The Sarsen Trail 2014

Details of the annual Wiltshire Wildlife Sarsen Trail (4th May 2014) can be found at http://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/sarsen-trail

The route has changed this year across the Plain and at the Stonehenge end:

Click to enlarge

Old Graffiti at Stonehenge

Sometimes when it is damp at Stonehenge old graffiti from the 1960s and 70s shows up as different lichen growth. This picture shows on the left the view in 2014 and on the right sometim in the 1970s (I think). Other marks also still show, the damage is long lasting.

Stone 6 looking out.

Click pictures to enlarge.

The Largest Henge

Click to enlarge

Both Marden and Durrington Walls are claimed to be the largest henge on a well known online encyclopedia. So I quickly snapped them from Google Earth (hopefully all at the same scale)

Measuring them using the tools on www.magic.gov.uk I make Marden 13.6 ha and Durrington Walls 15.5 ha. These are only rough measurements as it is not easy to see on the map the exact outlines of the henges.

Social media: its dangers and benefits to archaeological practice and public engagement

One to bookmark and go back to as they add to the page:

https://wikis.bris.ac.uk/display/UoBArch/Social+Media+and+Archaeology+-+resources

2014 IFA Social Media Session Resources

In 2014, the University of Bristol hosts a workshop at the Institute of Field Archaeologist's (IFA) annual conference.

Title: W3 Social media: its dangers and benefits to archaeological practice and public engagement

• Organisers: Stuart Prior and Aisling Tierney, University of Bristol
• Social media has become an integral part of business practice in recent years. It benefits business by creating low cost marketing channels to reach a large customer base. For consumers and the public it serves as a venue to engage directly and immediately with archaeological practice. For all its positives, there are many pitfalls in using social media, notably knowing what content to share and how to display it appropriately. This session will examine best practice in the professional use of social media. Industry specific case studies will highlight best practice in this field. Various social media platforms applicable to industry, research, museums and personal profiles will be explored and explained. Attendees will draw from their own experience and their sector to test which social media outlets are best suited to their practice. Social media will also be analysed as a tool to promote research. Pitfalls and problems arising from the use of social media will be investigated and discussed. The session will culminate in the creation of a set of guidelines for the professional use of social media tailored to each participant’s needs, which will be contrasted with the institutional example of the University of Bristol’s Berkeley excavation project, where social media and appropriate guidelines are already in use.

RESOURCES

Berkeley Excavations Code of Conduct, download here.

Workshop powerpoint (PDF version): download here.

Infographic highlights of workshop outputs: here.; or original format here, https://infogr.am/social-media-3952?src=web. 

More resources will be added in the coming weeks, including a full report of feedback resulting from the interactive workshop.

Stonehenge Model vs Reality.

Click to embiggen - The exhibition at the New Visitor Centre near Stonehenge has some marvelous brass models of the monument through its development and decline.

I found this picture (left) of the model as it is and thought it instructive to compare it with an aerial shot of the monument taken last summer by Adam Stanford of Aerial Cam.

I note that in the model the Great Trilithon isn't twisted as in so many models.

The Long Barrow at All Cannings

Some progress shots of my Long Barrow being built - more info on www.thelongbarrow.com

Beyond Barrows

A free e-book which extensively examines the subject, and reminds me it isn't all about Wessex.


Beyond Barrows. Current research on the structuration and perception of the prehistoric landscape through monuments
by David Fontijn