European archaeology and geology

This study proposes that archaeology should adopt an integrated approach combining archaeology and folklore. As a case study, the legend of “The Devil‘s Footprints on pendle and the stones dropped by him on Apronful Hill” is considered in the context of both the folklore of Lancashire and also the archaeological evidence for rock cut footprints from calderstones and elsewhere in Northern Europe. A possible ancient connection between the two is proposed based upon a close reading of the evidence.

A rare Chalcolithic rolled-gold bead-like ornament dated to c. 2400–2200 cal. BC was found in association with sherds of early Beaker ware in an Early Bronze Age Collared Urn burial dated
to c. 1545–1450 cal. BC. The grave was located at Pendleton, Lancashire. This paper reports on the AMS radiocarbon dates for the burial context along with X-ray composition analysis of the
gold ornament, which shows the object had a high platinum content consistent with alluvial, placer, deposits possibly originating in Brittany, France rather than the British Isles. This
unparalleled rolled-gold ornament is compared to the corpus of British and French rolled-gold ornaments and contemporary goldwork and a provenance, manufacture and biography of the find is explored. Both curation and fragmentation are considered in the context of a dated Beaker ware assemblage from the local domestic site of Lower Brockholes, Preston, as well as existing corpora of Beaker and Collared Urn ware from the region.

ge weiterführende Erklärungen nachliefern, die den Pfahl als derart prägnante Erscheinungsform näher ins Visier nehmen. Nun also: "Den Pfahl" Gibt es niCht! Vorangestellt sei, dass es eigentlich gar nicht "den Pfahl" gibt. Denn was oft pauschal und im Singular als "der Pfahl" bezeichnet wird, hat sich im geologischen Sinn als ganzes System von tektonischen Störungen erwiesen, das sich auch entlang den weithin sichtbaren Hauptachsen der Härtlingsrelikte nicht einheitlich präsentiert, sondern in einem signifikanten Muster aus Fieder-und Scherspalten. Generell haben wir es dabei gleich mit mehreren, wohl auch in ihrer Genese miteinander eng in Verbindung stehenden Lineamenten zu tun, also mit vermutlich schon im frühen Paläozoikum angelegten Schwächezonen, die bis tief in die Lithosphäre reichen könnten und sich später bei ihrer tektonischen Aktivierung sozusagen als "Sollbruchstellen" in die höhere Krustenstockwerke durchpausten (Hofmann 962: 34)

This study provides the earliest unambiguous evidence for the extraction of lead in Northern Europe. Previous studies of early metal extraction have focused on copper ores in Ireland, with an increasing number of mines identified in western Britain, particularly in mid‐ and north‐Wales, in recent years. The evidence presented here focuses on the extraction of lead in the north‐west of England, extending our understanding of metal extraction beyond copper ores. Radiocarbon dating of sample sites to c.1800 cal.BC places anthropogenic activity in the British Early Bronze Age, challenging assumptions that lead was first utilised in the Middle Bronze Age period in Britain. Excavation of two Early Bronze Age burials, of contemporaneous date, found Collared Urn cremations with associated crystals of galena, placed as apparent grave offerings, inviting the possibility that they are the graves of putative mine workers.
KEYWORDS
EARLY BRONZE AGE, LEAD, MINING, MINERAL EXTRACTION, MAGNETIC MEASUREMENT, SATURATION ISOTHERMAL
REMANENT MAGNETISATION ASSAY, HEAVY METAL (LEAD) ASSAY, PREHISTORIC METALLURGY, COLLARED URN BURIAL,
UPLAND, PEAT, LANCASHIRE, ARCHAEOLOGY, ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHOD, EUROPEAN BRONZE AGE, BRITISH BRONZE AGE

New electron micro-probe analysis of residues found on the median 'stitched-seams' of Scandinavian flint daggers dating to the late Neolithic are presented and linked to previous work on the mode of production of this artefact type. Analysis suggests that previous interpretation of the production sequence requires revision with consequences for the understanding of social organization of craft production in Southern Scandinavia.