The Ness of Brodgar in Orkney is home to an unprecedented complex of 5,000-year-old buildings. Ongoing analysis is illuminating their form and function, as Carly Hilts reports.
As the Bayeux Tapestry goes on show at the British Museum, Matthew Symonds explores some of the enigmatic messages encoded in its exquisite needlework.
From serving as the edge of an empire to falling within no fewer than three modern World Heritage Sites, Raetia’s Roman frontier has long been a place of consequence. David J Breeze introduces the ancient and modern significance of this remarkable monument.
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.
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.
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.
In the first part of our special feature for this issue, Stephen Roberts traces the life of this extraordinary individual; while in the second part, he looks in more detail at Charlemagne’s victory at Pavia, which helped him establish the foundations of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the second part of our special, Stephen Roberts reveals how a key victory helped Charlemagne establish the foundations for the Holy Roman Empire.
Infographics: Amy Brunskill
In the concluding part of our series marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, Fred Chiaventone reveals how the Revolutionary War was won at last.
Continuing our series on the coming of the Cold War, Taylor Downing examines the first major confrontation with the Soviets.
Eighty years on, Ben Goodlad reveals how the trials of 24 high-ranking Nazis shaped modern attitudes to punishing war crimes.
It was the greatest Russian triumph of World War I – but the Brusilov Offensive also sowed the seeds of revolution, as David Porter reports.
The diverse grave goods excavated at a 6th-century cemetery in Nottinghamshire testify to a wealthy community with wide-ranging trade links – but, as well as new objects and materials, did these networks help to spread deadly diseases, and might this explain the unusually high number of multiple burials identified at Broughton Lodge? Carly Hilts visited a new exhibition about the site and spoke to Ann Inscker, Professor Chris Loveluck, and Dr Clare Pickersgill to learn more.
Tree-ring dating has enabled the identification of some very ancient church doors, which are still in situ and in use after nearly 1,000 years. Several were once covered with leather claimed to have been made from the skin of unfortunate Vikings, flayed as a warning to all would-be raiders. Despite this dubious lore, they and similar doors provide us with significant insights into woodworking tools and techniques, as well as ornamental ironwork in the 11th and 12th centuries, as Chris Catling reports.
Over the last 15 years, international research focused on a series of silver hoards and other finds from the late Roman and early medieval periods has shed new light
on how this metal was used and viewed during a period of great cultural change.
Dr Alice Blackwell, Dr Fraser Hunter, Dr Andreas Rau, and Dr Martin Goldberg report.
The discovery of an extensive and long-lived late Roman agricultural landscape near Cambridge has added illuminating details to our understanding of a region that appears to have been home to numerous villa estates. With the project now published in full, Francis M Morris, who recently completed the post-excavation analysis for Archaeological Research Services Ltd, is our guide to the key findings.
James A Harrell investigates the peculiar popularity of purple during the Middle Kingdom.
Dr Joseph L Thimes traces the development of the postal system in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
In the last of his series of articles on the Twelfth Dynasty, Wolfram Grajetzki investigates the reigns of Amenemhat IV, and Sobeknefru, Egypt’s first female king.
Gerrit zur Hausen explains the difficulties of studying cancer in ancient populations, and how such research may help in our fight against the disease today.
Peter Lacovara celebrates the achievements of one of the most important, yet under-appreciated, figures in Egyptian archaeology: Dows Dunham.
Maiken Mosleth King explores life in Terenouthis, an important mining and trade centre that rose to prominence in the Graeco-Roman era.