An Archaeological Study of the Battle of the Boyne at Oldbridge,Co Meath

Abstract

This paper outlines the results of a pilot archaeological study carried out on the Oldbridge Estate, Co. Meath, Ireland, in advance of its development for the presentation of the events of the Battle of the Boyne which was fought by the forces of King William III and James II on 1st July 1690. Archival research including the examination of museum collections, cartographic sources, contemporary artistic depictions of the battle and recent aerial photographic coverages was followed up by the use of a range of archaeological techniques including systematic surface collection survey, soil phosphate analysis, magnetic gradiometry, metal detecting and limited test excavation. Additionally, marine geophysics equipment was used to profile the character of the River Boyne, especially in the area of the main crossings. The study revealed important new evidence including the establishment of the location of Oldbridge village, a pivotal feature in the conduct of the battle, the confirmation of the location of the first engagement on the day of the battle and the first systematically recovered artefacts from the battlefield.     

Battlefield Casualty: The Archaeology of a Captured Gun

Abstract

Many artefacts in museums lack adequate information about the context from which they were collected. Not surprisingly, this often applies to artefacts recovered from battlefields, where chaotic conditions can result in uncertainty about their origins. This paper examines the case of a Second World War German 88 mm gun preserved in an Australian museum. The museum had little contextual information for this weapon, except that the Australian Army captured it in North Africa in 1942, probably after the Second Battle of El Alamein. However, an archaeological analysis of the gun, particularly of damage incurred during battle, can link it to photographs taken after the battle and re-establish its historical context and the circumstances of its acquisition. In this way, a museum artefact can become more than a mere exhibit: it can be made to document its own past.     

Landscapes of Stone: Contextualizing Greenstone Working and Lithics from Clodgy Moor,West Penwith,Cornwall

Between 2004 and 2011 Graham Hill and Dave Edwards plotted nearly eight thousand prehistoric artefacts from ploughed fields across the Clodgy Moor area of West Penwith. In 2011 a project was carried out by the Historic Environment Service Projects team, Cornwall Council, the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the Cornwall Archaeological Society to catalogue and digitize all the finds recorded from the fieldwalking.

The project demonstrated that some places within the project area were persistent locales which were occupied throughout the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. The results were particularly significant because they shed light on the context of the production of greenstone axes, widely exchanged around Britain and across the Irish Sea during the Neolithic, and suggest why, despite large numbers of artefacts, no greenstone ‘axe factory’ site has been found close to the potential sources of the greenstone before.     

Geographic Information Science as a Method of Integrating History and Archaeology for Battlefield Interpretation

Abstract

Geographic Information Science (GIS) and technology can be used to integrate history and archaeology for synthesis and interpretation. This study applies Geographic Information Science and technology to reconstruct the events related to a patrol from G Company, 2nd Battalion, 328th Infantry Regiment of the American Expeditionary Forces on October 8 1918 outside the village of Châtel Chéhéry, France that resulted in the award of the Medal of Honor to Alvin C. York. Evidence from documentary records, historic maps, and artefacts from a metal detector survey were incorporated in a spatial database. Spatial analysis of the database using GIS provided a more complete picture of events than either history or archaeology individually.     

Living Places or Animated Objects? Sámi Sacrificial Places with Metal Objects and Their South Scandinavian Parallels

Abstract

The article takes its point of departure in 12 Sámi sacrificial places from northern Sweden and Norway. It is argued that the sites with metal objects of the ninth to fourteenth centuries in a number of ways are comparable to acts of deposition in south Scandinavia. These Viking Age depositions consisted of partly the same types of artefacts, took place on the shores of wetlands with sacral names and were in use in the same time period as the Sámi sacrificial places. The similarities and differences between the two traditions are discussed, focusing on some possible links between aspects of animistic world views and biographical perspectives on artefacts. This opens up the possibility that not only the Sámi, but even the Old Norse world views contained elements of animistic perspectives. It is claimed that the two traditions reflect partially parallel ways of handling the landscape and dealing with objects among the Sámi of Øvre Norrland and the Norse population of south Scandinavia.     

Survey and Excavation of the Anglo-Zulu War Fort at Eshowe,KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Abstract

A programme of topographic and geophysical survey was combined with metal detecting and trial trenching at the site of the British fort at KwaMondi, Eshowe, KwaZulu. Evidence was recovered of the buildings used by the British troops in 1879, together with artefacts from the siege. In addition, the results provided an insight into the history of the site after the end of the British occupation.     

The Study of Small Finds at the 1644 Battle of Cheriton

Abstract

A metal detection survey over a 2.6% sample of the Registered 1644 Battlefield of Cheriton yielded 355 metallic small finds, of which 92% were directly related to the battle. An archaeological analysis of the sample emphasises the use of non-valuable small finds as an aid to understanding the location, direction and participants of battle. An appreciation of battle and the actions of warfare has been indicated via the social and functional aspects of weaponry. The finds have been assessed within their Civil War context and indicate that the presumed extent of the battlefield could be much larger than previously thought. The distribution of the finds confirms that the retreating Royalist army were pursued as they fled. Individual regiments within the armies have been identified based on find typology and distribution, to build up a coherent interpretation of the battle.     

Newfoundlanders in a Highland Forest During WWII

Abstract

A programme of historical research and archaeological walkover survey, topographic survey and trial trenching was undertaken within Strathmashie Forest, Highland, Scotland by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) and Laggan Heritage during 2005. The project investigated the remains of the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit (NOFU) who operated within Strathmashie Forest during WWII and comprised an entirely civilian workforce run in a military manner. The fieldwork uncovered and recorded a variety of structures and artefacts relating to the lives and work of the Newfoundlanders within the forest. This was complimented by research into the NOFU activities in Scotland as a whole which, combined with the archaeological evidence present at Strathmashie, gave a valuable insight into an essential, but relatively unknown, contribution to the overall war effort.     

Scuttled in the Morning: the discoveries and surveys of HMS Warrior and HMS Sparrowhawk,the Battle of Jutland's last missing shipwrecks

Due to the circumstances of the loss of HMS Warrior and HMS Sparrowhawk in 1916, in which subsequent to disablement both had drifted and been towed unknown distances from the Jutland battlefield, they were not located in the 2015 Jutland survey. In August 2016 both ships were located and HMS Warrior was revealed to be a pristine warship wreck, the only example in this condition of the 25 ships sunk in the battle. HMS Sparrowhawk had a similar pattern of disturbance as seven of the other Battle of Jutland destroyer wrecks. The survey of these wrecks draws to a conclusion a long period of discovery at Jutland and raises questions as to how these important cultural artefacts should be treated in the future.     

For Duty Done: A WWI Military Medallion Recovered from the Mass Grave Site at Fromelles,Northern France

Abstract

The artefact to be discussed in this paper was recovered in 2007 during the preliminary field investigation of the suspected site of grave pits containing Australian and possibly British soldiers killed in the Battle of Fromelles in 1916. It was one of two medallions recovered, both of which were clearly Australian in origin. These rarely encountered artefacts played a key role in convincing the Australian authorities that there was a distinct possibility that the burials, made by the Germans behind their own lines in the days after the battle, were still intact, despite attempts to locate them in the immediate aftermath of the war. As a consequence, a second programme of investigation was commissioned by the Australian Army and in the summer of 2008 limited trial excavation uncovered the remains of Australian and British soldiers in six of the eight pits known to have been dug by the Germans. In 2009 the graves were fully excavated and all of the remains removed, prior to reburial in a newly created cemetery in 2010.     

EARLY BRONZE AGE TIN PROCESSING AT KESTEL/GÖLTEPE,ANATOLIA

Chemical analysis of statistically significant numbers of samples including minerals, sediments, soil, host rock as well as powdered materials, crucible accretions and metal artefacts revealed information about the distribution of cassiterite at Kestel and the tin smelting processes that took place at Göltepe c. 2600 BC. Using the ancient technique of vanning for the isolation of tin ore (cassiterite), followed by assaying by blowpipe/charcoal block, as well as crucible smelting with a blowpipe, good tin metal suitable for alloying with copper to make bronze was obtained. There is every indication that tin was mined and smelted in the Early Bronze Age at the Kestel/Göltepe sites.     

Taking the Hill: Archaeological Survey and Excavation of German Communication Trenches on the Summit of Mont St Quentin

The following presents the results of a limited programme of field investigation carried out on the site of German communication trenches running through woodland on the summit of Mont St Quentin, just outside the town of Péronne, in the Somme region of Picardy. The aim of the project was to assess the archaeological potential of features related to the Battle of Mont St Quentin, which took place in August/September 1918 and was co-directed by Tony Pollard and Iain Banks. The fieldwork, which consisted of topographic survey, metal detector survey and limited excavation, was carried out over ten days, between 29 August and 9 September 2011. The action, by men of the Australian Second Division, saw the Germans pushed off their strong position on the hill, and thereafter the recapture of Péronne. As a result, three Victoria Crosses were awarded, and General Rawlinson described the battle as the finest achievement of the war. Given its place in the history of Australian military endeavour on the Western Front, the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne has taken out a fifty-year lease on an area of land within Mont St Quentin Wood, which is an initiative supported by the Australian government via the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. This ground includes a number of German communication trenches, along with other features such as shell holes. The intention is to include this area in a heritage trail (Australian Remembrance Trail), which will incorporate other sites of Australian activity, including Fromelles, Villers-Bretonneux and Hamel. In order to maximise the impact and educational value of the site it has been subject to archaeological investigation, an exercise that will add to our understanding of events there, and also provide information and material for a proposed interpretation centre.     

Ancient “Red Cliff” battlefield: a historical-geographic study

The famous battle of Chibi, or “battle of Red Cliff”, took place in 208 CE, the 13^th year of the Jian’an period of the Eastern Han dynasty. This paper holds that the whole battle consisted of three inseparable stages, namely the initial clash at Chibi, the chase battle to Wulin, and Cao Cao’s disorganized escape along Huarong Road. The Red Cliff battlefield thus extended across a distance of more than 300 li (150km). Even if the Chibi where the initial military engagement took place (that is, Chiji Hill, southwest of Wuchang in modern Wuhan City) has already disappeared, it should be restored to its proper historical position. The chase battle along the Yangzi River came to an end at Wulin, across the river is Chibi Hill in today’s Chibi City. Although this Chibi is not the Chibi where the initial combat took place, it nonetheless forms an integral part of the ancient Chibi battlefield as a whole. The Huarong Road along which Cao Cao escaped runs through the middle of today’s Jianghan Plain. Finally, the text aims to show that Chibi (Red Nose) Hill in modern Huangzhou City has nothing to do with the Chibi of the “battle of Red Cliff.” __________ Translated from: Fudan Xuebao 复旦学报: 社会科学版 (Fudan Journal, Social Sciences), No.3, 2004, by Han Zhaoqing and Fabien Simonis. Han Zhaoqing thanks Merrick Lex Berman for his help in revising this version     

First comprehensive peat depositional records for tin,lead and copper associated with the antiquity of Europe's largest cassiterite deposits

Tin, as a constituent of bronze, was central to the technological development of early societies, but cassiterite (SnO₂) deposits were scarce and located distantly from the centres of Mediterranean civilizations. As Britain had the largest workable ore deposits in the ancient Western world, this has led to much historical speculation and myth regarding the long-distance trading of tin from the Bronze Age onwards. Here we establish the first detailed chronology for tin, along with lead and copper deposition, into undisturbed ombrotrophic (rain-fed) peat bogs located at Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor in the centre of the British tin ore fields. Sustained elevated tin deposition is demonstrated clearly, with peaks occurring at 100–400 and 700–1000 calendar years AD – contemporaneous with the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods respectively. While pre-Roman Iron Age tin exploitation undoubtedly took place, it was on a scale that did not result in convincingly enhanced deposition of the metal. The deposition of lead in the peat record provides evidence of a pre-Roman metal-based economy in southwest Britain. Emerging in the 4th century BC, this was centred on copper and lead ore processing that expanded exponentially and then collapsed upon Roman colonization during the 1st century AD.     

The Industrial Archaeology of Agriculture: Rural Life Collections and the National Trust

Abstract

The National Trust has acquired, by virtue of its extensive countryside land holding, a large number of sites which demonstrate much of the history and development of agriculture in Britain. This paper will provide a summary review of the range of such sites, including farms and vernacular farmsteads with their wide range of specialist activities, the 'model' industrialised farms of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries often associated with country house estates, and the sites where the processing of agricultural products took place, particularly watermills, windmills, and textile producing works. Reference will also be made to some of the rural life collections, including agricultural machinery and other artefacts which the Trust owns. This paper cannot be comprehensive, but will seek to raise some of the issues which the curation of such a diverse collection raises.     

Artefacts,archaeologists and American Indians

Abstract

Archaeologists traditionally have observed the style and technology of artefacts and used this to classify archaeological assemblages, describing the repeated association of artefact groups as a ‘Culture’. We continue to place overwhelming reliance on our ability to derive meaningful information about past culture from artefacts, yet the importance these objects had for the members of the cultural group (past and present) is not adequately considered. The typological approach sidelines the creative role of the artisans, we find out a little about their economy, gain momentary glimpses of their religion, but learn almost nothing about their humanity. Archaeologists tend to focus on the physical, technological or esoteric attributes of an artefact, while indigenous populations tend to focus on the object's ritual or social importance. This is most apparent in the treatment of funerary artefacts. Until recently, many American Indian tribal groups have seen no distinction between ‘grave robbing’ and ‘archaeological excavation’ it made no difference to them whether the dead were disturbed by looters or by qualified archaeologists. By involving indigenous populations in the design, practice and dissemination of archaeological research, we can add humanity to our study of the human past, and take a step toward a truly worldwide archaeology.     

A Survey of Scottish Windpumps

Abstract

In the past, considerable attention has been paid by industrial archaeologists to conventional windmills, but little time has been devoted to wind pumps which, during the early decades of the twentieth century, became popular throughout Scotland. This paper attempts, using information gained from the Scottish Industrial Archaeology Survey's (SIAS) survey of Scottish windmills, to shed more light upon the spread of wind pumps throughout Scotland. The paper deals briefly with the wind pump manufacturers, and the geographical distribution of the pumps found during the survey. Much of the text is then devoted to the windpumps themselves, which are illustrated with a number of diagrams. The study was promoted not only by the knowledge that wind˙ pumps were much neglected artefacts, but also by the fact that they are now rapidly disappearing from the Scottish countryside.     

Nails,tacks, and hinges: the archaeology of Camp Monticello,a World War II prisoner of war camp

ABSTRACT

“Provost Marshall General does not concur in the construction of outdoor dance floors at Monticello Internment Camp … Outdoor dance floors would be of no use at an internment camp,” the brigadier general responded to the chief of engineers in 1943. Camp Monticello, located in southeast Arkansas, was an Italian prisoner of war camp constructed according to a set of standardized building plans. Despite the brigadier general’s insistence that Camp Monticello “conform as far as possible to the standard plan,” archaeological research that combines archival research with a metal detector survey shows that the plans were influenced by local politics, access to materials, environmental conditions, and the everyday activities of the prisoners of war.     

Modelling the heritage world: Economic,legal and political considerations

Abstract

The economic literature on heritage has primarily analysed the impact of building preservation on real‐estate values and community redevelopment. Recently, economists have expanded their study on heritage to include everything from historic buildings and antiques to museums and monuments. However, this research ignores the political and legal characteristics of heritage and is used primarily to justify government expenditures on heritage. The economic study of heritage should include a conceptual framework to explain the process through which certain artefacts acquire historic significance and value. This framework would provide guidance to establish which economic agents form part of the heritage world and what incentives guide them to join it. With this framework in place., we can evaluate how the tools used by these agents to obtain their own goals affect the provision of historic resources.     

Dyeing Winchcombe Kersies and Other Kersey Cloth in Sixteenth-Century Newbury

Abstract

Dyeing wool for the thousands of kersey cloths produced annually at Newbury in Berkshire in the middle decades of the sixteenth century took place before export. Substantial statistical evidence reveals that dyeing took place on a proto-industrial scale in Newbury; Newbury clothiers John Winchcombe II and Thomas Dolman had their own dyehouses, and other Newbury clothiers were also producing dyed kersies. Woad, madder and weld were the most important dyes, and the scale of dyeing is indicated by the purchase of woad by the ton. This article uses the Newbury experience to challenge the common view that English cloth exports during the sixteenth century were exported undyed.