Catch of the Day! Medieval Fishing Basket Found in the Severn

Traditional fishermen have made a unique discovery, they have found a medieval fishing basket that is up to 700-years-old stuck in some silt, in a British estuary. It has been preserved in the clay of the Severn Estuary in the south-west of England. This basket is possibly the largest of its kind found from the Middle Ages in the area.

The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the largest river in England and three other major rivers also flow into this body of water. The estuary has long been a rich source of fish and eels for local people.  A collective of Welsh fishermen, known as the Black Rock Lave Native Fishermen group, still fishes in the body of water using traditional methods. The Daily Mail , states that they utilize “traditional wooden lave frames to catch fish,” which is a method that has been handed down through the generations. The group is committed to protecting “the heritage and tradition of Lave Net fishing in Wales,” according to the Black Rock Lave Native Fishermen website.

Read the rest of this article...

Medieval Danish Queen's cellar is one of 2019’s top ten archaeological finds

Photo: Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen

The discovery of a cellar in Roskilde believed to have belonged to medieval Danish Queen Margrete I is one of this year's ten most important archaeological finds.

Among other important Danish discoveries this year are an approximately 3,000-year-old sacrificial victim in Thy, a mysterious amber sun disc of amber near Viborg and a Bronze Age burial mound with a crematorium at Bellinge near Odense.

The list was published by the Ministry of Culture’s Agency for Culture and Palaces in a press release.

In Roskilde, medieval archaeologist Jesper Langkilde said he is proud that the cellar is on the annual list.

“It is not commonplace to find such well-preserved ruins from the Middle Ages, and when we can also ascertain that it is very likely that the cellar belonged to Margrete I, that in my brings the discovery into a class of its own,” Langkilde said.

Read the rest of this article...

UNE OCCUPATION RURALE ATYPIQUE EN PÉRIPHÉRIE DE LA SOUTERRAINE

Une équipe d’archéologues de l’Inrap mène actuellement une fouille sur la commune de La Souterraine, au lieu-dit La Petite Prade. Les archéologues mettent au jour une occupation rurale médiévale (IXe – XIIIe siècles) constituée – notamment – d’un ensemble de bâtiments et de souterrains. Prescrite par l’État (Drac Nouvelle-Aquitaine), la fouille est réalisée en amont d’un aménagement d’environ 2 hectares sur une zone d’activité commerciale.


DES SOUTERRAINS MÉDIÉVAUX DIFFICILES À CARACTÉRISER
L’exploration de deux souterrains aux ramifications complexes permet aux archéologues de l’Inrap de documenter précisément ce type de constructions qui restent encore mal connues. Les fouilles commencent à livrer les premiers éléments de leur mise en œuvre : les galeries sont creusées dans un sous-sol meuble d'altérites (roches altérées) jusqu’à 2,60 mètres de profondeur. Leurs tracés, en cours d’identification, serpentent pour l’instant sur une surface d’environ 400 m². Les galeries, larges d’environ un mètre, semblent avoir été consolidées à l’aide d’éléments en bois.

Read the rest of this article...

Archaeological Study Tour to Orkney

EMAS Study Tour to Orkney

14 – 23 April 2020

There are still a few places left on the EMAS Archaeological Society Study Tour to Orkney.

However, hotel places are very limited, so an early reply is advised.

You can find further details on the EMAS website.

Further details...