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
Fashioning the Viking Age
The designs of these outfits are based on two high-status graves, which contained some of the best-preserved Viking Age textiles in Denmark: a male burial from Bjerringhøj, dated to AD 970-971, and a female grave from Hvilehøj, dated to the late AD 900s.
The Lost City of Norchia
Upper Palaeolithic flints, Eneolithic tombs, and remains of a Bronze Age semicircular hut, as well as a tomb with a Villanovan shield, show that the place evolved over time, before being bafflingly abandoned in the earlier Iron Age.
Ancient Technology Quiz
Which city boasts the largest Roman aqueduct still in use today, 19 centuries after it was built?
The Battlefields of England
I headed for the battlefield monument to get my bearings – an obelisk erected in 1740 to mark the spot where Warwick the Kingmaker, the greatest figure of the Wars of the Roses, was supposedly cut down…
ISU-152 self-propelled gun, Chernobyl, Ukraine
It was designed by the Soviet Union during the Second World War to take on the German Tigers and Panthers.
Prisoners of War Quiz
At which battle during the Hundred Years’ War did Henry V infamously order the slaughter of French prisoners of war?
Nelson Quiz
In 1793, Nelson was appointed to command HMS Agamemnon, reputedly his favourite ship. By what nickname was the vessel known to its crew?
War of Words: ‘PAWN’
Pawn emerges etymologically from the Anglo-Norman poun, which itself comes from the medieval Latin pedo (‘footsoldier’), derived from the Latin pes (‘foot’).
Integrating art and archaeology: Eastbourne, East Sussex
In this new interactive work of art, titled Walking through the town I followed a pattern on the pavement that became the magnified silhouette of a woman’s profile…
Heritage from home: July
Many museums and heritage sites in the UK and Ireland have already reopened to visitors, with more to follow in the coming weeks, but if you still fancy getting your heritage fix at home there are plenty of great options, from virtual tours and online exhibits to podcasts and TV shows. Current Archaeology’s Amy Brunskill has put together another selection of archaeology-, history-, and heritage-related resources to enjoy from your sofa, plus places you can now visit in person.
Neolithic Britain Quiz
The Neolithic period was the final part of the Stone Age. Which years did it span in Britain?
Saline & District Heritage Society
Placename experts say that Saline (pronounced to rhyme with the Estonian capital Tallinn) means ‘little barn’ – probably a place of collection and storage for tribute due to the Scottish king.
Finds tray – late medieval silver seal matrix
This is a burnt silver seal matrix, dating to the 13th or 14th century, which was found last August by a metal-detectorist near King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Despite the damage, clearly seen in
Hoards Quiz
The UK’s Treasure Act of 1996, which covers the discovery of hoards, defines as ‘treasure’ any object found that is what?
Castles Quiz
Medieval castles are often described as being of ‘motte and bailey’ construction. But what is a motte?
‘Don’t postpone pleasure’
And pretty Samos, and the palace of Croesus at Sardis,What of Smyrna and Colophon – better or worse than their fame?Or are they all as dirt beside the Campus and the Tiber’s
James ‘Athenian’ Stuart
The first volume of The Antiquities of Athens and Other Monuments of Greece (1762) had an impressive 500 subscribers, but its influence was most strongly felt only in the early 19th century, when Greek Revival became the dominant style of British architecture.