DEBATE
Let It Go? Curated decay and alternative futures for the historic environment
Augustine United Church, Edinburgh
14 January 2027
https://tinyurl.com/mtkw2dra
This debate, hosted by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, will be chaired by Professor Ian Baxter. A panel of experts will share brief position statements on the future of our built heritage, followed by an open debate with audience Q&A. It will be a hybrid event, both in Augustine United Church and livestreamed, with the recording also uploaded to the Society’s YouTube channel and Spotify account shortly a after the lecture. Tickets are free, but booking is essential.
EVENT
Archaeology Day Cardiff
St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff
14 November 2026
https://heneb.org.uk/event/archaeology-day-cardiff/
Hosted by Heneb: the Trust for Welsh Archaeology, this event boasts a full line-up of speakers including Dr Alex Langlands talking about the Roman villa discovered at Margam Park, Bethan Price on excavations at the early medieval site of Llantwit Major, Dr Elizabeth Walker discussing the archaeology of the Tenby Caves, and Richard Brewer providing new insights into Roman Caerwent. Tickets cost £33.22, with concessions for Heneb members.
LECTURES
The Bishop’s Palace Beneath the Lawns: rediscovering Auckland Castle
Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle
13 November 2026
https://www.tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk/whatson/the-bishops-palace-beneath-the-lawns-rediscovering-auckland-castle/
Dr John Castling, Archaeology Curator at the Auckland Project and manager of Binchester Roman Fort, describes what eight years of excavation at Auckland Castle have revealed about the historic home of the Prince Bishops of Durham. The Prince Bishops were powerful figures, with religious and secular authority during the medieval period, and Auckland Palace was one of their main residences. Tickets cost £7 and include tea/coffee.
The Celtic Warrior: violent assemblages in the Iron Age of Britain
Henley Business School, University of Reading
25 November 2026
http://www.reading.ac.uk/events/Feed/2026/November/Richard-Bradley-Lecture-The-Celtic-Warrior
This lecture by Professor Melanie Giles from the University of Manchester is in honour of Richard Bradley, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology. It will draw on archaeological evidence from across Britain to explore the changing nature of conflict from the centuries before Rome to the threat of conquest itself, with Melanie arguing that violence in Iron Age Britain involved.
Illustrated Talk: excavations at Somerton Road, Langport
All Saints’ Hall, Langport
7 December 2026
https://langportheritage.org.uk/events/illustrated-talk-excavations-at-somerton-road-langport
Agata Socha-Paszkiewicz from the Thames Valley Archaeological Services will give a talk on the excavation in 2025 of a site north of Somerton Road in Langport, Somerset, in advance of development of the site. The project revealed a prehistoric roundhouse, a six-room Roman villa with associated landscape, and a post-Roman enclosure ditch. Entry is free for members of the Langport & District History Society, £4 for non-members.
HERITAGE FROM HOME
VIRTUALS VISITS
• Sudan National Museum
https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/soudan-museum/en/sudan-national-museum-0
Explore this digital reconstruction of the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum, a project that is working to document its collections following looting during the ongoing conflict there.
• Excavating Oatlands
https://elmbridgemuseum.org.uk/online-exhibitions/excavating-oatlands
This virtual exhibition by Elmbridge Museum explores excavations between 1968 and 1983 at Oatlands Palace, which was built by Henry VIII in 1537 for his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
• Museums in Motion: ICOM 80 years
https://exhibition80.icom.museum
This virtual exhibition documents the history of museums and international heritage cooperation since 1946, when the International Council of Museums (ICOM) was formed.
• Symphony of Spices: Vietnamese roots, global routes
https://reichderbilder.de/360/symphonie_360
Enjoy this virtual walkthrough of an exhibition exploring Vietnamese foodways at the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zürich.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
• Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland
Search this open-access resource, hosted by Trinity College Dublin, which is working to reconstruct the Public Record Office of Ireland that was originally destroyed in 1922 during the Civil War.
• Researching Archaeology on Historic Maps
https://maps.nls.uk/guides/archaeology
This new search guide, hosted by the National Library of Scotland, helps researchers explore how archaeological sites and features have been represented on maps of Scotland and Great Britain over time.
• Secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry: inside the museum
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00303gc/secrets-of-the-bayeux-tapestry-inside-the-museum
This documentary, available on BBC iPlayer, tells the story of how the Bayeux Tapestry was created and the painstaking efforts made to bring the work back to the UK for the first time in almost a millennium.
• New Books in Archaeology
https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/politics-society/archaeology
This podcast by Marshall Poe brings scholars to the show to discuss
their recently published research.
ONLINE-ONLY EVENTS
• A Cosy Archaeology Crafting Morning
On 6 December, join the Council for British Archaeology at this craft and chat session on Zoom, where everyone will make simple finger pots and weave baskets while discussing how people made and used these items across the ages.
• RHS Lindley Late Online: unearthing medieval gardens
On 19 November, RHS Libraries and Dr Catriona Cooper will host a discussion about women, plants, and the gardens of the Middle Ages.
• Excavation of Tresness Chambered Tomb, Sanday, Orkney
On 12 November, join Professor Vicki Cummings for a ‘hands-on’ dig into the mysteries of the Tresness Chambered Tomb in this free online event hosted by the Orkney Archaeology Society.
• Learning from a Burned Landscape
On 9 December, Miles Johnson, hosted by the Council for British Archaeology, will discuss the effect the 2025 Flyingdales wildfire had on the archaeology of the North York Moors.
• Elsyng Palace: the Tudor history of Forty Hall, Enfield
On 11 January, Dr Martin Dearne will reveal the lost Elsyng Palace in this talk about its royal history, archaeology, and centuries of landscape change.
