The Jacobite Wars
In the first part of our new series, Graham Goodlad explores the Jacobite movement’s early attempts to overthrow Britain’s ruling Protestant monarchy.
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Letters shed new light on the Napoleonic Wars
The National Army Museum has obtained three important archival collections containing soldiers’ first-hand accounts of the Napoleonic Wars. The first is an account of the Waterloo campaign by Lieutenant and Captain Henry
WWI military cemetery found in the Carpathian Mountains
Researchers from the Warsaw University of Technology and the Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology have located a military cemetery containing the remains of soldiers killed during battles in the Carpathian Mountains between
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War Classics – Sagittarius Rising
For a baby boomer brought up on the Biggles stories of Captain W E Johns, the opening pages of this classic memoir of World War aviation seem eerily familiar. Cecil Lewis and his schoolfriend decide to enlist in the RFC at the age of 16.
Excavating the CA archive: Monasteries of the high medieval period
One of the joys of the Current Archaeology archive is its ‘tales of the unexpected’. After last month’s column on early medieval monasteries, this and next month’s columns will be companion pieces exploring .
Daily dose of cultural activities
Several recent reports have suggested that participation in cultural activities is good for one’s well-being. Under the headline ‘Daily dose of art as important to health as 5-a-day’, The Telegraph reported that cultural engagement not only slows down ageing, but is a ‘human necessity’.
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.
Inscribed Roman projectile
What is it? This almond-shaped lead object is a type of Roman projectile known as a glans inscripta (‘inscribed bullet’). Measuring 4.5cm by 2cm by 1.7cm and weighing 71g, it has a
Mummified cat
What is it? This small wooden coffin contains the mummified remains of a cat and dates to the Ptolemaic period of Ancient Egypt, c.305-30 BC. Animals were highly honoured throughout Egyptian history.
The Lost City of Norchia
Upper Palaeolithic flints, Eneolithic tombs, and remains of a Bronze Age semicircular hut, as well as a tomb with a Villanovan shield, show that the place evolved over time, before being bafflingly abandoned in the earlier Iron Age.
Hilda Petrie (1871-1956)
Having learnt Arabic, Hilda would hire and pay their workers. She slept in a hut at Tarkhan with 80 skulls by her bed, living off canned pilchards and bully beef.
Fashioning the Viking Age
The designs of these outfits are based on two high-status graves, which contained some of the best-preserved Viking Age textiles in Denmark: a male burial from Bjerringhøj, dated to AD 970-971, and a female grave from Hvilehøj, dated to the late AD 900s.
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
The Chance Heritage Trust
Glassmaking was introduced to Smethwick by Thomas Shutt, who started making crown window-glass on a site alongside the Birmingham Canal in 1814. When he died in 1822, his company was sold to
Silver-gilt vessel
The vessel was… packed with precious objects and placed upside down. What is it? This lidded, silver-gilt vessel is c.150mm tall, and 92.4mm in diameter at the rim. It was discovered as
Gold bracteate
What is it? This gold pendant, known to specialists as a bracteate, is 5cm in diameter and comes from a Danish hoard dated to the 6th century AD – the object itself
Wren 300
In CA 373, we lamented the lack of a society ready to take on the task of managing the tercentenary of the death of Sir Christopher Wren. Fortunately, the Georgian Group has
The House of the Harpist
A remarkable group of luxurious wall paintings has been discovered at a rich Roman residence called the House of the Harpist in Arles, southern France. The house was discovered beneath an 18th-century
In-depth features
An unequal contest?
In the second part of our series, Graham Goodlad reviews the organisation, tactics, and weaponry of the two armies.
Road to Culloden
Onwards and upwards a timeline tracing the developing fortunes and many incarnations of America’s air force in the 2oth century.
Approaching Armageddon: When the Cold War turned hot – Part 1: Korea, 1950
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
How Albert Speer fooled the world
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.
‘Fighting Bob’ and the ‘Grenadier in Petticoats’
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.
The constants of warfare
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.
Bacon Hole: Rediscovering Britain’s forgotten Ice Age cave art
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.
Grave concerns: Exploring the history of the British cemetery and its uncertain future
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.
Unearthing the present: Why archaeologists should study the contemporary world
‘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.
Worth a thousand words: Examining medieval wall-paintings at Goodrich Castle
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.
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.