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
The comprehensive website for archaeology, history, heritage and the ancient world. Find out more about us here
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
Feasts Quiz
According to Tacitus, which Roman emperor held a floating banquet at which guests were rowed by an army of slaves between ‘brothels stocked with high-ranking ladies’?
Acanceh, 1907
In 1906, local inhabitants were dismantling a structure at the site in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula for building materials when they uncovered a 13m- long wall emblazoned with brightly painted reliefs, thought to date to around AD 600-700.
Emperor Nero Quiz
What was the name of Nero’s mother, who later became Claudius’ fourth wife and plotted to secure the throne for her teenage son in AD 54?
Was Nero really a goodie?
His talents may have been limited and he may have been fundamentally lazy: but was he bad? Could we not say that he made the best use of his limited talents – and the empire flourished?
Bringing an Anglo-Saxon brooch back to life
Given the prominent location of this woman’s grave, overlooking the Ock valley, and the elaborate items she was buried with, it is likely she was a member of a leading family.
Heritage from home: June
As museums and heritage sites reopen, we’re looking forward to visiting our favourite spots as soon as possible – but there are still plenty of resources available online from historical, archaeological, and cultural institutions and sites around the world, as well as podcasts, TV shows, social media content, and more. Current World Archaeology’s Amy Brunskill has put together another selection of options, as well as summarising some of the places that have recently reopened.
Finds tray – dragonesque Roman brooch
While these types of brooch first appeared in Britain shortly after the Roman conquest in AD 43, they clearly include aspects of Celtic design, and this is reflected in the fact that many have been discovered near the northern frontier of the Roman Empire – the point where Roman and Celtic cultures converged.
The Church Recording Society
Church Recorders work in groups of 10-15 people, supported by a skilled photographer. They research and document the memorials, stonework, flooring, woodwork, metalwork, windows, textiles, paintings, organ, books, and historical records.
D-Day Quiz
At which conference in 1943 did the ‘big three’ of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt agree to a cross-channel invasion of France the following year?
Current World Archaeology Photo of the Year 2021: Results
Despite travel limitations over the last year, we’ve been transported to a wide variety of places…
Ten years on from disaster
Urajiri is in the town of Minami Soma, impacted both by the tsunami and the meltdown, evacuated as it was in the exclusion zone around the stricken power plant. Archaeology is providing a focus for rebuilding community identity.
Polynesia Quiz
The ‘Polynesian Triangle’ is an area of the Pacific which has Hawaii at its northern corner. Which island is at its south-eastern corner?
The city of Chersonesos
The photograph shows the 1935 Basilica, named after the year it was excavated and believed to date to the 6th century AD.
Saint-Bélec Slab
What is it? This engraved stone dating to the early Bronze Age (c.1900-1650 BC) is known as the Saint-Bélec Slab. Made of grey-blue coloured schist, the slab is c.2.2m long, 1.53m wide,
Back to the Drawing Board: Heinkel He 177 GreIf
Frantic redesign efforts were made, but in 1942 the aircraft finally entered production still plagued with the same engine problems.
War of Words – ‘Grenade’
‘Grenade’ derives from the Old French pome grenate, on account of the bomblet’s similarity in shape to the pomegranate fruit.
Napoleon’s tomb
Finally completed in April 1861,Napoleon’s remains were transferred into this huge object of red aventurine quartzite from a quarry in northern Russia.
Operation Barbarossa Quiz
When Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, he had an army of approximately 685,000 men. How many times larger was the army with which Hitler invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941?