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Windsor Castle: ‘The most Romantique castle that is in the world’

The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on 19 May took place against a backdrop of buildings that have been inhabited almost continuously since the 11th century. The fire of November 1992 at Windsor Castle (in what the Queen later called her annus horribilis) could have brought an end to that 1,000-year history; instead, the restoration that ensued was accompanied by extensive research into the castle’s fabric and development. The following edited extracts come from a new and exhaustive history of the building complex, which Samuel Pepys, visiting on 26 February 1666, described as ‘the most Romantique castle that is in the world’.

1. The Julius Caesar dish or tazza, circa 1587 99, gilded silver by an anonymous (Netherlandish?) goldsmith. D. 37.6m. Museo Galdiano, Madrid.

The wrong Caesars

As a dozen Renaissance gilded silver treasures, the Aldobrandini Tazze or Twelve Caesars, go on show at Waddesdon Manor, Professor Mary Beard unscrews the puzzle of how the Roman emperors and dishes got mixed up

Above A double Beaker grave from Trumpington Meadows in Cambridgeshire, excavated by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit. It contained two individuals in their late teens, one male and one female, as well as two distinctive Beaker vessels. Such pots are commonly found next to crouched human burials, giving these graves their name.

Prehistoric pop culture: deciphering the DNA of the Bell Beaker Complex

More than 4,500 years ago, a hugely popular cultural phenomenon – today known as the Bell Beaker Complex – captured the prehistoric imagination, flourishing across much of Europe. Archaeologists are still deliberating over how this Complex, first identified in the 19th century, developed so quickly and effectively. Now the largest ancient DNA study to-date has shed revolutionary new light on the question, with surprising implications for our understanding of ancient populations – particularly that of Britain, which seems to have undergone an almost complete genetic turnover in just a few centuries. Kathryn Krakowka reports.

Below London’s Black Friars, showing the precinct at its most developed, in the early 16th century.

Urban orders: touring the friaries of medieval London

Almost nothing remains above ground of London’s medieval friaries: only the names of places like Blackfriars Bridge and station, the street – and City pub – called Crutched Friars, and the City street of Austin Friars, now overshadowed by Tower 42 (the former NatWest Tower), testify to their presence. By combining maps, archives, and archaeology, Nick Holder has succeeded in reconstructing their stories and assessing their impact on the London landscape, as Chris Catling reports.

Left Around 8,000 terracotta warriors were created to guard the burial place of China’s first emperor. Among them was this armoured infantryman, whose right hand once clasped a weapon. The finished sculpture was painted and traces of the original red can still be seen.

Army for the dead: inside the first Chinese emperor’s underground kingdom

Creating the Terracotta Army was an extraordinary achievement. Around 8,000 life-size ceramic men and horses were created in battle formation to protect the burial place of China’s first emperor. But what can modern technology reveal about these faithful soldiers? As a cadre of the figures go on display at Liverpool’s World Museum, Xiuzhen (Janice) Li revealed to Matthew Symonds some of the secrets they took to the grave.

LEFT Putting the final touches to the temple. The new reconstruction was completed in summer 2016 and the display was in place by autumn 2017 ready to open to the public on 14 November.

London Mithraeum: reimagining the famous Roman temple

On 14 November, London’s Temple of Mithras – now known as the ‘London Mithraeum’ – reopened to the public as the first new interpretation of a Roman ruin in the capital for nearly 20 years. Sophie Jackson, the lead archaeologist on the project, reports on the temple’s 63-year journey from its initial discovery in 1954 to its recent reconstruction and installation on the site of Bloomberg’s European headquarters.

Below Homer, as imagined in a 2nd century Roman copy of a Hellenistic sculpture. His weather beaten features would be appropriate for the itinerant lifestyle of a bard.

Trojan War: the archaeology of a story

Many cities have fallen to subterfuge, fire, and the sword over the millennia, so why does our fascination with Troy remain so keen? Perhaps it is because Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey have become potent examples of the power of words. These tales of derring-do and destructive depravity coloured the Greek, Roman, medieval, and modern worlds so vividly that they have created a richer archaeological legacy than many real events. Lesley Fitton and Victoria Donnellan led Matthew Symonds through the twists and turns of a tale that changed the world.

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Scotland in Six: celebrating stone and steel

Since 2009, the Scottish Government has been designating themed years to mark specific aspects of Scotland’s cultural and creative life, as well as the country’s natural beauty. As we look back on 2017, the Year of History, Heritage, and Archaeology, Julianne McGraw explores how Scotland’s World Heritage Sites played their part in the festivities.

A sense of place

Using the unlikely site of Butrint in Albania as a prime example, Richard Hodges explains how the work of archaeologists defines them as placemakers

Nefertiti: recreating an icon

The painted limestone bust of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, recovered from the royal city of Amarna, is familiar across the world. This bust has inspired many copies – some very accurate, some far less so – so that many of us first ‘meet’ Nefertiti via one of these replicas. Recently, in an effort to understand the processes behind the creation of the original Nefertiti, Joyce Tyldesley commissioned her own replica.

ABOVE American infantrymen search the trees for Viet Cong snipers during a battle in Phuoc Vinh, South Vietnam, 1967. Above left Ho Chi Minh, Communist revolutionary and nationalist leader of North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front, pictured in 1967.

The Vietnam War

Vietnam veteran James H Willbanks, who is a consultant to Ken Burns' The Vietnam War, looks back on the conflict that tore the United States apart 50 years ago.

The gaulcross hoard

Scotland’s Early Silver

For centuries Scotland’s finely crafted silver brooches, neck chains, vessels, and more were made from a supply of Roman hacksilver. Lucia Marchini learns more about the medieval afterlife of this metal at the National Museum of Scotland’s new exhibition.

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Neolithic food miles: feeding the ‘builders of Stonehenge’

A newly opened exhibition at Stonehenge documents the diet of the community thought to have been responsible for erecting the main phase of the monument – including the surprisingly far-flung origins of some of their food. Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts spoke to Susan Greaney, Richard Madgwick, and Mike Parker Pearson at the exhibition launch to find out more.

Below An aerial view of Llangorse Lake from the north west, with the crannog close to the northern shore (centre foreground).

The palace in the lake: a royal residence on Llangorse Crannog

The Llangorse Crannog is the only example yet identified in Wales of a type of artificial island settlement more commonly found in Scotland and Ireland. Scepticism about the likelihood of the site being a crannog led to its being largely ignored in archaeological literature until the early 1980s. Then Alan Lane, who had recently been appointed to teach Post-Roman Archaeology at Cardiff University, rowed out to look and found substantial oak planks protruding from the water. Chris Catling describes what happened next.

Above Recovering a stoneware bottle from the wreck.

Discoveries from the deep: sailing aboard the Swan in the 17th century

In 1653, a small Cromwellian warship was lost off the west coast of Scotland. Excavated between 1992 and 2003, the wreck of the Swan yielded finds that tell stories of cutting-edge weaponry, mishaps on board, and plunder. Now the full report has been published, Colin Martin reveals the ship’s secrets and explains why wrecks are such a valuable archaeological resource.

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Air war over Malta

In the first of an occasional series on conflict archaeology, Anthony Rogers reports on the evidence for the epic air battle above the island-fortress of Malta during the Second World War.

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Much more on Henry Moore

Dr Hannah Higham traces the shifting influences of the ancient world on the work of Henry Moore – from Sumerian art to Greek Classicism

2. A bird’s eye view of the Colosseum showing the 14 aedicules of the Station of the Cross around the arena, 1776, by Piranesi, etching. 53.7cm x 78cm. Bridgeman Images.

The colossus of Rome

Dalu Jones discovers what happened to the largest amphitheatre in the world after the brutal public fights and barbaric contests ceased.

ABOVE Persian warriors of the Great King, as depicted on a frieze formed of glazed brick in the Pergamon Museum. The Persian Empire was the largest yet known, with vast resources of manpower and treasure. But the Greek military system, based on the hoplite phalanx, proved superior to the Persian army.

The Persian Wars

In his second article, Paul Rahe analyses Sparta’s response to the mortal challenge posed by the Persian invasions of the early 5th century BC.

Ancient America: following the Thunderbird

Well-known for his television programmes on the archaeology of South America, curator Dr Jago Cooper now focuses on the ancient cultures of the northwest coast of North America in his new exhibition at the British Museum, as he tells Diana Bentley