Archaeological news about the Archaeology of Later Medieval Europe from the Archaeology in Europe web site

Sunday 21 June 2020

York Guildhall: Human remains found on building site

Construction work in York has revealed bones from six bodies
LDRS

Human remains have been found on a city centre building site by construction workers.

The bones, thought to be from six bodies, were uncovered at the Guildhall site in York next to the River Ouse.

Councillor Nigel Ayre said the remains could be a burial plot linked to a friary which was on the site in the 14th or 15th Century.

The discovery was made in the last few weeks and the remains have now been sent for further analysis.

Roman pottery, a hairpin and tiles used to create mosaics, as well as medieval coins, have also been found, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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History in Ice

(Dr. Nicole Spaulding, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine)
Colle Gnifetti glacier, Switzerland

Lead pollution levels from the Middle Ages preserved in an ice core taken from Colle Gnifetti glacier in the Swiss Alps reflect political upheaval in England, some 500 miles away, a multidisciplinary research team has found. In addition to studying archaeological data and tax records, the researchers used lasers to measure how lead levels in the core changed from year to year. They observed a major spike in lead pollution during the reign of the English Angevin kings—Henry II, Richard I, and John—between 1154 and 1216, when economic growth led to an increase in silver and lead production from British mines. Lead particles from the extraction and smelting processes were carried southeast by weather patterns, and traces of the metal were trapped in Swiss glaciers.

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Saturday 13 June 2020

The Field of the Cloth of Gold


Glenn Richardson explores the events of the Field of the Cloth of Gold and considers its impact on Anglo-French relations

On the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII and Francis I’s magnificent peace summit in northern France, historian Glenn Richardson explores the events of the Field of the Cloth of Gold and considers its impact on Anglo-French relations.

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The Field of the Cloth of Gold


Glenn Richardson explores the events of the Field of the Cloth of Gold and considers its impact on Anglo-French relations

On the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII and Francis I’s magnificent peace summit in northern France, historian Glenn Richardson explores the events of the Field of the Cloth of Gold and considers its impact on Anglo-French relations.

Read the rest of this article...