COUNCIL FOR BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY
PRESS NOTICE
16 October 2003
HI-TECH LASERS THROW NEW LIGHT ON STONEHENGE
Computer experts and archaeologists have used laser scanning on the
stones of Stonehenge for the first time and discovered carvings of
ancient axe heads.
The most hi-tech investigation of the monument to date was carried out
in 2002-3 by a team from Wessex Archaeology of Salisbury, near
Stonehenge, and Archaeoptics Ltd of Glasgow. A full account of their
work is featured in Thursday's edition of 'British Archaeology'.
The axes, both on one stone, are badly eroded and can not be seen with
the naked eye. But by sweeping low-powered laser beams at the stones and
analysing the data closely, a picture emerged.
The team scanned only part of three of the sarsen stones and believe
that a full scan of all the surviving 83 stones would reveal more
ancient carvings.
Carvings of bronze or copper axes and a dagger were first found at
Stonehenge 50 years ago, but they have never been fully surveyed or
studied. Comparison of a 1953 photograph with the new scans shows
carvings seem to have eroded since first found, possibly because of
people touching them.
The first newly-discovered carving is about 15 cm (6 inches) square and
may possibly be two axes, one on top of the other; the other is about 10
cm (4 inches) by 8 cm (3 inches).
The stones at Stonehenge were erected in about 2,300 BC. The axes are of
types made around 1,800 BC, so the carvings are likely to be five
centuries younger than the stones. Their purpose is a mystery.
Axe carvings on other monuments from this time are associated with
burials, such as the seven axes found on a stone burial cist (a box
shaped stone structure) in Argyll, Scotland. This could indicate that
Stonehenge was a place where the dead were commemorated, a theory backed
by the many burial mounds found near the monument.
"The laser scanning has opened up a whole new way of seeing Stonehenge,"
said Tom Goskar of Wessex Archaeology. "We spent an hour recording the
data at the stones and we were astounded to discover two new carvings as
a result. With more time we could uncover many more and make plainer the
outline of some known carvings that are difficult to see.
"This would give us a much better idea of the extent of the carvings and
help us achieve a greater understanding of the monument.
"It is exactly 50 years since the carvings on Stonehenge were first
documented, and the new laser scanner is a fascinating way of using
state-of-the-art technology to shed light on an ancient wonder."
Alistair Carty of Archaeoptics said: "We have used 3D scanning
previously to enhance badly weathered carvings on monuments, but never
on details as fine as the Stonehenge axeheads. The possibility that
other unknown carvings exist on the other stones is very exciting and
may hopefully lead to a more complete interpretation of Stonehenge."
Mike Pitts, editor of 'British Archaeology' and a leading expert on
Stonehenge, said: "It is extraordinary that these carvings, the most
significant art gallery from ancient Britain, have still not been
properly studied 50 years after their first discovery. The laser
scanning process makes recording and studying possible, and can be used
to reveal the nearly invisible carvings for all".
The Stonehenge Laser Scans website (www.stonehengelaserscan.org) goes
live on Thursday, with variable-light animations of the carvings.
For more information please contact:
Alistair Carty, Archaeoptics
stonehenge@archaeoptics.co.uk
www.archaeoptics.co.uk
Mike Pitts, British Archaeology
09740 591422
01672 513338
mike@avebury.net
Tony Trueman, Wessex Archaeology Press Office
01722 343434
07919 215206/01985 215206
t.trueman@wessexarch.co.uk
www.wessexarch.co.uk
Notes to editors:
1. Archaeoptics used a Minolta VI-900 scanner capable of capturing
300,000 points in three seconds. At Stonehenge they acquired nine
million 3D points on the stones in 30 minutes. They then took two days
to create highly accurate 3D models from these points. The raw data
captured by the scanner are in the form of "point clouds", unconnected
3-dimensional points. To be more useful for visualisation and analysis,
these were converted into "solid" surfaces formed from millions of
triangles. The models are then manipulated in a software package called
Demon developed by Archaeoptics. Lighting techniques were developed at
Wessex Archaeology to further enhance images.
2. The first recognised and best-known carvings at Stonehenge, a dagger
and 14 axes, were found by Richard Atkinson in 1953, on the inner face
of Sarsen number 53. About 26 axes were found soon after on the outer
face of Sarsen stone 4, and three on the outer face of stone 3. These
axes vary from 8 to 36 cm long (3-14 inches). There are also a possible
trellis or lattice pattern on stone 3, and hollows, a shallow rectangle
(sometimes described as a goddess), ribs and cup-marks on other stones.
The significance of these putative carvings, never accurately surveyed,
is debated by archaeologists.
In 1967 a team from University College, London used a stereometric
camera to produce a very fine contour plot of the dagger and adjacent
axe on stone 53. English Heritage's Survey Team completed the first
metric survey of all the stone surfaces, published in 1996.
3. Other stone carvings from this period include:
* 7 axe shapes at Ri Cruin in the Kilmartin valley, Argyll, on one end
of a stone burial cist, covered with a cairn
* close by, the cairn of Nether Largie north has 14 axes on a stone
cist.
* another nearby cairn has 1 axe
* a barrow at Badbury Rings, Dorset, had a stone bearing 2 dagger
shapes, 2 axe-like triangles and 5 cup-marks
* a stone cist inside a barrow at Pool Farm, Somerset, contained a slab
decorated with 7 feet and about 10 cup-marks
* a foot-shaped carving on a cist slab at Harbottle Peels,
Northumberland
* 10 foot-carvings at Calderstones Late Neolithic barrow, Liverpool
4. Wessex Archaeology is a firm of commercial archaeologists based near
Salisbury, Wiltshire. It employs 170 staff and works across the country.
Archaeoptics is a 3D laser-scanning bureau based in the UK and operating
worldwide, mainly in the archaeology and heritage sector.
5. 'British Archaeology' is the UK's only retail archaeology magazine,
available in larger WH Smiths and Borders. Editor Mike Pitts has
excavated at Stonehenge and was responsible for the recent find of the
decapitated Anglo-Saxon man.
6. 'British Archaeology' is published by the Council for British
Archaeology (CBA), an educational charity that promotes knowledge,
appreciation and care of the historic environment (tel: 01904 671417,
email: info@britarch.ac.uk). It is also available via the CBA's online
shop at www.britarch.ac.uk.
Dr Mike Heyworth, Deputy Director, Council for British Archaeology
Bowes Morrell House, 111 Walmgate, York YO1 9WA, UK
tel 01904 671417, fax 01904 671384, web www.britarch.ac.uk
* Join CBA/YAC & buy our books online at www.britarch.ac.uk/shop *
COUNCIL FOR BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY
PRESS NOTICE
16 OCTOBER 2003
The November issue of *BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY* is out today.
Highlights include:
Opium in stone age Britain
At one of UK's largest excavation projects, at Raunds near Kettering,
Environmental archaeologist Mark Robinson has identified opium seeds
from ditch of Early Neolithic burial mound (38-3600 BC). Neolithic opium
has been found in the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, but this is
first for Britain and amongst oldest in northern Europe. It would have
been imported into UK, though whether as crop (oil, spice, sedative or
stimulant) or as field weed is not clear.
From same project comes Early Bronze Age barrow in which rich man was
buried under mound of nearly 200 cattle skulls. State of skulls
indicates they had mostly been defleshed elsewhere - perhaps hung on
poles - some time before burial. This is unparalleled.
Stonehenge laser show
Exclusive: archaeologists and computer scientists describe how laser
scanning and digital software offer first chance to study little known
ancient carvings on Stonehenge megaliths. Trial scan revealed:
* two new axe carvings - full survey would likely reveal more
* carvings have eroded since discovered 50 years ago this year.
Anglesey: Early Christian grave mounds
Excavation reveals unique 7th century AD grave mounds preserved under
sand dune. Graves are surrounded by small boulders, but have no
headstones. One had line of quartz pebbles on top. Bodies in graves were
encased in stone slabs.
Carpenter's tools found - 3000 years later
Holidaymakers on Isle of Wight beach find 12-1700 BC hoard of tools once
belonging to Bronze Age carpenter.
Top POW camp destroyed by owners
Harperley Camp, revealed by English Heritage survey as one of top WW II
Prisoner of War Camps, was championed by Michael Wood in BBC2 series
Restoration. Now another top camp (Moorby, Lincs) has been demolished
after deteriorating buildings used for illegal rave. Camp built 1942-3
by Italian POWs, who occupied it until displaced by German, Polish, and
Ukrainian prisoners. Demolition raises classic conundrum: heritage or
eyesore?
Hadrian's Wall Roman bowl
Exclusive photos and full story of spectacular new enamelled pan with
names of Roman forts and Greek man.
CONTACTS
Opium in stone age Britain
English Heritage Press Office (Duncan Bainbridge)
Tel 020 7973 3297
Stonehenge laser show
Tom Goskar, multimedia, Wessex Archaeology. Tel 01722 343432
Alistair Carty, laser scanning, Archaeoptics. Tel 0141 423 3449
Mike Pitts, Stonehenge archaeology. Tel 09740 591422
Tony Trueman, Wessex Archaeology Press Office. Tel 01722 343434
Images available from Alistair Carty
Anglesey: Early Christian grave mounds
Andrew Davidson, Gwynedd Archaeological Trust
Tel 01248 352535
Carpenter's tools found - 3000 years later
Frank Basford, Finds Liaison Officer
Isle of Wight Archaeology & Historic Environment Service
61 Clatterford Road, Carisbrooke, Isle of Wight, PO30 1NZ
Tel/Fax 01983 823810
Top POW camp destroyed by owners
English Heritage Press Office (Duncan Bainbridge).
Tel 020 7973 3297
Hadrian's Wall Roman bowl
Sally Worrell, Portable Antiquities Scheme. Tel 020 7679 4730
'British Archaeology' magazine
Mike Pitts, Editor
Tel
09740 591422
01672 513338
'British Archaeology' is the UK's only retail archaeology magazine,
available bimonthly in larger W H Smiths and Borders and selected
independent newsagents. It is also available via the online shop at
www.britarch.ac.uk. It is published by the Council for British
Archaeology (CBA), an educational charity that promotes knowledge,
appreciation and care of the historic environment (tel: 01904 671417,
email: info@britarch.ac.uk).
===================================================================
Dr Mike Heyworth, Deputy Director, Council for British Archaeology
Bowes Morrell House, 111 Walmgate, York YO1 9WA, UK
tel 01904 671417, fax 01904 671384, web www.britarch.ac.uk
* Join CBA/YAC & buy our books online at www.britarch.ac.uk/shop *
===================================================================
Language More Foul in Elizabethan Street Theatre than 21st Century TV, Reveals Historian
For further information, please contact:
Jenny Murray
University of Warwick
jennifer.murray@warwick.ac.uk
02476 574255
Posted By:
University of Warwick
16 October 2003
UK broadcasters are often accused of promoting obscenity through the increased use of bad language on TV. However, new research from the University of Warwick reveals that the language of public name-calling, or 'street theatre', in early modern England was full of foul sexual insults that are far more lewd than today's broadcast media - and women were the main offenders.
Professor Bernard Capp's book ‘When Gossips Meet’, tracks the history of poor and 'middling' women from the mid 1500s to the 1700s, to reveal that gossipmongering and heated public exchanges were weapons used by women to wield power and influence in a male dominated society where they were often excluded.
Public name-calling by women aimed to demoralise an adversary, trigger damaging gossip throughout the neighbourhood, and turn public opinion against the alleged offender.
Allegations usually attacked a female adversary's sexual reputation. Prostitution was viewed as far worse than fornication, and the charge undermined social as well as moral standing. Court papers reveal the term 'whore' as the most common insult over several centuries.
“Massive overuse inevitably weakened the impact of 'whore' as a term of abuse, but speakers were able to draw on a rich lexicon of synonyms, such as jade, quean, baggage, harlot, drab, filth, flirt, gill, trull, dirtyheels, draggletail, flap, naughty-pack, slut, squirt, and strumpet, generally heightened by adjectives such as arrant, base, brazenfaced, or scurvy.”
Veneral disease, especially syphilis or 'the pox', also featured prominently in abusive language. Taunts such as 'burnt-arsed whore' and 'pocky whore' were familiar throughout the country. 17th century church court papers cite several examples of highly offensive abuse: “At Bury St Edmunds Faith Wilson told her neighbour in 1619 to 'pull up your muffler higher and hide your pocky face, and go home and scrape your mangy arse'.”
Quarrels and allegations often took place before witnesses, and public confrontation was staged for maximum effect. Gossip helps maintain social control: when someone is gossiped about, they restrict their behaviour. This gave women some control over erring husbands, abusive employers or sexually disreputable women.
Professor Capp, from the University of Warwick, said: “Heated exchanges of foul language between women was a familiar part of life in early modern England, and commonly took place in open streets. The language of 'street theatre' was rather blunt and offensive- even by today's post watershed TV standard.”
Just as gossip can build social bonds, it can ruin reputations. Archdeaconry court papers record several cases where family or Parish life were torn apart by slander and gossip.
“Joan Webb of Wittlesford, Cambs., was rumoured in 1596 to be worse than any whore, for allegedly paid men to have sex with her, giving them some cheeses, venison and a shirt. The stories prompted a man who has been planning to marry her to break off the match, giving her £5 'to be rid of her'.”
Networks of close friends and neighbours or ‘gossips’ provided companionship, a social identity outside the home, and emotional and practical support during disputes with husbands or neighbours. But alienation caused by malicious gossip was a real threat as the social economy of friends was crucial for ordinary women, as small loans or acts of kindness for a neighbour eased the lives of the poor.
Notes for editor
For more information contact: Professor Bernard Capp, Department of History, University of Warwick, Tel: 024 7652 3410/ 01926 854622 or Jenny Murray, Communications Office, University of Warwick, Tel: 02476 574 255/ 07876 217 740 “When Gossips Meet: Women, Family and Neighbourhood in Early Modern England” is published by Oxford University Press, 2003
Reference URL
http://www.newsandevents.warwick.ac.uk/index.cfm?page=pressrelease&id=1381
A Cornish sign of the times
The new St Piran's Flag tourist symbol will go on show in Cornwall for the first time on Thursday.
The sign will go on display on Thursday at Geevor Tin Mine.
The symbol's designer - secondary school pupil Leanne Howarth from Marazion - will join representatives of the Cornwall County Council at Geevor Mine to see the new road signs in place.
The flag was selected to represent Cornwall's distinctive cultural heritage following a county-wide design competition and extensive consultation.
Distinctive heritage
The debate was prompted after a number of the brown road signs bearing England's red rose were vandalised.
Attractions can use the symbol to replace the Tudor Rose symbol or to replace the symbol denoting the type of attraction.
Permission from the Department for Transport had to be sought before the symbol could be used on the county's roads.
The working mine closed in 1990 and is now the largest mining history site in the UK.
Erecting the first sign at Geevor was the idea of County Councillor Neil Plummer.
"Geevor represents the very best of Cornish culture and heritage and using the Cornish Flag promotes a distinctive Cornish Heritage," he said.