National Churches Trust

Many societies are concerned with a specific aspect of church heritage (monuments, sculptures, or wall paintings, for example) but the National Churches Trust (NCT) is arguably the most holistic, raising money for places of worship of all denominations and in all their aspects. Writing in Prospect magazine in August, NCT…

CWA #121 crossword, and answers to crossword #120

ACROSS 8 Egyptian agrarian culture of 4500-3250 BC (8)9 Son of Daedalus in Greek mythology (6)10 Édouard ….. , French archaeologist noted for his work on the Palaeolithic (6) 11 William ….. , British antiquary and author of Avebury (1743) (8)12 Neolithic and Bronze Age tell in the Azmak Valley,…

Ancient inscriptions in Saudi Arabia

The mountain of Jabal Ikmah, located 5km north of the ancient city of AlUla in north-west Saudi Arabia, has just been added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, which recognises documentary heritage of international significance. This is a significant recognition of the site’s value as a record of the…

Inscribed amphora fragment

What is it?  This small sherd of pottery, measuring 6cm wide  and 8cm long, comes from the lower part of a Roman amphora once used to hold olive oil. The fragment bears part of an inscription carved into the clay during the amphora’s production, c.1,800 years ago. The words have…

Baseball and britain: Aerial reconnaissance of the USAAF

Between 1943 and 1944, reconnaissance units from the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) trained for combat deployment over the skies of England. They flew over airfields, radar installations, and ancient monuments, as well as major settlements, in order to learn the English radio procedures and flying regulations – and,…

Drawing Dinas Dinlle: Caernarfon, Gwynedd

Based on three years of excavations at Dinas Dinlle – carried out by archaeologists from Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, CHERISH, the National Trust, and Cadw (see CA 356 and 394) – new reconstruction drawings by Wessex Archaeology are bringing the site to life once more. They show what the hillfort and…

The UK Paranormal Society

Paranormal phenomena (meaning those that can’t be explained by science) tend to be associated with old buildings. What self-respecting historical house lacks a story of somebody whose death in sudden and often tragic circumstances has left a restless spirit wandering its rooms and hallways? People who are fascinated by such…

Finds tray – Medieval seal matrix

This is a medieval seal matrix found by a metal-detectorist in the parish of Lockerley, Hampshire. It is made of cast copper-alloy and most likely dates to between 1470 and 1520. Measuring a diminutive 6cm by 4cm, it is a pointed oval (or vesica) shape carved with the image of…

Park life then and now: Victoria Park, London

For 40 years, since the establishment of the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England in 1983, Historic England has been protecting the country’s parks and gardens – with the Register now comprising more than 1,700 sites. To celebrate this milestone, images of a number of…

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