Current World Archaeology 136
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Discovering Denmark: From prehistoric burials to Viking Age power architecture and beyond
Denmark is home to many archaeological marvels, including both renowned sites and world-class museums. Olympia Bobou, Ilaria Bucci, and Rubina Raja are our guides to the wealth of heritage that the country has to offer.
Surveying Falerii Novi: Rethinking the development of a Roman town
Surveying an ancient town in Italy has presented fresh insights into a key moment for Roman urbanism. Matthew Symonds spoke to Martin Millett about what can be learnt from studying an entire townscape.
Hawai‘i: Maritime journeys and an island kingdom
The ocean is integral to the story of Hawai‘i. It carried the first Polynesian settlers to the archipelago, and linked an island chain spanning 2,400km. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it also provided pathways for international diplomacy and unexpected alliances. Matthew Symonds spoke to Alice Christophe about the seldom-told stories brought to light in a new major exhibition at the British Museum.
CWA 136 crossword, and answers to crossword #135
Across 7 Mercian king who ruled from AD 657 to 674 (8)8 Extinct language of Anatolia (6)10 US state containing the Grimes Point archaeological site (6)11 Roman name for York (8)12 Minstrel
In the heart of the Sahara: Rock art of Wadi Djerat
A narrow wadi in Algeria contains a remarkable concentration of rock art. Christoph Baumer reveals how these images offer a glimpse of a changing world, as a land of lakes and grasslands transformed into the Sahara Desert.
Urbicide: killing the city
The narrative about the rise and fall of civilisations and their infrastructures is still omnipresent in scholarship about past cities. It is a story that sells well.
Art for the ages
The Lower Pecos Canyonlands, in south-west Texas and northern Mexico, are home to an extensive collection of rock paintings in what is known as the Pecos River style. These multicoloured murals cover
Building community: Göbeklitepe, Taş Tepeler, and life 12,000 years ago
An exhibition at the James Simon Gallery – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin explores the art and architecture of the first settled cultures in south-eastern Turkey.
Re-examining the Hjortspring boat
A century ago, an Iron Age boat was found in Denmark. Now it is revealing new secrets. Amy Brunskill spoke to Mikael Fauvelle to find out more.
The Diver of Paestum: Youth, Eros, and the Sea in Ancient Greece
On 3 June 1968, Italian archaeologists digging the ancient city of Paestum made an extraordinary discovery. They had unearthed a tomb fashioned from slabs of travertine, containing the bones of an individual
Colonial Intrigues and My Dismissal as Director of Antiquities: A Memoir of Cyprus in the 1930s
‘Journeys, like artists, are born and not made ’, Lawrence Durrell begins his encomium to Cyprus, Bitter Lemons. For millennia, this Mediterranean island was a staging post to the Middle East; then,
Making Art in the Ice Age: The Story of How Our Ancestors Made Images
In 2024, Paul Bahn and Elle Clifford published Living in the Ice Age, adapting their 2022 publication Everyday Life in the Ice Age for a younger audience. In my review of their
The Great Museum of the Sea: A Human History of Shipwrecks
Most maritime archaeologists spend their careers trying to tease out what happened before a ship sank by asking questions like who was on board, when was it built, where was it going,
Africa’s oldest cremation
Archaeological investigations by an international team of researchers have unearthed the earliest evidence for intentional human cremation in Africa. Around 9,500 years ago, a community of hunter-gatherers gathered more than 30kg of
Early Neolithic Cultural exchange
Archaeological work at Eilsleben, in northern Germany, has uncovered unexpected evidence of connections between the early farmers living at this site and the pre-existing hunter-gatherer communities of the region. Eilsleben was discovered
Zapotec tomb unearthed in Mexico
A spectacular tomb associated with the ancient Zapotec civilisation has been uncovered on Cerro de la Cantera, in San Pablo Huitzo, Oaxaca, south-western Mexico. The burial was brought to the attention of
Basilica built by father of Western architecture
A basilica built by the pioneering Roman architect Vitruvius has been rediscovered in the city of Fano, in the Le Marche region of Italy. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was born in Fanum Fortunae
Earliest poison arrows?
Analysis of quartz arrowheads from South Africa reveals that they may represent the earliest use of poison arrows in hunting. Researchers from Sweden and South Africa carried out gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
CWA news in brief
Singapore’s first shipwreck Underwater excavations have uncovered the first ancient shipwreck to be found in Singapore. The vessel, known as the Temasek Wreck, underwent several stages of investigation between 2016 and 2019,
Bearded Viking figurine
This Viking Age figurine depicts… a man with a shrewd expression. What is it? This Viking Age figurine, which is just c.40mm tall, depicts the head and torso of a man with
Exploring ancient graffiti
The walls of Pompeii are littered with messages left behind by the city’s inhabitants two millennia ago. Recent research is shedding new light on one of the richest concentrations of these ancient inscriptions.
A dog and a dagger
Archaeologists from Swedish National Historical Museums have uncovered an unusual and remarkably well-preserved dog burial believed to date to c.5,000 years ago at a site in Logsjömossen, near Järna, south-west of Stockholm.