The newly-excavated Must Farm site in Cambridgeshire with some remarkably well preserved houses -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-35280290
http://www.mustfarm.com/progress/site-diary-12-discovering-our-first-house/
Nothing military, but very interesting finds. The textile fragment illustrated is"weft-twined"; a form of twining is the technique used for the Masada fragments that Hero Grainger-Taylor identifies as linen armour, possibly pteryges, in her article in Wearing the Cloak (http://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/wearing-the-cloak.html) that I reviewed a couple of years ago in Slingshot.
Edit: And I see now from the article just added to http://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/12/a-bronze-age-pompeii-archaeologists-hail-discovery-of-peterborough-site that there have been a few bronze weapons found.
It would have been a strange Fen Bronze Age village not to have weapons about, based on previous excavations.
Catastrophes are not very nice to live through, but those enduring them can comfort themselves with the thought that they do constitute a boon for future archaeologists. :)
There seems to be a complex of Iron Age dwellings and 'infrastructure' in the area (e.g. the boats (http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jun/04/eight-prehistoric-boats-bronze-age) which came to light in 2013), so with luck and a bit of dedicated archaeology there will be more to find in the region.
Thanks, Duncan.
update on this find here for starters:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-35428554
another update...BBC following this story quite regularly
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-35492599
Thanks for keeping us updated, Dave.
One hopes the contents of the box will prove to be interesting.
yet another update....BBC keeping this story in its sights
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-35598578
The Guardian version - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/19/archaeologists-excavate-bronze-age-wheel-cambridgeshire - explains that neat round hole you can see near the rim of the wheel!
ah yes, thats a better update Duncan, a bit more detail than the BBC :)
Looks like they've finally found the wheels of the Airfix Ancient Briton Chariot 8)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-35659206
Aunty Beeb still following this
One does admire, or perhaps note, the dedication of the archaeologists:
"Dr Karl Harrison has been given the "phenomenally exciting" task of examining the charred roundhouse timbers ..."
There is however a certain self-negating factor in this explanation for the fire:
"It could have been a deliberate fire to clear the site for a new house ..."
setting fire to the house and then leaving it in situ before building over it does not seem likely it has to be said
Archaeologists are trained to consider not just the obvious but the less immediate possibilities, if possible based on anthropological parallels. So doubtless, some culture somewhere routinely burned down their old house before building another one. This house, however, was full of kit, including one of the wheels of their cart, which seems odd for such a ritual.
Some cultures burned down the house, but with the inhabitants fastened inside it
;D
Then they had to work out what to do with the sheep and the women ...
(Sorry)
another update and this time with a nice picture of a spear head so yes weapons now found!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-36778820
Though not on the website, on BBC's breakfast programme today, I caught a brief item that included a sword. Was not able to see it for too long but was of a shape similar to what I have seen described as Cogotas II type swords (I am no expert - I would recognise a La Tene sword and that is about it).
Quote from: Holly on July 14, 2016, 06:54:54 AM
another update and this time with a nice picture of a spear head so yes weapons now found!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-36778820
From the Graun at https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/14/uks-best-bronze-age-site-must-farm-dig-ends-analyis-continue-years:
QuoteAppleby's moment of disbelief came when Knight rang him to say they'd found a complete spear. "Yeah mate, we've got loads of those," he replied ungenerously. No, Knight insisted, the whole spear. "You've got the stick bit too?" Appleby asked, abandoning scientific terms in his amazement. He only knows of one other ever found – but three days later Knight rang again to say they had another one.
Weapons galore, by the sound of it.
and even more interestingly
'The scorched timbers and charred thatch are still being studied by a fire investigations expert, Karl Harrison, but his first impressions are that it looks less like an accident started inside a house, and more like a fire deliberately set from outside.'
I liked the sword cut down to form a kitchen knife. We tend to assume old and broken bronze objects were just melted down but here is a bit of repurposing going on.
another article on this
http://www.livescience.com/55549-bronze-age-village-burned-by-warriors.html
Quote from: Duncan Head on July 14, 2016, 08:49:31 AM
Weapons galore, by the sound of it.
a happy laughing people 8)
Quote from: Holly on July 27, 2016, 09:35:13 AM
another article on this
http://www.livescience.com/55549-bronze-age-village-burned-by-warriors.html
Certainly raises two of the issues needing explaining - the simultaneous destruction of the village and the apparent lack of salvage operations.
agreed.....did they get killed, were they taken as slaves or did they just abandon the place or a bit of all three?
There is an hour long documentary at 9pm on BBC4 television on Tuesday, 2nd August. (Repeated at 10pm on Wednesday, 3rd.) The presenter is Professor Alice Roberts.
thanks for the heads up Denis
Just a reminder about tonight's programme.
http://www.mustfarm.com/bronze-age-river/archaeology/
https://www.facebook.com/MustFarmArchaeology/photos/a.752124374898251.1073741828.751584871618868/926129697497717/?type=3&theater
Quote from: Holly on August 19, 2016, 09:41:39 AM
http://www.mustfarm.com/bronze-age-river/archaeology/
https://www.facebook.com/MustFarmArchaeology/photos/a.752124374898251.1073741828.751584871618868/926129697497717/?type=3&theater
Interesting the comment about deep archaeology. We have two burnt mounds in one field, and the bronze age layer is literally just below the grass roots, about two or three inches down. They found one mound just by pushing the spade in as they were walking along and it grated on the stones of the mound
Everything else, from bronze age upwards is in the turf so a second world war .50 cal round lies next to a bit of early medieval horse tack :)
some cracking sword finds I thought
And now, tapeworms (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-49347124)!