Hastings revisited
As the Bayeux Tapestry returns to England for a major new exhibition, Edmund West assesses the latest thinking about 1066 and all that.
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Norway’s largest known Viking Age hoard found
Analysis of two votive offering vessels from Pompeii is enhancing our understanding of Roman domestic rituals.
Burial practices on the Plain of Jars
Analysis of two votive offering vessels from Pompeii is enhancing our understanding of Roman domestic rituals.
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The copper road
For the first time in human experience, a substance could be melted and converted into something new. If you set off by car from the Volga River to Hungary, you will have
Technological evolution
A study of human remains from two cemeteries in Bulgaria, all buried with distinctively ‘Gothic’ jewellery, brooches, and belt buckles, suggests that the ancient Goths were ethnically diverse and not a single homogeneous community.
Living among ruins
Most CWA readers will have visited some ruined cities for one reason or another; the majority of us will have let ourselves be fascinated by imagining how life in the past might have been, and how much or how little it would have resembled the modern equivalent, with its venues for leisure and work; for sleep and entertainment; for labour and exploitation; for aesthetically pleasing and artistic expressions
War Classics – Inherit the truth: The Cellist of Auschwitz
When Anita Lasker came to Britain in March 1946, 80 years ago, having survived Auschwitz and having been liberated at death’s door from Belsen, she found that no one wanted to hear about her terrible experiences in the camps. Britons wanted to move on from the horrors of the past and look to the promise of the future.
Ministry of Works Signage Appreciation Society
What is it about Ministry of Works signage that motivates so many people to share images via social media? Partly it is just the fact of their survival, as reminders of a
The Great War Aviation Society
The decade between the first successful powered flight – made by the Wright Brothers on 17 December 1903 – and the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 is known
Ancient Tree Forum
An ancient tree is one that is in the final stage of its life and is exceptionally old for its species. Such trees typically have a wide girth and a hollow trunk
Finds Tray – Doll
This unusual-looking doll was found by a mudlarker in a brook in Leicestershire earlier this year. A remarkable find, the lead- alloy female figure is the only complete example of such a
the modernist society
the modernist society (the lack of capitals is deliberate, in line with the modernist philosophy of embracing innovation and seeking freedom from traditional forms and established rules) is the meeting place for
Metal stamping die
This design is… known from the Sutton Hoo and Valsgärde helmets. What is it? This rectangular copper-alloy object is 1-1.5mm thick and measures 4.5cm by 3.7cm. It dates to c.AD 550-625 and
Etruscan bronze lamp
What is it? This ornate bronze hanging oil lamp, 60cm in diameter and weighing 57.72kg, comes from the Etruscan civilisation. It is decorated with a unique combination of iconography that has been
Historic Buildings & Places
Historic Buildings & Places (HBAP) is the working name of the Ancient Monuments Society (AMS), founded in 1924 and thus celebrating its centenary this year. Giles Quarme, Chair of HBAP, explains in
War of Words: ‘PAWN’
Pawn emerges etymologically from the Anglo-Norman poun, which itself comes from the medieval Latin pedo (‘footsoldier’), derived from the Latin pes (‘foot’).
Friends of Repton Parish Church
The letter from Mark Horton in CA 382, about the work of the Friends of Repton Parish Church, prompted us to take a closer look at this society, which Mark commended as
Farrah the Fox featuring at Hi! Street Fest – Woolwich, Greater London
This fox puppet, called Farrah, was made by Historic England in partnership with Emergency Exit Arts to celebrate Hi! Street Fest – the final part of the High Street Heritage Action Zones
In-depth features
Transparent desires: Delving into the Roman lapis specularis mines
A new project is examining the traces of Roman mining associated with extracting
a particularly prized stone. Guillermo León, Catalina Urquijo, Dionisio Urbína,
José Luis Córdoba, and the spelunkers of the Cuenca Ara Club of Speleology describe the demands of archaeological investigation deep within the bowels of central Spain.
In a matter of minutes, his life was over: The violent death of a Mesolithic man
A recent discovery in Sweden has revealed details about the final moments of a Mesolithic man. Caroline Arcini, Ann Westmark, Gracijela Bozovic, and Marie-Louise Aurumskjöld take us through what unfolded.
From biplane to B-52
In the second part of our special feature, Graham Goodlad examines the changes in design and technology that underpinned the 20th-century transformation of US airpower.
US airpower
Onwards and upwards a timeline tracing the developing fortunes and many incarnations of America’s air force in the 2oth century.
American thunderbolt
In the first part of our special feature, Graham Goodlad charts the development of America’s air-arm from its earliest beginnings, while in our second article he focuses on the hardware deployed by American forces.
The Kaiser’s secret weapons
From ‘Big Bertha’ to exploding motor boats, Germany’s military engineers were the source of much innovation during the First World War, as David Porter explains.
Seizing the state: The curious history of the military coup
They were once a common method of changing governments around the world. But, as Nigel Jones explains, coups have fallen from fashion in the 21st century.
‘Destroy the foreigners’: The Boxer Rebellion, November 1899-September 1901
At the turn of the 20th century, a violent uprising swept northern China, and an international expedition was sent to rescue those trapped in Peking’s diplomatic quarter. Stephen Roberts tells the story.
Observing the Ouse: Excavating the deep history of the Cambridgeshire Fens
The Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) has been excavating sites along the banks of the River Great Ouse since 1994, keeping one step ahead of sand- and gravel-quarrying that is steadily transforming the landscape from solid ground to a series of lakes that will eventually form a large nature reserve. Chris Catling reports on the latest volume to emerge from this project, which brings together a series of excavations exploring a c.5km length of the river at the point where it enters the Fen marshlands near Earith in Cambridgeshire.
Community and congregations: Exploring wall paintings in Cornish churches
Many of Cornwall’s churches preserve centuries-old murals of saints and religious scenes. Laura Miucci shares some of the stories behind these colourful creations, and explores how organised Community Archaeology visits to sites like these can boost the well-being of participants.
Beyond Montet: New discoveries in the royal necropolis of Tanis
Following Aidan Dodson’s history of the Libyan pharaohs of Egypt in the last issue, Roger Forshaw explores the latest discoveries from the site of Tanis, their capital city.
The mineral wealth of pharaonic Egypt
Colin Reader shows how ancient Egypt’s geology led to wealth, power, and influence.
In search of the lost Kingdom of Yam
Following in the footsteps of Harkhuf, desert explorer Mahmoud Marai discovers – along with his colleague Mark Borda – an inscription at Gebel Uweinat that sheds light on the whereabouts of the fabled kingdom.
Pain relief in ancient Egypt – Part 1: plant-based remedies
In the first of two articles interrogating ancient medical papyri, Ira Rampil investigates the use of herbal remedies to help relieve pain.
Jacques de Morgan at Dahshur
Julian Heath recounts the remarkable discoveries made by a French mining engineer and archaeologist.
Seeing the dead: Encountering individuals through Roman gypsum burials
Why were dozens of people from Roman York coated with liquid gypsum as part of their funerary rites? An ongoing interdisciplinary project at the University of York is exploring this enigmatic practice and the wealth of evidence that it preserves about the individuals who were buried in this way. Carly Hilts spoke to the initiative’s Principal Investigator Professor Maureen Carroll to learn more.
Forging Scotland’s story: Why a 245-year-old society is racing against time to raise £1.5 million
As the oldest antiquarian organisation in Scotland, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland has been deeply involved in documenting the nation’s past for almost 250 years. Deborah Roe is our guide to this rich history, and to ambitious plans for the Society’s future.
Lost seal of Edward the Confessor rediscovered: Interpreting 11th-century imperial imagery
One of the most important surviving Anglo-Saxon royal seals, belonging to Edward the Confessor, was thought to be lost after it went missing 40 years ago. CA reports on newly published research which describes the circumstances of the object’s rediscovery and offers illuminating insights into its innovative imagery.
New perspectives on a Neolithic crannog: Documenting a 5,000-year-old construction on the Isle of Lewis
The Outer Hebrides are home to over 170 crannogs (small, human-made islands), some of which are proving to be much earlier in date than suspected. Recently published research centred on Loch Bhorgastail has shed detailed light on the make-up of one such site, and has also pioneered an innovative new approach to documenting its above- and underwater remains. CA reports.
Flying high: Exploring wartime archaeology at RAF East Fortune
Currently home to the National Museum of Flight, RAF East Fortune near Edinburgh is one of the UK’s best-preserved Second World War airfields. Re-examination of finds from previous excavations, on the site, as well as new evidence from recent field observations, has shed light on its long military history, as Dr Matteo Randazzo and Olivia Jones report.