Hilary Wilson on… Bread, beer, and economics – Part 2
Hilary Wilson shows how the ancient Egyptians were paid in food and drink.
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Current Archaeology’s August Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home
There are lots of great ways to get involved with history and archaeology over the next few months, including exhibitions, lectures, and conferences exploring a wide range of subjects. If you would prefer to get your heritage fix from the comfort of your sofa, though, there is a variety of resources on offer online, too, from virtual site tours and digital offerings by museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Kathryn Krakowka has put together a selection of some of the options available.
Genghis Khan: How the Mongols Changed the World
A new exhibition at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds explores the history and legacy of the Mongol Empire. Carly Hilts visited to learn more.
Binchester Roman Fort
The excavated remains of Vinovia, a major cavalry fort and civilian settlement near Bishop Auckland, have reopened to the public under the management of The Auckland Project. CA reports.
Kynren – the storied lands
A cultural regeneration charity focused on Bishop Auckland in County Durham has opened an immersive attraction featuring historically inspired live-action shows. Carly Hilts visited to learn more.
Burials and the Black Death: the New Library excavation, Hereford Cathedral
Excavation reports often have a long gestation, and the publication of the City of Hereford Archaeology Unit’s 1993 excavations on the site of Hereford Cathedral’s new Mappa Mundi museum has been eagerly
Rhynie – a Powerful Place of Pictland: the development of a landscape of Pictish royal power from the Roman to the early medieval period
Aberdeenshire is known for its Pictish symbol stones, but until recently evidence for Pictish settlements in the region was sparse and our understanding of Pictish sites even more tenuous. This has now
From Morocco to the Coast of England: the story of the Dom van Keulen and its remarkable cargo
First discovered nearly 30 years ago, the wreck of a ship that sank in Salcombe Bay, Devon, in 1633 has now been comprehensively re-examined in this new British Museum volume. On its
Shropshire: art, architecture, and archaeology from Roman Wroxeter to the sixteenth century
The latest in the British Archaeological Association’s regional conference volumes covers Shropshire. The 16 contributions might seem at first sight to concentrate on the county’s best-known Roman and medieval sites – such
The Archaeology of Industrial Cheshire in 20 Digs
The Archaeology of Industrial Cheshire in 20 Digs is a well-illustrated introduction to Cheshire’s industrial past. Each concise chapter combines documentary evidence with excavation results to trace the development of the county’s
Roman Britain in Twenty Towns: a visitor’s guide
The idea of a guidebook is an ancient one – Pausanias’ Guide to Greece is perhaps the first – but these days the idea of wandering around sites clutching a book conveying
Homage to Gallarus Oratory
Fifty years ago, one of the most daring expeditions in modern times left Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula. Tim Severin set out with a crew of three in a curragh – a skin-boat shaped
From the fringes of the Roman Empire: Locally crafted empires
In our high-speed modern world, it can be easy to forget that the ancient world was experienced at a slower speed. Rubina Raja shares the insights that can spring from exploring the edges of the Roman world on foot.
The plaster casts of Pompeii
The first permanent exhibition of the plaster casts of Pompeii has opened at the Archaeological Park.
Surviving Rome: the economic lives of the ninety percent
Sometime in the 1st century AD, a crass graffiti artist carved a 2m-long graffito into the wall of a stairwell within the House of Julia Felix at Pompeii. The mudslinger didn’t mince
Alexander: god, king, man
Every new book about Alexander the Great needs to have its own unique selling point if it is to fight its way successfully into public consciousness. In the case of Edmund Richardson’s
Travels through Prehistoric Spain: a guide
In Travels through Prehistoric Spain, Jude Brown and Gary Lock provide a richly rewarding and deeply engaging exploration of Spain’s prehistoric heritage. Written with enthusiasm, knowledge, and genuine affection for both archaeology and
War on Film – World War II with Tom Hanks
Taylor Downing reviews the latest film and television releases.
Hammer of the Gods
Don Hollway’s account of the life of the Norse warlord Olaf Tryggvason (king of Norway in the years c.995-1000) covers a period of momentous social and religious change in the lands bordering
Tojo: the rise and fall of Japan’s most controversial World War II general
Hideki Tojo was Japan’s most important policymaker of WWII. As detailed in Gary Bass’s 2023 study Judgment at Tokyo, he was the highest official to face the death penalty at the ensuing
SAS: Great Escapes 5
War correspondent, film producer, and writer: many MHM readers will already know Damien Lewis’s work. In his latest book about British Special Forces, he presents five more hair-raising accounts of WWII escapes.
Why Barbarossa Failed: Germany and Russia in the Second World War
On the face of it, Operation Barbarossa – Nazi Germany’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union – is straightforward to understand. Germany was at first strikingly successful, then faltered, and ultimately failed