Between 2016 and 2018, Cotswold Archaeology’s excavation of disused rugby pitches in Stoke Gifford, just north of Bristol, provided the opportunity to explore the layout of a Roman villa estate. Clare Randall describes some of the key findings.…
Distinctive tiles stamped with the name and titles of the Roman emperor Nero have been found at only two sites from Roman Britain, both in Hampshire. Michael Fulford explores what this might mean.…
Archaeological investigations in a field outside Norwich, close to the remains of a Romano-Celtic temple, have uncovered further evidence of activity associated with the religious complex. Carly Hilts reports on a recent visit to the site.…
Chedworth Roman Villa, near Cirencester, has been open to visitors since its discovery 158 years ago – but, until today, the site never had a formal academic publication. A new monograph has now drawn together decades of research, as Simon Esmonde Cleary, Jason Wood, Emma Durham, Martin Papworth, and Julie…
A new exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands provides poignant and powerful insights into the seven centuries when London hosted more public executions that anywhere else in Britain. Carly Hilts reports.…
A newly discovered hoard of gold was buried in Vindelev in the 6th century. Why? And what can its regal riches reveal about power and religion in Denmark before the Vikings? Mads Ravn shares what we know so far.…
As the British Museum marks the 200th anniversary of the decoding of the Rosetta Stone in a new exhibition, Lindsay Fulcher talks to its curator, Ilona Regulski, about the two men who worked to decipher its text, what it revealed, and the powerful role of the scribes who created these petrified…
The presence of ancient Greece and Rome can be felt in many places in the early history of the United States of America. Lucia Marchini speaks to Sean Burrus and Emilie Johnson to find out how Americans like Thomas Jefferson were putting antiquity to use as a new nation was…
As a new exhibition opens at the Stonehenge visitor centre, curator and archaeologist Susan Greaney explores the incredible artistry and ingenuity of people living during Japan’s Jomon period and the parallels to their contemporaries in Britain and Ireland.…
Enheduanna, high priestess at the ancient city of Ur, is thought to be the world’s first named author. She was a poetic innovator, but she was not alone in Mesopotamian history as a prominent or a literate woman, as Lucia Marchini learns from Sidney Babcock.…
Ancient human DNA is revolutionising our ability to detect human migration that occurred hundreds of years ago. Joscha Gretzinger and Stephan Schiffels explain how these advances have transformed our understanding of the past.…
Newly published research centred on ancient DNA, which is revolutionising our understanding of early medieval mobility and the genetic changes it brought in its wake, forms the focus of this special issue of Current Archaeology. Duncan Sayer discusses some of the key themes that we will cover this month, and…
Was the arrival of the ‘Anglo-Saxons’ in England a limited elite takeover, an invasion force, or a mass movement of migrants? Perceptions of the immediate post-Roman period have shifted and evolved over the centuries. John Hines places the new genetic data explored in this issue in the context of research…
By combining excavated evidence from early medieval burials with genetic information, we can gain powerful insights into patterns of population movement, and ideas of identity and integration. Duncan Sayer explains more.…
The study of ancient DNA is a potent recent addition to the archaeological arsenal, with the power to illuminate (and eliminate) family relationships between excavated individuals. Duncan Sayer, Dominic Powlesland, and Allison Stewart explore some of the most-intriguing recent revelations from the early medieval period.…
The previous articles in this issue have focused primarily on ancient DNA – but what can isotopic analysis add to this picture? Sam Leggett explores how this technique can complement genetic analysis, and how it illuminates the experiences of people living centuries earlier.…
Following this issue’s explorations of genetic data, cemetery and skeletal evidence, and isotope analysis, Joanna Story reflects on the significance of the research, and its place within the bigger picture of understanding the early Middle Ages.…
An exhibition at the Musée Saint-Raymond explores the Roman cult of Mithras. Gillis Kersting visited to find out more about this enigmatic religion.…
Recent debate about women’s roles in the Ice Age raises questions about how much can be said about everyday lives in this era. Elle Clifford and Paul Bahn examine the evidence for who did what in the Palaeolithic.…
Barbara Gai recounts the discovery of the Embalming Cache KV54 and its astonishing contents.…
Numerous ancient stone circles are known in Japan, but how and why were these monuments built? Simon Kaner examines what these enigmatic structures can tell us about a key period of Japanese prehistory.…