Archaeology
Archaeology project is documenting Yorkshire’s lost medieval village
A community led excavation is documenting a recently discovered medieval village at High Hunsley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
The excavation is being led by Ethos Heritage in partnership with Humber Timelines, under the direction of Richard Coates and Emma Samuel.
According to the Domesday book, a manuscript record of the “Great Survey” of much of England and parts of Wales from the early Medieval period, the village is located 6 miles from the medial urban centre of Beverly.
Based on non-invasive geophysical surveys, Ethos heritage began excavating a suspected house platform in July 2022, revealing animal bones and teeth (amounting to 8.7kg), and the remains of a dog and pig mandible. Signs of butchery and burning were evidenced, suggesting that the area may have been part of a midden or yard.
Image Credit : Leon Corneille-Cowell
Approximately 12.7kg of pottery was uncovered, consisting of Medieval glaze and Green glaze, Coarse ware, Shell tempered Grey slip ware, and Shell tempered and Humber ware. The excavation also revealed a large quantity of jug handles, leading to the theory that the structure may have been a tavern or pub of some description.
Based on the recovered pottery, the team are able to construct a chronology of activity, indicating that the site was occupied between with the 14th and 15th century, with reduced activity in the 16th century.
A variety of metal and other miscellaneous objects were also found, including six iron knives, window lead, working tools, and several copper alloy personal items and pieces of jewellery.
Over 150 volunteers took part in the excavation, including university students, enthusiastic amateurs, children from a local special needs school and their families. Part of the project is to educate student volunteers on how to manage an archaeological site and run a community project, with the main aim of the project focused on using archaeology to aid those who are vulnerable or unemployed, or at risk of social exclusion.
Excavations will continue in the summer of 2023 to reveal further evidence of the building platform, a possible wall, and examine the relationship between further structures on the site to a Holloway.
A spokesperson for the project said: “This year will include not just locals, but participants from the USA and Japan. Projects like High Hunsley are a perfect demonstration of how wide the ‘community’ in community archaeology can be, not only including people from the local area but also bringing together participants from completely different cultures and time zones; with the one commonality being a passion for the past.”
Header Image Credit : Leon Corneille-Cowell
Archaeologists from the APSARA National Authority have uncovered a guardian statue at the Banteay Prey Nokor temple complex in Kompong Cham, Cambodia.
Known locally as the temple of “Wat Nokor in Khum of Kompong Siem”, or “Wat Angkor”, Banteay Prey Nokor was constructed during the reign of Jayavarman VII (AD 1181–1218), the first king devoted to Buddhism in the Khmer Empire.
The complex covers an area of 37 acres and consists of a central tower surrounded by four laterite wall enclosures made from sandstone and laterite.
In addition to being the largest ancient temple complex in Kampong Cham Province, it has several distinguishing features. One of the most notable is its construction from black sandstone, which sets it apart from other temples of the period, typically built from brick or reddish sandstone.
Image Credit : Phouk Chea / Chea Sarith
Archaeologists from the Department of Preservation and Archaeology at the APSARA Authority recently excavated one of the gateways of Banteay Prey Nokor, clearing away layers of rubble from the collapsed upper structure.
Upon removing the rubble material, a guardian door statue was uncovered to the right of the eastern entrance to the gateway. The statue is broken into six pieces – breaking at the neck, the left forearm, the waist, and below the knees of both legs.
According to the researchers, the statue, which originally stood at a height of around 1.6 metres, is of the Bayon style, in reference to the Bayon state temple of Jayavarman VII at the centre of Jayavarman’s capital, Angkor Thom.
“The sandstone gate guardian will now be stored at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum,” Angkor Wat’s heritage police said in a statement. “It will be preserved and studied further.”
Header Image Credit : Phouk Chea / Chea Sarith
Sources : APSARA National Authority
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt have rediscovered the Mallerbach Chapel at the site of the Kaltenborn monastery.
Between 1524 to 1525, a large number of peasants, urban lower classes, and lesser nobles living in the German-speaking areas in Central Europe rebelled against a combination of economic, social, and religious factors. These include:
Economic hardship and inequality: Peasants faced heavy burdens from taxes, dues, and rents imposed by landlords, the church, and secular rulers.
Feudal oppression: Many peasants grew increasingly resentful of the limitations placed on their freedoms by feudal lords, including restrictions on hunting, fishing, and access to communal lands.
Religious influence: The Reformation inspired many peasants who saw in it a call for social and economic reform against a corrupt church.
Legal grievances: Peasants sought greater control over local governance and justice. They were frustrated by the arbitrary decisions made by their lords and demanded more influence over the laws and rules that governed their daily lives.
Image Credit : LDA
Following the outbreak of the Peasants’ War, insurgents from the nearby villages of Riestedt and Emseloh plundered the Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt in the German district of Mansfeld-Südharz, leading to the monastery’s decline and eventual dissolution in 1538.
According to a press statement by the LDA: “It’s destruction – an act of rebellion against the Cistercian convent of Naundorf, which was in charge of the Chapel of St. Mary and to which the Allstedt residents were subject to taxes – can be seen as the first flare-up and harbinger of the coming uprising of the ‘common man’ against the authorities.”
Recent excavations at the monastery site have located the 12th/13th century Mallerbach chapel, a sacred place of worship for pilgrims who came to witness a weeping image of the Virgin Mary.
Archaeologists have uncovered the original floor plan of the chapel, which measures around 17 metres in length with a rectangular choir and semicircular apse. Excavations have also found the altar foundations, as well as traces of burning from the time of the German Peasants’ War.
Header Image Credit : LDA
Sources : State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA)
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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