Current Archaeology 437
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Scotland’s first warriors: Interpreting evidence of conflict from the Neolithic to the coming of the Romans
Interpersonal violence has been a fact of human existence for much of our long history – but how far is this reflected in the archaeological record? With a major new exhibition now open at the National Museum of Scotland, Matthew G Knight and Hannah Boddy examine traces of past conflicts spanning 4,000 years, and consider how to present these stories to modern audiences.
Urban exploration: Revealing Roman and medieval York through ground-penetrating radar
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been used to great effect to map underlying archaeology on open-area sites, but how well does it perform in urban environments? John Creighton, Thomas Matthews Boehmer, Martin Millett, and Lieven Verdonck describe the trials and triumphs of recent surveys in York’s historic centre.
Finding HMS Namur: solving the mystery of the ship beneath the floor
In 1995 the discovery of part of a Royal Navy warship hidden in the Wheelwrights’ Shop at The Historic Dockyard Chatham sparked a hunt to determine both the name of the vessel and what it was doing there. Now, this unique find has proven to be the final twist in the tale of an exceptional warship, as Alex Patterson explained to Matthew Symonds.
The past from the air: the origins of aerial photography
Today we take it for granted that aerial photographs are an essential tool for understanding the historic environment, but for the pioneers of aerial photography it was a struggle to gain acceptance, as Chris Catling, who has been reading Martyn Barber’s new book, A History of Aerial Photography and Archaeology, now relates.
Richard III: the search for the last Plantagenet king
On 12 September the University of Leicester held an extraordinary press conference. They announced that a three-week dig seeking the remains of Richard III had ‘entered a new phase’ with DNA testing under way on an adult male skeleton. So what had they discovered? Richard Buckley, Jo Appleby, and Helen Foxhall Forbes told Matthew Symonds and Carly Hilts.
London’s volcanic winter: Spitalfields cemetery and the famine of 1258
Mass graves were needed all too often in the Medieval world, but establishing the specific tragedy behind any given set is difficult. Now Don Walker believes that a group in Spitalfields cemetery can be linked to a massive volcanic eruption, as he told Matthew Symonds.
Hollowed Ground: the archaeology of Bath’s stone mines
The hills around Bath look solid enough but below the surface they are riddled with tunnels and stone quarries. When some of these began to collapse, putting the village of Combe Down at risk, Oxford Archaeology was called in to record this vast labyrinth before it was filled with concrete. Chris Catling reports on the record they made of an industry that helped create the beautiful buildings of Georgian Bath’s ‘Golden Age’.
The best degree?
In response to Mark Horton’s prediction of an ‘oncoming crisis’ for archaeology in universities (CA 268), John Schofield argues that archaeology degrees are among the best, the most enriching, and the most useful one can take. Dr John Schofield will take over as Head of the Archaeology Department at York University in October.
War and diplomacy on the edge of the Roman world
What effect did the Roman occupation have on the peoples beyond Hadrian’s Wall? Fraser Hunter examines how the construction of a frontier and the garrisoning of thousands of soldiers forged new societies north of the Wall.
An oncoming archaeological crisis in universities
What price higher education? Mark Horton, Professor in Archaeology at the University of Bristol, assesses the impact of higher fees on university archaeology departments.
Lankhills: ethnicity and death in Late Roman Winchester
Lankhills, Winchester, is a landmark site for Roman cemetery studies. Excavations there in the 1960s set new standards and explored the evidence for different ethnic groups. More recent redevelopment provided an opportunity for Oxford Archaeology to test these findings, and make major new discoveries. The final report by Paul Booth, Andrew Simmonds, Angela Boyle, Sharon Clough, Hilary Cool, and Daniel Poore cements Lankhills’ status.
Johnny & the Prince: archaeological legacies of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
As the country celebrates the Diamond Jubilee, it is opportune to assess the heritage of the second Elizabethan age. John Schofield investigates the archaeology of the present.
Sands of Time: domestic rituals at the Links of Noltland
Rapid erosion has revealed spectacular Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeology on the coast of Westray, Orkney. Contemporary with the Ness of Brodgar’s religious monuments but with a domestic focus, what can this settlement tell us about daily life in prehistoric Orkney? Hazel Moore and Graeme Wilson explain.
Titanic: archaeology of an emigrant ship
Is the Titanic archaeology? A century since her loss on 15 April 1912, we learn how recent survey has revolutionised knowledge of the wreck, transforming a lost liner into a monument to a great migration, as James Delgado told Matthew Symonds.
The Mary Rose: celebrating three decades of research
On the 11 October 1982 a pioneering campaign of underwater excavations culminated in the raising of Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose. That was only the beginning of a programme of research and conservation that continues to this day.
Digging with the Time Team
What is archaeology alongside a film crew like? Matthew Symonds found out.
Digging Jacob’s Island: a new chapter for Oliver Twist
February 7th marks the anniversary of novelist Charles Dickens’ birth. But how might archaeology offer a new chapter to his blockbusting London slum story, Oliver Twist? David Saxby, of Museum of London Archaeology, explains all.
Conserving Co. Durham’s POW camp
Built in 1943, at first to house low-risk Italian and later German prisoners of war, the camp is remarkably complete, and includes both the prisoners’ and guards’ compounds.
Sea of troubles: Scotland’s eroding heritage
Erosion poses a constant threat to Scotland’s rich coastal heritage. Tom Dawson and Joanna Hambly reveal how knowledge is being saved from the waves.
The English Castle
A new generation of castleologists believe that castles were about much more than trebuchets, portcullises, galloping hooves, boiling oil, and the clash of swords on armour: instead, castles were centres of lordship, symbols of wealth, and expressions of status, alluding to the past and expressing poetic ideals. Current Archaeology’s Chris Catling reports.
Q&A with site supervisor Jacqui Wood
The most important quality we look for is enthusiasm and a love of all things in the past.
The archaeology of royal weddings
As Prince William’s and Kate Middleton’s nuptials this month stir up feverish national excitement, what light can archaeology shed on the pomp and pageantry of the most magnificent of Royal occasions? Brendon Wilkins goes in search of the evidence.