Hadrian’s Wall Quiz
Hadrian’s Wall stretches for 80 Roman miles from coast to coast. How many modern miles does this equate to?
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Funding awarded to National Trust for new scientific technology
The funding will enable the conservation charity to upgrade and expand scientific and archaeological research on its historic sites and collections.
History of Indian indenture in the British Caribbean explored in museum display
‘Indo + Caribbean: The creation of a culture’ is free and will run until 19 November as part of the museum’s ‘London, Sugar, and Slavery’ gallery.
Previously unknown ancient hominin discovered in Israel
A team of researchers has identified 140,000-year-old fossilised remains found in Israel as belonging to a previously unknown type of ancient hominin, which may have been an early precursor of Neanderthals that
Finds tray – late medieval silver seal matrix
This is a burnt silver seal matrix, dating to the 13th or 14th century, which was found last August by a metal-detectorist near King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Despite the damage, clearly seen in
Centuries-old beeswax candle discovered at Norwegian glacier
As part of the project ‘Secrets of the Ice’, the Innlandet County-based Glacier Archaeology Programme (GAP) have been conducting surveys at Lendbreen since 2011, when the ice began melting away and exposing remarkable finds dating from the Roman Iron Age to the late medieval period.
Caerphilly Castle receives £5m investment to boost visitor experience
There are plans for the redecoration of Caerphilly’s Great Hall to restore its original medieval splendour, and for the installation of new interpretations offering enlivened insights into the history of the castle…
National Library of Scotland acquires important 16th-century manuscript
Its contents are written in Latin, Scots, and Gaelic, and include contemporary annals, poetry, lists of Scottish kings and battles, and chronicles recording the deaths of prominent members of Highland society.
Reopening graves a widespread practice in early medieval Europe, research reveals
The practice appears to have begun in central Europe sometime before the 6th-century AD, and then spread across the continent before reaching its peak around two-hundred-years later.
Shipwrecks off Singapore shed light on island’s ancient maritime trade routes
The discoveries are significant as they reveal the long history of maritime trade in Singapore well before the establishment of the East India Company in 1819.
New theory emerges about how humans learned to count
The Les Pradelles hyena bone is ‘potentially the earliest known example of this type of mark-making’, and suggests Neanderthals possessed the cognitive abilities for numeracy.
Palaeolithic children’s footprints discovered in Spanish cave
The footprints were left by a group children, aged between six to seven years old, playing in the cave recess sometime during the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic c. 60,000-15,000 years ago.
Major conservation work on Hardwick Hall Tudor tapestries nears completion
The project began in 2001 and has now carefully restored 12 of the 13 tapestries, which have lined the walls of the Long Gallery at Hardwick Hall since 1562.
Marble skull is lost Bernini masterpiece for Pope Alexander VII, research reveals
For many years, a life-sized, anatomically accurate and skilfully carved skull of white Carrara marble was on display at Schloss Pillnitz, a castle in Germany. Its artist was unknown.
Why studying the past matters
The eerie experience of writing about quarantine whilst in quarantine truly highlighted the relevance of archaeology in the modern world.
Grade I-listed Yorkshire church to install carvings of pioneering women
It was decided instead that nine new carvings commemorating trailblazing women throughout history would be installed.
University of Glasgow project to shed light on modern-day burial mounds
They will investigate the recent trend in constructing burial mounds as a columbarium – a place for housing the cremated remains of the deceased.
Mary, Queen of Scots’ rosary among treasures stolen from Arundel Castle
‘The rosary is of little intrinsic value as metal, but as a piece of the Howard family history and the nation’s heritage it is irreplaceable.’
Roman bath complex emerges from Spanish sand dunes
Whilst searching for old lagoons and marshy sites that may have been used as a fish or crustacean farm, the archaeologists came across the 4m-high walls of the Roman baths emerging from the sand.
Date announced for HMS Belfast’s reopening
Although primarily closed because of the pandemic, Belfast has undergone significant restoration in that time. Work
Interview: how the British Museum brought Becket back to life
Bringing together more than 100 objects from museums, churches, and private collections across Europe, ‘Thomas Becket: Murder and the making of a saint’ powerfully evokes the medieval era as it explores the life, death, and legacy of Henry II’s ‘turbulent priest’.
Hidden inscriptions discovered in Anne Boleyn’s prayerbook
Previously unknown inscriptions have been uncovered in the prayerbook which, according to historic records, Anne carried to her execution.
Early Royal Navy submarine prototype given protected status
The wreck of the Royal Navy’s first long-range diesel-powered submarine has been awarded protected status by the British government.