Vandalism, Lajuad. Photo (cc) Western Sahara Project.
Via the Megalithic Portal comes news of vandalism of rock art. The culprits are soldiers, but in a twist they’re not American. From the graffitti scrawled over the walls of the shelter they’re Russian, Croatian, Kenyan and Egyptian. Along with name and rank the perpetrators also left tags saying [...]
Archive for January, 2008
The figures are adjusted for inflation to 2007-8 values. There have only been four years when there’s been less than £350m equivalent distributed by the HLF, and the 1995-6 figure is balanced by the peak the following year.
Finding out where the money’s going may be difficult. Possibly even a task of Olympic proportions. Data source.
Nine Stones Close
Jan 29
I visited Nine Stones Close on Harthill Moor this past weekend to experiment with my camera. I was surprised how successful some of the photos were. Initially I used the Aperture Priority setting on the camera, because I wanted plenty of depth of field. The camera was designed by many clever boffins, so I assumed [...]
This is how Tom Goskar casually tosses a cat amongst the pigeons…
If you’re interested in the archaeology of the county of Wiltshire, you can now access the Wiltshire Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) online, complete with a map interface.
The SMR is the archaeological record of a county and, as Tom points out, Wiltshire is the [...]
One of the advantages of tripping to other libraries is that you get to browse journals you’d otherwise miss. One example is the Journal of the Royal Institute for Anthropology, which I wouldn’t see at Leicester. That is a pity because I’m missing some stuff like Close encounters: UFO beliefs in a remote Australian Aboriginal [...]
Coturnix has scooped me on this. I was writing tomorrow’s blog entry. A story I‘ve wrote about earlier here has been picked up by a reporter from BBC Radio 4’s PM programme. A short version went out yesterday, but you can listen to a couple of extended interviews about the Portable Antiquities Scheme at A [...]
Robin Hood’s Stride
Jan 26
“A third of a mile SSW the gritstone crag of Robin Hood’s Stride rises jaggedly with two stubby piles of boulders jutting up at either end of its flat top like the head and pricked-up ears of a wrinkled hippopotamus.”
Aubrey Burl. A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Yale University Press. [...]
Tomb #9 at Amara. Photo (cc) Ross Day.
The BBC’s promoting an episode of Timewatch broadcast at 20:10 on 26 January 2008 (and on your iPlayer if you live in the UK shortly after). This one looks like it could be worth watching. It’s news from the Amarna Project and archaeological project with an excellent website. [...]
I’ve signed up to the RSS feeds for They Work For You. It seems quite a few people have been taking an interest in the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
It’s useful because it means you can keep track of exchanges like this:
James Gray (North Wiltshire, Conservative):
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what [...]
“Come listen!” Said an aged man,
“I have a tale to tell.
I shall reveal as best I can,
research I’ve done so well.
I’ve told the world, I’m sure it will,
without a doubt astound.
the public who’ll applaud my skill,
and great new Thing I’ve found”
