Standing with Stones » Isle of Man

SHOOT DIARY – Cashtal yn Ard

Michael — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:55:47 +0000

Isle of Man, 9th April, 2006

My trusty camera looking mean and ready for business. For those interested, it’s a Sony HVR-Z1E. It shoots compressed high definition and worked without a hitch throughout the making of this film .

SHOOT DIARY – The Chasms

Michael — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:50:49 +0000

Isle of Man, 6th April, 2006

This little hut circle is in one of the most photogenic settings that we visited in the whole film. Today was a recce day and a bit dull but sun shone when we came back to film.

SHOOT DIARY – Maughold

Michael — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:19:40 +0000

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.

Prehistoric human skull found at Isle of Man Airport

Michael — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:53:57 +0000

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.”

Mr Fraser said experts also found funerary and mortuary evidence, including stone cairns built over the top of pyres. “It’s a place where people lived and also where bodies were commemorated, with evidence of the burial of skulls and the burning of bodies.

Archaeologists will continue to excavate the site, before recording and removing the artefacts. Airport director Ann Reynolds said the “fascinating find” would have a minimal impact on the runway schedule.

Source: Isle of Man Today http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/Prehistoric-human-skull-found-at.4224966.jp