UNITED KINGDOM

Children with pets 'more healthy'

Child with pets Young children with pets have fewer days off sick from school, according to academics in Coventry.

Photo: Pets appear to have a greater effect on younger children

University of Warwick researchers found four and five-year-olds whose families kept animals had attendance levels 18% higher than their peers without pets. Health psychologist Dr June McNicholas said dogs, cats, fish, birds and rodents were among the creatures owned by the children surveyed. She said the theory was that pets helped boost children's immune systems. Dr McNicholas said children's health was not improved by any particular type of pet. "It is more to do with just owning a pet and taking care of it, and having it live in the same house as you." Researchers monitored 256 children aged five to 11 years from three schools. The children gave saliva samples which were tested as an indicator of their general state of health. These results were compared with the children's school attendance records. Dr McNicholas said previous research had shown children whose families kept pets were less likely to have asthma or allergies. "The underlying theory is that the immune system develops in relation to what it is exposed to," she said. Pet-ownership had only a marginal impact on school attendance among children aged seven to 11 years, the research showed.

Historic find on building site

Dig Historic artefacts dating back 3,500 years have been unearthed on a development site for luxury apartments near Loch Lomond.

Photo: Archaeologists describe the discovery as highly significant.

The team of 15 archaeologists excavating the site believe they have uncovered settlements which include 7th century Christian cemeteries. The plot has yielded objects spanning the Bronze and Ice Ages and early Christian and Medieval times. The find includes cremation pots, jewellery and corn-drying kilns. The discovery from the 300-acre site at Midross will take experts three years to analyse in laboratories, before the treasures go into museums. Two Bronze Age cremation sites, three Iron Age settlements and an early Christian burial ground were among the unusual finds. A complete shale bracelet and a distinctive rare single glass bead with applied enamel spiral decoration were also discovered. Bob Will, of the Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division, said: "This glass bead is very rare, not many like this have been found in anywhere in Britain. "It would have been part of a quite beautiful and prestigious piece of jewellery which would have been worn by a fairly affluent woman." He added: "The site is also highly significant because it's the best example of Bronze Age activity Loch Lomond-side that's been found. It's a very important find."

Dig

S\Photo: Settlements include 7th Century burial grounds.

Craig Mitchell, spokesman for the developers who are building a £45m timeshare resort, said: "It was a real headache to start with because we didn't realise we'd come across this but it's a fantastic discovery. "It's cost us half a million quid paying the archaeologists, which is a planning requirement, but at least we'll have some good names for the golf course holes." Quarry workers recently unearthed a 1,500 year-old Christian burial ground at Auchterforfar, near Forfar in Angus. The 20 stone-lined graves were found in a sand and gravel pit at Auchterforfar, near Forfar in Angus. Archaeologists working for Historic Scotland excavated the scene and removed a number of bone remains for examination. The AOC Archaeology Group was contracted by Historic Scotland to carry out the excavation. Spokesman Richard Heawood said at the time that experts were hopeful the remains from the burial ground would help them learn more about the nutrition and diet of people living in the period.