British Archaeology 40

Two of the forty-three sites that are on English Heritage's Battlefields Register have been threatened by new development proposals. At Adwalton Moor near Bradford, where a Civil War battle was fought in 1643, a huge new industrial plant has been approved in principle by Bradford Council. In Sussex, proposals by English Heritage for a new visitor centre and cafe with an upgraded access road at the site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings have been called into question by members of the Battlefields Trust and other historians. Further details of the two cases are outlined in this short article. LD

Short item on the recent discovery of part of an underground Roman drain, large enough for an adult to walk along, at Monument House in the City of London. The drain may have served either the 2nd century forum and basilica or a nearby bathhouse, and can be entered through a square Roman shaft 3.3 metres deep. LD

170 ship's timbers were discovered several years ago beneath the floor of a late 18th century workshop at Chatham Docks in Kent, during restoration of the building. A recent survey has found that all of the timbers appear to have come from one large English vessel, and suggests they may represent the remains of an important warship interred by dockyard workers in a kind of shrine. This short article outlines why this seems the most likely explanation for their presence. LD

Outlines some of the characteristics of the prehistoric rock art that can be found within the landscape and on some monuments in northern Britain and Ireland. Almost all designs are abstract, leading to a huge variety of interpretations, including unsubstantiated conjecture. Although difficult to date, rock art is now generally regarded as late Neolithic, with a use over at least a thousand years into the early Bronze Age. Some burial monuments of this date contain reused panels of formerly open-air rock art. However, it is beginning to be recognised that some decorated cist slabs were produced specially for the monuments in which they were discovered. In these cases the decoration had been used in a way that suggests its meaning had changed or was in the process of change. Some possible explanations are discussed. LD

Historical sources record a series of terrifying attacks by Viking marauders on the coasts of Britain, France and Ireland from the last decade of the 8th century. Wales also suffered raids, but to judge from the Welsh annals, its armies avoided yielding large tracts of land to the newcomers. This article outlines the historical context and looks at the archaeological evidence from North Wales, which seems broadly to confirm that the Vikings failed to colonise the country to any significant extent. However, it does suggest the existence of pockets of strong contact between the Welsh and Vikings of Dublin and the Isle of Man, with the adoption of some Viking fashions. Some of the isolated burials, finds and Norse funerary sculpture may even suggest occasional intermarriage and individual Viking settlement. It remains to be seen whether the same pattern holds for other parts of Wales. Au/LD

For the last two years negotiations have been underway between Oxfordshire County Council and developers regarding proposals for the site of Oxford Castle. Finding the proposals unacceptable, an action group composed of archaeologists, historians and county and city amenity groups is requesting a delay in order to explore potential options. This article highlights the case against the background of the many elements of the city's architectural heritage that have been destroyed from the 18th century onwards. References are made to the paintings of John Malchair (1730--1812), which include numerous buildings and other features that are now lost or damaged. LD