Itinerarium Septentrionale
I have started the publication of my work in the English/Scottish borders with a three volume visual chorography. The first is now available. Itinerarium Septentrionale – A Northern Journey. Volume One – Coast Here is how I describe the project: Itinerarium Septentrionale: a northern journey through the English/Scottish borders. An itinerary: a schedule, a list, [...]
The Field Marshal, the artist, and an old edition of Walter Scott
Matters of the presence of the past — haunting presences. A couple of editions of Walter Scott’s poetry have arrived from my favorite bookseller – Barter Books of Alnwick, Northumberland UK. The first is an 1866 edition of Scott’s poem, Marmion, about the days before the disaster of Flodden Field in 1513. It is illustrated [...]
Ben Cullen
On the anniversary of the untimely and sudden death of Ben Cullen in 1995. [Link] [Link] [Link] I dedicated my book, The Archaeological Imagination [Link], published in April, to Ben. It is seventeen years today since he died. Uncanny. I wonder what I would say to him about the book, that might reveal how much [...]
Lordenshaws and the Coquet Valley
(Use the controls to navigate through the panorama) The Simonside Hills loom over the upper Coquet valley looking north. The magical and haunted Whitton Dene is in the middleground. The path off to the left is to the main carved rock outcrop. The hillfort is one of the most accessible sites of prehistoric rock carving [...]
heritage design – aspiration and redemption
Tuesday July 19, Westminster, London (This is the report on our previously noted visit – [Link]) Bianca Carpeneti and Michael Shanks visiting Alan Campbell MP at the House of Commons Our current work on the archaeological project at Binchester UK includes a major focus on cultural resource management (CRM), as it gets called in the [...]
Binchester 2011 – the team
A week into the field season at Binchester – a field trip to the central section of Hadrian’s Wall. Here is the team – click on the image for a bigger version.
the picturesque – again
Up from Peel Bothy, Hadrian’s Wall, central section. These photogenic experiences are starting to bother me …
Steel Rigg – dawn
Field season 2011. Staying by Hadrian’s Wall – Peel Bothy, Once Brewed (built/restored by John Clayton in the nineteenth century as part of his reconstruction of the Wall). Two more early morning runs – refusing to succumb to jet lag.
Hadrian's Wall – Peel Bothy
(Use the controls to navigate through the panorama) Peel Bothy is a renovated workers’ cottage right by one of the turrets in this infamous central section of Hadrian’s Wall. This week I have been staying there. Another morning run.
Longshanks in the north
Touring the Tweed with Gary (Devore). Though overly restored in the nineteenth century, the church of St Cuthbert at Norham on the Tweed still has some of the sumptuousness that originates in its original foundation by the bishops of Durham (Durham Cathedral houses the bones and grave of Cuthbert, and Norhamshire was not part of [...]
archaeological research at the edge of empire
This appeared under the title Edges of Empire – the new excavations at Binchester Roman town, UK in the 2010 opening edition of the online magazine Electrum – [Link] Gary Devore and Michael Shanks Binchester Barrack block turned abattoir – the late cattle ranch in the corner of the fort. The town extended beyond over [...]
CILVRNVM
Fog at Heathrow has kept me in the NE. Here I am up the Tyne Valley – where the Roman bridge crossed the river, carrying Hadrian’s Wall.
VINOVIVM
Update – a revised version now appears at – http://www.mshanks.com/2011/01/archaeological-research-at-the-edge-of-empire/ We are starting to plan for our excavations next summer of Binchester Roman town in the north of England. Here is a short news item about this last summer, released yesterday. July 2010 was the second archaeological field season for the Binchester Project. We are [...]
Hadrian's Wall | Stanegate | Vindolanda
(Use the controls to navigate through the panorama.) In the North East of England for the Binchester excavations – Vinovium.org. Just to the north of our site. Looking southwest, the Stanegate (Roman, named “stone road” in early medieval times) runs from the left of the picture, through the fort of Vindolanda and then straight up [...]
Dere Street | Chew Green
In the North East of England for the Binchester excavations – Vinovium.org. Dere Street, the Roman road that passes through Binchester, here runs north across what is now the English-Scottish border. There was a medieval village – Kemblepath – up here in the wilds of Upper Coquetdale. On the site of Chew Green, the Roman [...]
Coquetdale
In the North East of England for the Binchester excavations – Vinovium.org. Coquetdale – a remarkable valley to the north of Hadrian’s Wall. A fascinating archaeological landscape. Lordenshaws – prehistoric rock carvings and hill fort. Shillmoor – from when the borders settled down in the eighteenth century. Harbottle – feudal border stronghold, motte and bailey; [...]
Norham Station
I can’t help but be fascinated with what is slipping from memory and becoming “history”. And the romance of the railway. Just found a wonderful site called “Forgotten relics” – it has a page on a favorite village of mine (the castle straight out of Scott’s “Marmion”) on a branch line in the Scottish borders [...]
Walltown Crags
Checking out Hadrian’s Wall for our summer tour. Chorography – checking out the car parks!
VINOVIVM
Our project to explore the Roman town of Binchester – Vinovium – reached the news at Stanford today – [Link] The report took an appropriately student-centered focus. And we certainly had a wonderful team last year. Project site – VINOVIVM.ORG
Howick – The Bathing House
In the tracks of northern antiquaries, summer 2007 Part of the estate of the second Earl Grey (1832 Reform Bill) on the Northumberland coast, UK.
Flodden Field
In the tracks of northern antiquaries, summer 2007 September 9 1513: in the low rolling hills of north Northumberland an invading Scottish army was defeated in the bloodiest ever encounter between England and Scotland. James IV, King of the Scots, nine of his Earls, fourteen Lords of Parliament, five Highland Chiefs and 10,000 men at [...]
Rob Roy
In the tracks of northern antiquaries, summer 2007 Abbotsford, Scottish borders, home of Walter Scott: armor from the field of Waterloo (1815); the skull of Robert the Bruce (cast, 1734).