The distinctive red sandstone edifice of St Magnus Cathedral is an unmistakeable landmark in Orkney’s largest town – as well as a fascinating repository of Kirkwall’s history. A recent graffiti survey there has recorded hundreds of markings and inscriptions dating from the medieval period…
Welcome
They are sometimes said to be the nation’s real crown jewels: the various palaces, castles and other grand houses which for centuries have formed the backdrop to royal life in the United Kingdom – from Sandringham and Windsor in England to Hillsborough in Northern Ireland, and from Balmoral and Holyrood in Scotland to Llwynywermod in Wales. With the recent change in monarch, however, the future of these splendid (and undeniably costly) royal residences seems now to be under the spotlight. A source close to King Charles III told The Sunday Times in October that plans are afoot to turn at…
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Opinion
This stunning coastal location is better known for its Pictish carvings, but researchers have shown that it has a much longer, and more enigmatic, prehistoric pedigree, dating back at least as far as the Bronze Age.…
Beneath the foundations of the staircase, the workmen found a wooden chest containing human bones and pieces of velvet. Charles II arranged for the remains to be reinterred in Westminster Abbey, but the bones were re-examined in 1933.…
Down we probed into each and, before long, another surprise. Each contained a human skeleton, ranging from an adult woman to a child and, finally, a new-born infant. They were burying the dead under the floorboards!…
Haunted by Ostrogothic and Hunnic raids, Panticapaeum still survived as a Byzantine citadel. It lived through a succession of Khazar and Slavic lordships to become the modern city of Kerch, now once more trying to persist through a precarious situation in the current war in Ukraine.…
The Picture Desk
Britain at War in Colour, released later this spring, reveals 100 of the best original images from the IWM collection. Some of them have been previously published – either in American magazines after the war, or more recently in books…
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25 February 2023UCL Institute of Education, London We are pleased to announce the latest details of our upcoming conference. Current Archaeology Live!…
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When Jean-Luc Champerret explored the Lascaux caves soon after their rediscovery, he saw not paintings but ancient writing.…
Dover’s massive castle, rising in tiers above the harbour to the crest of the hill above the town,…
Lee Prosser, curator at Historic Royal Palaces, tells us about the archaeology of a Georgian royal palace.…
As Prince William’s and Kate Middleton’s nuptials this month stir up feverish national excitement, what light can archaeology…
Twenty-five years ago, a cargo of millions of pieces of Lego was washed overboard during a storm off…
Dulverton House began life as part of a medieval priory, and has since seen centuries of adaptations and…
Over the last three years, the WallCAP community project has carried out illuminating archaeological fieldwork at more than…
Influential figures in the heritage world are concerned about the scale and height of new buildings proposed for…
In its heyday, HMS Invincible was considered one of the finest ships in the Royal Navy – and…
When Henrietta Howard (née Hobart) built her Thames-side country house in Twickenham in the 1720s, it represented so…
Recent excavations at Black Cat Quarry in Bedfordshire have revealed a story of farming communities spanning the Neolithic…
What was life like for German prisoners of war who were interned in England during the Second World…
Following this issue’s explorations of genetic data, cemetery and skeletal evidence, and isotope analysis, Joanna Story reflects on…
The previous articles in this issue have focused primarily on ancient DNA – but what can isotopic analysis…
Newly published research centred on ancient DNA, which is revolutionising our understanding of early medieval mobility and the…
Was the arrival of the ‘Anglo-Saxons’ in England a limited elite takeover, an invasion force, or a mass…
The study of ancient DNA is a potent recent addition to the archaeological arsenal, with the power to…
By combining excavated evidence from early medieval burials with genetic information, we can gain powerful insights into patterns…
Ancient human DNA is revolutionising our ability to detect human migration that occurred hundreds of years ago. Joscha…
The word ‘dolmen’ – derived from the Breton taol maen (‘stone table’) – is regarded as a folk…