Current Archaeology 439
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Current Archaeology’s September Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home
There are lots of great ways to get involved with history and archaeology over the next few months, including exhibitions, lectures, and conferences exploring a wide range of subjects. If you would prefer to get your heritage fix from the comfort of your sofa, though, there is a variety of resources on offer online, too, from virtual site tours and digital offerings by museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Kathryn Krakowka has put together a selection of some of the options available.
Staffa’s past signatures: Uncovering the hidden human history of a celebrated Scottish island
A small team of archaeologists has been undertaking research into the island of Staffa in the Inner Hebrides. Camping for a few days at a time over a number of years, they have carried out both survey and excavation work. Derek Alexander, Daniel Rhodes, Stuart Jeffrey, Tessa Poller, and Siân Jones describe the results of these efforts to date.
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.
Q&A with site supervisor Graeme Young
A tough and comfortable pair of boots and clothing for all seasons should be on anyone’s list when they go digging in the UK.
Personal Dig Checklist
When you are about to embark on a dig, it’s a good idea to double check you have everything you might need – here is a quick checklist with the essentials.
Q&A with site supervisor Tony Roberts
A sense of humour may come in handy for those days when it is wet and windy on site but these are balanced by the days out in the glorious warm weather of the summer.
Q&A with site supervisor Mick Miles
If there is anything particular you would like to become involved with, then it is best to let the supervisor know at the outset, but don’t appear upset if this is not possible.
Q&A with site supervisor Paul Wilkinson
There isn’t really anything you shouldn’t say within the course of work, as you shouldn’t feel intimidated by any site supervisor.
Time Team geophysics: from pits to palaces
Time Team’s geophysics crew have covered a lot of ground, and their data represents an unparalleled archaeological archive of sites from rural retreats to Royal palaces. Lisa Westcott talks with John Gater about the science behind the scenes.
A brief history of Time Team
Everybody knows the story of how Time Team started: one ex-teacher turned TV producer, a couple of quirky archaeologists, and a fortuitous meeting in the Mediterranean with one of Britain’s best-loved actors combined to create the most successful archaeology programme ever on British television.
Viking hoards: buried wealth of the Norse North West
The discovery of two Viking hoards in 2011 yielded silver coins, ingots, and jewellery. Dot Boughton, Gareth Williams, and Barry Ager reveal how they also provide a window into a turbulent time.
Liquid History: excavating London’s great river
Prehistoric forests, the skull of a child, the slipway of a Victorian engineering masterpiece and part of a Tudor palace jetty: all have emerged from the mud and gravel on the foreshore of the Thames, thanks to an exciting new project to record the archaeology of London’s great river. Nathalie Cohen tells CA about the Thames Discovery Programme.
Moor Sand: a Bronze Age shipwreck revealed
Divers recently discovered a 3,000 year-old shipwreck near Salcombe, which carried a huge cargo of copper and tin: is this the first evidence for Late Bronze Age long-distance maritime trade in bulk goods? Chris Yates, of the South West Maritime Archaeological Group, explains.
Student Digs
For students doing an archaeology degree, compulsory field school experience is on the cards. Phoebe Scrivener, archaeology graduate from Sheffield University, tells you what to expect.
Survival Guide to Volunteer Excavation
Are you heading out on a dig this season? If so, congratulations! Volunteers are an essential part of the excavation season. We’ve put together a short guide, including a checklist, to identify key areas for your preparation. Happy (and safe) digging!
Digging Binchester
Former CA Editor Lisa Westcott spent an inspiring week in the trenches, brushing up on her digging skills and meeting volunteers.
The Pilgrimage of Hadrian’s Wall 2009
The event that was subsequently recognised as the first Pilgrimage was held in 1849, when John Collingwood Bruce, a distinguished Newcastle lawyer, led a small group of ‘pilgrims’ to walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall.
Stones & solstices: on Scotland’s remotest island
Today, only 20 people live on Foula, and the ferry takes just one car at a time. More than 3,000 years ago, Bronze Age people erected a monument of 290 standing stones on the tiny, rocky, storm-battered island of Foula. As John Oswin reports, members of the Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society – working a long way from home – have been exploring.
Choosing a field: specialisms in archaeology
The field of archaeology covers the full extent of human existence, through time and across the world. Small wonder it has spawned so many sub-disciplines, theoretical and practical. We look at some of the choices.
The Reigate Witch Bottle
How do you deal with a witch? In 17th century England, the answer was obvious: you prepare a ‘witch bottle’, with contents equally as bizarre as those in the cauldron of Shakespeare’s
Hill Hall: home of a Tudor intellectual
In 1969, fire raged through this exceptional Elizabethan house. Paul Drury explains what archaeologists were able to rescue from the burnt-out husk.
The Land between the Oceans: The Making of Modern Europe (Part Three)
Geography made a unitary empire embracing the Mediterranean and temperate Europe inherently unstable; but the wreckage of the Roman Empire contained the building blocks of modern Europe. In the third and final part of our series based on Cunliffe’s new book, Europe between the Oceans, we chart the changes from Caesar to Charlemagne.