Aerial Images of Jordan Trouble in Jerusalem Mysterious Pits Food for Thought

Past Horizons
Online Journal of Volunteer Archaeology and Training

Issue 2 : May 2008

Capturing the Moment

The Archaeology of the battle of culloden
Volume 1 : No. 2
May 2008

Editors: Felicity Donohoe & Maggie Struckmeier

Layout: David Connolly

Past Horizons
Traprain House
Luggate Burn
Haddington
East Lothian
EH41 4QA

Tel: +44 (0)1620 861643

Email: editor@pasthorizons.com
Find us on the web: www.pasthorizons.com

Contributors:
Dr Tony Pollard
Neve Gordon
Yigal Bronner
Paul L. Dawson
Jane Coryell
Jacqui Wood
David Kennedy
Bob Bewley

Additional Material: 12 Capturing the Moment

Jon Welsh
Natasha Dudinski
Dr. Tony Pollard explains how he has been using
Keith Carver archaeology to re-assess the Battle of Culloden.
Craig Collinson
Danny Carr Productions

Front Cover:
Survey at Culloden Battlefield, Scotland
(credit: Tony Pollard)

Note
Past Horizons can give no endorsement of any listed project or

818
guarantee the accuracy of the information supplied. The editors
accept no responsibility for any loss, injury, or inconvenience
sustained by anyone using the resources contained within this
magazine and/or the websites mentioned herein. When considering a
project, be sure to contact the director with any questions you might Ancient Images
have about conditions, travel, health issues, etc. Check for references Aerial photography discovering new archaeological
from previous participants, seek advice where possible and select a
project that will be of the greatest benefit to you, the project and the sites in Jordan, through the lense of David Kennedy &
team.
Bob Bewley.

2 past horizons
 Contents
8 Digging for Trouble 16 Mysterious Animal Pits
A disturbing report into the excavations A Mesolithic site in Cornwall reveals
taking place at the ‘City of David’ in unexpected evidence of 17th Century
Jerusalem by the ELAD group. ritual.

24 Food for Thought 26 Digging the Past

Re-enactment group, the Association One reader shares her experiences on a
d’Artillerie de la Garde Imperial, makes volunteer excavation in Maine.
use of experimental archaeology.

Regulars
5 Editorial 28 Dig Cook
Annie Evans on culinary escapades,
6 News with a delicious recipe each issue.
Recent news stories from around the
world. 30 Profile
We interview Dr Tony Pollard,
11 Viewpoint Director of the Centre for Battlefield
David Connolly considers the Archaeology at Glasgow University.
discipline of archaeology, and how it
can be used and abused. 30 Scribe
Your news, views, comments &
criticisms.
31 Dig in...
A selection of volunteer projects
around the world from the Past 33 Fun Page
Horizons website. Have a break

3 past horizons
 Eastern Sicily
in spring
Bare Bones Tours
We offer carefully planned itineraries with your own specialist
archaeologist, so that you can explore the ancient world - not just the
highlights, but also lesser-known sites, and really understand them.
A personal introduction by Dr Michael Metcalfe
who lives in Syracusa and is Lecturer in Ancient The Bare Bones formula allows you individual freedom within a group
History there. structure, so there is plenty of free time and the opportunity to go
All the highlights of the East of this large island, exploring alone, but enjoy like-minded company should you wish it.
and cross the straits of Messina to see the
amazing Riace bronzes.
11-18 May 2008 £1100 (Sgl Supp £95)
with Dr Michael Metcalfe
Pompeii in summer

The eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 devastated

lives and livelihoods throughout the Bay of
Naples. It also uniquely preserved the evidence
of those lives.
Our hotel for this summer tour is close to the
coast, has wonderful views over the Bay, and a
pool!
21-28 July 2008 £995 (Sgl Supp £145)
with Dr Andy Fear
Western Crete
in autumn

Archaeology in Tunisia
This unusual trip includes all the highlights of In the wide landscapes of northern Tunisia lie the ruins of Roman towns, more or less
the centre and west of the island of the unaltered since the 5th century AD. This is a trip of superlatives, exploring world-class
Minoans, and a walk down the fabulous Samaria sites in romantic landscapes and seeing mosaic art at its most sophisticated and
gorge. Aptera displays the entire story of the colourful. The story of the fall of Carthage, read from the vantage point of the Roman
archaeology of the island in its continuous forum, will remain with you long after you return!
occupation. An archaeological treat in beautiful
surroundings. 26 Oct - 2 Nov 2008 £950 (Sgl Supp £45) with Dr Denise Allen
7-14 Oct 2008 £1100 (Sgl Supp £120)
with Dr Georgina Muskett
Ring for further details, or visit our website...
01722
past horizons 713800 tours@andantetravels.co.uk
tours@andantetravels.co.uk
4
www.andantetravels.co.uk
www.andantetravels.co.uk AITO - ATOL 3552
 Editorial
Community service

T he past two months has been busy for us. We have been
taking part in a community archaeological dig in the
Scottish village of Cousland. We had a large turnout from
the local community and the weather threw everything it
had at us – some would say typical Scottish weather; sun,
wind, rain and finally snow. Alongside the excavations,
historian Louise Yeoman delved into the historical records
and, armed with some exciting facts, treated us to what I
can only describe as a brilliant performance in the village hall, regaling us with stories
of the people and events that shaped Cousland as it appears today. We will be going
back to do more some time this year, so watch out for an article in a future issue.

After the first magazine came out we had plenty of very positive feedback. I asked if
anyone had anything of interest that they wanted us to include, and one of the most
interesting responses came from Jacqui Wood of Saveock Water Archaeology based
in Cornwall (see article pg. 16). She is the director of a volunteer project, which has
been running for a number of years, and has come across some very strange pits on the
Saveock site. As far as the team at Saveock know, there has been no other excavation
of this type of site, so if you think you can shed any light on the mystery please get in
touch with us.

At the beginning of June we will be running an archaeological project on behalf of

the National Trust for Scotland after a very successful first year involving Bank of
Scotland employees in a corporate challenge. The challenge involved moving large
chunks of stone from the stream using only a spade, a rope and two planks of wood,
and surprisingly, they all chose to come back again this year as they found it fun and
extremely satisfying. In the exercise we managed to retrieve about 250 architectural
fragments from a 18th century tea house which collapsed in the stream in 1960 when
a tree fell on top of it.

Someone also up for a challenge is Annie Evans our resident Dig Cook (pg. 28) who is
off to Greece soon to cater for the Mount Lykaion Project. There will be many hungry
mouths to feed on this large survey and excavtion at the Sanctuary of Zeus in Arcadia
and we are looking forward to a few good stories when she gets back in August.

Finally, Past Horizons has decided to create a heritage video website, where you
can upload, share and watch short films just like You Tube. It is online now and
you can find it, along with other multimedia sections at:
www.pasthorizons.tv

uckmeier
Maggie StrMaggie Struckmeier
editor@pasthorizons.com 

5 past horizons
 Oldest European Human Found in Spain

NEWS A piece of hominid jawbone unearthed in a cave in Spain is the oldest known fossil of a
human ancestor in Europe and suggests that people lived on the continent much earlier
than previously believed. The fossil found last year at Atapuerca in northern Spain,
along with stone tools and animal bones, is up to 1.2 million years old. A member
of the research team, Jose Maria Bermudez de Castro, said that the jawbone – which
contains teeth – was discovered in cave sediments alongside 32 stone tools.

Professor Chris Stringer, the head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in
London, said “While early H. erectus fossils are known from Dmanisi in Georgia, dated
to about 1.7 million years ago, the oldest European fossils, from the Gran Dolina site at
Atapuerca in Spain, and from Ceprano in Italy, are only about half of that age”

He added that the specimen is classified and when combined with the emerging
archaeological evidence, the suggestion arises that southern Europe began to be colonised
not long after humans had emerged from Africa – which would have been doubted even
five years ago. He is however cautious about inferring that this new find indicates that
Homo antecessor originated in western Europe out of a founding population like the
sample known from Dmanisi.

News report from Reuters

Dedicated Heritage Video site launched

We are proud to announce the creation of a dedicated Heritage Media website. The
first of its kind, this video sharing site is similar in many ways to You Tube, and like
that site, you can view videos or sign up and upload, comment and rate them. There
are several categories ranging from Excavations and Training to Humour and Places to
Visit. We have already over a hundred videos online, and look forward to seeing this
grow over the coming months and years, as this becomes the place to visit for sharing
our passion for archaeology.

In addition, the site also contains links to this magazine, the weekly Podcast news from
Stonepages & BAJR, a music radio station to match your mood and also the valuable
Past Horizons Project search, giving access to hundreds of archaeology projects across
the world.
past horizons 6
Small Finds You can follow a direct link to a website where you see this symbol: 

Japanese Royal Tomb opened to scholars for first time

“A rare visit by archaeologists to a fifth-century imperial tomb offers hope that other closely
guarded graves in Japan might soon be open to independent study.”
Read Full Story: http://tinyurl.com/6bgg2t  (National Geographic)

From Indus Valley to coastal Tamil Nadu

“Megalithic pottery with graffiti symbols that have a strong resemblance to a sign in the Indus
script have been found in Tamil Nadu.”
Read Full Story: http://tinyurl.com/5ty6zd  (The Hindu)

Gloucester’s Roman mass grave skeletons were plague victims

“A mass Roman grave, discovered in Gloucester in 2005, may have contained the victims of
an acute disease of epidemic proportions, possibly plague.”
Read Full Story: http://tinyurl.com/67ntkj  (24 Hour Museum )

Ancient Maya tomb yields “amazing” fabrics

“Fabric fragments excavated from the tomb of an ancient Maya queen rival modern textiles in
their complexity and quality, scientists say.”
Read Full Story: http://tinyurl.com/68avju  (National Geographic)

Mysterious buildings discovered by Polish archaeologists in Sudan

“Archaeologists from Warsaw University, headed by Dr Bogdan Żurawski discovered the
remains of an Early Christian church and an even older palace.”
Read Full Story: http://tinyurl.com/67cggf  (Polish Press Agency)

Did the Flores Hobbit have root canal treatment?

“A paleoanthropologist at the University of Adelaide in Australia contends, on the basis of
photographs, that ‘LB1’ had a filling - possibly a root canal. ”
Read Full Story: http://tinyurl.com/6kw3pz  (Scientific American)

Much still to be learned about Cahokia Mounds

“In 1980, a plan to acquire land, build an interpretive centre and learn what they could about
the Cahokian people was created. Now, they are working on a plan for the next 30 years”
Read Full Story: http://tinyurl.com/6x8899  (National Examiner.com)

For more news stories that are updated constantly, try:

Past Horizons News Blog: http://pasthorizons.wordpress.com/category/news-and-articles 
Stonepages Weekly News and Podcast: http://www.stonepages.com/news 
CBA Archaeology News Feed: http://www.britarch.ac.uk/newsfeed 

7 past horizons
 By YIGAL BRONNER and NEVE GORDON

photographs by natasha dudinski

past horizons 8
 the politics of archaeology
Y
onathan Mizrachi, an Israeli archaeologist, said in
a recent telephone interview with us, “Archaeology
has become a weapon of dispossession.” He was
referring to the way archaeology is being used in Silwan, a
Palestinian neighbourhood in the oldest part of Jerusalem.
We believe archaeological digs are being carried out here as
part of a concerted campaign to expel Palestinians from their
ancestral home, orchestrated by an Israeli settler organization
called Elad, a name formed from Hebrew letters that stand for
“To the City of David.”
archaeologists have violated several ethical rules as
stipulated by the World Archaeological Congress.
For several years, Elad has used a variety of means to evict
East Jerusalem Palestinians from their homes and replace
them with Jewish settlers. Today Silwan is dotted with about
a dozen such outposts. Moreover, practically all the green
areas in the densely populated neighbourhood have been
transformed into new archaeological sites, which have then
been fenced and posted with armed guards. On two of these
new archaeological sites, Jewish homes have already been
built.
Although the balance of power is clearly in the settlers’
favor, Silwan’s residents have begun a campaign, “Citizens
for Silwan”, to stop the excavations. They are joined by
a number of noted international scholars and a handful of
Israeli academics, who are trying to help them remain in their
homes. Notably absent from the list are prominent Israeli
Sign to ‘The City of
archaeologists, many of whom depend on funds from the
Israel Antiquities Authority.
Silwan is a stone’s throw away from the Temple Mount and
the Al Aqsa Mosque — among the holiest and most sensitive
sites in the Middle East. While archaeology’s mission is to
study the history of peoples by excavating and analyzing
their material culture, inscriptions, and other remains, it has
often been deployed in the service of nationalism. In Israel,
for example, it has typically been used to underscore the
Jewish and biblical past of the land to differentiate Zionism
from more-traditional colonial ventures. Zionism, after all,
has always portrayed itself as a return to the original Jewish
homeland and not as a conquest of foreign lands.
According to the Old Testament, King David established
Jerusalem as his capital, but the Jews were later conquered and
expelled. Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the Six-Day
War four decades ago, and ever since, Israeli archaeologists
have been trying (unsuccessfully) to produce proof of David’s
presence in that area. Occasionally they have even refrained
from documenting the long Muslim presence, which is the
cultural heritage of the Palestinian inhabitants. And, at any
rate, the fact that not a single Muslim structure has been
preserved in the entire national park that has been set up in
Silwan is a clear indication of this erasure strategy.
By concentrating almost entirely on unearthing the remains
of the Judean kingdom, while ignoring the subsequent 3000
years, archaeologists have violated several ethical rules as
stipulated by the World Archaeological Congress. These
include the acknowledgment of the “indigenous cultural
heritage, including sites, places, objects, artefacts, human
remains” as well as establishing “equitable partnerships and
relationships” between archaeologists and indigenous peoples
whose cultural heritage is being investigated.
In 1998, Elad received a major boost when the Israel Nature
and National Parks Protection Authority and the Jerusalem
Municipality hired the settler organization as a subcontractor
to run “The City of David”, the national park located in
Silwan. Subsequently Elad, which received government
money and a permit to carry out archaeological excavations
continued 
9 past horizons
Settlers’ houses in Silwan House sitting above new archaeological excavations

in the area, outsourced that work to a state agency, the Israel Excavations taking place in Silwan by Elad
Antiquities Authority. Empowered by different arms of the
Israeli government, Elad accelerated its efforts to Judaize East
Jerusalem. The group successfully lobbied the municipality
to issue demolition orders for 88 Palestinian homes so that
it could build an archaeological park in the neighborhood
— a plan that has temporarily been suspended because of
international pressure.

More recently the Israel Antiquities Authority began digging

under the homes of some of Silwan’s residents without
informing them. Fearing that their buildings’ foundations
were being undermined, the residents petitioned the Israeli
Supreme Court. On the very same night they filed their appeal,
their homes were raided by Israeli police, and five people
were arrested. While the High Court of Justice later issued a
restraining order against the Antiquities Authority, bringing a
temporary halt to the most recent archaeological dig, the court
may decide in favour of Elad when it hears the case. After all,
in the past the court has hesitated to act against Elad, refusing,
for example, to evict the settler organization from the national Yigal Bronner teaches in the department of South Asian
languages and civilizations at the University of Chicago.
park even after it was proved that basic legal protocols were not
Neve Gordon is a senior lecturer in politics at Ben Gurion
followed when the state initially authorized it to run the park. University of the Negev. His book, ‘Israel’s Occupation’,
Those scholars who have come to the aid of Silwan realise will be published by the University of California Press in
that the Palestinians there have become a symbol for the November.
struggle over Jerusalem: a struggle that could easily explode
into not just another round of Israeli-Palestinian violence, For further information on the content of this article you
but, because of the neighbourhood’s proximity to the Temple can visit the website at:
Mount and the Al Aqsa Mosque, also into a conflagration that www.alt-arch.org 
could ignite the whole Middle East.
or go straight to the petition
David Shulman, who organized the campaign, sent a protest www.alt-arch.org/petition 
to Benjamin Kedar, professor of history at the Hebrew
A video on this report can be found here
University of Jerusalem and chairman of the board of the Israel
You Tube Digging For Trouble (Journeyman Productions) 
Antiquities Authority and Shuka Dorfman, director general of
the Israel Antiquities Authority, as well as to Israel’s foreign For another example of archaeology compromised by the
minister, Tzipi Livni. He and the campaign are asking Israeli complicated politics within Jerusalem where construction
authorities to stop Elad’s activities and strip the extreme work on the Temple Mount is seen by all sides as an
settler organization of its authority to run any archaeological attempt to undermine the other.
excavations in the future. It is now up to other scholars from http://www.har-habayt.org/cnn29-6.html 
all over the world to join their call. 

past horizons 10
 VIEWPOINT
When archaeology tries to prove a point.

W hile putting together the current issue of Past Horizons magazine, I became aware that we
were going to highlight one of the basic concepts of archaeology. The idea is simple, but one
that is often prone to human fallibility.

Approaching a site with a pre-conceived notion of what you will find, or what you are looking for,
will inevitably end up with you forcing your findings to fit the theory. In some cases, people hold a
copy of the bible in one hand and a trowel in the other, trying to prove a line in the Old Testament
- and sure enough, each stone, each hill, each potsherd becomes proof in itself, self-referencing and
creating a whole story which, if the evidence is looked at impartially, collapses in on itself.

Taking two of the articles in this magazine as examples, you can see the clear difference in approach. Tony Pollard and his
team investigate the battlefield of Culloden (a known historical event) as a survey, where data is collected and information
gathered - then the interpretation is constructed. The conclusion, therefore, is based on what is found, rather than what
‘should’ be found. In Silwan, the archaeology group is starting in a similar way - the City of David is indeed a historical
fact. However, in contrast, rather than gathering pure data of the entire chronological sequence of the development of that
location, both pre and post City of David, and then examining it to see what it means, they seem to be looking for evidence
of purely a single phase of the stratigraphy, fitting every potsherd and wall into their own narrow agenda.

I am also guilty of this archaeo-crime. While leading a community project at Cousland in Scotland we excavated in the
shadow of a small castle with three walls still standing. It seemed reasonable to assume that the fourth wall would lie in the
area of our trench. However, so convinced was I by this wall, which of course had to be there, that every stone, every layer
was assigned to the wall, the interior, the exterior, and assumptions made based only on my expectations of what should
be there. Fortunately for everyone, I soon realised that what we should be doing was let the layers do the talking, and to
stop chasing walls. It turned out that the entire east end of the castle had been demolished and a two-plus metre quarry pit
excavated into the bedrock, ensuring that there would never be a wall to find and there would never be an inside or outside,
only a large clay filled quarry. (An article on this project will be coming in a later issue).

The point of that confession was to highlight the danger of searching too hard for something you are determined to find,
because that is exactly what you will do: you will always find it, you will always squeeze evidence into the box marked
‘fact’ when all you should be doing as an archaeologist is gathering data without prejudice of over-interpretation.

To badly misquote the TV gameshow Catchphrase, “Say what you see, not see what you say” is what we all must strive to
do as archaeologists.
An isolated case…?
David Connolly, BAJR
These examples show how archaeology
For more examples of what we can now call Bad Archaeology - may be used to prove theories:
www.badarchaeology.net/ 
Mount Ararat in Turkey
Is seeking the Ark or Eldorado right? www.noahsarksearch.com 
What do you think? The Exodus in Arabia
bibleprobe.com/exodus.htm 
If you want to comment, email us at editor@pasthorizons.com  Pyramid in Bosnia
www.bosnianpyramid.com 

11 past horizons
The Archaeology of the battle of culloden

by dr. tony pollard

T
HE BATTLE of Culloden marked the final defeat geophysics and excavation. What became the Culloden
of the Jacobite cause in Scotland after more than Memorial Project was to climax with the opening of a
half a century of sporadic conflict. Fought in 1746, new visitor centre in April 2008 – and an entirely revised
it is famous for being the last pitched battle fought on interpretation of the site itself.
British soil, and the site has long been a popular visitor
attraction. That early work achieved several things: a feature which
for a long time had been thought to represent the remains
The initial archaeological investigation of the battlefield of a barn infamous for being put to the torch with Jacobite
was carried out under the auspices of the Two Men in a prisoners locked inside it. Limited excavation revealed a
Trench television series back in 2000. The initial results walled kitchen garden dating back no further than the
were quite striking, and a number of preconceptions 19th century. The next revelation was that the battle,
about the battle were challenged. It was quite incredible or at least parts of it, did not take place where various
how much material had been left behind by an event that interpretation panels had them marked.
lasted around an hour and took place well over 250 years
ago. It is this challenge of capturing the moment which, The area of the most intensive fighting, at the point where
to me, has been one of the great attractions of battlefield the Jacobite infantry charge hit the left of the government
archaeology. line, was a good distance further to the south than
previously thought. The location was identified through
To its credit, the National Trust for Scotland, which the presence of debris scatter consisting of musket balls,
owns much of the site and for half a century or more cannon shot, buttons, buckles, and pieces of broken
had been presenting it to the public, took it on the chin musket.
and made the bold decision to reinterpret the site, taking
into account the archaeological findings. This prompted One of the most dramatic of these finds was part of a
further archaeological work which included metal brass trigger guard from a Brown Bess musket. The metal
detector survey, topographic and landscape survey, had been bent out of shape and exhibited a crescentic

Metal detecting survey close to the Jacobite line at Culloden

past horizons 12
scar where a lead ball had connected at high velocity, contemporary battle maps which show key landscape
breaking it off the weapon and very possibly going on features such as the buildings of the Leanach farmstead
to injure or kill the man who was carrying the musket. (where the supposed barn was), an old track running
Similar pieces display fractures suggesting that they were across the field and a series of enclosures which played
cut from the stock of the weapon by the down stroke of a part in the battle. The Jacobite line was strung out
a Jacobite broadsword. between two of these enclosures and the government
troops knocked holes in one of these in order to outflank
Another revelation was that it was possible to distinguish the Jacobites. Landscape survey and excavation has
the bullets, which are really nothing more than lead balls, successfully relocated these features, and in doing
fired by one side from those of the other. The Jacobites so once again demonstrated that the previous on-site
were using French muskets of slightly smaller calibre interpretation was flawed.
than the Brown Bess carried by government troops.
Things are a little more complicated than that, however, Topographic survey has emphasised that the field was
as government weapons were captured by the Jacobites not flat as suggested by the maps, but contains various
after victories at Prestonpans and Falkirk. undulations and variations which may have heavily
influenced the nature of the Jacobite charge, effectively
Later metal detector finds included a pewter cross dropped covering their advance onto the government left. It also
by a Jacobite and a well-worn silver shilling of William looks highly likely as the track across the moor was used
III, presumably a ‘king’s shilling’ kept by a government to deliver at least part of the attack – something that has
soldier as a lucky charm, though its presence on the field been missed by historians writing about the battle.
may indicate an end to that luck.
A small cottage still stands on the field where the
We are fortunate at Culloden to have a series of Leanach farmstead was located at the time of the battle
continued 

Trigger guard hit by musket ball ‘ King’s Shilling’ (William III) Jacobite pewter cross
13 past horizons
 Culloden Visitor Centre movie still by Danny Carr Productions

Around 1pm the Jacobites opened fire on government troops who responded with cannon. One hour later
Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army had been cut down by the bayonets used to challenge the feared Highland charge
and broadsword. It resulted in one of the bloodiest and most memorable battles in Scottish history.

(three buildings are shown on most of the maps sitting as a laboratory on which techniques can be honed and
on the left flank of the government line). More recent interpretations tested. It is hoped that the inferences
work has added weight to the suspicion that this stone- drawn from archaeological data, which can be tested
built dwelling was a 19th century rebuild as a number of against various historic accounts, may allow us to make
accounts mention a turf-built structure. This was further more assured interpretations of battle sites for which the
suggested by the excavation of a nearby geophysical historical record is not so rich (this is not to suggest that
anomaly that proved to be a construction slot, which all the written accounts of Culloden are accurate).
would not be expected if it had been a dry-stone building.
It is hoped that future excavation will clarify the natureAll talk of a laboratory aside, it should not be forgotten
of this structure and uncover the remains of the other that many men lost their lives on this hallowed ground,
buildings from that original farmstead. which today remains a place of pilgrimage for many.
The events of April 16, 1746, need to be remembered;
The archaeological investigation at Culloden has made archaeology is one way that we can ensure that those
an important contribution to the growing field of battle memories are as reliable as possible. 
and conflict archaeology, and it will continue to function

The video is a trailer for the

new film that forms part of
the exciting new Culloden
Battlefield visitor centre.

www.nts.org.uk/Culloden 

The film was produced by

Nobles Gate for the NTS.
Directed by Craig Collinson.
www.noblesgate.co.uk 

past horizons 14
Centre for
Battlefield Archaeology

The Centre for Battlefield Archaeology was established within GUARD and the
Department of Archaeology at Glasgow University in early 2006, and is the only
university-based institution of its type in Europe. Over the last two years the centre has
established itself as an international centre of excellence for the archaeological study of
battlefields and other conflict-related sites.

The centre carries out archaeological fieldwork on a commercial basis and as part of
on-going research programmes, with the Culloden project being a good example of this
approach. An interest in the archaeology of WWI was most recently furthered with the
excavation of a dugout built almost 50 feet underground by British troops in early 1918,
not far from the town of Ypres in Belgium – the results of which will be shown as a
Time Team special in November.

A number of projects have encouraged voluntary participation from those with little or
no archaeological experience. Last year saw the community-based investigation of the
remains of the 17th and 18th century fort in the town of Fort William, which brought to
light evidence for the burning of the earliest town by the garrison in 1746. The project
was funded by the Highland Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund. A further HLF
grant has been awarded for a forthcoming community-based project centred on the
1745 battlefield at Prestonpans.

The centre is also home to the Journal of Conflict Archaeology and the first postgraduate
degree course (MLitt) in Conflict and Battlefield Archaeology. As well as archaeology
and history graduates, the course encourages applications from those with non-traditional
academic backgrounds, perhaps retired people who last saw a university 30 years ago.
The course places a heavy importance on field visits and encourages students to take
part in the centre’s projects.

Anyone interested in taking part in a future community-based project (or with ideas for
one) or enrolling on the 2008-2009 course should contact the centre’s administrative
assistant, Natasha Ferguson, also one of the centre’s PhD students. Ms Ferguson can be
reached by email on n.ferguson@archaeology.gla.ac.uk 

Website: www.battlefieldarchaeology.arts.gla.ac.uk 

15 past horizons
 mysterious
Maggie Struckmeier

animal pits
By Maggie Struckmeier

I n 2003 Jacqui Wood, dig director of Saveock Water

Archaeology in Cornwall, south west England, along
with her team of trained volunteers made an extraordinary
matter, alongside claws from assorted species of birds.
The stones (more like gravel) were a mixture of black
slate, quartz and flint nodules. Flint is only found in the
discovery. Whilst following the floor of a Mesolithic coastal areas of Cornwall and they have managed to
clay platform they discovered their first pit. It measured trace these type of stones to an area called Swan Pool, a
approx 42cm long by 35cm wide and 17cm deep and brackish pond cut off from the beach by a sand bank.
when excavated was found to contain white feathers.
That same season in 2003 a total of eight pits cutting the
A bird expert at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall confirmed clay platform were excavated. They were aligned either
that the feathers formed part of a swan pelt which had north south or east west but only two were found to be
the skin turned out and the feathers facing inwards lining intact, the other six having had most of their contents
the pit. removed in antiquity. The team continued to find more
empty pits until 2005 when they came across a line of
To add to the mystery, laid on top of the swan pelt was three; two rectangular and one round. The round one
a pile of tiny stones wrapped in some sort of organic was investigated first, revealing an amazing assemblage.
It had the same swan lining as the others, but on either
side lay the bodies of two magpies and over fifty five
eggs. The shells had dissolved, but the membranes were
still intact preserved by the constant spring line flowing
from the peat below the mesolithic clay platform. After
closer examination the eggs were found to range from
bantom size to duck size. What was more intriguing,

Small stones found in pits Birds claws from pit

past horizons 16
 get involved

Volunteers do not need to have any previous

digging experience as they will be taught all basic
excavtion techniques in the first week.

Parents can excavate with their children (as long as

they are over 14 years) and Cornish residents that
complete the field school can then join the team
and dig throughout the season for a minimal fee to
cover teas and coffees.

For more details go to:

www.archaeologyonline.org 
Cat claws, teeth and a whisker

seven of the eggs contained fully formed chicks on the lining with the skin turned down and no evidence of the
verge of hatching. A radio carbon date of one of the pits body. There was a piece of white quartz placed on top
obtained from Beta Analytic Ltd. in Florida placed it of the fur and when fully excavated the pit was found
around 1640 AD. to contain twenty two eggs in various sizes mostly with
fully formed chicks.
As well as the pits the team have also excavated a votive
pool which was found to contain 125 different types of
textile strips (2 high status silk and wool mix), six brass
pins, one with a gold head, many shoe parts, heather
branches, cherry stones, human hair, human finger nail
pairings and part of an iron cauldron.

By the end of the 2007 season thirty five pits had been
excavated but the tops of more were starting to appear.
Ms Wood and her team are now two months into the
2008 season and at the end of March had made another
exciting discovery. Whilst excavating a north south
aligned pit an egg appeared. As the excavation continued
a spring started filling the pit. The muddy slops were then
carefully collected up and taken away for sieving. The
pit itself seemed to be lined by what they thought were Bird eggs found in the ‘cat pit’
black feathers but it was too wet to tell, so they covered
it up for the weekend and took the retrieved mud and Ms Wood intends to have two more pits including the
started to sieve it. The mud, to their suprise contained latest ‘cat pit’ radio carbon dated and the Natural History
claws, teeth and whiskers from a cat. Ms Wood then Museum in London have offered to identify the bird finds.
went back to clean up the pit and found that what she She has been asked to produce a British Archaeological
thought were feathers, turned out to be black cat fur Report (BAR) which is being compiled at present. 

17 past horizons
ancient ima
by david kennedy
and bob bewley

past horizons 18
ages aerial archaeology in jordan

F OR MOST of the 20th century it has been clear

that aerial archaeology is a powerful tool for
discovery – possibly the most powerful technique
archaeologists have for finding new sites.

Today, aerial archaeology is widely used in Europe

as a cheap and effective means of recording sites and
mapping them. It allows whole landscapes to be seen
at a glance and sites to be understood more easily than
is usually possible on the ground. And it is a simple
means of monitoring sites – to see how development
is affecting places threatened by farming or roads
and expanding towns.

This valuable archaeological technique was pioneered

by two countries, Britain and Syria, in the 1920s.
Today, work in Britain is generally regarded as the
most developed and of the highest quality anywhere
in the world, offering advice and training to other
nations. However, aerial photography for archaeology
in Syria throughout the 1920s and 30s was a stunning
success.

The superb books of French Jesuit priest, Père

Antoine Poidebard, La Trace de Rome dans le désert
de Syrie (1934) and Le Limes de Chalcis (1954) with
Renée Mouterde, are now prized collectors’ items.
Unfortunately, despite his wonderful air photographs
of archaeological sites and the valuable discoveries
he made, the work ended in 1939 and was not really
adopted by any other country in the region. Although
Iraq, Jordan and Iran enjoyed brief periods of aerial
archaeology, after 1945 there was effectively no
aerial archaeology anywhere in the Middle East
– until now. continued 

Jarash – Greek and Roman Gerasa (officially

Antioch on the Chrysorhoas) – is an outstanding
example of a classical city. Here we are looking
at the intersection of two colonnaded streets with
the North Tetrapylon and the North Theatre.
(APA06/DG36, September 11, 2006 (DLK)

19 past horizons
Since 1997 we have pursued a programme of aerial archaeology in
Jordan. We have flown every year, usually in military helicopters,
and as a result, hundreds of archaeological sites have been
photographed and some areas have been surveyed in detail.

Aerial archaeology plays an important role as the development

of the landscape changes due to population increases. Numbers
are rising rapidly throughout the Middle East and in the case of
Jordan, the increase has been fuelled additionally by enormous
influxes of refugees.

In 1943 the population was estimated at 330,00; today it is six

million plus 750,000 Iraqi refugees. That is in increase of 2000%
- equivalent over the same period of the UK population rising to
one billion rather than an actual 60 million.

Today, Jordan is the only country in Asia – and outside Europe

– with a programme of aerial archaeology, and the only country
outside Europe to have hosted a residential workshop in the
technique. Doing this work has been an immense source of
pleasure – skimming over the wonderful landscapes of Jordan
is an evocative and unforgettable experience – but the work is
extremely important, and a few photographs here illustrate why.
continued 

Images of the famous Nabataean

tombs of Petra are familiar but
usually only from the ground. Here
in this photograph from above, the
magnificent 1st century BC/ AD tomb
known as the Khazneh (‘Treasury’)
can be seen in a way never possible
for visitors on the ground. The
superb location is clear and the
immense size of this great monument
carved out of the mountainside is
provided by the tiny people. (APA05/
DG22, October 2, 2005 (DLK).

past horizons 20
The deserts of Jordan look empty at ground level but from the air can be seen to have
thousands of structures which the Bedouin used to call ‘The Works of the Old Men’.
Scattered at various places amongst these are what appear to be small settlements
though some are extensive enough to be thought of as “villages”. They often lie on
high ground near areas of mud-pan, which frequently floods in winter, and where water
can be conserved by creating deep pits. The ‘huts’ are usually curvilinear. Forms vary
but the most striking are wheel-houses, some of which are as much as 50m in diameter
and may date back to the 6th millennium BC. (APA07/DG190, October 3, 2005 (DLK)

21 past horizons
 ‘Conder’s Circle’ lies in a steep-sided valley just south of Khirbet el-Mukhayat
and 6.25 km west-northwest of Madaba. First recorded by Colonel Conder
as part of his Survey of Eastern Palestine (1889), it has been excavated in
recent years. As the photograph shows, the ‘circle’ is slightly oval (c. 92-102
m in diameter) though the enclosed ‘platform’ is a near circle (50-52 m). The
rampart itself is broad (18-29 m) and still stands high (3-78 m). The narrow
dividing wall is a Byzantine boundary wall unrelated to the original structure.
The excavators date it to the Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age and regard it
as unique.
(APA07/DL45, April 17, 2007 (DLK)

past horizons 22
Many more images can be found
in Ancient Jordan from the Air
by D.L. Kennedy and R. Bewley,
(London, 2004) available here:
BAJR Bookstore. 

David Kennedy is Professor of

Roman Archaeology and History
at the University of Western
Australia. His most recent books
are The Twin Towns of Zeugma
on the Euphrates (Portsmouth,
RI, 1998), The Roman Army in
Jordan (London, 2004) and Gerasa and the Decapolis. A
‘Virtual Island’ in Northwest Jordan (London, 2007).

Bob Bewley is executive director of the Heritage Lottery

Fund. His recent books include Prehistoric Settlements
(Stroud, 2003) and Aerial Archaeology – Developing
Future Practice (Amsterdam, 2002) with W. Raczkowski
(eds).

Jordan has some of the best preserved Roman forts

anywhere. This one is Qasr el-Hallabat. It is small
but its walls still stand up to five metres high. The
Castellum stands on a rock outcrop with wide
views on all sides. Later it became an Umayyad
‘Desert Residence’ with magnificent mosaic floors,
frescoes on the walls, a mosque and bath building,
and houses scattered around the slopes near the
great reservoir. (APA05/DG50, October 3, 2005)

23 past horizons
food for thou
Experimental archaeology in Re-Enactment
by Paul L. Dawson of the Association D’Artillerie de la Garde Impériale
I
n experimental archaeology, crafts
and techniques are evaluated to
see how they make sense in the
appropriate historical context, and in a
more informal setting, it also plays an
important part of many living history
group activities. Napoleonic re-
enactment society The Association de
Artillerie de la Garde Impériale, based
in Yorkshire in the north of England,
decided to test a process of marrow
extraction to see how the resulting bone
fragments would appear, and compare
them to archaeological assemblages.
Historical records have shown that
Napoleon’s army, like many armies
through history, endured basic rations,
usually consisting of meat and dried
vegetables. Animals were butchered
on the hoof, and on long campaigns
the source of meat came mainly from
Napoleonic 1777 musket
past horizons
horse and ox, with meat preserved
through smoking or part-boiling.
However, army regulations stated
that if the soldiers were likely to face
a period of food shortage, perhaps
if they were besieged or on a forced
march, they would also be required to
extract marrow from animal bones for
additional sustenance.
In order to understand the process of
marrow extraction that the soldiers
may have employed, the Artillerie
de la Garde Impériale undertook
an experiment based on an English
translation of recipe instructions
from a 19th century Napoleonic army
manual.
Normally, removal of bone marrow
fat could easily be accomplished
by splitting the long bones with a
24
chopper. However, the Napoleonic
soldier rarely had any special butchery
equipment at his disposal and so his
musket butt may have been used for
this process.
To test this theory, the group used the
butt of a 1777 pattern musket to split
the long bone of a cow. The bone was
placed on a solid surface with one end
pointing towards the body and the butt
smashed down at an angle. The result
after five or six blows produced a large
number of small bone fragments, and
a jagged break to both the epiphysis
(see recipe inset).
The fragments were then crushed, as
advised by the recipe, with further
blows from the musket butt, which
created the thick paste for the soup.
The epiphyses, which contain little
ught
Bivouac on campaign

Get involved…
There are re-enactment groups across the world from the
Prehistoric to the Modern, here are links to get you started:

Association d’Artillerie de la Garde Impériale in Europe

www.artillerieapied.co.uk 
Histrenact in UK
www.histrenact.co.uk 
Wikipedia article on re-enactment (hundreds of links)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_reenactment 

marrow, were the only remaining
evidence of the process and in the past
would probably have been discarded.
For example, Roman sites at Prestatyn
in Wales and Silchester in England
have provided evidence of butchered
bones consisting of just the sort of bone
fragments created by the experiment,
which have been interpreted as large-
scale marrow extraction.
Grinding the bone up further in a
mortar left tiny fragments which found
their way into the cooking pot. During
the cooking process it was found that
these fragments were left at the bottom
of the pot due to the melting of the
marrow and grease.
Not surprisingly, the trial did not
extend to a taste test of the marrow
due to health and safety considerations
(and probably a lack of volunteers) but
by undertaking experiments such as
this, it can be possible to make sense
of what you find – or even what you
don’t find – on an excavation. In this
case, the experiment has shown that
although the marrow extraction process
could be time-consuming and required
some effort to prepare, the resulting
nutritious value was extremely rich
and an excellent source of sustenance
for troops reduced to meagre rations –
certainly comparable to a good meal.
In addition to bringing history to the
public in an interactive and engaging
way, living history groups such as
The Association de Artillerie de la
Garde Impériale are an important and
fun way to investigate the past and,
as shown here, can play a valuable
role in helping inform archaeological
interpretation through the use of
experimental archaeology. 
Gathered around the cook fire
RECIPE
Grind up bones cooked Epipysis
with the “evening”
meat, or better still
bones not cooked in the
pot to produce a paste
for the soup.
Bone Shaft
Place the paste in a missing from
diaphrame (type of tin assemblage
casserole pierced with
holes). Shaft
Put the diaphrame into
a tin pot containing
plenty of water and
cook the paste.
A layer of fat covers the Epipysis
stock and 60 grams of
this fat is used to cook
the vegetables. cow femur highlighting
the two epiphyses that
would be recovered in
A kilo of ground bone an excavation
paste cooked in 4 litres
of water produces after six hours of
simmering, 3.2 litres of stock and a
quarter kilo of “solid” nourishment.
The stock produced is equal to that
produced from 2 kilos of meat.

25 past horizons
 digging the past
Uncovering Bryant’s tavern on the Damariscotta River, Maine, USA
by Jane coryell

A fter reading about archaeology for decades, it

wasn’t until I visited the restored 18th century
town of Williamsburg in Virginia, that I became
The site where I’ve dug for the past several years was
the home of Nathaniel Bryant, one of the two first
shipwrights on the Damariscotta River in Newcastle,
fascinated by American historical archaeology. For Maine. In 1765, Bryant and fellow shipwright,
thirty years, I lived in New Jersey and Massachusetts, George Barstow, moved from the crowded North
so my focus was on the northeast, which was largely River in Massachusetts to adjacent sites in Newcastle,
settled by the English. It was only when I retired then a sparsely settled area with plentiful lumber
and moved to Maine 18 years ago that I had an available and on a navigable river some 15 miles
opportunity to do some hands on archaeology. from the Atlantic Ocean. The Newcastle area is still
home to shipbuilders, including another Nathaniel
Our small town of Augusta, Maine, was the site of a Bryant, descendant of the original Nathaniel.
1628 Pilgrim fur trading post, now long gone, and a
1754 French and Indian War fort. The main building Bryant and Barstow each had a business other than
of Fort Western still stands, and the site is now a shipbuilding. Bryant ran a tavern that proved very
museum. In 1995, the Fort offered a field school, popular with travellers, and Barstow had a retail
an opportunity which I rushed to accept. I’ve dug store. Neither homestead survived the American
every year since then in several other sites in a field habit of tearing down older structures and building
school or as a volunteer. new ones.

Tim Dinsmore and Muriel Wilhelm aged 85 Excavated section of the tavern’s cellar wall
past horizons 26
 View over Damariscotta, Maine (credit: Keith Carver from Flickr )

Zach, Danny and Tim working on the Bryant tavern excavation Field school participants sieving for artefacts

I work with archaeologist Tim Dinsmore, who has fish bones. We also found gun flints and shot, shoe
been excavating along the Damariscotta River since buckles, buttons, scissors, and the very occasional
he was a boy. His son, now age 13, has been digging Native American artifact.
since he was 6 years old and has become quite expert.
One of the reasons historical archaeology appeals Archaeology has been a wonderful retirement hobby
involving both mind and body. Our field schools
Archaeology has been a include participants as young as 14 and as old as 85,
wonderful retirement hobby so you’re never too old or too young. 
involving both mind & body
Get involved
to me is the blending of history and archaeology.
Dinsmore knew the outlines of Bryant’s property
from deeds and probate records, but not the precise
location of the tavern. In 2001, after several years Participate in this field school.
and 150 test pits, a wall of the tavern’s cellar was No previous experience necessary.
found. Subsequent years have been spent excavating Runs from 13th July - 1 August 2008.
parts of the 15 foot by 30 foot cellar and looking for
the hearth and outline of the rest of the building.
Web: www.draclt.org/Archaeology.html 
Some of the artifacts that we have found include Email: JaneCoryell@aol.com 
many fragments of English ceramics such as
Wedgwood creamware and even one whole
creamware tea bowl, also pearlware, Jackfield ware, Fort Western Discovery Centre
and salt-glaze stoneware. As you might expect of a Web: www.oldfortwestern.org 
tavern, fragments of wine bottles, case bottles, and
wine glasses were found, along with animal and

27 past horizons
 Recipes for Archaeologists
T he following dish may seem a little
ambitious and fussy for fieldwork but
I assure you that it is easily achievable with
people, is quite simple. However, to cook it
for thirty people in a basic kitchen requires
rather different techniques. Careful, well-
an ordinary domestic stove and the kind of thought-out preparation and a degree
kitchen that you usually find on site. I’ve of organization is essential. This is why
been cooking for archaeologists for years I’ve included the following step-by-step
and I’m sure I’ll collapse in a swoon if description of the process.
Annie Evans, I’m ever presented with a kitchen that’s
The Dig Cook anywhere near professional standard. But I have chosen this dish because it is
when there’s a job to do you make the most delicious, nutritious and full of flavour. The
of what you’ve got. main part of the dish is chicken, but pork,
lamb or beef can be substituted. For the
To my mind, archaeologists and anyone vegetarians, simply leave off the chicken
working in the field should have food that or other meat at assembly time and give
excites the senses. It adds interest to the day them an extra dash of hard-boiled egg.
and revives their enthusiasm. The only parts of the dish
If, on the other hand, they that need to be served warm
know the food waiting for to hot are the sauce and the
them at lunch or dinner will bed of rice.
be dead boring their spirits
will flag and the mood of the This dish contains a great
dig, and the calibre of the variety of vegetables, all
work achieved, will suffer. prepared separately, and
Fieldwork is a short, sharp brought together at the end.
burst of activity in a long This ensures that each type
academic year. Getting it underway of vegetable is cooked to perfection,
requires a great deal of effort – all of which or served raw. Cooking the different
has to be squeezed in around all the usual vegetables separately ensures that flavours
academic commitments. are not diluted or blended.

The cost and the effort of mounting a You may not have access to all of the
field team for a dig or a survey is such vegetables I have listed but feel free to
that going the extra mile with the right experiment with whatever is available.
cook and providing him or her with good
equipment and facilities is insurance for This is a satisfying, fresh-tasting dish with
the success of the project. I’m not talkingplenty of texture, colour and appeal. It’s
about professional-standard gear here: justtied together by a hearty dash of very tasty
a domestic stove or two and at least one peanut sauce. The sauce can be used with
refrigerator dedicated to the kitchen. Findother dishes, including chicken, pork or
another refrigerator for the beer. beef kebabs. These should be marinated
in a soy, ginger and garlic blend and then
Getting the food right will pay significant barbecued or grilled on skewers. The
dividends. Planning the catering should peanut sauce is added just before serving.
begin at the same time as the field team is Bon appetit! 
being organised.
The Dig Cook’s website
The dish that follows, when prepared in
a well-equipped kitchen for perhaps four http://www.digcook.com 

past horizons 28
 crispy vegetables
& chicken on rice
with peanut sauce
(gado gado)
Quantities are to serve 30
Peanut Sauce
350ml (12 oz) peanut oil (groundnut oil)
6 cloves garlic (crushed) or 3 heaped
tablespoons garlic paste
1 large brown onion, finely diced
3 large red chillis or 4 teaspoons chilli
paste
50ml (2 oz) lemon juice
50 ml (2 oz) dark soy sauce
1kg (2.2 lb) crunchy peanut butter
6 tablespoons raw sugar
2 400ml (13.5 oz) cans coconut cream
400 ml (13.5 oz) water
Method
Heat oil in a frying pan, add onion,
garlic and chilli and cook until soft and
transparent. Add lemon juice, dark soy
sauce, raw sugar, peanut butter and mix
thoroughly. Remove from heat, cool five
minutes then stir in the coconut cream and
water. Adjust seasoning, adding salt as
required. Set aside.
Rice
3kg (6.5 lbs) white rice, water
Method
Wash rice and cook according to directions.
Rice is to be cooked just before serving the
dish.
Eggs
12 Eggs
Method
Hard boil. When cold, peel, quarter and set
aside.
Chicken
(prepare several hours in advance)
4 whole chickens or 4 kg (9 lbs) chicken
breast fillets
3 brown onions, halved
3 cloves garlic, halved
4 tablespoons chopped herbs (parsley,
thyme, oregano, chives)
Salt and pepper
Method
If using whole chickens, place in a large
pot and cover with water. Add onion,
garlic, herbs, salt and pepper and bring to
a gentle simmer. Poach but do not boil for
one to to 1-1/2 hours until chickens are
tender. Remove from pot and reserve the
liquid as stock.
When chickens are cool enough take off
all the meat and chop into bite-size pieces.
Set aside. Chicken stock can be strained
to remove vegetables, cooled, skimmed to
remove fat and frozen for future use.
If using chicken fillet, poach as above in
stock for approximately forty minutes until
tender. When cool cut into small pieces.
Crispy Vegetables
2kg (4.4lbs) potatoes
1kg (2.2lbs) bean sprouts
2 medium cabbages
1kg (2.2lbs) green beans
3kg (6.5lbs) carrots
4 small green cucumbers (or 2 large)
12 hard boiled eggs
1 large bunch coriander
1 large bunch chives
4 green capsicum (bell peppers)
4 red capsicum (bell peppers)
1kg (2.2lbs) red or white or spring onions
or shallots
2 bunches watercress or 1 bunch watercress
and 1 bunch purslane (or lettuce)
29
Method
Potatoes: peel and cut into 1 cm cubes.
Cook until just tender in salted water.
Drain and set aside.
Peel and julienne carrots. Cut beans into
2cm lengths. Shave cabbage into very thin
slices. Boil a pot of water.
Blanch carrots for three minutes so they
are still crisp. Remove from water and set
aside.
Blanch beans for two minutes – then treat
as for carrots.
Blanch cabbage for two minutes, drain and
set aside.
Cucumbers: cut into rounds and set aside.
Red and green capsicums: cut into long,
thin strips and set aside.
Onion family: cut into thin slices and set
aside.
Purslane and/or watercress and coriander:
wash and blanch, cut into small flowerets,
chop coriander stems
Garlic or onion chives: chop finely
To assemble vegetables
Place into a 20 litre (40 pint) pot potatoes,
carrots, beans, cabbage, cucumber, red and
green capsicums, watercress, purslane,
spring onion and coriander. Mix together
gently but thoroughly and set aside.
Rewarm peanut sauce very gently.
To serve
Place a bed of rice on each plate, add
mixed vegetables, then chicken (for the
carnivores) and the peanut sauce. Add
boiled eggs and sprinkle with chives. This
is seriously good dig food.
past horizons
 profile
What was your first archaeological experience?
As a first year student on a Mesolithic site at Loch
Doon in Ayrshire. It was directed by Tom Affleck,
a real character who alas is no longer with us – he’d
been a Spitfire pilot in the latter part of WWII. The
dig ended when the water level in the loch rose and
submerged the entire site.
Are you dirty hands or inky fingers?
Difficult to tell which is which at times.
Do you prefer teaching or doing?
Enjoy both – I hope that my teaching benefits from
also doing.
Essential item on the battlefield: sword or shield?
A metal detector and a white flag (well, lots of
small pin flags for actually marking find locations
on the survey).
What has been your ultimate find?
I found the Ark of the Covenant in Drumchapel a
few years back but it got nicked from the back of
the van along with the site cameras.
Have you had any life or death moments?
I had a very close encounter with the same black
mamba twice in one day while in South Africa.
What is your most treasured possession?
My personal life.
What are you listening to just now?
Been hooked for ages on The Trials of Van
Occupanther by Midlake, but more recently the
new Nick Cave album, with the very appropriate
title of Dig Lazarus Dig.
What is the last book that you read?
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.
What is your favourite country and why?
Scotland suits all my needs, and the more I travel
the more I enjoy coming back to it.
past horizons
Dr Tony Pollard is director of the Centre
for Battlefield Archaeology at Glasgow University.
Previously, he worked as a project director and
manager with both GUARD and the Field Unit
of University College London. He has carried
out pioneering fieldwork on battlefields in North
and South Africa, South America and Europe,
and was a co-presenter of the BBC TV series Two
Men in a Trench. Along with Dr Iain Banks he is
co-editor of the Journal of Conflict Archaeology.
What is your best travel tip?
Take a friend and avoid Terminal 5.
What makes you angry?
At the moment, the milk lorry that delivers to the
school across the road at 4am.
What keeps you awake at night?
Of late, the milk lorry that makes deliveries to the
school across the road at 4am.
Which person do you most admire?
I suppose I should say somebody hugely worthy
like Nelson Mandela but there can be no denying
that I’ve been a huge fan of Peter Gabriel since I
was a teenager.
What is the worst job you have done?
As a school boy I had a weekend job at a kennels
in a run-down farm outside Oban. There was a
lot of shovelling s***t involved and the place was
infested with rats (yes, I’ve had a few problems
with wildlife).
If you weren’t an archaeologist, what would you
be?
In my dreams a film maker, but probably one with
an urge to be an archaeologist.
What is your current obsession?
Painting with medieval pigments – which means I
have to grind my own colours from various exotic
minerals. They have fantastic names like Blue
Vitriol, Realgar and Dragon’s Blood. The paintings
are rubbish but the process is fascinating.
Will you always be an archaeologist?
To a degree yes, but my first novel comes out
in August and I would like to find more time to
write fiction (the painting is research for my next
novel).
How do you want to be remembered?
Not too painfully.
30
 You can follow a direct link to a website where you see this symbol: 

Dig In..... get involved with archaeological projects around the world
england: Bamburgh Research Project
An archaeological project set up in 1996 to investigate the history of Bamburgh through a
systematic archaeological investigation of the castle and its environs. 16 June - 24 Aug 2008
Website: www.bamburghresearchproject.co.uk 

romania: Noviodunum Archaeological Project

The project will be working on the Roman to late Byzantine naval base, fortress and town of
Noviodunum. 12 July - 23 August 2008
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/project/noviodunum 

menorca: The Necropolis of the Roman City of Sanisera

An excavation of a cluster of Roman tombs belonging to a cemetery located on the outskirts
of the roman city of Sanisera. 12 May - 31 Oct 2008
Website: www.ecomuseodecavalleria.com 

mongolia: Bioarchaeological excavations at Baga Gazaryn Chuluu

Excavations at local cemeteries dating to the first millennium BC with an analytical emphasis
on bioarchaeology and skeletal analysis. 21 June - 13 August 2008
Website: www.csen.org 

Alaska: Kodiak Community Archaeology Program

Community archaeology invites volunteers to work as members of an archaeological field
crew, studying Kodiak prehistory with professional researchers. July - August 2008
Website: www.alutiiqmuseum.com/CommArch2006.htm 

USA: Cahokia Mounds, Illinois

Excavations at the remains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of
Mexico at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. 19 May - 1 August 2008
Website: www.cahokiamounds.com/volunteers_dig.html 

jordan: Great Arab Revolt Project

The Great Arab Revolt Project is planned as a 10-year project to investigate First World War
archaeology and develop new heritage sites for visitors. 12 - 26 November 2008
Website: www.jordan1914-18archaeology.org 

israel: Tell Assawir

The mysterious, unknown Tell Assawir lies in the centre of Israel, not far from the Mediter-
ranean coast and near the entrance into the historical Ara Pass. 31 Aug - 24 Sept 2008
Website: assawir.haifa.ac.il 

easter island: Easter Island Cultures

You will have the chance to probe deep into the past to discover what forces caused a disas-
trous political and religious revolution here in the 17th century. Sept 2008 - April 2009
Website: www.earthwatch.org/expeditions/stevenson.html 
This is only a small selection of scores of sites, many more can be found here:
Past Horizons: www.pasthorizons.com 
Archaeological Institute of America: www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10015 

31 past horizons
 Both sides of the story
SCRIBE C ongratulations with your new magazine
on volunteering in archaeological digs.
In this current issue of Past Horizons I saw
something, that caught my eye. You have a
story about a woman going to Israel. I find this
highly disturbing, because the state of Israel
is using archaeology as a political weapon
in its colonial policy against the Palestinians
and as a justification for its illegal occupation
of Palestinian land. In this story these Israeli
claims are taken as scientifically proven,
which it is not! By publishing this story in
your magazine, you encourage others to go
to Israel and participate in excavations. In my
opinion you should study both sides of the
story, before you run another positive story
about Israeli archaeology again.
Dr. W.A. van der Veen
Ed: Several interesting points are raised here
which are hopefully addressed by the article
‘Digging for Trouble’ in this issue. The previous
article referred to, ‘An Israeli Adventure’, was
written from the perspective of a UK student
participating in a volunteer dig and how this was
a very positive experience for her. Archaeology
can sometimes be abused for political aims in
any country, something I think we all have to be
aware of.
Congratulations
D iscovered your magazine for the first
time today and wanted to write to
congratulate you on such a great publication.
I have spent hours and hours ‘flipping’ the
pages and being gob-smacked and amazed so
I just had to write and congratulate you. The
content of the magazine is fantastic and your
use of the Digipage software is inspirational.
As someone who has been surfing the web
since 1994 I have to say that this is just about
the best thing I have seen so far.
Lesley Symons
Ed: The people at Digipage have been a great
help to us in utilising this new technology and we
will be collaborating with them in the near future
to allow others to upload their own publications
or reports in a similar format.
past horizons 32
Awesome resource
J ust wanted to tell you how cool I think this
is. I’ve just subscribed for the updates for
this magazine. I’ve always loved ancient
history and the world of archaeology, and
wanted to say thank you providing such an
awesome resource for free.
Christine R. Senter
Pushing the boundaries
I
think it is great and exactly what the
internet should be doing. The music and
movement are rather spooky but that is what it
is about - challenging our ideas of publication
and pushing the boundaries. Brilliant - hope
it thrives, must sign up for the next issue.
Caroline Wickham-Jones
Enjoying the videos
T
hought the new magazine was interesting,
informative, well laid out with clear text
and good illustrations. The video clip was
an added bonus which I enjoyed watching. I
look forward to seeing the next edition.
Fran Briscoe
Curious
I ’m curious about the format of the magazine
- since it’s online only, why use a format
that looks and acts like a printed magazine
with “turning pages” and all? That is, instead
of a format that’s more online related.
Marc Simon
Ed: A “traditional website” always requires
scrolling and clicking to “new pages”, however,
people seem to feel more comfortable with a format
where they can turn the pages and read articles
like an even more traditional magazine. The big
difference here is the visual and interactive aspect,
where links can be followed and static pictures
can be replaced with video and sound.
Do you have something to say?
Email us at editor@pasthorizons.com 
 Fun Page..... archaeology can be fun...honest

Archaeologists’
Bloopers
“I remember on my second ever dig, having
to be gently restrained from enthusiastically
laying into what looked like a wonderful square
black pit, but was in fact the shadow from the
shed in the garden next to the site.”
Beardstroker

“A friend on a Roman site came in one day to

great excitement because another staff member
had found a broken clay roof tile exhibiting
engraved Latin text.

My friend was shown the tile by the finder who

reverently pointed out the letters: NIV and
said that it was entirely possible the rest of the
tile would be found.

My friend raised one eyebrow, took hold of

the tile ... turned it ‘upside down’ to reveal the
letters AIN as in DRAIN!”
Steven
Crossword answers
“Many years ago I was site assistant to a (from issue 1)
supervisor who was very sensitive regarding
the public image of archaeology. He was
particularly keen to promote a scientific ethos
when filling in context sheets and he once pulled
me up, as I had described a 500mm thick dump
deposit over most of the area of the trench as
‘consisting largely of broken flower pots’.
He told me, ‘The phrase you are searching for,
Kev, is ‘horticultural earthenware… ”
Kevin

Where in the World??

Where are the following places?

click each image to find out if you are right

33 past horizons
past horizons 34