Feature

Above View of the River Avon and Broad Quay from the East, taken by George Love Dafnis in 1892 (colourised by Rob Goller).

Pandemics and public health: cleansing Bath’s ‘Great Unwashed’

Excavations in Bath have revealed the remains of one of the earliest Victorian wash houses. Constructed during a time of revolutionary social reform and seismic shifts in attitudes towards poverty and public health, what can it tell us about how local authorities and community campaigners strove to improve the well-being of the poor following the arrival of a devastating pandemic? Current Archaeology explores recent research by Cai Mason.

Glass roots: examining the archaeology of glassmaking in England

Today, glass is a commodity so ubiquitous and cheap that we take it for granted, but it wasn’t always so. A new book by David Dungworth traces the rise of glass from small-scale manufacturing in the medieval period to the major industrial production of the 20th century. Chris Catling reports.

Mega-henges: the evolution of Mount Pleasant’s monuments

It was long thought that huge and complex monuments like Mount Pleasant in Dorset had developed over many centuries – but new dating evidence suggests that the diverse elements of this site came together much faster than previously imagined, with intriguing implications for our understanding of these late Neolithic enclosures. Carly Hilts reports.

New thoughts on the Boxford ‘Triumphs of Pelops and Bellerophon’ mosaic

The vibrant late 4th-century mosaic discovered in Boxford, Berkshire, has been hailed as one of the most important discoveries of its kind. Anthony Beeson explores the latest thinking on the stories told by its intricate imagery.

RIGHT The remains of 13 individuals were found around the site of La Hoya, lying where they were killed, many with evidence of traumatic injuries.

Iron Age massacre in Iberia

Post-excavation analysis is now shedding more light on the final days of La Hoya and the devastating attack on the settlement.

Prokhorovka: the greatest tank battle in history?

Bill Purdue takes a look at recent critical reappraisal of this famous clash of Soviet and Nazi armour in the summer of 1943.

The riches of Ravenna

In a small city on Italy’s Adriatic coast, faces of all-powerful emperors, empresses, and bishops gaze out from glittering mosaics. But why are these magnificent decorations here? Judith Herrin explores the history of Ravenna, a well-connected city and one-time capital of the Western Roman Empire.

ABOVE Thangka painting of the goddess Naro Dakini (a form of Vajrayogini), Tibet, 18th 19th century. Ink and watercolour on cloth, with silk brocade borders. Size of painting: 26.3 x 23cm

Tantra: from ecstasy to enlightenment

Lindsay Fulcher enters the transgressive realm of Tantra. This rebellious Indian cult, which has overturned religious, social, sexual, and political norms from AD 500 to the present day, is currently being celebrated in an exhibition curated by Imma Ramos at the British Museum.

Aztecs: where eagles dare

Buried beneath Mexico City lie the remains of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and its sacred centre. Lucia Marchini reports on an exhibition investigating wealth, worship, and empire in pre-Hispanic Mexico.

OEDIPUS AND THE SPHINX. /nThe young Oedipus ponders the riddle of the Sphinx. Red figured Greek pottery painting.

Thebes: city of myths

Sparta is famous for its warrior tradition, Athens for its intellectual and artistic achievement. But what of Thebes? As ancient historian Paul Cartledge explains, Thebes too had a most distinctive image.

Opposite Bi disc, Liangzhu culture, c.3300 2200 BC. Size: 38.8cm below Ferdinand Verbiest’s 1673 armillary sphere in situ at the Beijing observatory. The photograph, from 1909, is by Joseph Rastoul.

China: in the beginning

Chinese rulers held the disciplines of astronomy and cosmology in high regard for millennia. Dalu Jones
previews an exhibition of exquisite objects exploring the connections between Heaven and Earth.

ABOVE A denarius (silver coin) issued by Julius Caesar in 48 47 BC, which references the Gallic War by showing a trophy incorporating a Gaulish shield and Gaulish carnyx war trumpet. The conflict brought personal glory for Caesar, and the conquest of Gaul.

Julius Caesar’s battle for Gaul

The Gallic War is one of the most famous ancient conflicts, and raged across north-west Europe for almost a decade. Andrew Fitzpatrick explores the archaeology of those dramatic events and their aftermath.

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Decorated in glory: exploring later-medieval churches in Herefordshire

Churches are what archaeologists call ‘persistent sites’, places used for the same purpose for centuries, even millennia. But that does not mean the churches themselves are static: they represent the accretion of various building interventions of many different kinds and dates. None are richer in art and architecture, though, than those from the period we call ‘Decorated’, as Nigel Saul’s new survey of 14th-century Herefordshire church buildings demonstrates. Current Archaeology's Chris Catling reports.

All images: Eric Tourigny, photographed with permission of the Royal Parks, unless otherwise stated

‘We are only sleeping master’: tracing the evolution of pet cemeteries

Burial grounds dedicated to domestic animals offer unique opportunities to investigate how our relationships with pets have changed over time. When and how did these cemeteries develop? Recent research by Eric Tourigny holds the key to new understanding, as Current Archaeology reports.

Above Rock art pecked into outcrops near Doddington, Northumberland.

Archaeology on Furlough: how volunteers explored the past during lockdown

When the UK locked down against COVID-19 last spring, many archaeologists were unable to work as normal – but Rob Wiseman found a silver lining. He brought together more than 100 furloughed archaeologists to create a volunteer task force that has shed light on sites all over the country, spanning prehistory to the present day. Here, he shares some of the project’s highlights.

Overlooking the Priors Hall excavation site, where Oxford Archaeology East has revealed the remains of a Roman temple mausoleum that was subsequently repurposed as a major tile and brick making centre.

Romano-Celtic villa: a temple-mausoleum and evidence of industry at Priors Hall, Corby

Excavation just outside Corby has shed vivid light on the construction of a Roman villa, the reuse of an enigmatic religious building, and a bustling array of industrial activity, as Paddy Lambert explains.

The Genesis of Air Power, 1909 – 1916

Neil Faulkner begins a short series on the history of airpower and its impact on the evolution of modern warfare.

Turner’s Modern World

All great artists need great subjects. Joseph Mallord William Turner was no exception. Although extremely talented, he was especially fortunate to have lived through stirring times.

War of Words – ‘trench warfare’

Combat on the Western Front during World War One is justly infamous for its grim lethality. Soldiers on both sides dug deep trenches in the earth to escape murderous enemy fire.

The myth of chivalry

Neil Faulkner argues that the supposed ‘supremacy’ of heavy horse on European battlefields in the Middle Ages is a romantic fantasy.

Medieval Irish Warriors

It was as aggressors that the Irish first made their impact on European history. The quasi-legendary Irish warlord Cormac mac Airt, from the 3rd century AD, not only subdued almost all of Ireland, he also launched destructive attacks on Roman Britain. Another who did so, the following century, was Niall of the Nine Hostages.

How the Franco-Prussian War changed Europe

The Franco-Prussian War overturned the balance of power in Europe

Fleming’s War

With the latest James Bond blockbuster out next year, MHM assistant editor Calum Henderson explores the life of the man who created him: Ian Fleming, whose wartime adventures rivalled those of 007 himself.

Below One of the giants in an age of giants: Nelson, here seen boarding the San Nicolas during the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797, brought the British way of war at sea to a peak of perfection.

When was Britain’s finest hour?

Chris Bambery takes issue with Churchill’s claim that 1940 was ‘the finest hour’, arguing that the true moment of imperial greatness was 1815.

Below Why was this human femur carved to create a musical instrument, which was then placed in the grave of a different Bronze Age individual who had lived and died some years later?

Rest in pieces: exploring evidence for Bronze Age curation of the dead

Archaeologists have long puzzled over fragments of human bone that have been found scattered around late Bronze Age settlements and placed in early Bronze Age burials like grave goods. Carly Hilts examines a recent study that sheds intriguing light on these enigmatic practices.

Above Overlooking the landscape at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum recreating Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, which helps to tell the Mayflower’s story.

The Mayflower, 1620-2020: tracing voyages of discovery in Plymouth’s past

Four hundred years ago, the Mayflower carried around 100 would-be colonists across the Atlantic to found Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts. What can we learn of these voyagers, the city they left behind, and the impact they had on the indigenous people who were already living on the land where they settled? Carly Hilts reports.

Sifting through the remains of Scotland’s kelping industry

For a brief period, from around 1750 to 1820, the west coast and islands of Scotland experienced a boom in demand for kelp, a seaweed-derived substance used in the soap and glass-making industries. Kevin Grant – formerly St Kilda Archaeologist with the National Trust for Scotland, now Archaeology Manager at Historic Environment Scotland – has been studying the fragile and elusive remains of this once-thriving industry, as Chris Catling reports.

The origins of Old St Oswald Church, Fulford

Many a church guide claims that their present building sits on the site of a more ancient structure. But how accurate are these claims? Recently the Fishergate, Fulford, and Heslington Local History Society (FFH) – a community group with a long-standing and very active interest in their historic landscape – decided to try to find out whether this was true of the deconsecrated medieval church, dedicated to St Oswald, that sits on the east bank of the River Ouse, in the village of Fulford, some 2km south of York. Chris Catling reports.

Below Some of HEIR’s many historic photographs preserve images of past archaeological work, such as this photo (by J P Gibson; HEIR ID 41281) of excavations at Aesica (Great Chesters) Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall in 1894 1897.

HEIR to the past: exploring the Historic Environment Image Resource

A unique digital archive preserves a wealth of images spanning the history of photography, offering long-lost views and vivid insights into how the historic environment has evolved over time. Janice Kinory is our guide.

IMAGES: Tom Ferraby; Rose Ferraby, using data from Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire, CC BY SA 3.0

Illuminating Isurium: exploring Aldborough’s Roman remains

Isurium Brigantum was a thriving and prosperous Roman town in what is now North Yorkshire, but it has attracted relatively little modern archaeological attention. Now, though, a decade of geophysical surveys have shed vivid light on its make-up, and a wide-ranging new book presents a compelling narrative for how the once-bustling settlement evolved. Carly Hilts reports.

OPPOSITE US marines pass a dead Japanese soldier on Okinawa; a handful of the third of a million men who fought in the battle. RIGHT A captured Japanese AA gun in Okinawa following the battle.

The Fighting Forces of Okinawa

Alexander Izza reviews the strategy, tactics, weapons, and morale of the opposing forces in the culminating land battle of the Pacific War.

OPPOSITE US marines in Okinawa, June 1945. It proved one of the most gruelling and costly battles of the Pacific War, filling US leaders with grim anxiety about the likely casualties in the event of a landing on the Japanese mainland. ABOVE Major General Mitsuru Ushijima (1887 1945), the Japanese commander on Okinawa during the battle. He committed suicide on the final day. BELOW The USS Idaho shells Japanese positions on Okinawa. The US fleet played a key role in providing heavy artillery support to US ground forces.

Endgame in the Pacific: The Battle of Okinawa, 1 April – 22 June 1945

Marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in the Pacific, Alexander Izza analyses the ferocious last stand of the Japanese Empire.

The Havering hoard

Two years ago, London’s largest Bronze Age hoard was discovered on the eastern fringe of the city. It is now on display at the Museum of London Docklands. What do its contents tell us about life in the Thames river valley 3,000 years ago? Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts visited the exhibition to find out.

Far left Notre Dame cathedral in Paris ablaze on 15 April 2019. left The cathedral’s 19th century spire was completely destroyed in the fire. The French authorities have now stated that it will be rebuilt exactly as it was.

Saving Notre Dame

When flames ripped through the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris in April 2019, the world feared for its survival. Now a small team of scientists is working towards its restoration and discovering secrets along the way. Christa Lesté-Lasserre spoke to some of them about their work and its challenges.

The Past

Painting Antiquity: visions of Egypt

Three Victorian artists – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Edward Poynter, and Edwin Long – helped to shape our image of the distant past. Stephanie Moser describes how their passion for archaeology and love of domestic objects produced a wealth of detailed, descriptive paintings.

Opposite Recent excavations at Huaca El Pueblo have revealed three elite Moche tombs. This one contained a male who appears to have been a high ranking warrior. The pots are characteristic of the middle Moche style, while the metalwork represents various items of regalia and a fine burial mask.

Return to Huaca El Pueblo: discovering Peruvian pyramid tombs

Recent excavations at Huaca El Pueblo, a mud-brick pyramid erected by the Moche, have revealed three remarkable burials dating to the 4th century AD. As well as providing a poignant glimpse of these individuals’ lives, the rites that consigned them to the earth offer clues to help solve the enduring mystery of the nature of Moche civilisation. Scott McKinney reports.