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
Engraved deer bone
What is it? This 51,000-year-old engraved toe bone is one of the oldest works of art ever found. The bone, which is the second phalanx of a giant deer, is 56.8mm long,
Byzantine wine factory
Excavations in the city of Yavne in Israel have discovered a vast 1,500-year-old industrial complex thought to be the largest wine production centre known from the Byzantine period. The factory complex encompasses
South America Quiz
To which other land mass is South America believed to have been joined before the break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea around 225 million years ago?
Back to the Drawing Board: the Nock Volley Gun
David Porter on Military History’s doomed inventions.
Guy Gibson at RAF Scampton, 1943
In this image, Wing Commander Guy Gibson can be seen sitting in field of poppies at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire in July 1943. It was from this airbase that Gibson led 617
War of Words – ‘ARMAGEDDON’
‘Armageddon’ came to English, via Greek, from Hebrew har megiddo, meaning ‘mountain of Megiddo.’
Pacific War Quiz
How many Imperial Japanese aircraft took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941?
Excavating the East Midlands
While investigating a site near Clifton in the south-western suburbs of Nottingham, Wessex Archaeology found evidence of a late Iron Age/early Romano-British farmstead, as well as the remains of two of its residents.
Friends of Canterbury Cathedral
The Friends have raised some £15 million towards projects as diverse as the purchase of a minibus for the choristers, the conservation of rare books in the library, the restoration of the splendid Tudor gatehouse, and the creation of a new garden in the cathedral precinct.
Early medieval disc brooch
Crafted from copper-alloy, this early medieval disc brooch features a bird holding a branch (outlined above by Peter Reavill, Finds Liaison Officer for Shropshire and Hereford). The item is thought to date
Sutton Hoo: capturing a ghost ship
It is one of hundreds of images of the investigation that are now available to browse online thanks to the conservation and digitisation efforts of the National Trust.
Disasters Quiz
Palaeontologists have identified a ‘Big 5’ of extinction events. Which one saw the demise of all non-avian dinosaurs?
‘Arrogance and violence’
Suetonius’ Lives of the Caesars offers a series of sensational biographies of Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Domitian, highlighting moments of depravity, viciousness, scheming, and excess.
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1580-1637)
It is hard to disagree with the astronomers. They clearly felt that naming a single lunar crater after Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc in 1935 was insufficient and, in 1993, honoured him again,
Baalbek and Antioch, 1933
In 1933, the first season of excavations at Tell ed-Duweir (Lachish), south-west of Jerusalem, came to end. The remains of a building from the late 5th-4th century BC, described as a governor’s
Gold Quiz
Which book of the Bible describes the city of New Jerusalem as having streets ‘made of pure gold’?
Monasteries Quiz
Which saint, who established the tradition of Western monasticism, is now the patron saint of Europe?