Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Mike Parker Pearson is in Archaeologists.
Between 3000BC and 1500BC. Stonehenge Phase 1 Aubrey Holes are fifty-six pits 1m in diameter known as the Aubrey Holes after John Aubrey who first identified them. It isn't known whether the pits held posts or stones or neither.
The date for these holes, and consequently where they fit into the order of the wide monument is very vague. Excavation indicates Sarsen stone chips are found only in the upper layers suggesting the Aubrey holes pre-date the Sarsens.
The pits originally contained the 50,000 cremated bone fragments of sixty-three individuals which were excavated in 1920 by William Hawley who re-interred them in a single pit; Aubrey Hole 7.
In 2013 a team led by Mike Parker Pearson (age 55) analysed the remains finding the individuals were equally male and female, including children, originally from south-west wales, the source of the Stonehenge Bluestones, and had not lived in the Stonehenge area for long before death. Evidence of chalk crushing at the base of the pits is believed to indicate the pits once contained the Stonehenge Bluestones as grave markers.
On 26th June 1957 Mike Parker Pearson was born.