uncovered in Jerusalem
* Neolithic Indian rock carvings facing neglect
* Ancient anchorage found in Israel

Prehistoric carved stone back home on English moors

Museum officers have left no stone unturned to get a prehistoric rock

back to its moorland home. The Heygate stone with its intricate
carved cup and rings returned to Baildon Moor (West Yorkshire,
England) after a five-year absence to go on permanent public view at
Brackenhall Countryside Centre. The stone, which dates back around
5,000 years, was discovered by chance in 2001 by a local landowner
out walking in his field. Two years later the man - who was legally
entitled to keep the find - donated it to Bradford Council's Museums,
Galleries and Heritage Service for safe-keeping. And from November
11th, people will get a chance to get up close to the stone which
measures around 60cms high and 45cms wide.
The Heygate Stone exhibition officially opens at 1pm at the
countryside centre in Glen Road. The Council's archaeology expert
Gavin Edwards is hoping a big turn out will be there to welcome it
back. "It was found on the moor and we've always been keen to get it
back there," he said. The Stone, which has been in storage, will be
the centre of attention in a new exhibition telling the story of
other Bronze Age carved rocks also unearthed on Baildon Moor. The
stones are all part of a nationally important cluster of carved rocks
across the district taking in Rombalds Moor and its internationally
known Panorama stones and Swastika rock at Ilkley.
But one thing missing from the exhibition will be an accurate
explanation of what the stone carvings are all about. Mr Edwards
said: "We still don't know for sure. There are hundreds of possible
theories from observations of the sky to reconstructing family units
in the landscapes, the small indentations could be huts and the rings
could be enclosures. "It's fascinating how the carvings could be
telling us something about how our ancestors lived. "What we do know
for sure is when people come to look at the Heygate Stone they can be
certain they are looking at a stone that someone else did four or
five thousands years earlier before using their hands to make those
mysterious marks. It's something tangible and real - but what we
don't know of course is what that person was thinking at the time."
There is also a chance there could still be another part of the
Heygate Stone still out there. The stone, which measures 60cms high
and 45cms wide, looks as though it could have broken off from a
bigger piece.
Winter opening times at Brackenhall Countryside Centre are
Wednesdays and Sundays only from noon to 5pm.

Source: This is Argus (11 November 2006)

http://www.thisisbradford.co.uk/news/tibnews/display.var.1017174.0.histo
ric_stone_back_home_on_moors.php

2,700-year-old bronze ware discovered in northwest China

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed more than 100 pieces of bronze

ware dating back to 2,700 years ago in Northwest China's Shaanxi
Province. The 103 bronze wares include weapons, chariots, wine and
sacrifice vessels, some of them engraved with owners' emblems or
inscriptions. The wares were firstly found in a cellar by six farmers
in Wujun Village, Fufeng County when they were digging a water
channel in their field. They immediately reported the discovery to
local relic protection authorities.
"The wares could be traced back to the middle or late period of
the Western Zhou Dynasty (1,100 BCE - 771 BCE), " said Wu Zhenfeng, a
researcher of the Shaanxi Archaeological and Research Institute. The
inscriptions on the bronze wares indicate they belonged to four to
five families, said Wu. Inscriptions inside two wine vessels are both
about a mediation to a property dispute between two aristocrats,
according to Wu. The bronze ware have been sent to the county museum
for research and exhibition.

Source: People's Daily Online (11 November 2006)

http://english.people.com.cn/200611/11/eng20061111_320520.html

Archaeologists unveil calendar of pre-Colombia cultures

The oldest and largest known Mexican moon calendar was shown to the
public by archaeologists and authorities on Monday (November 6) at
the ruins of Tamtoc in San Luis Potosi near the Gulf of Mexico. The
massive 27-tonnes stone calendar is a product of the Huasteca
culture, dating back to 600 BCE. Mexican archaeologist Guillermo
Ahuja came across the artefact in February 2005 and he spent 19
months cleaning and restoring it with a crews before showing it to a
general audience. The seven-metre long, 4.2 metre tall find is
adorned with pre-Colombian figures representing fertility, water,
life, nature and death. Feminine figures with water flowing from
their heads represent the beliefs of a culture that considered water
the essence of life.
The importance of the discovery lies in its age because it means
that the Huastecas may have been a contemporary of the Olmecs,
considered until now the oldest group in the region and the
predecessor of all the important Mesoamerican cultures such as Mayas
or the Aztecs. It is now thought that this culture that lived near
the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico had a close relationship
with the Olmecas, who lived 600 miles to the south. An intense flow
of migration is thought to have linked the cultures.
Further studies in the northern Atlantic Coast and southern
Texas are expected to reveal more about the development of the
Huasteca culture, their influence on subsequent cultures and on the
whole cultural construction of Mesoamerica

Source: Zeenews.com (11 November 2006)

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=334903&sid=FTP

Campaigners accuse council of agenda to destroy heritage

Controversy over Yorkshire's 'Stonehenge of the North' - the

Thornborough Henges complex, has taken a new twist. Campaign group
Heritage Action is accusing the county council of deliberately
encouraging the destruction of archaeology surrounding the henges.
The campaigners were 'astonished and dismayed' to hear that the
council is considering the area as a 'preferred area' for future
quarrying. They were particularly surprised because an application by
Tarmac Northern to extend quarrying around Thornborough has recently
been refused after several protest campaigns. Tarmac is currently
appealing against the decision.
Stephen Cornwell, spokesman for Heritage Action said "It is
quite incredible what is going on. Tarmac Northern is appealing
against a refusal to extend their existing quarry, yet at the same
time North Yorkshire County Council has invited suggestions for
further quarrying! It is as if they actively want the archaeology
destroyed." Tarmac and another quarrying company, Hanson, have
accepted the offer enthusiastically, suggesting another four huge
areas of the Thornborough complex for quarrying. English Heritage
has said it is "extremely concerned about the piecemeal approach" to
what it considers an exceptional landscape and which has resulted in
"its gradual eating away".
Heritage Action's Mr Cornwell said "North Yorkshire is set to
become a net exporter of gravel so there is no need for further
expansion, particularly in an area of such importance. "It seems to
us that quarry companies are being invited to progressively dismantle
what remains of one of our most significant historic assets - and
even to recommend the order in which they do it." The Council is
inviting comments on the issue until 11 November. Responses should be
sent to the Senior Minerals and Waste Policy Officer, North Yorkshire
County Council, County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8AH.
Email: mwdf@northyorks.gov.uk

Source: Heritage Action Journal (11 November 2006)

http://www.heritageaction.org/?page=theheritagejournal&id=153

Axe heads finder looks set for a windfall

Metal detective Stephen Barrass could be in line for a windfall after

discovering two Bronze Age axe heads in a field near his home. Mr
Barrass, a 41-year-old factory worker, had been metal detecting for
three years with hardly any success, until he found the
3,000-year-old artefacts - believed to have been a religious offering
- just 10 inches below the surface of a field at Castleside (County
Durham, England). At an inquest in Chester-le-Street North Durham
coroner Andrew Tweddle formally declared the findings to be treasure.
They are currently waiting to be valued at the British Museum.
Whatever experts declare to be their value will then be divided as a
'reward' between Mr Barrass and the owner of the land.
Mr Tweddle said he was not prepared to reveal at the hearing the
exact location of the find, "because we don't want coachloads of
metal detectives descending upon it". Rob Collins, from the Museum of
Antiquities at Newcastle University, and finds liaison officer for
the North-East, said the likely final resting place for the axe heads
would be Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle, County Durham. He said: "The
axe heads will be valued by the British Museum valuation committee
which meets every three months, and the value, or reward, will be
divided between the finder and the landowner. "We think they would
have been some sort of religious offering, or votif, to the gods." Mr
Barrass, who made the discovery in May, said: "I am thrilled to have
discovered something historically valuable. It is nothing to do with
the financial value. My father died recently and I only wish he could
have been here today, he would have been proud. He was thrilled by
the discovery."

Sources: The Journal (10 November 2006)

http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/thejournal/regional/tm_headline=axe-
heads-finder-looks-set-for-a-windfall%26method=full
%26objectid=18074946%26siteid=50081-name_page.html

Callanish not in line up as World Heritage Site

The Callanish Stones will not be considered as a World Heritage Site

(WHS) before 2010, despite international reports they are more
impressive than WHS Stonehenge. A recent survey of World Heritage
Sites carried out by the National Geographic Traveler magazine
concluded that Stonehenge was in trouble due to overcrowding, noise
pollution and a lack of benefit for the local community. Comments
from a panel of 419 experts in sustainable tourism and destination
stewardship stated that Scottish stone circles sites such as
Callanish could offer a much more enjoyable experience for visitors.
One panellist commented: "Crowd control is a good thing at
Stonehenge, but overregulation has made the visitor's experience
rather disappointing and the charm is gone. It would be good if
something was done to the surrounding landscape. It has good
interpretation and is so impressive but you can get a similar impact
from lots of other stone circles, especially up north in Scotland,
without all the noise and intrusion."
But despite this plug for Scottish stone circle sites, Historic
Scotland say they have no current plans to nominate the Callanish
Stones as a candidate for WHS. There are currently only three WHS in
Scotland which are St Kilda, Neolithic Orkney and the Old and New
Towns of Edinburgh, but a new list of nominations for 2007 to 2009
again has no mention of Callanish as Lesley Brown from Historic
Scotland stated: "The Department of Culture, Media and Sport puts
forward sites for possible inclusion as a WHS. The next Scottish
recommendation will be the Antonine Wall." And although there doesn't
seem to be a site selection in the pipeline for Callanish, local
tourism experts say the comments in the National Geographic report
only say what they have known all along. Business Relationship and
Marketing Manager for Visitscotland in the Outer Hebrides, Mary Ann
Maciver said: "Their comment regarding the visitor experience at
Callanish is nothing new to us and we consider this common knowledge.
As someone who managed the visitor centre at Callanish I know a big
part of the attraction of the stones is the fact that it is unspoilt,
uncommercialised and uncrowded. Many of those who come to Callanish
know it's a special site, and come for this very reason, and as such
take great care of it."

Source: Stornoway Today (10 November 2006)

http://www.stornowaytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?
SectionID=2629&ArticleID=1872201

Burial mounds move housing in Oxfordshire

The discovery of 'nationally important' Bronze Age burial mounds on

the edge of Bicester (Oxfordshire, England) has prompted a housing
developer to change its plans. Archaeologists uncovered the two
mounds buried beneath land between Bicester and Chesterton, which is
earmarked for 1,585 houses. The discovery has forced Countryside
Properties to draw up new plans for the site, which it submitted to
Cherwell District Council last week.
Experts dug 134 trenches between July and September and found
archaeological remains in 41 of them. As well as the burial mounds,
which could be up to 5,500 years old, they found a Bronze Age
palstave (an axe head), an Iron Age settlement with a possible
hearth, a Roman settlement and quarries and what is believed to be a
saxon ditch. Experts from Wessex Archaeology have recommended the
burial mounds, which measure 32m and 21m across, be protected by a
50m no-build buffer zone. Council planning officer Jenny Barker said
developers had redrawn their plans so the mounds would be beneath the
playing field of one of the proposed primary schools. She added the
secondary school and the health village had also been moved. She said
the decision on the planning application, which was submitted in May,
had been delayed pending the results of the archaeological survey.
She added: "These mounds have been identified as significant and, in
fact, significant enough that they should not be disturbed."
In its report, Countryside Properties said: "The intention is to
impose a 50m buffer around these two sites to ensure no
infrastructure works take place that would damage these remains of
national importance. It is recommended that provisions are
implemented to ensure that archaeology has a primary consideration in
future engineering and management plans for these proposals." In
their report, experts from Wessex Archaeology said: "All of the
archaeological evidence uncovered to date indicates the utilisation
of this site for several thousand years."

Source: Oxford Mail (10 November 2006)

http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.1014352.0.burial_mo
unds_move_housing.php

Archeological site gives Taiwan's prehistoric insight

Until recently, little was known about the histories and cultures of
Taipei's Austronesian aborigines and, in particular, about their
relationships with the island's ancient inhabitants. Discovery of the
Peinan site in southeastern Taiwan, and the associated artifacts
unearthed and interpreted by archaeologists, have proved invaluable
in making up some of this deficiency. To help educate visitors about
the island's prehistoric past, many of the key finds are now
exhibited in the National Museum of Prehistory.
Excavation of the prehistoric site was started in 1944 by
archaeologists Takeo Kanaseki and Naoichi Kokubu at the tail end of
the period of Japanese rule. Even though the dig was very small in
scale, the pair quickly recognized the site's importance.
Nevertheless, excavation halted following Japan's withdrawal from
Taiwan, and did not resume immediately under the island's new rulers,
the Kuomintang-led ROC administration. Thirty-five years passed until
in July 1980, during construction of the Peinan East Line Railway
Station, prehistoric remains of great interest were revealed.
Numerous slate coffins - dating from a Stone Age culture of around
3000-500 BCE - containing exquisite artifacts as well as skeletons
were excavated, attracting great public and media interest and,
unfortunately, looting.
National Taiwan University archaeologist Sung Wen-hsun was
delegated to form the Peinan Culture Archaeology Team, which
unearthed 1,500 slate coffins and numerous of other artifacts over
the next 10 years. After another decade of planning and a total
investment of around US$100 million, the NMP opened in August 2002.
Archaeologists' most striking discovery was that the slate coffins
were all arranged with their heads pointing toward the northeast and
feet to the southwest. One theory is that the coffins pointed to
Dulan Mountain, where the newly dead would be greeted by their
ancestral sprits.
Upcoming NMP projects include a display of some Peinan site
artifacts at Taitung's Feng-nien Airport and a major exhibition
introducing Maori artifacts from New Zealand.
All of this began with the accidental discovery of a cultural site
dating back around 5,000 years, but which should keep Pasuya Poiconu,
the museum's director, his staff of 50, and their countless visitors
busy for a good while to come.

Source: Taiwan Journal (10 November 2006)

http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=23466&CtNode=122

Houses halted by prehistoric find in Scotland

Work at a 60 million housing development had to be suspended when a

historic artefact was found on the site in Glasgow's East End
(Scotland). Archaeologists were called in after an ancient farming
tool was discovered at Persimmon Partnerships' site in Garthamlock.
A member of the public alerted the developers after unearthing a
quern stone, used for grinding corn, and a makeshift hammer on land
behind Glasgow Fort. Experts suspect the artefacts could be
thousands of years old and want time to carry out trial digs on the
site, off Tillycairn Road.
Staff from the West of Scotland Archaeology Service have visited
the site, which is earmarked for new houses, and are in talks with
the developers. The site is part of the final phase of a massive
regeneration development in the east end including 770 new homes. Dr
Carol Swanson, service manager of WoSAS, which provides expert help
to 11 councils, said: "Maps show the land was once a farmstead and we
hope the developer will grant permission for a trial dig. "The quern
definitely dates back to the 18th century but the design was
unchanged for thousands of years, so it's impossible to tell how old
it yet. "We hope Persimmon will allow contractors to have a closer
look at the land."
Paul Robins, an archaeologist with the service, added: "These
are genuine antiquities - a type of simple stone technology that has
been in use unchanged for several thousand years." Councillor
Catherine McMaster, who represents Garthamlock, was intrigued by the
find.
She said: "There could be many ancient artefacts in the soil and it
could turn out to be an important historical site." Developers are
legally obliged to inform the council if historical artefacts are
found on open land. A spokeswoman for Persimmon Partnerships said:
"The council sent out their own experts to look at the site and we
are awaiting their report."

Sources: Evening Times (9 November 2006), The Scotsman (10 November

2006)
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5059103.html
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1663002006

Sacred landscape discovered in Oxfordshire

An archaeologist surveying Northmoor has accidentally discovered a

sacred landscape' created in the Bronze Age. Robin Brunner-Ellis was
amazed when he stumbled upon a pattern of features in the landscape
made by ancient people to communicate with their gods. He is now
hoping to launch a sacred landscape heritage trail to enable people
and walkers to discover how and why the landscape was formed. He
said: "From near the Rose Revived pub across the meadows and across
the river up to Cumnor Hill there are a series of ditches people in
the Bronze Age dug as a form of ritual to communicate with the gods.
These ditches were laid out to capture burial mounds in which their
own ancestors had buried their dead 1,000 years before the ditch
builders. The ditches connect those ancestral remains with natural
elements in the landscape in such a way that they could draw down the
sacred power of the rising full moon that occurred only once every 18
years. The rivers were equally important for prehistoric people as
living forces running through their landscape. So the ditches are
aligned with the River Windrush where it meets the Thames at
Newbridge, cuts across a long loop of the Thames before crossing it
and heading over Hurst and Cumnor Hills. It ends up at the point
where the River Cherwell meets the Thames on Christchurch Meadows."
On October 6, Mr Brunner-Ellis visited the site with his
eight-year-old son Tom to see the Autumn equinox moon at its fullest
and its closest to Earth in 18 years. He said: "What we saw was
amazing. It took my breath away. The huge pale disk of the harvest
moon rose between Hurst Hill and Cumnor Hill on the eastern horizon
exactly in line with the orientation of the Northmoor linear ditches.
And at precisely the same moment as the moons appearance, the autumn
sun disappeared over the western horizon exactly over the point where
the Windrush and Thames rivers meet at the opposite end of the
Northmoor linear ditches. It was astonishing. We got an extraordinary
insight into the ingenuity of people we imagine were quite primitive."
Zetica, a Witney based research company, is to carry out a
geophysical survey of the whole parish and Mr Brunner-Ellis hopes the
astronomy department at Oxford University will also get involved in
the research. He also hopes a leaflet about the heritage trail will
be produced. For information see
www.goodmarketing.org.uk/sacredlandscapes

Source: Oxford Mail (9 November 2006)

http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.1011427.0.ancients_
holy_site_revealed.php

4,000-year-old cemetery uncovered in Jerusalem

Containers for ritual offerings, weapons and jewelry are among the
finds uncovered after builders in Jerusalem's Bayit Vagan
neighborhood (Israel) stumbled upon a 4,000-year-old Canaanite
cemetery. The Israel Antiquities Authority was alerted back in July
when builders working on apartment buildings in the Holyland Park
Project found evidence of ancient tombs. The remarkable finds were
only discovered last week.
The dig's director, Yanir Milevsky, said that "the quantity of
items and their particularly good state of conservation will allow us
to enlarge our knowledge of farming villages during the Canaanite
era." The authority said the site covered more than 200 dunams and
contains human and animal remains, as well as metal and ceramic
artifacts and weapons, dating back to between 2,200 and 1,600 BCE.
The approximately 50 tombs originally date from the early Bronze Age
(2200 BCE to 2000 BCE), but were apparently dug up and used again
about 1700 BCE to 1600 BCE, an authority spokesman said. The main
finds were from the latter period, because when they were reused,
most of the original contents were cleared out.
Archeologists working on the site uncovered pottery vessels of
various sizes which they said appear to be containers for spiritual
offerings - mainly jars, bowls and jugs - as well as human remains.
The containers' contents, which consisted of mostly perishable foods
or liquids, have disappeared over time. One of the archeologists, Zvi
Greenhut, said the burial sites have entrances through a shaft and
have thus been termed 'shaft tombs.' The shafts were quarried
straight into the bedrock, and then a cave was dug out to house the
tomb proper.
The archeologists said that in accordance with the common belief
of the time, the offerings were given in the expectation of feeding
the departed in the afterlife. Such beliefs were said to be heavily
influenced by the cultural dominance of Egypt at the time, which was
at the zenith of its power. Animal bones, supposedly sheep or goats,
were also found. Milevski said he believed they were the remains of
more offerings. Some of the tombs contain bronze weapons, mainly
daggers and axes, and in others jewelry, including Carnelian and
Amethyst beads, was discovered. Bronze and copper tools were also
found, such as borers and other perforators as well as bones with
drawings on them, most probably decorations, according to Milevski.
In terms of the salvage possibilities, he said, "We have a lot of
complete vessels, and also many shards that we can restore in the
laboratories."
Twenty years ago, Milevski worked on his first-ever archeology
excavation in Israel, where the Malha Mall stands today, not far from
the present day cemetery excavation. The diggers at that site
discovered village ruins dating to around 1700 BCE, the same period
as the current excavation.
Milevski confirmed the connection between the two sites, and said:
"We are more or less sure that the cemetery belongs to the village...
It completes the picture."
The vessels found in the tombs will be moved to an Israel
Antiquities Authority storage facility, and some may eventually enter
the Israel Museum. The Holyland Park Project construction company,
however, will destroy all of the cemetery, said Milevski. "They need
to remove all the bedrock for the construction of the foundations,"
he said. "They need to go maybe 20 meters down." Asked about the
tombs' inevitable destruction Milevski said: "I don't feel good about
it, of course, but now at least we have the information." Fellow
archeologist Greenhut seemed less concerned about the tombs' fate.
"The burial chambers and tombs are very regular," he said. "The
vessels and items within them, though, are very interesting, and will
be kept."

Source: The Jersualem Post (8 November 2006)

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1162378355203&pagename=JPost
%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Neolithic Indian rock carvings facing neglect

Ancient rock carvings inside a hill-top cave near Kalpetta (Kerala,

India), believed to date back to the neolithic period, are facing
ruin for want of proper attention by the government and academic
bodies. The rare historic treasure at Thovarymala, throwing light
into human habitation in the Wayanad area since ancient times, is yet
to receive the protection of agencies like Archaelogy Department,
which preserves the Edakkal caves just five km away.
The carvings, found on the upperside of the cave, depict
circular and squarish figures, striking by the geometric precision of
the design and execution. One carving closely resembles a bird, an
artisitc proof of the stone-age man's creative instinct to depict the
world around him despite the limitations of his premitive tools.
"Though researchers and historians who visited the place have
acknowldeged their importance, Thovarimla is yet to receive a serious
academic attention," Thomas Amablavayal, Secretary of Wayanad
Prakriti Samrakshana Samiti, said.
The cave's mouth is narrow, but inside it is spacious enough for
three or four persons to move freely. An elevated chair-like block,
probably chiselled and shaped by the occupants of the cave, is fround
on the northern side of the rock, commanding a view of the thick
forest downhill.

Source: NewKerala.com (5 November 2006)

http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=46253

Ancient anchorage found in Israel

A Netanya beach lifeguard who stumbled on an iron anchor while out

for a swim has led marine archeologists to uncover the first evidence
of an ancient anchorage for sailing vessels in Netanya (Israel). The
lifeguard summoned the archeologists to the scene after noticing the
iron anchor near the Netanya shore during a swimming workout two
weeks ago. The Israel Antiquities Authority's marine unit
subsequently uncovered five large stone anchors dating back 4,000
years during an underwater survey at the site. The anchors, which
archeologists date to the late Middle Bronze Age, have a single
perforation, are 0.9m high and 0.6m wide and weigh 150 kilograms each.
Kobi Sharvit, director of the Marine Unit of the Antiquities
Authority, said that these were the first finds indicating the
existence of an anchorage site for sailing vessels thousands of years
ago in Netanya. "The scattering of anchors along the seabed within
such a limited area demonstrates that this region was used as an
anchorage for sailing vessels during antiquity," he said.