Embroidering history: Reconciliation and recrimination on the Bayeux Tapestry
As the Bayeux Tapestry goes on show at the British Museum, Matthew Symonds explores some of the enigmatic messages encoded in its exquisite needlework.
As the Bayeux Tapestry goes on show at the British Museum, Matthew Symonds explores some of the enigmatic messages encoded in its exquisite needlework.
New research into a man buried at St Peter’s in Barton-upon-Humber almost 1,000 years ago has shed new light on the complexity of society in Britain during the Norman Conquest. The unusual
The Community Archaeology Radiocarbon Dating (CARD) Fund, which helps volunteer and community groups to date their finds, has opened applications for its 2026 funding cycle. Kimberley Teale discusses key findings from some of the projects supported by the CARD Fund in 2025 – and how to apply this year.
The Bayeux Tapestry has gone on display at the British Museum at last, despite the fears of some conservators that transporting it to London would cause irreparable damage. In the event, two threads were found to be broken when the Tapestry was inspected after arriving in London.
Last year, in Vienna, we visited the salt mines at Hallstatt and the site beside the Danube where the Venus of Willendorf was discovered.
When news about Tenochtitlan (nowadays Mexico City), the capital of the Aztec Empire, started to reach Europe around the time of the conquest by the Spanish Conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés, the city was soon labelled the ‘Venice of the New World’.
Bronze Age sailors, metal prospectors, and traders regularly travelled between northern and southern Europe – a distance of more than 2,000 miles – according to new research looking at similarities in the depiction of boats in rock carvings in Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Portugal.
Historian Janina Ramirez tells Diana Bentley about her latest work delving into stories of celebrated archaeological discoveries and the people behind them, and of the medieval women all-too-often overlooked by history.
This copper-alloy belt hook (LIN-EE3DF6), cast in the form of a finely dressed male figure, was discovered near Digby in Lincolnshire. Dating to the late 15th to early 16th century AD, the
Laura Knight was blessed with some of the essential qualities of any great artist: a broadness of outlook and a fascination with the riches of ordinary life. A new exhibition of her
What is it? This glorious 18th-century Hawaiian cloak, measuring 175cm in length and c.223cm in width, is made of olona¯ fibre and black rooster feathers, with a border of yellow feathers from
Campbell Price selects a collection of votive plaques depicting cats from Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai.
At first glance, it looks like an ornate coffee spoon… What is it? This curious object, which looks at first glance like a large, ornate, cruciform coffee spoon, is in fact rather
We are grateful to LPRS Council member Simon Oliver for contributing this month’s ‘Odd Socs’ column.
What is it? This divine sculpture was made on Rurutu, one of the Austral Islands in Polynesia. When it was given to British missionaries in 1821, its name was recorded as A’a.
‘In 1638, Kircher was lowered into an awakening Vesuvius to advance his geological knowledge.’
This Birdlip brooch was found by a metal-detectorist near Catterton in North Yorkshire this past June, and is believed to date between the late Iron Age and early Roman period. Birdlip, or
The intricate symbols that adorn Egyptian monuments and papyri stood mute for millennia, their secrets locked away in a forgotten language. Hieroglyphs, with their captivating blend of pictorial and phonetic elements, had
Marking the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror, 2027 has been designated the Year of the Normans. Events to mark the millennium are planned all over Europe, with castles as a major theme. In Ireland, the best guide to the hundreds of defended structures surviving from the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169 is the late David Sweetman, Ireland’s former Chief Archaeologist, whose book on The Medieval Castles of Ireland reveals how these 12th- and 13th-century symbols of Anglo-Norman power evolved from earthworks to commodious towers that dominated the landscape. Chris Catling reports.
The caves at East Wemyss are home to traces of human activity spanning prehistory to the present day, including important Pictish carvings. In recent decades some of these interactions have been destructive, but the local community is working to preserve this unique collection. As they mark the 40th anniversary of these efforts, Mike Arrowsmith reports.
The Bayeux Tapestry is perhaps the most recognisable piece of early medieval art – and, almost 1,000 years after the brutal events that it depicts, rather friendlier relations between England and France have seen the famous embroidery travel to the British Museum for a hotly anticipated exhibition. Carly Hilts visited to learn more about what its images can tell us about life in the 11th century.
The Ness of Brodgar in Orkney is home to an unprecedented complex of 5,000-year-old buildings. Ongoing analysis is illuminating their form and function, as Carly Hilts reports.
From serving as the edge of an empire to falling within no fewer than three modern World Heritage Sites, Raetia’s Roman frontier has long been a place of consequence. David J Breeze introduces the ancient and modern significance of this remarkable monument.
In the 12th century, the counts of Foix began creating a unique network of fortifications using caves and other natural features in their part of the Pyrenees. Colin Duncan Taylor explores their origins and reveals how, starting in the 19th century, these castles in the cliffs were ransacked by early archaeologists and fortune hunters in search of fabled Cathar treasure.
What role did science play in the emergence of the United States of America? Matthew Symonds spoke to Elissavet Ntoulia about scientific knowledge and its practical applications as a nation was born.
In the second part of our series, Graham Goodlad reviews the organisation, tactics, and weaponry of the two armies.
Onwards and upwards a timeline tracing the developing fortunes and many incarnations of America’s air force in the 2oth century.
Just before dawn on Sunday 25 June 1950, following a brief bombardment, the 150,000-strong army of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, backed by Soviet Russia, crossed the border and invaded
He was Hitler’s favourite architect and the man responsible for Germany’s wartime production – yet Albert Speer tried to portray himself as the ‘Good Nazi’. Sixty years after his release from Spandau, Nigel Jones examines his role in the regime’s atrocities.
Major-General Sir Robert Sale and his wife Lady Florentia were Victorian celebrities, famed for their bravery on the Indian subcontinent. Patrick Mercer goes in search of a couple who became a byword for gritty colonial glamour.
In his new book, Iain MacGregor examines some of the most significant battles of the past 3,000 years. Here, he reveals the five key factors that shaped victory, from Marathon to Midway.
Hidden within the limestone cliffs of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales is a cave that has witnessed dramatic changes in climate, landscape, and human history. Bacon Hole, overlooking what is today the Bristol Channel, is home to one of the most intriguing and controversial stories in British prehistoric archaeology. It is a story that began more than a century ago with the discovery of possible Ice Age paintings, continued through decades of doubt, and has now been reopened through modern scientific investigation. George Nash explains.
The cemetery – defined as a burial ground without an attached primary church or chapel – is a place where artistic, architectural, horticultural, historical, and literary interests are combined. Many were planned as places of botanical and geological instruction, while the epitaphs, extolling the moral virtues of the deceased, were intended to encourage emulation by the living. Appreciating their great value is a vital step towards ensuring that these spaces do not succumb to neglect and decline, as Chris Catling reports.
‘There’s no time like the present’, as the adage goes – and those who specialise in Contemporary Archaeology certainly agree. John Schofield explores how applying archaeological techniques to the material remains of our own times can illuminate current issues, as well as improving our understanding of the past.
Tiny traces of medieval wall-paintings have been discovered at Goodrich Castle in Herefordshire, transforming our understanding of how its chapel was decorated. Carly Hilts spoke to Sophie Stewart to learn more.
Robert R Frost explores the life and legacy of the antiquary, traveller, and pioneer of British Egyptology.
Simone Petacchi explores the often fragmentary evidence for women’s voices in ancient Egypt’s written culture.
James A Harrell looks into the uncertain origins of ancient Egypt’s most popular gemstone: carnelian.
Popular
UK • Italy • Greece • Egypt • Turkey • France
Africa
Botswana • Egypt • Ethiopia • Ghana • Kenya • Libya • Madagascar • Mali • Morocco • Namibia • Somalia • South Africa • Sudan • Tanzania • Tunisia • Zimbabwe
Asia
Iran • Iraq • Israel • Japan • Java • Jordan • Kazakhstan • Kodiak Island • Korea • Kyrgyzstan •
Laos • Lebanon • Malaysia • Mongolia • Oman • Pakistan • Qatar • Russia • Papua New Guinea • Saudi Arabia • Singapore • South Korea • Sumatra • Syria • Thailand • Turkmenistan • UAE • Uzbekistan • Vanuatu • Vietnam • Yemen
Australasia
Australia • Fiji • Micronesia • Polynesia • Tasmania
Europe
Albania • Andorra • Austria • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • England • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Gibraltar • Greece • Holland • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Italy • Malta • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Scotland • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • Sicily • UK
South America
Argentina • Belize • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Easter Island • Mexico • Peru
North America
Canada • Caribbean • Carriacou • Dominican Republic • Greenland • Guatemala • Honduras • USA