One and all: Discovering the distinctiveness of Cornish buildings

The Cornish Buildings Group recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Dedicated to preserving and improving Cornwall’s built heritage, the Group has marked its half-century by publishing a short history of its achievements and a volume of conference proceedings that address the question: what defines Cornish buildings? Among the factors…

Lost orders: Time Team and the Knights Hospitaller of Halston Hall

The Knights Hospitaller were forged in the fury of the Crusades, providing protection, hospitality, and medical care for travellers in the Holy Land, and building fundraising communities back in Britain. Few of these sites have been excavated in detail, but Time Team have been investigating a Shropshire example. Carly Hilts…

Making a splash

How did water go from being something to fear to a place of privilege in Greece and Rome? Karen Eva Carr plunges into the cultural history of swimming.…

Secrets of their craft

Many metalworkers and ceramicists in Renaissance Europe seemingly had no qualms about killing a lizard – or other animal – for their art. Pamela Smith investigates the intriguing practice of life-casting that turned nature into art, and why artisan authors recorded practical knowledge in words.…

The gods of Dura-Europos

From the worship of local Syrian protector gods to Christianity, many different religions flourished in the cosmopolitan crossroads city of Dura-Europos. Jen Baird brings us face to face with the diverse divine through the art of this ancient site.…

All creatures great and small

Animal art over thousands of years paints a picture of the ways we live with and study different species, from Roman hunting hounds to swarms of bees, as Lucia Marchini investigates.…

Visions of Mary Magdalene

In early Christian art, Mary Magdalene was a key figure in the Resurrection of Christ, as first witness and ‘apostle to the apostles’. Diane Apostolos-Cappadona explores how her significance was set in stone, tiled on walls, and carved in wood and ivory.…

Eleusinian Mysteries

Eleusis – modern Elefsina – is in the spotlight as European Capital of Culture. Dalu Jones visits its ancient remains to enter the realm of the Eleusinian Mysteries, secret rites honouring the renewal of life.…

The Thirteen Dynasty: Vizier Ankhu

In the second of his series focusing on remarkable people of their period, Wolfram Grajetzki introduces us to an important official whose tomb has recently been discovered.…

Seeking seclusion: medieval hermitages in Britain and Ireland

Medieval monasteries and their communities have been (and continue to be) well studied, but not so the structures associated with those who chose a more solitary route to salvation: hermits and anchorites. Dr Simon Roffey’s new book, An Archaeological History of Hermitages and Eremitic Communities in Medieval Britain and Beyond,…

Deep impact: Can social value save archaeology from extinction?

As CIfA’s code of conduct states, ‘fuller understanding of the past provided by archaeology is part of society’s common heritage and it should be available to everyone’. So, how can we make sure that archaeology is accessible to as many people as possible? Lisa Westcott Wilkins considers the future of…

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