1,000 year-old turd goes on display

by Sean McLachlan on

The Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery has a truly crappy new exhibition.

A 1,000 year-old piece of feces has people lining up to visit the English museum. It was originally found in 1991 and dates to Anglo-Saxon times. When it was recently put on display, curators were surprised at its popularity and now plan to make it part of its permanent display.

The turd has mineralized and has no smell. Mineralized crap, scientifically known as coprolites, are actually not that rare. Dinosaur coprolites are found quite frequently, like the one pictured here from Canada. For a time in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, coprolites were even mined for their high phosphate content. Human coprolites are less common and are important for what they can reveal about ancient diet and parasites.

The Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery is currently celebrating its 150th anniversary. It traces local history from the age of the dinosaurs up to the present day. Artifacts include a beautifully preserved Celtic mirror, a Roman city wall, and a medieval backgammon game that is the world’s oldest complete set.


Photo courtesy United States Geological Survey.

Archaeologists explore stone circle ten times larger than Stonehenge

by Sean McLachlan on

Move over Stonehenge, there’s a bigger stone circle in town.

Archaeologists are busy excavating Marden Henge, a giant stone circle and earthwork ten times larger than its more famous cousin. It’s not nearly as well-known, however, because all of its stones have been lost or buried. Traces of a giant earthwork and ditch that encircled the monument do survive, and archaeologists hope they’ll reveal secrets of England’s prehistoric past.

While everyone knows about Stonehenge, many people don’t realize there are nearly a thousand stone circles in the British Isles, from massive ones like Avebury (shown here) to smaller ones like the Rollright Stones. Marden Henge is in Wiltshire, close to Stonehenge and Avebury, and could provide clues to how and why they were constructed. The giant circle encloses about 15 hectares (37 acres) and has a mound at its center. Archaeologists plan to investigate both the central mound and the earthwork and ditch. The Neolithic farmers who built these monuments often put sacrifices in the surrounding ditches.

While there are no current plans for a visitor’s center at Marden Henge, there are plenty of other stone circles open to the public. Some of the more famous cater to visitors with interpretive signs and parking lots, while others simply stand in open fields, an enduring part of Europe’s ancient landscape. An excellent website to help you plan a visit is The Megalithic Portal, which includes information on stone circles and other megaliths such as barrows (tombs) and menhirs (individual standing stones) in the UK and all around the world.

Scientists explore “Robin Hood’s prison”

by Sean McLachlan on

Scientists in Nottingham, England, are studying nearly 500 man-made caves under the city and surrounding countryside. Some of the caves, hewn into the soft sandstone by generations of laborers, date back to the early Middle Ages. They were used for businesses, storage, shelter, and one is reputed to have been the prison of Robin Hood.

The Nottingham Caves Survey is mapping the caves with a 3D laser scanner that measures the interior surfaces with millions of data points. These “point clouds” are then converted into a 3D image, spruced up with video animation software, and made into short videos that take you through the spaces.

This is as close as you can get to a complete tour because most caves are closed to the public for safety reasons. When the Luftwaffe bombed Nottingham during World War Two, locals hid out in the caves. Better to risk an unstable cave than a German bomb!

Some caves are open, like the City of Caves, with reconstructions of a medieval tannery, bomb shelter, and “enchanted well”. Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which dates back to the 12th century and is a serious contender for the coveted label “oldest pub in England”, has a network of caves that are used as cellars. There used to be a cockfighting pit down in the cellar, but in this more humane era it serves as a nice cool place to store ale. The staff say they sometimes see the pub ghost down there.

Nottingham owes its popularity as a tourist destination to its association with Robin Hood. But did he exist? And did he do time in the prison cave? There is no certain proof that he ever existed, but medieval England had no shortage of arrow-shooting outlaws hiding out in the woods. Sherwood Forest, being close to a major town and important roads, would have been prime real estate for someone like Robin Hood.

Robin Hood is first mentioned in Piers Plowman, written around 1377, and the first books dedicated to him don’t appear for another generation. By then he was already a popular folk figure and a lot of his adventures were simply the invention of imaginative authors.

A tantalizing entry in court records from 1225 mention an outlaw named Robert Hod. Records from 1261 and 1262 mention an outlaw named William Robehod, but one historian theorizes that this name had already become synonymous with outlawry. In fact, numerous Robehods and Robynhods crop up in court records after the mid-13th century. Apparently outlaws liked using a legendary name to give their robberies a touch of glamor. In the U.S., several second-rate gunslingers did the same with the name Jesse James.

If there ever was an original Robin Hood, he’s now so buried in legend it’s impossible to find him.

Public domain image by Louis Rhead (1912) via Wikimedia Commons.

Altamira prehistoric painted cave to reopen

by Sean McLachlan on


One of Europe’s most breathtaking examples of prehistoric art will soon be accessible to the public.

The Paleolithic cave art at Altamira, in the Cantabria region of northern Spain, will soon be open to visitors. Altamira’s paintings of bison, deer, and other animals date from 14,000 to 20,000 years ago and are some of the best preserved of all prehistoric cave art. Even more intriguing are the hand prints by the artists themselves.

Cantabria’s Culture Ministry and Altamira’s board of directors have decided to reopen the site sometime next year. Access will be limited and they did not release details as to the number of people who will be allowed into the cave. Altamira has been closed since 2002 because even the few visitors allowed at that time affected the delicate environment that had preserved the paintings for so many millennia. Like at the famous Paleolithic cave of Lascaux in France, mold has started growing on some of the paintings. The circulation of air from people coming and going changes the temperature, and their breath changes the humidity.

Some archaeologists have criticized the move, saying that allowing visitors will increase the damage already done. If the plans to reopen Altamira go through, it could lead to a controversy similar to the one surrounding Lascaux, which has seen a group of scientists called the International Committee for the Preservation of Lascaux call for an independent investigation into how the cave is managed.

Photo of Altamira reproduction at Madrid’s Museo Arqueológico Nacional de España courtesy José-Manuel Benito.

Scotland promoting archaeological tourism

by Sean McLachlan on


Forget kilts, haggis, and caber tossing, Scotland’s tourism board wants you to delve into the country’s past.

Tony Robinson, star of Blackadder and Time Team, is the poster boy for Visit Scotland‘s new push for archaeological tourism. The tourism board has developed several five-day itineraries visitors can follow to explore Scotland’s 10,000 year heritage.

Scotland is an archaeological wonderland with stone circles, mysterious prehistoric forts, and medieval monasteries. Visit Scotland’s trails focus on the country’s northern and western islands. Despite their rough climates, island chains like the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Hebrides preserve evidence of advanced cultures. One of the most important sites is Skara Brae, pictured above, on Mainland (actually an island) in the Orkneys off the north coast of Scotland. This remarkably complete Neolithic village was founded about 5,000 years ago and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built from local stone, the little homes are sunk into the earth to protect them from the elements. The interiors have shelves, hearths, and even stone furniture built into them. One even has a toilet with a drain.

The itineraries go beyond simply describing a series of sites. They also give information on how to get there and back, suggestions on where to eat, and historic hotels and B&Bs to stay in.

And don’t worry, you can still eat sheep’s hearts, wear man-skirts, and throw telephone poles.

Photo courtesy Dr. John F. Burka via Wikimedia Commons.

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