When it was completed in 1209, medieval London Bridge was the only fixed crossing of the Thames downstream of Kingston-upon-Thames (until Fulham Bridge was built in 1729). Remarkably, it was also home to some 500 people – equivalent to the population of a small medieval town. In London Bridge and…
More than 20 years ago, CA 175 described the investigation of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in Winterton Vale. Since then, interpretations of the finds have changed and understanding of their significance has grown. Now, with the excavation report about to be published and the full data made available online, Kevin Leahy…
Three years of excavations centred on a c.6,000-year-old burial monument in Herefordshire have revealed that its story is much longer and more complex than was previously thought. Carly Hilts visited Keith Ray, Win Scutt, and Julian Thomas on site to learn more.…
There are lots of great opportunities to get stuck into history and heritage this autumn, whether you’re looking for conferences, exhibitions, or archaeological days out. If you would rather get involved at home, though, there are a wider variety of resources on offer, from new virtual museums and digital tours…
For the last two years, archaeologists have been exploring the remains of a medieval nunnery that once occupied the bank of the Thames opposite to where Magna Carta was signed. Carly Hilts met James Brown on site to learn more.…
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.…
The latest on exhibitions, acquisitions, and key decisions.…
The UK’s first major exhibition to focus on the history of Myanmar (also known as Burma) is set to open at the British Museum next month, marking the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence. In this preview, Carly Hilts explores what will be on show.…
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.…
More than a decade ago, a metal-detectorist discovered a plough-scattered hoard of over 100 Roman coins, together with items of jewellery. Vanessa Oakden explores what has been learned about the finds since then, and what they tell us about life in Cheshire c.2,000 years ago.…
Earlier this year Archaeological Research Services Ltd excavated a Roman farmstead west of Milton, on the northern outskirts of Cambridge, providing new insights into rural domestic life and adding to the picture of affluence in this area of Roman Britain. The excavations, which were carried out in advance of the…
It seems that every few months ‘Science Notes’ is covering another breaking story on advances in a DNA research, a testament to how quickly the field is evolving. After our reporting of the successful, non-invasive extraction of human DNA from a Palaeolithic pendant in CA 400, this month we will…
This unusual object was recently found in a garden near Boldre in the New Forest. While its function was a bit of a mystery when the finder first brought it to the Finds Liaison Officer to be recorded, it was soon solved when it was discovered to be the firing…
This is one of the seven Anglo-Saxon disc brooches found within a silver vessel discovered by a metal detectorist in September 2014 – one of more than 100 objects that were subsequently excavated and are now known as the Galloway Hoard (see CA 297 and CA 376). Made of silver…
Many societies are concerned with a specific aspect of church heritage (monuments, sculptures, or wall paintings, for example) but the National Churches Trust (NCT) is arguably the most holistic, raising money for places of worship of all denominations and in all their aspects. Writing in Prospect magazine in August, NCT…
A recent modelling project has created a probable map of the Roman road network across the counties of Devon and Cornwall, showing how it may have connected with the wider province of Britannia. While the presence of a few Roman roads had previously been identified in the region – most…
Cooking curries in Vietnam 2,000 years ago Microscopic analysis of plant remains from 12 grinding stone tools found at the site of Óc Eo, in southern Vietnam, has provided new insight into the spice trade in the region between 2,000 and 1,300 years ago. Between the 1st and 8th centuries…
Staff and students from Bournemouth University, together with local volunteers, have been excavating Iron Age settlements around Winterborne Kingston in Dorset as part of the Durotriges Project since 2009. This past excavation season, however, while investigating an enclosed Iron Age farmstead, they came upon a completely unexpected discovery: an early…
Two recent studies have assessed a large quantity of worked whale-bone recovered from Anglo-Saxon contexts in Southampton (Hamwic), Ipswich, and Flixborough, finding that each site may have employed different strategies for obtaining cetacean remains. Whether whales were actively hunted or opportunistically scavenged during the Anglo-Saxon period has been the subject…
Conserving more than 26,000 shells in Devon For the past year, staff from the National Trust have been working to conserve the tens of thousands of marine materials – including shells, bones, coral, and starfish – that decorate the interior of the Shell Gallery at A la Ronde, a 16-sided…
A new project aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of the prehistoric landscape near Drumadoon on the west side of the Isle of Arran, including the investigation of a large Neolithic cursus monument, or rectangular enclosure, which was first discovered five years ago during a LiDAR survey carried out by…