Dover’s massive castle, rising in tiers above the harbour to the crest of the hill above the town, looks like the very model of a medieval fortification – but, as a new book reveals, it has some very odd features indeed. Current Archaeology's Chris…
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The most expensive secular building of its day, Dover Castle was described by the 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris as 'the key of England'. But though its imposing fortifications tower over the shortest sea crossing between Britain and the European mainland, it wasn't built in response to any threat of imminent foreign invasion. Instead, its construction in the years after the murder of Thomas Beckett in 1170 owed more to the growing numbers of foreign dignitaries who began to make the pilgrimage across the Channel to Canterbury to pay their respects to the slain archbishop.…
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The Picture Desk
'We really need the public’s help to make the LEGO Sutton Hoo helmet an official LEGO set that anyone can buy and build.'…
Opinion
Don’t underestimate Archaeology
Too often, we are seen as ‘people who play in the dirt’ or very occasionally ‘finders of secrets’ rather than serious academics. - Dr Hugh Willmott
Why studying the past matters
The eerie experience of writing about quarantine whilst in quarantine truly highlighted the relevance of archaeology in the modern world.
Shrines to saints and Pink Floyd
Museums and sculptors should work more closely with archaeologists and palaeontologists to recreate the appearance of our extinct ancestors.
Excavating Surrey
The county is one that historically suffers from being overlooked: its proximity, and partial absorption, into Greater London risks obscuring its significance.
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