EMAS News

Online Courses in Archaeology with the University of Oxford

2010-09-21T14:30:00.000+01:00

Cave paintings, castles and pyramids, Neanderthals, Romans and Vikings - archaeology is about the excitement of discovery, finding out about our ancestors, exploring landscape through time, piecing together puzzles of the past from material remains.

Our courses enable you to experience all this through online archaeological resources based on primary evidence from excavations and artefacts and from complex scientific processes and current thinking. Together with guided reading, discussion and activities you can experience how archaeologists work today to increase our knowledge of people and societies from the past.

View the courses available this term...

Oxford University opens Anglo-Saxon archive to online submissions

2010-07-19T09:29:00.000+01:00

Widespread interest in last year's discovery of a hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold in Staffordshire has prompted Oxford University to embark on a mission to create the world's largest online archive about the period.

The university is asking members of the public to upload any stories, poems, writing, art or songs they have composed or heard that relate to Old English and the Anglo-Saxons to Project Woruldhord (Old English for "world-hoard"). Oxford is also keen for translations of Anglo-Saxon texts, pictures and videos of Anglo-Saxon buildings or monuments, recordings of Old English, and even videos of historical re-enactments, to be included in the archive.

"We've just appointed a new professor of poetry, Geoffrey Hill, whose Mercian Hymns [about eighth-century ruler King Offa] harks back to the period," said Dr Stuart Lee, who is running Project Woruldhord. "Many other people have also been inspired by the literature and have written their own work."

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Social Networks for Archaeology

2010-04-18T11:34:00.002+01:00

The power and importance of social networks are growing all the time, not least in the field of archaeology.

I thought that it would be useful to compile a list of these sites for archaeology. The list as it stands at the moment can be found here….

Obviously, this list is very incomplete at the moment, so if you know of any archaeological social network site that should be added, please give details on the form here…

The EMAS Forum

2010-04-12T18:31:00.001+01:00

The EMAS Forum has been given a new look.

We would encourage EMAS members to join the Forum - it's a great way to keep in touch!

You can find the Forum here...

UK accused over sale of 'looted' Italian treasures to pay tax bill

2010-04-12T17:26:00.000+01:00

Rome wants back the 3,000-year-old Etruscan artefacts that came into the hands of a dealer – but ministers aim to sell them

Ministers have been condemned for forcing through the sale of up to 1,000 antiquities allegedly stolen from Italy, in order to pay the debts of a bankrupt private collector.

The Home Office has sparked outrage by allowing Roman bronzes, Etruscan gold and other treasures to be placed on the market by liquidators acting for the government in an attempt to recover unpaid taxes from the former owner, Robin Symes, a dealer with alleged links to the smuggling trade and a UK prison record.

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Competition finds over a thousand prehistoric sites on Google Street View

2010-04-12T07:12:00.003+01:00

Following the recent expansion of Google Street View to most of the UK's roads, the Megalithic Portal has created a comprehensive map of prehistoric and ancient sites, all found on the Street View service.

"I realised we could use our web resource to pinpoint ancient stones, barrows and other sites on Google Street View.", explains Andy Burnham, the founder of the Megalithic Portal. "I was soon hooked 'driving' up and down on the computer looking for ancient sites, so I launched a competition to see who could find the most sites."

Andy's challenge has been taken up enthusiastically by amateur archaeologists up and down the UK. In just four weeks they have found over 1000 ancient sites visible from the roadside, including 550 sites in England, and over 300 in Wales and Scotland put together. Amanda Gough from Cardiff is one of the volunteers: "This really gives you an idea of just how many ancient sites are still around and visible. Many people probably don't realise that they are driving or walking past ancient monuments on a regular basis. It's amazing to think that out there beside our busy roads is thousands of years of history just waiting to be discovered."

The Megalithic Portal has created a map of the Street View discoveries at http://www.megalithic.co.uk/streetview

(You can view the full press release with examples here...)

Photos from the EMAS Easter Study Tour

2010-04-10T17:45:00.001+01:00

You can find photographs from this year’s EMAS Easter Study Tour and other earlier trips at: www.archaeology.eu.com/slideshow

Portable Antiquities Conference Presentations Now Online

2010-03-22T13:55:00.001Z

Last weekend the CBA co-organised, along with the International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies (ICCHS), a conference on Portable Antiquities: Archaeology, Collecting and Metal Detecting.

Papers were deliberately included that represented a range of perspectives and opinions from archaeological, metal detecting and collecting communities and backgrounds. Among the items discussed and presented was the much-awaited new Portable Antiquities Scheme website (pictured), which will be made live in early April. Recent doctoral and Masters-level research into and involving metal detecting was also presented, demonstrating the wide range of research potential that is possible, particularly when active cooperation between archaeologists and metal-detector users is sought and cultivated.

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New Blog: Archaeology Study Tours

2010-03-22T13:52:00.000Z

You can now follow EMAS study tours on the new blog:

Archaeology Study Tours at http://archaeologytours.blogspot.com/

Illegal metal detecting crackdown

2010-03-18T13:50:00.000Z

Archaeologists are to team up with police in a bid to crack down on illegal metal detecting in Norfolk.

Norfolk has the highest number of recovered artefacts in the country declared treasure and a successful long-established working relationship with legitimate metal- detecting enthusiasts.

There were 109 cases of items found in Norfolk being declared treasure in 2008-09. Recent finds include a hoard of 24 Henry III short-cross pennies in Breckland, and an early Saxon gold spangle from south Norfolk.

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Archaeologists survey Roman road

2010-03-05T11:46:00.001Z

The history of the road, which runs from Winchester to Chichester, is to be investigated and people are invited to get involved in a field visit.

People wanting to get a closer look at the ancient road should attend a workshop on Saturday March 20, held at the Milburys Pub in Beauworth, Hampshire.

The meeting starts at 11am with lunch at the pub. A field visit will follow in the afternoon.

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Archaeological Study Tours

2010-02-06T14:42:00.000Z

Places are still available on the Archaeological Study Tour to The Peak District and the Fens, 1 to 6 April 2010 (see further details) and the Archaeological Study Tour to Normandy, 29 May to 5 June 2010 (see further details).

If you are interested, reply soon as hotels places are becoming difficult to find!

Book your place at 'Portable Antiquities: Archaeology, Collecting, Metal Detecting' Conference

2010-02-06T14:37:00.000Z

Registration is now open for the ‘Portable Antiquities: Archaeology, Collecting, Metal Detecting’ conference on 13th and 14th March 2010. This event is co-organised by the CBA and Newcastle University’s International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies, and takes place at Newcastle University and the Great North Museum: Hancock.

The papers at this conference offer perspectives from a range of different interest groups, look at recent research, present case studies from around the UK and beyond, and ultimately offer views about what the future may hold for portable antiquities management. Much debate is anticipated at this timely event.

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The Archaeology of the Peaks and the Fens

2009-12-14T09:14:00.001Z

The Archaeology of the Peaks and the Fens
1 to 6 April 2010

The Easter study tour for 2010 is to the Peak District and the Fen Country. This area of middle England contains some of the highest and the lowest land in the country, and this topographical variety is reflected in the varied nature of the archaeology.

The Peak District and the surrounding areas are rich in archaeological remains, from prehistoric sites such as the caves and rock shelters at Creswell Crags or the well-preserved henge at Arbor Low to medieval sites such as Peveril Castle or Wingfield Manor. The Fenland area offers a similar range of archaeological periods, with sites varying from barrows such as Hoe Hill and Bully Hills to Tattershall Castle and the medieval salt workings at Marshchapel.

We will leave London Baker Street on the Thursday, and we will stop at Geddington, with its Saxon Church and Eleanor Cross, before making our way to the old market town of Chesterfield, with its famous crooked spire, where we will be staying. A full itinerary of the sites to be visited is available on the Internet at: www.archaeology.eu.com/tours. On our return to London on the Tuesday, we will travel via Lincoln, where we will visit the Cathedral and Bishop’s Palace.

For further details go to:
http://archaeology.eu.com/tours/2010_pea/

Welcome to the new EMAS News blog!

2009-12-13T11:18:00.001Z

Welcome to the new EMAS News blog!

Starting in 2010, the EMAS News Blog will become an important part of EMAS mailshots. If you register here using the subscription box in the right-hand column, you will receive an email whenever this blog is updated.

This means that EMAS can save time, paper and postage!

Don’t forget to tell EMAS that you have registered, so that we can take you off the normal mailing list.