Thursday 28 April 2011

Historic Church's Subterranean Secrets Revealed

Researchers from Kingston University in London have carried out a full scientific survey of an historic churchyard widely believed to be the site of the crowning of at least two Anglo-Saxon kings. The team used an earth resistance meter to survey a graveyard at the site where possibly as many as seven kings were crowned, during the 10th Century, including Athelstan, the first king of a unified England in 925, and Ethelred the Unready in 978-9.

An archaeological team from Kingston University in South West London has gone beneath the surface of the historic churchyard at the borough's All Saints Church to try to find out more about its history. The team carried out a full scientific survey of the site in the heart of Kingston's town centre, with local people and school children also taking the opportunity to get involved.

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Anglo-Saxon hall unearthed at Bamburgh Castle

An archaeological research team in Northumberland has unearthed a medieval hall underneath Bamburgh Castle.

Bamburgh Castle Research Project dug up a small trench under the inner courtyard at the core of the castle and discovered an Anglo-Saxon hall.

The team believes that the discovery probably dates back to medieval times.

The dig was carried out after the researchers invited Channel 4's Time Team to the castle to help them with their latest archaeological project.

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Monday 11 April 2011

Achaeologists excitement over an old plough found at Lyminbge in Kent that reveals how farmers worked in the 7th Century

An archaeological discovery is set to shed new light on the history of farming.

Dr Gabor Thomas of the University of Reading and his team have found a 7th Century iron plough coulter during excavations at Lyminge .

A coulter is a vertical soil slicer mounted like a knife to cut through the soil ahead of a plough share to improve the plough's efficiency.

Unlike the small fields associated with earlier light ploughs they cultivated the land in long narrow strips making the large open fields which would become a standard feature of the medieval countryside.

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Friday 8 April 2011

Anglo-Saxon 7th Century plough coulter found in Kent

An archaeological discovery by the University of Reading is set to shed new light on the history of farming.

Dr Gabor Thomas and his team have found a 7th Century iron plough coulter during excavations at Lyminge, Kent.

A coulter is a vertical soil slicer mounted like a knife to cut through the soil ahead of a plough share to improve the plough's efficiency.

The coulter, one of the defining features of a 'heavy plough', transformed the landscape of England.

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