Current World Archaeology 136
The comprehensive website for archaeology, history, heritage and the ancient world. Find out more about us here
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.
Anyang: China’s ancient city of kings
A recent exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC, explores the art and culture of the Bronze Age city of Anyang in China. We spoke to curator J Keith Wilson to find out more.
Research reveals American wood imported by Norse Greenlanders
The study confirms that the Norse had the ability, knowledge, and vessels necessary to bring timber from North America until well into the 14th century, if not longer.
Broken links and smashed glass
Far into the Middle Ages, glass-workers produced beads using techniques eerily similar to those employed 2,000 years earlier in Amarna.
Battle Elephants and Flaming Foxes: animals in the Roman world
Review by Chris Epplett Over the past few years, there has been an increasing number of books and studies written on humankind’s interactions with and exploitation of the natural world. The book
Maya ballgame marker discovered at Chichén Itzá
The ancient Maya ballgame, known as pelota or sometimes pok-ta-pok, played an important ritual and symbolic role in the Mesoamerican culture.
Prehistoric cave art found in Spain
The motifs found on the panel include quadrupeds (possibly bovids and equids), as well as circles, zigzags, lines, reticulates, stelliforms (suns and/or stars), and more.
Records of the pyramid builders: discovering eye-witness accounts of a legendary construction project
How did Egypt build the pyramids? It is a question that has excited the imagination of scholars and visitors for millennia. Now papyri documenting work on the Great Pyramid are revealing fresh insights into construction work. Pierre Tallet and Mark Lehner told Matthew Symonds how combining text and archaeology can expose the secrets of an extraordinary building project.
Current World Archaeology 118
Analysis of elephant bones shines light on Neanderthal diets
The assemblage of more than 3,000 elephant bones was discovered in 125,000-year-old lake deposits at the site of Neumark-Nord, in central Germany.
New study uncovers the secrets of Roman concrete
The secret of the ancient material’s durability has intrigued researchers for decades, but a new study led by a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may have found the key.
CWA #118 Crossword, and answers to #117
Across 8 Germanic people who settled in the south of France and Spain (8)9 Chest used for human remains in ancient Greece (6)10 Andean city that flourished from AD 500 to 900
Aquincum: a museum and archaeological park in an urban setting
On 10 May 1894, Aquincum Museum in Budapest opened its doors to the public. Here, in anticipation of the forthcoming anniversary of that event, David Breeze recounts his connection to the museum and its archaeological park.
World news in brief: finds from Japan, Iraq, and Egypt
A round-up of some of the latest archaeological news from across the globe.
Water in the Roman World: engineering, trade, religion, and daily life
Review by Dylan K Rogers To say that the Roman world was overflowing with water is an understatement. Recently, scholarship has increasingly begun to explore the numerous ways water impacted the lives
Qasr Bshir: conserving a special Roman fort
Deep in the Jordanian desert lies an extraordinary ruin. It is a Roman fort that can stake a claim to being the best-preserved example anywhere in the former empire. But this relic of imperial power is in urgent need of conservation work. David Breeze, Mark Driessen, and Fawzi Abudanah discuss why Qasr Bshir is special, and the challenges that lie ahead.
Ancient mesopotamian tavern uncovered
The recently discovered tavern, dating to c.2,700 BC, consisted of an open-air public eating area and a kitchen
Unboxing Palmyra: the archive of Harald Ingholt
The cardboard sheets, photographs, and handwritten notes compiled by Harald Ingholt bear a wealth of information about Palmyrene sculpture and architecture. As his archive in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is reopened, Olympia Bobou, Eva Mortensen, and Rubina Raja reveal some of the secrets within.
Time to do it right
What Lehner’s team found was a far-flung complex of houses, storage galleries, kitchens, dormitories, and offices. The ‘Lost City of the Pyramid Builders’ saw light.
A Peruvian fortress-temple in the desert
In 2022, archaeologists from the University of Toronto and the University of Trujillo began the first excavations of Cerro Prieto Espinal, a mountainside fortress-temple and settlement in north coastal Peru. Across the
Bog bodies: complex human connections with wetlands, death, and burial
New research is expanding our understanding of the human remains deposited in peatlands around Europe.