News of the Crosby Garrett helmet’s discovery in 2010was swiftly tempered by disappointment when the museum seeking to acquire it was outbid at auction. With attention focusing on the helmet’s modern fate, there was a danger that its Roman-era disposal would be eclipsed. Now work at the findspot has established that Roman Crosby Garrett was a thriving farming settlement. What does this mean for our view of the helmet?

The Preseli Hills in Wales are increasingly central to attempts to deduce the meaning of Stonehenge. In this issue, the SPACES programme reflects on the fruits of over a decade of their survey and excavation in the region. Could it be that Medieval beliefs about the remarkable properties of springs gushing from Preseli outcrops hold the key to understanding why Neolithic people transported the bluestones 220km to Wiltshire?

Bankside was also once a somewhat soggy environment. It was notorious for its 14th-century brothels, with attempts to clean up the area in the 1540s opening the door to what was seen as a far more salubrious sport: bear-baiting. Recently published excavations expose the plight of the animals involved.

Rather more genteel delights are the focus of a new study of Norfolk gardens. Historic gardens only arrived on the heritage protection radar due to the determination of a World War II codebreaking veteran: we discover how Mavis Batey switched her attention from Bletchley to parks and gardens, for the benefit of all.