The Grand Egyptian Museum
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith pays a return visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum to view the new galleries.
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World news
New insights into the Plain of Jars in Laos Xieng Khouang Plateau in northern Laos is dotted with hundreds of ancient stone jars. While they have been the subject of archaeological investigations
Prehistoric timber circle uncovered near Belfast
Another prehistoric circle was recently uncovered during a community archaeology project, this time near the Giant’s Ring, just outside Belfast. The investigation, led by archaeologists from Queen’s University Belfast, was sparked by
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Excavating the CA archive: Great sites associated with the early church
In my previous two columns I explored some of the great religious buildings of Britain; these are primarily known for their medieval and later histories, and for their towering urban architecture. This month, I will move back in time to explore some of the great sites associated with the early church that have been visited by Current Archaeology over the decades.
Major Oak has died
My recent ‘Odd Socs’ column on the Ancient Tree Forum (CA 436) proved to be unexpectedly topical when, on 18 June, it was announced that Sherwood Forest’s 1,200-year-old Major Oak had died. The expressions of sadness that followed showed that many people loved this tree and considered it an important part of our national heritage.
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.
Gold coin of Elizabeth I
This coin, found near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, is one of a series of high denomination gold coins issued during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Elizabethan coins are among the objects most frequently
John Wesley Gilbert (1863-1923)
Gilbert was one of the first Americans – of any ethnicity – to undertake archaeological work in Greece. There, he is likely to have met Heinrich Schliemann, rediscoverer of Troy, and certainly he did groundbreaking excavation work on the neighbourhoods of Athens
Margaret Murray’s Pioneering Investigation in 1908
A scientific approach to the study of ancient Egyptian mummies.
Finds tray – Roman bowl
This is an imported Roman bowl, made of copper-alloy, found in Wingham, Kent. The metal-detectorist who discovered the bowl left it in situ and reported it to the local Finds Liaison Officer.
Cage cup
What is it? This cage cup, or vas diatretum, dates to the 4th century AD. The intricate, colourless glass bowl is 12.6cm tall and 15cm in diameter and has a flared rim.
Finds Tray – Roman coin
This coin, found by a metal-detectorist near Basingstoke in Hampshire, was minted in North Africa during Julius Caesar’s Civil War (49-45 BC), and is a fascinating example of Roman Republican propaganda. At
The Georgian Group: Vanbrugh 300
Vanbrugh 300, presented by the Georgian Group and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, marks the life and work of Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726), a man who managed to pack multiple
War of Words – ‘Parting Shot’
With Marc DeSantis
A century of Tutankhamun
What Carter and his Egyptian team found at the bottom of the stairs and along a short corridor stunned the world, of course – especially those countries barely beginning to recover from the dreadful losses of the First World War.
Finds Tray – Roman chatelaine
This Roman chatelaine was found in Walkeringham, Nottinghamshire, and dates to AD 100-200. Cast from copper alloy, and weighing just 7g, it is beautifully decorated with a pattern of 15 rectangular cells,
A marine mosaic: Wroxeter Roman City
Stylised dolphins and fish, in contrasting hues of red, blue, and yellow, swim across a sea of white tesserae. This striking mosaic was uncovered during excavations at Wroxeter Roman City (ancient Viroconium)
In-depth features
Sir John Gardner Wilkinson: The ‘other founder’ of British Egyptology
Robert R Frost explores the life and legacy of the antiquary, traveller, and pioneer of British Egyptology.
Were women literate in ancient Egyptian society?
Simone Petacchi explores the often fragmentary evidence for women’s voices in ancient Egypt’s written culture.
The great carnelian mystery
James A Harrell looks into the uncertain origins of ancient Egypt’s most popular gemstone: carnelian.
Pain relief in ancient Egypt: Part 2 – Physical and magical interventions
Having explored herbal pain-killing remedies in the last issue of AE, Ira Rampil now looks at the physical and magical interventions used to relieve pain.
The Litany of Ra
Andrew Fulton describes an important New Kingdom text that invokes 75 forms of the sun god.
Hilary Wilson on… Bread, beer, and economics – Part 2
Hilary Wilson shows how the ancient Egyptians were paid in food and drink.
Full of faith: New insights into the medieval parish churches of Norwich
Norwich today has more medieval churches than any other city north of the Alps. The Brooke Commission concluded in 1970 that only six were required for parish worship and that either alternative uses should be found for the rest or they should be demolished. Fortunately, 31 remain, with half a dozen continuing to be used as churches and 18 in the care of the Norwich Historic Churches Trust. A newly published and sumptuously illustrated interdisciplinary study shows us what these churches can tell us about the city’s past and its people, as Chris Catling reports.
I’ll follow the sun: Examining a prehistoric ‘prototype’ for Stonehenge’s solstice alignment
In mid-May, the day before CA 437’s print deadline, we joined a press conference to hear about an exciting discovery associated with Stonehenge. Keen to keep to our commitment to bringing you ‘current’ archaeology, we included a brief summary of the key findings in last month’s issue – here is a fuller account of the research that was described by Phil Harding, Matt Leivers, and Fabio Silva.
Traces of the Trinovantes? Exploring recent insights from Iron Age Essex
Two recent discoveries – Britain’s largest hoard of Iron Age gold coins and a series of unusual elite burials – unearthed about 8km (5 miles) apart on opposite sides of Chelmsford, have shed vivid light on the area’s Iron Age importance, and how local communities responded to the turbulent period around the Roman conquest. Carly Hilts spoke to Angus Forshaw and visited a new exhibition of some of the finds.
The Lexden Lady: Examining a rare lead coffin burial from Roman Colchester
A recently discovered high-status burial offers rare insights into ancient funerary practices and Colchester’s late Roman past. Carly Hilts spoke to Laura Pooley at a new exhibition about the finds.
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.