A Victorian 3D image thought to be the earliest-known family photograph to have been taken at Stonehenge has been identified in the collection of Queen guitarist Dr Brian May. CA went to see the ‘stereo view’ on display at the monument’s visitor centre.…
Among the larger features excavated in the course of the investigations, the team found a 10,000-year-old pit that had been dug into the chalk bedrock, perhaps to catch game such as aurochs.…
The survey work showed that the complex was a ‘courtyard castle’ with corner turrets and a great hall...…
Review by Robin Hughes In this engaging example of contemporary archaeology, Jonathan Gardner explores the multifaceted impacts of three London-based ‘mega events’ on the capital: the Great Exhibition of 1851, the 1951 Festival of Britain on the South Bank, and the 2012 Olympics. Gardner (who worked as an archaeologist on…
Review by David Field. Rarely in recent times have extant barrows, let alone groups of them, been excavated, for in most cases developer-funded excavation has only encountered levelled examples and the ditch alone has been sampled. At Petersfield Heath, 14 in a cemetery of 21 barrows underwent excavation, while parallel…
The Tudor vessel sank during the Battle of the Solent in 1545, and its surviving timbers and contents have been undergoing conservation since the wreck was raised in 1982…
This copper-alloy owl figurine was found last year by a metal-detectorist on cultivated land in the Cotswolds, and it dates to the Roman period, when owls were associated with the goddess Minerva. The 6.8cm-tall bird is perched on a round, flanged pedestal, which is hollow in the middle, suggesting that…
Review by HB. This lavishly produced volume offers an introduction to Thames ‘mudlarking’ – the practice of searching the river’s foreshore (with a permit!) for historical objects and other items of interest. The book is not so much a practical guide (though it does include a short ‘primer’ with advice…
All that remains of the abbey above ground since its demolition at the Dissolution of the Monasteries is an arched stone gatehouse.…
This image shows Esgair Llewelyn in Powys, one of the oldest farmhouses in Wales. It was built as a cruck-framed upland hallhouse c.1500. It would have originally had an open fire in the middle of the hall floor, but the building was remodelled in the 16th and 17th centuries to…
Iron Age coins are not just currency: they are miniature works of art. Carly Hilts visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford to see a new special display exploring the imagery of the Iceni.…
When Henrietta Howard (née Hobart) built her Thames-side country house in Twickenham in the 1720s, it represented so much more than a fashionable escape from the bustle of court life: it was a refuge from her abusive marriage, and a sign of hard-won independence. With the house and its grounds…
There is a wonderful selection of archaeological and historical events and exhibitions scheduled for this summer, ranging from the return of Europe’s largest Viking festival to new exhibitions at the British Museum and the London Transport Museum. There are also still many ways to get involved in history and heritage…
Not so long ago, the word ‘hillfort’ was habitually preceded by the words ‘Iron Age’, but now we know plenty of older examples. Not all of them are built on hills, and as for the word ‘fort’ there is little evidence for a defensive or offensive function. So what on…
Excavations in Crowland, Lincolnshire, are exploring the remains of a structure that might be linked to an Anglo-Saxon anchorite. Project directors Duncan Wright and Hugh Willmott report.…
Review by CH Ancient remains and ghostly narratives often coincide in the popular imagination, providing fruitful inspiration for chilling tales. This anthology of 12 short stories has been curated by archaeological historian Amara Thornton, of the University of London, and Classical archaeologist Katy Soar, from the University of Winchester. They…
We know that Britain experienced tumultuous events during Hadrian’s reign. What we do not know is the order in which they played out. The answer may hold the key to understanding Britain’s premier Roman monument, as Matthew Symonds explains.…
Review by Chris Griffiths. Those with an interest in Bronze Age metalwork will know that the literature tends to focus on the question of why metal objects were destroyed and buried: were they deliberately broken for recycling, to serve a pre-monetary function, or for symbolic or ritual reasons? Drawing on…
Excavations at the site have revealed traces of a significant Mesolithic ‘home base’, including evidence of extensive flint-tool manufacturing and major feasting events.…
With its distinctive chequerboard exterior combining Caen stone and knapped flint, the Marlipins building in Shoreham-by-Sea has been an eye-catching landmark for centuries – in fact, dendrochronological analysis suggests that it is the earliest surviving secular building in Sussex. Its original purpose presents more of an enigma, however. The meaning…
This year marks the 1,900th anniversary of the visit of the emperor Hadrian to Britain where, according to his biographer writing more than 200 years after the event, ‘he put many things to right and was the first to build a wall 80 miles long to separate the Romans and…
