The Beautiful Festival of the Western Valley
Katherine Slinger explores one of the most important Theban religious festivals.
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Trio of tombs at Bahariya Oasis
An Egyptian team working in the Bahariya Oasis have discovered three tombs from different periods at the site of Sheikh Sobi, the necropolis for the priests and governors of the oasis from
Roadside caravanserai in North Sinai
Egyptian excavations at the site of another lost city – ‘Asila’ – in northern Sinai have revealed the remains of an Islamic structure thought to be a caravanserai (roadside inn), on the
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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 reflect the profound impact the Church had on society during this era, and the discoveries made by modern-day archaeologists which highlight this
The Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry has gone on display at the British Museum at last, despite the fears of some conservators that transporting it to London would cause irreparable damage. In the event, two threads were found to be broken when the Tapestry was inspected after arriving in London.
The view from Vienna
Last year, in Vienna, we visited the salt mines at Hallstatt and the site beside the Danube where the Venus of Willendorf was discovered.
Amphibious cities
When news about Tenochtitlan (nowadays Mexico City), the capital of the Aztec Empire, started to reach Europe around the time of the conquest by the Spanish Conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés, the city was soon labelled the ‘Venice of the New World’.
Duck-shaped Roman lock component
Carrying on the ornithological theme from last issue’s ‘Finds Tray’, which profiled an early medieval brooch featuring a bird, this Roman lock component was cheerfully cast in the shape of a duck.
War Athletes – Wyndham Halswelle
The life of Wyndham Halswelle – Olympic athlete and soldier in the Second Boer War and Second World War.
Cage cup
What is it? This cage cup, or vas diatretum, dates to the 4th century AD. The intricate, colourless glass bowl is 12.6cm tall and 15cm in diameter and has a flared rim.
Finds Tray: Silver seal matrix
This unusual silver seal matrix dates to the medieval period, but has reused a Roman intaglio as part of its design. It was discovered by a metal-detectorist in September 2024 at Gosfield,
John Wesley Gilbert (1863-1923)
Gilbert was one of the first Americans – of any ethnicity – to undertake archaeological work in Greece. There, he is likely to have met Heinrich Schliemann, rediscoverer of Troy, and certainly he did groundbreaking excavation work on the neighbourhoods of Athens
German Second World War Destroyers
DAVID PORTER ON MILITARY HISTORY’S DOOMED INVENTIONS.
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.
Back to the drawing board: The Great Panjandrum
David Porter on Military History’s doomed inventions.
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
Friends of Repton Parish Church
The letter from Mark Horton in CA 382, about the work of the Friends of Repton Parish Church, prompted us to take a closer look at this society, which Mark commended as
A Peruvian fortress-temple in the desert
In 2022, archaeologists from the University of Toronto and the University of Trujillo began the first excavations of Cerro Prieto Espinal, a mountainside fortress-temple and settlement in north coastal Peru. Across the
In-depth features
The ladder of life: Ricardo A Caminos
Among Egyptology’s many ‘unsung heroes’, Ricardo A Caminos counts as a modest yet significant figure. Carl Graves takes a look at his often-overlooked achievements, and his longstanding legacy, both within the profession of epigraphic recording, and the history of the Egypt Exploration Society.
Ain Khadra
Amir Ebrahim Elkorashy explores an archaeological landscape around a spring in the Western Desert.
Birthing on the bricks
W Benson Harer Jr proposes a new theory for the use of birthing bricks in ancient Egypt.
Hilary Wilson on… Sandals: status and symbolism
Sandals in ancient Egypt were far more than footwear, as Hilary Wilson explains.
Personal adornment in early Egypt
Barbara Boczar explores the materials used to create objects for personal adornment in Egypt from the prehistoric to the Early Dynastic periods.
Medieval death on the Nile
Thomas Smith relates the saga of the remarkable crusade on the Nile that came close to reshaping the Near East.
Defence to domesticity: Exploring the evolution of Irish castles
Marking the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror, 2027 has been designated the Year of the Normans. Events to mark the millennium are planned all over Europe, with castles as a major theme. In Ireland, the best guide to the hundreds of defended structures surviving from the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169 is the late David Sweetman, Ireland’s former Chief Archaeologist, whose book on The Medieval Castles of Ireland reveals how these 12th- and 13th-century symbols of Anglo-Norman power evolved from earthworks to commodious towers that dominated the landscape. Chris Catling reports.
The Wemyss Caves: Tracing 40 years of conservation, community, and discovery
The caves at East Wemyss are home to traces of human activity spanning prehistory to the present day, including important Pictish carvings. In recent decades some of these interactions have been destructive, but the local community is working to preserve this unique collection. As they mark the 40th anniversary of these efforts, Mike Arrowsmith reports.
Beyond conquerors and kings: Encountering ordinary people in the Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry is perhaps the most recognisable piece of early medieval art – and, almost 1,000 years after the brutal events that it depicts, rather friendlier relations between England and France have seen the famous embroidery travel to the British Museum for a hotly anticipated exhibition. Carly Hilts visited to learn more about what its images can tell us about life in the 11th century.
Statements in stone: Investigating Neolithic architecture at the Ness of Brodgar
The Ness of Brodgar in Orkney is home to an unprecedented complex of 5,000-year-old buildings. Ongoing analysis is illuminating their form and function, as Carly Hilts reports.
The frontier in Raetia: Heritage on the edge of the Roman World
From serving as the edge of an empire to falling within no fewer than three modern World Heritage Sites, Raetia’s Roman frontier has long been a place of consequence. David J Breeze introduces the ancient and modern significance of this remarkable monument.
Castles in the cliffs: Archaeology and myth in the Pyrenees.
In the 12th century, the counts of Foix began creating a unique network of fortifications using caves and other natural features in their part of the Pyrenees. Colin Duncan Taylor explores their origins and reveals how, starting in the 19th century, these castles in the cliffs were ransacked by early archaeologists and fortune hunters in search of fabled Cathar treasure.
Becoming America: How science shaped a nation
What role did science play in the emergence of the United States of America? Matthew Symonds spoke to Elissavet Ntoulia about scientific knowledge and its practical applications as a nation was born.
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.