Isle of Man, 6th April, 2006
In April of 2006 we began filming proper with Rupert in front of the camera. At that time Rupert was living on the Isle of Man so it made sense to pick up what we could. Here we are visiting a wonderful collection of Celtic crosses in the churchyard at Maughold on the East coast of the island.
Neolithic remains which cast new light on the Isle of Man’s earliest known inhabitants have been uncovered at the airport’s new runway project. The 5,000-year-old artefacts were found by workers within a 200ft (61m) stretch of the proposed taxiway extension. As well as tools and pottery, experts found a human skull, a building, a rubbish dump and evidence of skull burials and funeral pyres. Excavations of the site are expected to continue until July, although experts from Oxford Archaeology are already convinced the site has “European significance”.
“When the topsoil was stripped away, it revealed well-preserved archaeological remains, which date to the Neolithic period,” said Fraser Brown, senior project manager of Oxford Archaeology North. “These are specific to the Isle of Man and relate to what is known to archaeologists as the Ronaldsway Neolithic House, which was identified in 1943 following excavations for the original airfield. This latest find includes a rectangular ‘sunken feature’ building, which provides evidence of human habitation.”
Continue reading »






