Current Archaeology 165
Current Archaeology 165
was published in October 1999.
Front Cover: When is a round mound not a Bronze Age barrow?
Answer: when it covers a Neolithic chambered tomb.
Here we see Jane Downes, the excavator, relaxing in a chambered tomb on Eday, in Orkney, which she had just finished excavating under the impression that it was going to be a Bronze Age barrow.
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Orkney Bronze Age Round Barrows.
In Orkney, Jane Downes has been doing a survey of Bronze Age round barrows,
in the course of which she investigated six mounds to see whether they were in
fact Bronze Age barrows. In three cases they were, but in three of the cases
they were not, and in Current Archaeology 165 she reveals the full story.
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Staircase House, Stockport.
We do not know who lived in Staircase House. Staircase house was an
important town house in a prominent position on the market-place in Stockport.
It was built originally as a hall in around 1460, but in 1618 it was totally
rebuilt with a fine staircase, and, most important of all, an elaborate
warehouse out at the rear.
Today, Staircase House is derelict and scaffolded, but it under the
scaffolding there survives one of the most important examples of a medieval
merchant's house, together with its warehousing. But we do not know who lived
there, so Robina McNeil tells a fairy story- the story of Mr Jones and his
family who lived at Staircase house, but whose memory can only be
reconstruction in our imagination.
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Clava
The passage tombs at Clava, near Inverness, in Scotland, are some of our best
known neolithic tombs and were recently excavated by Richard Bradley - see CA
148. The passages appear to be aligned on the mid-winter sunset, but what
was it like inside the tombs, waiting for the sun to enter? Ronnie Scott and
Tim Phillips obtained permission to cover the passages with tarpaulin, and here
they report on their experiences as the sun - eventually - shone down the
passage.
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Sandy - a Roman 'small town'
Sandy, in Bedfordshire was a Roman 'small town' on the main Roman road from
London to the north, probably a posting station, where the horses were changed
by the imperial post. It was not a very grand town, but excavations in advance
of the modern cemetery have revealed a surprising wealth of information about
the life of comparatively humble townsfolk.
And, of course, there are also the Books, Diary, the Letters page- and a
Round-up of some of the most important excavations in 1999.
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This page was revised on October 26th 1999
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