We have a new Pope!! I don't mind telling you Terenure went berserk at the news!! We'll be pulling drunks out of the sycamores for weeks to come.
So I thought now might be a good time to post this link up.
The Sistine Chapel interior - rotationamable and zoomamamable. A building that was so expensive it caused the reformation.

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/s...index.html

It's not B.A. houses but I still thought it was rather good.

The City of York Council is cutting its conservation team as part of a cost cutting exercise.

The key post, that of the City Archaeologist is to become part time in a few weeks.

As a result the city that brought us the Coppergate dig and Viking Centre and which less than two years ago applied for World Heritage Status will now only have its archaeological deposits protected on a part time basis.

You may be aware that these include important waterlogged deposits from the Roman, Anglo Saxon and Viking periods. It could be argued that they are among the most important in Europe.

This is at a time when members of the field are pointlessly arguing about where Richard 3 should be buried, far more important archaeological concerns are being overshadowed.

A two-day (WEA) course in digital archaeology and heritage in Nottingham in May.

We are especially trying to reach any local history/archaeology society members and/or 'resting' archaeologists who could do the course for free if on jobseekers' allowance.

Information: A local Nottingham 'A beginners' guide to digital archaeology and heritage' course, run by Dr Ulla Rajala, on two consecutive Fridays. 2 sessions for 5 hrs per session from 10:00.

This course will introduce different online resources on archaeological sites, maps, air photographs and historical records. Learn about the tools and data you can get for free. If you are confident with computers, this course will give you hands-on experience of researching and mapping.

Venue: WEA Training Room,
The John Folman Business Centre, 31 Hungerhill Road, Nottingham, NG3 4NB.


Standard Fee £35.00, free for persons on jobseekers allowance and some
other means tested benefits.

Please bring a packed lunch.

Online enrolment at
https://enrolonline.wea.org.uk/Online/20...yID=291562


E-mail Nikki Cleaver (ncleaver@wea.org.uk) for any further
details.

in this age of job disatisfaction and joblessness, many of us might well be rueing the day we first clutched at archaeologys greasey pole. so, if you had tour time again which pole would you reach for?

A Mothers Day special - Mother Goddess - Máttaráhkká in Northern Europe
by Sami specialist Inga-Maria Mulk.


http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/...i-rock-art

In this article I explore the meaning of the images scratched, engraved or painted on to rock surfaces in northern Fenno-Scandia. Some of these images have been interpreted as symbolic representations of the Earth Mother figure whose existence and agency underlie much of the pre-Christian world-view of the Sami people. Before examining the evidence of rock art representations, some background will be presented for this region and its inhabitants.

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Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th, April 2013.
Centre for Historical Archaeology
University of Leicester

Now an annual event, this conference will provide a lively and informal forum for the presentation and discussion of current postgraduate and early career researchers taking a material approach to the study of the later historical period, and will highlight the strength and diversity of current research. This year’s conference will adopt a thematic approach focusing on the study of rural life in urban and industrialized worlds. Although current research has largely focused on the urban experience during the later historical period, this conference seeks papers using material approaches to explore life in rural contexts within urban and industrialized worlds.The Centre for Historical Archaeology actively promotes interdisciplinary connections and welcomes contributions from archaeologists as well as researchers outside of the discipline of archaeology.

The conference provides an opportunity for participants to present their research and gain constructive feedback from a friendly and interested audience. We warmly invite everyone to come and hear about current work within the field, to participate in discussion and provide valuable feedback to new researchers.

This year’s conference will span over two days with the first devoted to presentations and the second comprising a discussion-based workshop with the aim to create a statement on the current state of research and future directions of study.

Full details can be found at:
http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/archaeo...search/cha

http://www.impartialreporter.com/opinion...annog-dig/

Quote:Considering the inordinate public cost incurred by the DOE-licensed archaeologists on the Enniskillen crannog on the DRD's new highway, this being stopped in its tracks by these people, readers might risk to spin a penny as a bet. See if it comes down heads or tails. Here are the two opposite faces of the coin.
Heads. An item from the BBC News, 30 July 2012, sourced from the DRD's Road Service. "The Roads Service said it was not aware of the existence of the crannog before construction work began."
Tails. An item from the Fermanagh Herald newspaper, 4 December 2012. "Environment Minister Alex Attwood has clarified that he and the Roads Service were aware that the site existed before construction began."
Could Mr. Attwood for the DOE, and could also the DRD, explain to us how they think either one of these two opposing statements could possibly enhance their reputations?
This long recorded crannog (for 177 years) had already been 50 to 60% destroyed by the road works before any archaeological intervention suddenly appeared, as though the presence of this crannog had been a surprise breakthrough. Too many uninformed people, who haven't bothered to read the books, have wrongly claimed this as an "unexpected discovery" in the media, as stated in the BBC News item, above. The sources must publically correct this inaccuracy which is misleading the public to the tune of an uncool £2m, not to be recouped by few courtesy open days.
The crannog destruction occurred despite the fact that the DRD had employed a DOE-licensed archaeologist who was contracted to prevent this sort of fiasco, but failed to locate this well known crannog.
Astonishingly, this same archaeologist was then contracted to direct the dig. These facts are established by Freedom of Information Act responses to me from the DOE.

Financial assistance from the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology for a student to give a paper at the following conference session:

*The Archaeology and Heritage of the Prisoner of War experience* *: *researching and managing a fragile resource.

Session at the European Association of Archaeologists19th Annual Meeting, Pilsen, Czech Republic, 4 - 8 September 2013

Call for Papers closes 15th March

Co-organised by Harold Mytum (hmytum@liv.ac.uk) and Marek Jasinski

There has been a recent rise in interest in the archaeology of recent military conflict. One aspect of increasing importance is that of prisoner of war camps, and also the many military and other infrastructural features of the landscape constructed by prisoners of war. Museums also house important collections of artefacts made and used by prisoners whilst imprisoned. This session builds on the success and interest of Prisoner of War Archaeology (19th and 20th centuries) at the 15th EAA 2009 at Riva del Garda. Now we consider the role of recent fieldwork locating and interpreting the physical evidence, memory work linked to sites or artefacts, public interpretation of prisoner of war sites and artefacts, and the management issues related to this important though often fragile resource. Papers cover archaeology of the period from the 18th century to recent times.

This session is sponsored by the Society for Post-medieval Archaeology so that a student can be financially assisted to give a paper at the session.

Anyone interested in offering a paper should in the first instance contact Harold Mytum hmytum@liv.ac.uk well before the Call for Papers closes on 15th March.
Conference web site: http://www.eaa2013.cz/

For further information about the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology visit our website: www.spma.org.uk

Saturday 27th April 2013, 1.00PM at the Surrey History Centre, Woking followed by
2.00pm : The archaeological archives storage crisis
by Gail Boyle, chair of the Society of Museum Archaeologists

Admission free: all welcome
For further details of travel to the venue, please click here.

Trouble in store: the crisis facing archaeological archives

RESCUE has been aware of the problems surrounding the capacity of local museums in accepting archaeological archives for many years and has consistently sought to draw attention to it by highlighting specific cases. Most recently RESCUE has highlighted the fact that the actions of both local and national government in respect of archaeological archives have placed the United Kingdom in breach of the Valetta Convention and has drawn the attention of the European Parliament to this state of affairs.

The issue has come to a head, with the issue making the headlines very recently e.g. withWiltshire Museum telling the council they have ‘no more space’.

A recent initiative between the Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers (FAME), the Society of Museum Archaeologists (SMA) and the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO) has sought to foster a greater level of collaborative working within archaeology and the museums profession to resolve the issue and to establish a proper level of care for archaeological archives within the UK while at the same time maximising their value to both the professional and amateur/voluntary sectors alike by increasing access to them and encouraging innovative research based upon them.

The approach has included a survey of undeposited archaeological archives held by archaeological practices, conducted by FAME, and a report commissioned by the SMA to “to quantify and qualify the current picture, and produce a set of recommendations for future storage strategies”.

Gail Boyle, Chair of the SMA, will outline the work done so far, and incorporate the latest discussion from a meeting of the Archaeological Archives Forum to be held on 7th March.
All welcome

Links to more information

• Rescue react to initial proposals to review situation (January 2012)
  
• FAME report on survey of undeposited archaeological archives (November 2012)
  
• SMA report on ‘Archaeological Archives and Museums 2012 (January 2013)
  
• Wiltshire Museum have ‘no more space’ and are no longer accepting archives (February 2013)
  
• Wessex Archaeology react to news of ‘no more space’ at Wiltshire Museum (February 2013)
  
• Museums Association react to SMA report (March 2013)
  

[h=5]More details on course content are available at:

Zooarchaeology
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/r...ort-course

Human Osteoarchaeology
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/r...b/five-day[/h]
For the first time, the University of Sheffield Archaeology Department is offering its popular human and animal bone short courses in a 2-week Super Package! This suite of courses is specially designed to introduce participants to the study of human and animal remains. Sheffield has a long history of teaching and research in osteoarchaeology, and members of our current research teams have a wealth of professional and practical experience. We have worked extensively on projects in the UK and Europe, as well as in other areas of the world.

The human and animal bone labs have teamed up to offer both our human and animal bone courses back to back from JUNE 17-28, 2013. Participants have come from throughout the UK, Europe, North America and Australia for our courses, and we hope to make it easier than ever to attend our Super Short Course Package. For this summer we'll be offering:
- a 10% reduction in fees for those attending all 3 courses
- reduced accommodation/hotel rates
- possibility to visit local sites of osteological interest
- detailed info on international travel to Sheffield & short breaks in the UK

The short courses included in our Super Package are:

UNDERSTANDING ZOOARCHAEOLOGY I [ June 17-19, 2013 ]
This short course introduces participants to the method and theory of zooarchaeology through a program specifically designed for those with little or no experience in animal bones. It is an ideal starting point for archaeologists, students, museum curators, heritage professionals, and natural history enthusiasts who encounter animal bones and/or zooarchaeological reports in their research or professional capacities. Equally, the course provides a firm basis for students interested in pursuing further training. Through three days of short lectures, discussions, case studies, and hands-on practical work, Understanding Zooarchaeology I offers a solid introduction to the identification of animal bones, the theory and methods behind zooarchaeology, and the uses and limitations of this form of evidence.
Fee: £180 (£120 student/unwaged)

MARINE RESOURCES [ June 20-21, 2013 ]
The Marine Resources course provides detailed insight into faunal remains associated with human exploitation of coastal environments. The course is heavily based on practical laboratory sessions that provide training in the identification of fish, mollusc, marine bird, crustacean and marine mammal remains. In addition, short lectures address issues of quantification and interpretation, and introduce interdisciplinary approaches to the study of marine resources via art, fishing gear and isotopic analyses. Cases studies provide examples of how different lines of evidence are brought together to provide an integrated understanding of marine resource exploitation, often as part of a more extensive subsistence strategy, for archaeological sites in Europe. Of particular relevance to coastal enthusiasts, archaeologists, environmental scientists, and biologists, the course is open to people of all levels, and it can be taken as a stand alone course, or in combination with the the other courses.
Fee: £180 (£120 student/unwaged)

INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN OSTEOLOGY [ June 24-28, 2013 ]
This 5 day course provides participants with an overview of human skeletal anatomy and a variety of osteological methods, in order to convey understanding and recognition of standard osteological practice and help participants gain confidence when dealing with human skeletal material. Participants will gain an understanding of the principles of excavating and recording human skeletal material, estimating age, sex, and stature, recognizing pathologies, understanding bone microstructure, and interpreting osteological findings and relating them to the wider archaeological context. The course suitable for those working in outdoor occupations, the rescue services, field archaeology and museums, or students and for those wanting a taster course in human osteology.
Fee: £400 (£340 student/unwaged)


Courses may be taken individually or together as our Super Package. If you have any questions please get in touch or ask below. More details on how to book, travel, and accommodation will appear soon - so stay tuned!