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Pearl Harbor: The key myths about a day of ‘infamy’
To mark the 85th anniversary of 7 December 1941, Fred Chiaventone reveals the critical misconceptions that hamper our understanding of the Japanese attack.
Our Latest issues
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Roman Scotland: Life on the edge of Empire
What was the impact of Rome’s numerous attempts to conquer Scotland? A new exhibition in Edinburgh traces the experiences of soldiers, civilian inhabitants of frontier fort communities, and the local people whose lands they occupied. Fraser Hunter reports.
Latest Features
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Crisis in Cuba – When the Cold War turned hot: Part 2 – The Bay of Pigs, 1961
In the second of our series examining Cold War flashpoints, Taylor Downing reveals how a CIA-orchestrated attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro went disastrously wrong.
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‘These rebels won’t be stopped’
Continuing our series on the Jacobite Wars, Graham Goodlad examines the risings of 1715 and 1719, and explains why the Stuarts failed to recover the…
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British blitzkrieg: How the Experimental Mechanised Force reinvented armoured warfare
In the 1920s, a British Army formation developed many of the techniques and tactics which would prove so effective during World War II. David Porter…
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The Wars of the Roses
In the first part of our series, Stephen Roberts reveals how a dynastic feud between descendents of Edward III led to 30 years of bloodshed.
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Kings and kingmakers – The Wars of the Roses: Part 2 – 1461-1485
In the second part of our special feature, Stephen Roberts examines a period of shifting fortunes following the bloody Battle of Towton.
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Lancaster versus York
The Wars of the Roses: a timeline of the decades-long fight for the English throne
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Verica Rex: Searching for a ‘lost’ queen of the British Iron Age
Archaeological and genetic evidence has revealed intriguing clues about the status of women in Late Iron Age Britain, and Roman writers testify to the existence…
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Lios Mòr: Rediscovering a major monastery of medieval Scotland
A community-led archaeological project in Argyll has uncovered the remains of a significant religious centre, founded in the 6th century, that was previously only known…
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The remarkable cargo of the Dom van Keulen: Examining the fate of a 17th-century Dutch merchant ship
On 30 April 1995, a member of the newly formed South West Maritime Archaeological Group saw a glint of gold in the sand while diving in Devon’s Salcombe Bay. Meticulous excavation by the group led to the discovery of a cargo of coins and jewellery of such importance that it was acquired by the British…
Photo of The Day
Archaeology Books
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The Celtic World: a history
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Pagans
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Documenting Activism, Creating Change: archaeology and the legacy of #MeToo
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The Wreck of the London: archaeological investigations of a 17th-century warship
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Ancient Places: archaeology and history on the N5 Westport to Turlough road project, Co. Mayo
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Sketching Sherds: a comic handbook for pottery drawing and typology
Military History Books
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Pasts Otherwise: an archaeology of war
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Battle: the moments that transformed warfare from ancient Greece to Ukraine
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Trafalgar: battle & aftermath
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Bloody Streets: armor, artillery and assault groups in the Battle of Berlin
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The Fifth Crusade: A History of the Epic Campaign to Conquer Egypt
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Hammer of the Gods
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The Beautiful Festival of the Western Valley
Katherine Slinger explores one of the most important Theban religious festivals.
Comment
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The Burpham Big Dig: Transforming the story of two Sussex villages
A recent series of excavations across Burpham and Wepham in West Sussex has revealed new – and sometimes surprising – insights into their origins and evolution. James Sainsbury reports.
Travel
Let our intrepid team of reporters inspire you with their reports from around the world
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Fort Rashid: The find-spot of the Rosetta stone.
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith visits the site where the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799.
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Giove: In Jupiter’s shadow
I first came to the Umbrian hilltop village of Giove half a lifetime ago. I was seeking sanctuary in the real Italy as I navigated potential closure…
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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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Homage to Gallarus Oratory
Fifty years ago, one of the most daring expeditions in modern times left Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula. Tim Severin set out with a crew of three…
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From the fringes of the Roman Empire: Locally crafted empires
In our high-speed modern world, it can be easy to forget that the ancient world was experienced at a slower speed. Rubina Raja shares the…
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Amarna (Part 2)
Continuing his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, Karl Harris presents the second part of his visitor’s guide to Amarna.
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Embroidering history: Reconciliation and recrimination on the Bayeux Tapestry
As the Bayeux Tapestry goes on show at the British Museum, Matthew Symonds explores some of the enigmatic messages encoded in its exquisite needlework.
Museums
We continue our visits of museums around the workd
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The plaster casts of Pompeii
The first permanent exhibition of the plaster casts of Pompeii has opened at the Archaeological Park.
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The Egyptian Book of the Dead
An exhibition exploring ancient Egyptian funerary texts and traditions returns to the Getty Villa Museum.
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In the Seine
An exhibition in Paris explores the history of the city through the objects recovered from the river at its heart.
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Being a woman in ancient Pompeii
An exhibition at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii explores what life was like for Roman women.
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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.
Objects
We select our favourite objects from the newly discovered to the well-known
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Finds Tray: Bronze Age hoard
This is a Bronze Age hoard that was found near Blyth Bridge in the Scottish Borders. It comprises two bronze axe-heads, a complete copper ingot…
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The pectoral of Ramesses II, Musée du Louvre
Campbell Price describes a New Kingdom pectoral made of electrum and glass.
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Finds Tray: Bronze Age button
This Bronze Age button comes from a hoard of three copper-alloy items that also included two axe heads. One of the axe heads was noticed…
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Medieval notebook
We can see Latin, scratched into the book’s wax 700-800 years ago. What is it? This well-preserved medieval ‘notebook’ dates to the 13th or 14th…
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Tales from the Trent Valley: Exploring an evolving landscape through prehistory
When humans settled the Trent Valley after the end of the last Ice Age, they set in train a 10,000-year transformation that saw the wooded wetlands turn into a well-ordered agricultural landscape. At an exhibition tracing the story of the river and those who lived alongside it during prehistory, Carly Hilts spoke to David Knight…
Groups
We discover the little known, yet tirelessly dedicated voluntary heritage societies thriving in Britain today..
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Nautical Archaeology Society
Sea levels have risen by around 120m (400ft) since the last Ice Age, only stabilising at their current position around 3,000 years ago. Given how…
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The Grayling Society
In the world of fly fishing, trout dominate the headlines, but in the past grayling were considered to be the equal of trout for sporting…
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Friends of Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust
On 9 February 1538, Abbot Thomas Rowland signed a Deed of Surrender, formally handing over his monastery to Henry VIII, and the 1,000-year history of…
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Cambridge Past, Present & Future
Starting with the opening of the UK’s first science park in 1970, Cambridge has grown from the sleepy market town of 60 years ago into…
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The Gibberd Garden Trust
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Grade II-listed house and…
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Ancient Tree Forum
An ancient tree is one that is in the final stage of its life and…
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Roman Roads Research Association
By AD 150, the Roman road system extended for some 300,000km (more than 186,000 miles…
War Classics – The Siege of Krishnapur
Nick Spenceley reconsiders The Siege of Krishnapur by J G Farrell.
Excavating the CA archive: The remains of Richard III
In last month’s column, I touched on two medieval monasteries with known but lost royal burials: Hyde Abbey in Winchester and Reading Abbey in Berkshire,…
The Leek embroidery
In last month’s CA, Sherds wrote that Reading Museum’s copy of the Bayeux Tapestry was censored by the women of the Leek Embroidery Society when…
Excavating the CA archive: Monasteries of the high medieval period – Part 2
Continuing last month’s exploration of high medieval monasticism, this month I will visit sites across the country, both well known and less well known, that…