Keyword: cornwall
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The story of millions of Lego pieces washing up on beaches attracted huge interest when first told by the Magazine. The list of places where the toys have been spotted is still growing. Beachcomber Tracey Williams has been picking up Lego along the Cornish coastline ever since a container spill dumped millions of the toy pieces into the sea in 1997. Since the curious tale was reported by the Magazine, dozens of people have contacted Williams to say they, too, have found parts of the much-loved toy scattered on shores. Snip Most of the people who've contacted her found Lego...
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Archaeologists investigating a 2.5-kilogram hoard of sword blades, scabbards and knives found by a metal detectorist in January 2013 say the plough-disturbed artefacts could have been delivered to Wales by sea from southern England or northern France. Two blade fragments, a scabbard fitting, a multi-edged knife and six copper ingot fragments were discovered by Adrian Young a few metres apart from each other in the corner of a field in Marloes and St Brides . The Coroner for Pembrokeshire has now officially declared the hoard treasure, with archaeologists at National Museum Wales dating it to between 2,800 and 3,000 years...
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Bringing back animals which were hunted to extinction in Britain - including the wolf, lynx, beaver and wild boar - would not be difficult, according to a new report. The animals could be brought back to live free in the wild without posing any great threat to people, crops or the environment, it is claimed. A report from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University (WCRU) said while further work needed to be done on their impact, there was no obvious reason to block their return. The animals roaming free in remote areas would enhance the natural environment and...
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A container filled with millions of Lego pieces fell into the sea off Cornwall in 1997. But instead of remaining at the bottom of the ocean, they are still washing up on Cornish beaches today - offering an insight into the mysterious world of oceans and tides. "Let me see if I can find a cutlass," says Tracey Williams, poking around some large rocks on Perran Sands with a stick. She doesn't manage that, but does spot a gleaming white, pristine daisy on the beach in Perranporth, Cornwall. The flower looks good for its age, seeing as it is 17...
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A team of archaeologists from the University of Exeter has found a Roman fort dating from the 1st Century AD in fields in Cornwall. Several items of pottery have been excavated and a furnace which may have been used to smelt minerals. Researchers said the find at Calstock, close to a silver mine, could show for the first time the Romans' interest in exploiting Cornish minerals. Very little is known so far about the Roman occupation in Cornwall... Archaeologists became interested in the site when they found references in medieval documents to the smelting of silver "at the old castle"...
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Eileen Bishop said she was "half asleep" when the scooter charged off An 87-year-old Cornish woman was rescued by police five miles from home when her mobility scooter sped off out of control. Eileen Bishop, from Perranporth, and her husband Anthony were on their way to church when, he said, she "disappeared off the radar". Officers later found her heading along the A3075 towards Newquay. A police community support officer (PCSO) rode the scooter back and said it appeared to be working correctly. 'Full tilt' Mr Bishop said the incident began when he and his wife set off for St...
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Perranporth, a small town on Cornwall’s northern coast, has seen its share of angry gulls, but attacks on residents seem to be worse than ever. Seagulls are currently nesting and actively protecting their chicks. Apparently bright colors aggravate the birds, causing them to swoop down and target people’s heads. “In the past five years the seagulls have become more aggressive,” 67-year-old resident Eric Hardinge told the South West News Service. “The birds need to be culled.” However, most gulls are protected and require special permitting to target.
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Archaeologists are set to excavate the buried remains of a sixth century chapel - which could be Britain's oldest place of Christian worship. St Piran's Oratory near Perranporth, Cornwall, has been encased in a concrete bunker for decades to protect it from the elements. But experts have finally been granted permission to remove the casing so they can begin excavating and preserving the medieval site. Engulfed by sand in the Middle Ages, the remains of the oratory were first discovered in the late 18th Century. There were two major digs in 1835 and 1843 that uncovered a number of skeletons...
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A LARGE meteor was spotted in the sky above Cornwall in the early hours of this morning. A giant green meteor was spotted by astronomers in the skies above Cornwall Experts have said the phenomenon was likely to have been debris from Halley's Comet. The large lump of space rock was seen by people across England and Wales and Twitter was abuzz with reports of sightings. A meteor spotter with the handle @VirtualAstronomer, wrote "The meteor fireball was witnessed from Cornwall to the Scottish [sic] borders." A man Tweeting from Nottingham, @TwitFlickR, described it as a "green fireball that lasted...
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Mysterious pits shed light on forgotten witches of the West Simon de Bruxelles Evidence of pagan rituals involving swans and other birds in the Cornish countryside in the 17th century has been uncovered by archaeologists. Since 2003, 35 pits at the site in a valley near Truro have been excavated containing swan pelts, dead magpies, unhatched eggs, quartz pebbles, human hair, fingernails and part of an iron cauldron. The finds have been dated to the 1640s, a period of turmoil in England when Cromwellian Puritans destroyed any links to pre-Christian pagan England. It was also a period when witchcraft attracted...
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Archaeologists working at the site of the future Truro Eastern District Centre (TEDC) in Cornwall, southwest England, have discovered the fragmentary remains of a prehistoric enclosure built around 5,500 years ago... dating to the early Neolithic period (circa 3800 to 3600BCE)... ...Recent research in the British Isles indicate that causewayed enclosures were constructed within a relatively short time frame. The concept seems to have originated in mainland Europe spreading quickly through France, Germany, Scandinavia and into the UK. Using the latest in dating techniques along with statistical analysis of C14 results, it has been shown that causewayed enclosures in Ireland...
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Paganism has been included in an official school religious education syllabus for the first time. Cornwall Council has told its schools that pagan beliefs, which include witchcraft, druidism and the worship of ancient gods such as Thor, should be taught alongside Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The requirements are spelled out in an agreed syllabus drawn up by Cornwall’s RE advisory group. It says that from the age of five, children should begin learning about standing stones, such as Stonehenge. At the age of 11, pupils can begin exploring ‘modern paganism and its importance for many in Cornwall’. The syllabus adds...
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A few years ago a lady in the small Cornish town of Fowey felt that a local bus stop shelter needed smartening up……….but instead of just sitting around and moaning she and her neighbours did something about it…
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COUNCIL chiefs have denied a St Austell witch a new home – until she ditches her black cat and canine spirit guides. Amanda Barnes, from St Blazey, left the house she shared with her partner when their relationship ended and also lost her job as a taxi base controller for Star Cars in St Austell on the same day. She said she has since suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and said she is classed as unfit to work. She was then put on a list to be rehomed by Cornwall Council – but the authority has refused to help her...
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That’s right – I married a Cornish girl nearly 44 years ago and we still often go back there. This is the cottage where we stayed in Fowey a few weeks ago.
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The South West has more ancient monuments than anywhere else in the country providing a rich history of how people used to live... BBC Spotlight's David George, helped by archaeologists, and enthusiasts, has been looking at bronze age sites in Cornwall... The film above covers The Hurlers on Bodmin Moor the highest part of Cornwall, Traboe Barrow -- a bronze age burial site on Goonhilly downs, and Rough Tor aerial photographs which clearly show a village of bronze age roundhouses... One of the most visible parts of Iron Age Britain can be seen at Castle-an-Dinas near the new A30 road......
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Expert analysis has shed new light on the history of Cirencester. Scientists have examined the teeth of human remains found during an archeological dig. They believe the people were not local, but had travelled here from the far south-west -- probably Devon or Cornwall. Also, they lived here before the Romans arrived in the early first century BC. "This is of great regional significance, and it will generate national interest", said Edward Biddulph, senior project manager with Oxford Archaeology which conducted the dig. Mr Biddulph gave details of his find in a talk o Cirencester Archaeological and Historical Society at...
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One of Hitler's most senior Nazis set his heart on a stylish retirement in Cornwall following Germany's invasion of Britain, new research reveals. Joachim von Ribbentrop, the Fuhrer's foreign minister, planned to live in St Michael's Mount, one of the most beautiful locations in the country. He had served as the Nazi ambassador to Britain in the late 30s and had his eye on the picturesque tidal island, which is 400 yards offshore, after spending a week in Cornwall in 1937. He also plotted to keep Tregenna Castle, near St Ives, as a holiday home once the Nazis had achieved...
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A Roman fort which has been discovered in Cornwall is challenging previous historical views about the South West. Pottery and pieces of slag have been found at the undisclosed location near St Austell, suggesting an ironworks. Experts said the discovery challenges previous thinking about the region's history as it had been thought Romans did not settle much beyond Exeter. John Smith, from Cornwall Historic Environment Service, said: ... "For Roman Britain it's an important and quite crucial discovery because it tells us a lot about Roman occupation in the South West that was hitherto completely unexpected. The other Roman sites...
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The cameras, which combine number plate reading technology with a global positioning satellite receiver, are similar to those used in roadworks. The AA said it believed the new system could cover a network of streets as opposed to a straight line, and was “probably geared up to zones in residential areas.” The Home Office is testing the cameras at two sites, one in Southwark, London, and the other A374 between Antony and Torpoint in Cornwall. The `SpeedSpike’ system, which calculates average speed between any two points in the network, has been developed by PIPS Technology Ltd, an American-owned company with...
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