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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New Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial at Brookwood cemetery
The newly constructed Brookwood 1914-1918 Memorial to the Missing was inaugurated by HRH The Princess Royal, President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), on 9 June 2026. This memorial replaces an
Cannons from the American Revolution go on display
A collection of large cannons from the American Revolutionary War has returned to Savannah, Georgia, after several years of conservation work, as part of a project led by the US Army Corps
Comment
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.
Excavating the CA archive: Great religious buildings
After last month’s column on Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Canterbury Cathedral, I will continue my ecclesiastical theme this month by exploring three of the great religious buildings in the north of England: York Minster, Durham Cathedral, and Whitby Abbey.
Balti curry
Does ‘balti’, the Birmingham-created curry named after the steel bowl in which the dish is cooked and served, count as part of the UK’s intangible heritage?
Excavating the CA archive: Major church buildings
In last month’s column, I examined a series of sites associated with William the Conqueror and the legacy of the Norman Conquest. One of these was Westminster Abbey, which I will now cover in more detail, alongside two other major church buildings
that regularly feature in Current Archaeology: St Paul’s Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral.
The Lutyens Trust
If you aspire to owning a Lutyens house and have very deep pockets, the Trust’s property column will alert you to houses for sale.
War of Words – ‘samurai’
‘Samurai’, meaning ‘one who serves’, derives from the Japanese verb samurau, ‘to wait on’. These warriors were the elite military class of feudal Japan, akin to the knights of medieval Europe. A
Finds tray – Romano-British putto
This is a Romano-British figurine of a chubby, naked boy, known as a putto. Although discovered in 2019 in Cox Green in Windsor and Maidenhead, it was recently highlighted in the latest
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 Brewster F2A Buffalo
The Buffalo originated with a 1935 requirement for a carrier-based fighter to replace the US Navy’s Grumman F3F biplanes. Brewster’s XF2A-1 prototype was selected in June 1938 and the first production aircraft
War of Words – ‘Zero’
With Marc DeSantis
Royal Photographic Society
Every month, when we open the pages of Current Archaeology or any of its sister publications, we are presented with wonderful photographs as well as compelling stories about our heritage. It is
Ian Knight
The winner of MHM’s 2025 Book of the Year award on redcoats, distant battlefields, and the film that started it all.
Excavating the Lowlands and Borders
The Scots borders have it all in terms of archaeological content. Within a discrete area, this column spans the Neolithic through to the post-medieval period
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
Community spirit: Hadrian’s Wall, Cumbria
For Historic England, Hadrian’s Wall has always been a site needing active research – many questions about the frontier remain unanswered, and only by the kind of refreshed understanding that research brings, and by addressing the interests and concerns of the public, can the frontier remain relevant.
In-depth features
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.
Beyond the luxurious: Tracing the Late Antique ivory trade
Study of ivory use in the early medieval world is revealing fresh insights into how this material was viewed. The results have important implications for our understanding of the scale of the trade, and its impact on the elephants it exploited, as Rowan S English and Julia Steding explain.
Monuments of kingship: Power, memory, and belief at Jelling
Study of the monuments at Jelling has revealed much about an extraordinary royal complex in 10th-century Denmark. Olympia Bobou, Ilaria Bucci, Rowan S English, and Rubina Raja explore the evolution of the site.