British Archaeology-Nov/Dec issue

[BAJR Host]

Introducing the Nov/Dec issue of British Archaeology - out today!

ON THE COVER: VIKINGS!
A recent study found Viking DNA in modern residents of Wirral and west Lancashire. We bring together the evidence from archaeology and genetics

VIKING HOUSES ON ORKNEY
David Griffiths has excavated the stone floors and walls of Viking
houses in Orkney, some of them still standing to their full height -
they would have supported a turf superstructure and roof timbers

AUBREY HOLE FIND COULD CHANGE STONEHENGE'S MEANING
Excavation has revealed that an Aubrey Hole - one of a circle of pits
surrounding the stones at Stonehenge - had probably held a standing
stone. If all 56 pits had held stones, this would have been one of the first and largest stone circles in the country, made of Welsh bluestones in 3000BC. A recent claim that these stones arrived at Stonehenge in 2300BC would then relate to the time when the bluestones were moved into the centre of the site 700 years later. Stonehenge's history as envisaged since the 1950s is overturned

CHILD BURIED WITH UNIQUE CARVED PIG (see photo)
A tiny carved chalk pig was buried with the remains of a young child
over 2,000 years ago within sight of Stonehenge. The bones of the infant
were in a pot dated to 450-100BC (Iron Age). The carving may have had a
ritual significance or have been a toy

HERITAGE PROTECTION: HAVE WE LEARNT THE LESSONS OF IRAQ?
The damage to Iraq's cultural heritage after the 2003 invasion is widely
deplored. Yet key UK legislation to address the issues may fail over
bureaucratic concerns. With Cambridge University's Illicit Antiquities
Research Centre closed, and the uncertain future of the Metropolitan
Police's Art and Antiques Unit, Britain's role in the international
illicit antiquities trade is set to flourish. The proposed Heritage
Protection Act must not fail

THE BIG DIG: AVEBURY
Avebury, the great Wiltshire stone circle with adjacent monuments such
as Silbury Hill and the West Kennet stone avenue, has been the focus of
a six-year excavation project. Now it's over, the project directors look
at what it achieved, including the re-discovery of the Beckhampton stone
avenue, one of the most dramatic developments in British prehistoric
archaeology

35 YEARS OF THE HARRIS MATRIX
"The Harris Matrix" and "single-context recording" are fundamental tools
of archaeological excavation. But where did it all start? British
Archaeology asked Edward Cecil Harris to look back on what he calls his
"outstanding British invention"

REGULARS
* Spoilheap: English Heritage has published a children's guide to
Stonehenge that it will wish it hadn't
* Letters: Readers get their feet into BBC's drama Bonekickers
* Science: The Neolithic village on the edge of a lake in
Switzerland with staggering preservation
* Mick's travels: Mick Aston goes to Iona, an early centre of
Christianity
* In view: An interview with Ray Sutcliffe, a producer from the
golden age of TV archaeology
* On the web: Playing archaeological games on the web, and a
clever use of sophisticated free software at a London dig
* Books: An Irish Neolithic tomb, a Roman cemetery and the early
modern destruction of medieval monuments
* My archaeology: Stephen Oppenheimer brings an encyclopaedic
vision to DNA stories
* CBA correspondent: Archaeology and education
* Briefing: The UK's only archaeological events listing, with
exhibition reviews

AND MORE!

British Archaeology is a bimonthly members' magazine that is also
available in larger WH Smith stores, Borders and the best independent
newsagents, and by subscription


"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers

[RedEarth]

Good to see some robust responses to the 'Professional Mockery' article a couple of issues ago. Had I had the time and inclination I was planning to re-write said article and just change round the emphasis along the lines of x academic has done work in y area and I can't get hold of it etc etc. Pot and kettle. Read Richard Bradleys article from a few years ago on the same subject, which, althouhg much more balanced and understanding, still seems to boil down to the suggestion that commercial work is in some way difficult to get hold of and the archive should be available to everyone the very minute it is finished. How many archives produced by academics are just going to moulder away on shelves until they die, and then just moulder away on someone elses' shelf (the archive, not the academic)? Hurrumph!

[BAJR Host]

Had exactly that as well... Found amazing site (see my blog!!) only to find out the French had 'found it' 10 years before... they just had not published it ( then we found they had published it ... we jsut did not look in the right place)

Fear not peeps... there are moves afoot to solve this



"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers

[BAJR Host]

would not begin with K would they

"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers

[RedEarth]

Regardless of where in the world you are talking about it still seems to be the case in the UK that whenever there is talk of work still not being published etc it is always commercial archaeologists that get the most stick. As if everyone else is entirely blameless. Perhaps BAJR could have a page with a clock counting up for every large unpublished site - 9000 days and still not published! Might galvanise a few people into action.

[BAJR Host]

There is not a database large enough for that!!

"I don't have an archaeological imagination.."
Borekickers

[Windbag]

quote:Originally posted by RedEarth

Perhaps BAJR could have a page with a clock counting up for every large unpublished site - 9000 days and still not published! Might galvanise a few people into action.

I like that suggestion- maybe a select few examples?

[Gog]

Can we include eminent dead academics? Its a reason, but not an excuse.