Finds Tray: Medieval seal matrix
This is a medieval seal matrix, made of copper alloy, that was recently found by a metal-detectorist near the village of Patrick Brompton in North Yorkshire. The matrix’s handle extends out from
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Roman Roads Research Association
By AD 150, the Roman road system extended for some 300,000km (more than 186,000 miles – 7.5 times the circumference of the earth). This comprehensive transport infrastructure underpinned the mobility and trade
Saving shipwrecks: HMS Invincible, East Solent
There are currently 57 nationally important shipwrecks in English waters, spanning the Bronze Age to the 20th century, designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 – including the remains of HMS
Seeking a legendary lost city
The civil war had been very disruptive. There had been looting, pillage, and social upheaval. There are records of a most heinous crime, rooting up the boundary markers of land ownership, for which those guilty were impaled.
The House of the Harpist
A remarkable group of luxurious wall paintings has been discovered at a rich Roman residence called the House of the Harpist in Arles, southern France. The house was discovered beneath an 18th-century
1942 Quiz
The arrival of which 42,900-ton German battleship in Norwegian waters posed a grave threat to Allied shipping convoys in January 1942?
The Bell Airacuda
Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Britain all produced their versions of the type, such as the Bf 110, Potez 630, Fokker G.I, and the Beaufighter.
In Memoriam: Dr Neil Faulkner
As all who worked with him here would agree, he was not just a man of extraordinary and wide-ranging intellectual and professional ability, but also a hugely generous, thoughtful, and kind collaborator and colleague…
Samurai: history and legend
For many centuries, the outside world knew little of the Japanese way of life. Before the Meiji Restoration of 1868 – after which the country rapidly modernised and opened itself up to
War of Words – ‘GLADIATOR’
Gladius was a general Latin word for ‘sword’. A gladiator was someone who fought with a gladius – a swordsman. As usually employed today, gladius refers to a double-edged short sword.
Waterloo Quiz
From which island did the exiled Napoleon escape in February 1815, setting off the chain of events which led to the Battle of Waterloo?
Last Word: Neil Faulkner
Neil was an interesting person, as he lived two lives. One was as an archaeologist, as a tour guide, excavator, and valued contributor to our magazines. But he also had another life, as a revolutionary Marxist…
The Long Distance Walkers Association
Active travel, as it is known, is set to become even more popular as people rediscover the riches of the UK’s natural and cultural heritage.
English Channel Quiz
France and England were once connected by land. River crossings aside, when would it last have been possible to walk between the two?
Finds tray – Seal of Matilda de Cornhill
Seal matrices are inscribed, flat-bottomed metal items used to make impressions on wax to create ‘seals’ – marks of authentication commonly appended to medieval documents. They are made, typically, of lead or
Unearthing an ‘idol’
Prehistoric anthropomorphic items made of wood represent rare finds in British archaeology.
Photographing Mosul, 1944
Exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery: ‘Anthony Kersting: Kurdistan in the 1940s’
Kurdistan Quiz
Between which five present-day countries is the roughly defined geo-cultural territory of Kurdistan mostly now divided?
Words of Wisdom: ‘At home, you can say or do anything’
What buddies could you prefer to a faithful wife? What brothers can you imagine skipping out on her for? A wife’s more trustworthy than friends, more faithful than a brother, and a beautiful bride even beats your mom for loyalty.
Ninagawa Noritane
In the 1930s, an admirer remembered Japanese antiquarian Ninagawa Noritane fondly as ‘simple-hearted and unpretentious. He was frugal and sometimes walked around wearing a lampshade hat woven with rush.’ He added, perhaps
Egyptian afterlives: an interview with Salima Ikram
As shown by the excitement surrounding the discovery of Tutankhamun 100 years ago, mummies and Egyptian tombs have an impressive ability to capture our imagination. Richard Marranca speaks to Egyptologist Salima Ikram to find out more about these funerary finds, from early medicinal mummies to recent revelations at Saqqara.