Thames Discovery Programme: Archaeology in Action
Congratulations to the Thames Discovery Programme on winning a British Archaeology Award for ‘best representation of archaeology in the media.’ And here’s a reminder of why they deserved to win!
Archaeology in Action: The Thames Discovery Programme from Thames Discovery on Vimeo.
Opening the tomb…
These pictures, fresh from the Strathearn Environs & Royal Forteviot (SERF) project in Perthshire, show the unfolding moments as a crane lifts a gigantic capstone from an early Bronze Age tomb – revealing a stone lined grave that last saw the light of day some 3500 years ago. You can almost hear the archaeologists gasp, Howard Carter-Style, before professionalism kicks back in and they get down to the graft of recording.
“The huge capstone sealed the grave so well that organic materials survived intact as well as various metal objects that were buried with an important Bronze Age individual. Dr Kenneth Brophy, SERF co-director, said: ‘The high quality of preservation is virtually unique in Britain and is of exceptional importance for understanding the important centuries when metals were first introduced into Scotland.’
Although few remains of a body were discovered, it was clear that the deceased had been laid on a bed of quartz pebbles in sand in a large stone coffin. Amongst the grave goods was a bronze dagger with a gold band, possibly still in its leather sheath, a discovery of national significance. Beside this lay a leather bag or container, strange wooden objects and other plant matter which may represent floral tributes. Remarkably, large portions of the birch bark coffin survived as well.”
Archaeology staff get the Axe
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This work of extraordinary beauty is called the Rathcosgrieve Axehead, and was found by Simon Moylan whilst ploughing a field near Galway in 1980. It’s 24.2 cm long, 9.8 cm wide and 4.6 cm deep. It’s also the most amazing axe I’ve ever seen, and that includes every museum I’ve ever been in. Thanks to Colm O’Doherety, one of our computer trainers, for bringinging it in to the office to show us (it usually lives on his Dad’s mantlepiece!).
In other news, archaeological jobs are being lost by their thousand. But while there’s music, and moonlight, and Neolithic-stone-axes-visually-identified-as-mudstone-with-flattish-oval-cross-sections-and-slightly-asymmetrical-cutting-edges-due-to-some-chipping, and love and romance, lets face the music and dance!
