Martello tower's 200th birthday celebrations (Seaford - E.Sussex)

From the Sussex Express.

TWO special events are being held to celebrate the bicentenary of Seaford's Martello Tower.

An exhibition opens tomorrow (Saturday) with many pictures of the tower over the last 200 years as well as other towers around the coast.

The Seaford Martello Tower was the last (number 74) in the chain along the Channel coast.

It was also the most expensive with many more bricks used in its construction than the earlier structures.

Possibly, the builder in 1807-1808 knew that the Napoleonic wars were coming to an end and this was to be the last contract.

The exhibition also features a new small scale model of the town as it was 200 years ago, made by members of the museum, and a new painting of a panoramic view from the bay at the same period.

The display will run to the end of the year. The formal opening by Seaford's MP Norman Baker takes place today (Friday) before invited guests and members.

The second event is a mini craft fair, on Sunday, May 18 from 11am to 4.30pm. This is a popular annual event with several stalls around the tower in the lower moat or on the upper covered moat.

Several local arts and crafts will be featured plus more from further afield. Anyone wishing to book a stall should contact the museum. On the first Sunday afternoon each month, visitors can browse the archives with an archivist and research the extensive housing registry or records of families and events in Seaford history.

The museum is in the Martello Tower directly on the seafront at the eastern (cliff) end.

The postal address is PO Box 2132, Seaford, East Sussex BN25 9BH and the telephone number is 01323-898222. You can visit the website at www.seafordmuseum.co. uk


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Hayton pottery database goes online at ADS

From the ADS.

This dataset comprises the fully catalogued and quantified pottery from Hayton in East Yorkshire. It should allow the downloading of the full dataset, so that interested parties can import the data into their own applications for their own research. It also allows the user to examine the fabric and form catalogues defined for this project and to generate their own catalogue for comparison with material from other sites.

There were 14,032 fragments weighing a total of 204.257 Kg from 662 stratified contexts (including a few topsoil and plough soil layers). This was represented by a total MV of 1,409, a total RE of 16,358% and a BE of 16,911%.

Database intro page here.

Barclodiad y Gawres passage grave (Anglesey) re-opens

From NewsWales.

A top Anglesey destination for megalith fans has reopened to visitors.

The Neolithic burial chamber Barclodiad y Gawres in Anglesey has been closed for a number of months to remove graffiti, but the outstanding monument which overlooks the Irish Sea can now be visited again by appointment every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday between 12 and 4pm until 30 September.

The burial chamber can be viewed externally throughout the year between 10am and 4pm.

Cared for by Cadw, Barclodiad y Gawres, located northwest of Aberffraw on the Anglesey coastal path, is an example of a cruciform passage grave, and is famous for its decorated stones.

As the chamber is reached through a locked gate, visitors wishing to see the monument should call into the nearby Wayside Stores in Llanfaelog, one mile north of the chamber, where they will then be accompanied to the chamber by a member of staff. Wayside Stores are contracted by Cadw to manage the chamber.


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Roman mass grave in Gloucester contained possible victims of the Antonine plague

From the 24 hour museum.

A mass Roman grave, discovered in Gloucester in 2005, may have contained the victims of an acute disease of epidemic proportions, possibly plague.

This is the startling conclusion to a new report by Oxford Archaeology and archaelogical consultancy CgMs, who have been conducting an 18-month programme of scientific study on the grave, which contained around 91 skeletons.

The discovery of a mass grave of Roman date is almost unparalleled in British archaeology and archaeologists now believe the remains were of individuals who had been thrown in over a short period of time during the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD.

“The skeletons of adult males, females, and children were lying in a very haphazard fashion, their bones completely entangled, reflecting the fact that they had been dumped, unceremoniously in a hurried manner,” explained Louise Loe, Head of Burial Archaeology at Oxford Archaeology.

“When we studied the skeletons we were looking for evidence, such as trauma, that would explain why they had been buried in such a way. In fact, very little trauma was found on the skeletons and there were no diseases that would explain why they had been singled out for this treatment.”

The unusual arrangement of the skeletons led archaeologists to conclude that the individuals were the victims of an epidemic that did not discriminate against age or sex.

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Survey at Hyssington (Powys) Bronze age axe 'factory'

From BBC News.

Archaeologists are hoping to unearth evidence of what they believe to have been one of Bronze Age Britain's largest axe-making "factories".

Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) said the axes, made from a distinctive type rock - known as picrite - had been found throughout the country.

A three-week survey at the 4,000-year-old site will start soon in Hyssington, near Welshpool, Powys.

The trust's Chris Martin said it may have been a large industrial centre.

The trust carried out a preliminary survey last year, but it did not uncover the factory site.

However, it said test results from 2007 proved that picrite had been mined in an area known locally as Cwm Mawr, and a study in the 1950s had suggested it was an area where axes had been made.


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