Archaeologists discover skeleton in doctor’s garden

A skeleton, possibly dating from Roman times, has been unearthed by archaeologists from the University of Bristol during a dig in the garden of vaccination pioneer Dr Edward Jenner in Berkeley, Gloucestershire.

The archaeologists, led by Professor Mark Horton and Dr Stuart Prior, have been excavating part of the garden of The Chantry, the former country home of vaccination pioneer, Dr Edward Jenner (1749-1823), during a series of annual digs since 2007.  They have already established that Berkeley is an important Anglo-Saxon site with a mynster of the same scale and status as Gloucester.

Last week, they uncovered a skeleton believed to date from the Roman or possibly sub-Roman (that is the ‘Dark Ages’) period.  The Roman occupation of Britain ended in 410AD, making this an extremely rare find of great historical significance.

As the skeleton was painstakingly excavated it became clear that it was cut in half by a later ditch.  Roman material was found in this ditch, which could have either been deposited by the Romans themselves or later inhabitants of the area as they were robbing the Roman buildings nearby.

The skeleton is known to be adult but its sex has not yet been determined.  It was found underneath the sealed remains of part of the Anglo-Saxon Mynster, founded in the 8th century.  This latest discovery, however, clearly puts Berkeley on the map as an even earlier religious site than previously thought.

Professor Mark Horton said: “This was a completely unexpected but really important discovery because it fills in the history between the Roman villa that we believe is on the site and the Anglo-Saxon monastery discovered during earlier digs.

“It just goes to show that you never quite know what lies under your feet.  It is unlikely that Dr Jenner was aware of these unexpected neighbours lurking at the bottom of his garden.”

Sarah Parker, Director of Dr Jenner’s House said: “Year on year the archaeology and recorded data that the University of Bristol uncovers from Dr Jenner’s garden never ceases to amaze.  It reinforces the importance of this historic site alongside the Birthplace of Vaccination.  We are very pleased to be working with the university, sharing history being made being with the public.”

From University of Bristol

Follow-up: Homeless excavate site in Bristol

In December, I posted this story regarding an urban excavation project organized by the University of Bristol.  It caught my attention for two reasons, the most obvious being that I'm an alumni of UoB.  Aside from that I was incredibly impressed by the projects aim to incorporate Bristol's homeless in the excavation of an area they've occupied for decades.

Here is an update on the project from the UoB website:

A team of homeless people in Bristol have taken part in a small-scale archaeological dig to explore the history of ‘Turbo Island’, a busy traffic island in the heart of the city, with the help of students from the University of Bristol, English Heritage and the police. The excavation is part of a wider project looking into heritage and contemporary homelessness, funded by the Council of British Archaeology.

The inspiration for the dig arose from conversations between homeless people, John Schofield, an English Heritage Archaeologist, and Rachael Marmite, a Bristol-based Urban Archaeologist, during their joint project to find out more about the patterns of life and dwelling places of rough sleepers.

‘Turbo Island’, which is situated between Stokes Croft and Jamaica Street in Bristol, has been frequented by homeless people and street drinkers for at least 40 years and has an interesting history. Stories range from it being a place “where pirates were hanged” to it having been a “speaker’s corner” and a “bombed WW II building”.

Dr Mark Horton, Professor of Archaeology at the University, who came to see the artefacts uncovered in the project, said: "Archaeology is one of those unique sciences that allows people to participate in the process. I would say that this is one of the most innovative archaeological projects going on in Britain at the moment."

English Heritage Archaeologist and co-leader John Schofield said: “This is archaeology at its very best – involving people who really wanted to be there, and who embraced the opportunity with great enthusiasm and good humour. Heritage can and should be for everyone, as this ongoing project has demonstrated.”

Bristol-based Urban-Archaeologist ‘Rachael Marmite’ said: “Using conventional archaeological methods to understand modern culture is both fascinating and socially relevant.”

The results of the dig will be presented in talks and lectures by John Schofield and ‘Rachel Marmite’ in Bristol in Spring 2010, culminating in an exhibition in Stokes Croft.

The archaeological dig was filmed by the BBC’s Inside Out West programme and will air on Monday 22 February at 7.30pm on BBC1.

You can watch the report here.

Remains of early queen unearthed

Remains of one of the earliest members of the English royal family may have been unearthed in a German cathedral, a Bristol University research team says.

They believe a near-complete female skeleton, aged 30 to 40, found wrapped in silk in a lead coffin in Magdeburg Cathedral is that of Queen Eadgyth.

The granddaughter of Alfred the Great, she married Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 929. She died 17 years later, at 36.

The team aims to prove her identity by tracing isotopes in her bones.

Professor Mark Horton, of Bristol's department of archaeology and anthropology, said: "We know that Saxon royalty moved around quite a lot, and we hope to match the isotope results with known locations around Wessex and Mercia, where she could have spent her childhood.

"If we can prove this truly is Eadgyth, this will be one of the most exciting historical discoveries in recent years."

Their preliminary findings are to be announced later at a conference at the university.

The discovery of the tomb was made during a wider research project into the cathedral in 2008 by a German team.

It was thought the tomb was a cenotaph, but when the lid was removed, the coffin was discovered, bearing Queen Eadgyth's name and accurately recording the date - 1510 - when her remains were transferred.

The queen was known to have been buried initially in the Monastery of Mauritius in Magdeburg, and if bones were to be found, they would have been moved later to the tomb.

Professor Harald Meller, who led the 2008 project, said: "We still are not completely certain that this is Eadgyth although all the scientific evidence points to this interpretation.

"In the Middle Ages bones were often moved around, and this makes definitive identification difficult."

Queen Eadgyth's brother, King Athelstan, is considered to have been the first king of England after he unified various Saxon and Celtic kingdoms after the battle of Brunanburh in 937, Bristol University said.

After marriage, Queen Eadgyth lived in Saxony and had two children with Otto.

Their direct descendents ruled Germany until 1254 and formed many of the royal families of Europe that followed.

From BBC.co.uk

BBC News: Recession leaves history in past

"It's been the most difficult three to four months of my career," archaeologist Roland Smith said.

And he is not the only archaeologist to feel the knock-on effects of the cutbacks in the construction industry.

Mr Smith, resources director at Wessex Archaeology in Salisbury, Wiltshire, said his firm has laid off 60 archaeologists since orders "fell off a cliff" last November.

But he feels the business and the industry should have seen it coming.

"One could have predicted the level of development taking place over the last three to four years wasn't sustainable," he said.

"But most of us working in archaeology are inextricably linked to construction."

Under current legislation any developer planning to build anything in a potentially sensitive area where there might be recorded remains, is required to have the land checked out by an archaeologist.

The law is understood to be responsible for a more than threefold increase in the number of working archaeologists, to 6,865 in the UK.

More than half of these work in the private sector and rely on the construction trade.

Therefore, when construction contracts dry up, there is no money for their services.

At least 345 have lost their jobs in the UK, according to a report for the Institute for Archaeologists and the Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers.

Professor Mark Horton of Bristol University has predicted about a quarter will find themselves unemployed before the recession is over.It has been dubbed a "canary" trade, one which - like the canaries warning of dangerous gas in mining history - die at the first sign of trouble in the air.

"It's catastrophic," said the professor.

"Most of those people will have to find jobs somewhere else. There will be a real skills shortage, and a real problem when excavations begin again."

Professor Horton was part of a team on a dig which took place near the dry dock where ss Great Britain sits in Bristol.

"We excavated there, where there's a new building going up, on the site of Brunel's original engine factory," he said.

"We found the first ever use in the world of Portland Cement - that very item for the construction industry, ironically."

Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology magazine, said archaeology is not a highly paid profession, but attracts fanatical devotees.

"No one becomes an archaeologist because they want to get rich.

"They become archaeologists because they want to be archaeologists. To lose their job is a really serious personal blow.

"In the long-term the nation suffers because we're losing people who are very, very cheap and who are creating our nation's story."

From BBC News