From serving as the edge of an empire to falling within no fewer than three modern World Heritage Sites, Raetia's Roman frontier has long been a place of consequence. David J Breeze introduces the ancient and modern significance of this remarkable monument.
Two remarkably detailed bird figurines have been discovered at Hohle Fels cave in south-western Germany. The cave, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura’, has produced an array of…
We can see Latin, scratched into the book’s wax 700-800 years ago. What is it? This well-preserved medieval ‘notebook’ dates to the 13th or 14th century. Measuring 10cm by 7.5cm, the book comprises ten wooden tablets covered in wax –…
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, the Luftwaffe was almost as heavily dependent on rifle-calibre machine-guns as the Imperial German Air Service had been in 1918. The Battle of Britain demonstrated the limitations of such weapons. By…
He was Hitler’s favourite architect and the man responsible for Germany’s wartime production – yet Albert Speer tried to portray himself as the ‘Good Nazi’. Sixty years after his release from Spandau, Nigel Jones examines his role in the regime’s atrocities.
Analysis of two votive offering vessels from Pompeii is enhancing our understanding of Roman domestic rituals.
From ‘Big Bertha’ to exploding motor boats, Germany’s military engineers were the source of much innovation during the First World War, as David Porter explains.
Study of ivory use in the early medieval world is revealing fresh insights into how this material was viewed. The results have important implications for our understanding of the scale of the trade, and its impact on the elephants it exploited, as Rowan S English and Julia Steding explain.
Evidence of Iron Age ritual activity has been discovered at the Bruchhauser Steine, a prominent rock formation in the hilly Sauerland region of western Germany. This natural landmark, which comprises four main rocks that can be seen for miles around,…
This kind of trumpet is rare in Germany. What is it? This ceramic trumpet, found in Bavaria, is more than 200 years old. Measuring 44cm long, the instrument comprises a coiled clay tube that was probably pressed using a ring-shaped…
Archaeological work at Eilsleben, in northern Germany, has uncovered unexpected evidence of connections between the early farmers living at this site and the pre-existing hunter-gatherer communities of the region. Eilsleben was discovered in the 1970s and has since undergone extensive…
In the first part of our special feature for this issue, Stephen Roberts traces the life of this extraordinary individual; while in the second part, he looks in more detail at Charlemagne’s victory at Pavia, which helped him establish the foundations of the Holy Roman Empire.
Infographics: Amy Brunskill
Continuing our series on the coming of the Cold War, Taylor Downing examines the first major confrontation with the Soviets.
Eighty years on, Ben Goodlad reveals how the trials of 24 high-ranking Nazis shaped modern attitudes to punishing war crimes.
During World War II, a number of German armament factories were relocated underground as a result of Allied air raids. In August 1944, a work detail of the Buchenwald concentration camp was established near the village of Walbeck, in the…
Investigating the environs of a Roman fort at Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, in south-west Germany, has revealed the remains of a remarkable number of cavalry horses. Sarah Roth explains what these can teach us about a key instrument of Roman power.
Taylor Downing reviews the latest film and television releases.
Reviewing the best military history exhibitions, with Ben Goodlad.
A B-17 Flying Fortress bomber that crashed into the Baltic Sea in 1943 has been located by marine archaeologists more than 80 years after it was lost. The project was led by Dr Piotr Bojakowski from Texas A&M University, in…
In the latest part of our series on the coming of the Cold War, Taylor Downing reveals how tensions mounted in Germany’s ruined capital.
The statuette… is intricate and highly detailed… What is it? This small, bronze figurine, which measures 7.5cm tall and weighs 55g, depicts a warrior standing in a lunging pose. He holds a sword in one hand and a shield in…
Taylor Downing reviews the latest film and television releases.
The Haldensleben Forest in Saxony-Alhalt, Germany, is home to a large concentration of Neolithic megalithic tombs. One of these monuments, known as the Küsterberg tomb, was the subject of excavations between 2010 and 2013, and was revealed to be in…
In the first part of our series examining the transition from World War to Cold War, Taylor Downing looks at how the end of the fighting in 1945 sowed the seeds of the conflict to come; while in the second part he explains how the defeat of the Nazis brought new division to the Austrian capital.
In this new mini-series, we examine the wartime record of Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Turkey, and Bulgaria. We begin with a ‘special’ centred on Austria-Hungary’s army, which struggled to make an impression against its Russian, Serbian, and Italian foes. In this first part, Graham Goodlad assesses the performance of the Habsburg army in the war that culminated in the empire’s collapse.
Infographics: Calum Henderson
Taylor Downing reviews the latest film releases.
In this month’s ‘Science Notes’, we are examining amino acid geochronology (AAG) – a dating technique that can be used to help date the whole Quaternary period, from c.2 million years ago up to the present day. Recently, a team…
• Germany’s Stonehenge? Digging a remarkable ritual landscape
• Medieval Viterbo: early conclaves and a papal palace
• The Hoby cups: Roman connections in Iron Age Denmark
• Lapis Lazuli: an origin story
• Rome: a tale of two archaeologists
• Apsaros Roman fort, Georgia: guarding a distant shore
• Tanzania: early bone-tool production
Investigating the hinterland of a timber henge in Germany has revealed a remarkable prehistoric landscape. Franziska Knoll shares the findings from an intriguing concentration of ritual monuments and settlement.
New research is exploring the sophisticated metalworking involved in the creation of the famous Nebra Sky Disc.
A unique find, this tiny object is very finely crafted. What is it? This Roman miniature padlock, comprising a gold exterior and an iron core, measures just 1.2cm by 1.1cm. It is similar in form, technical structure, and decorative style…
In the third part of our series marking the 80th anniversary of World War II’s final months, Taylor Downing asks whether the Allied Supreme Commander was correct in allowing the Russians to capture the German capital.
MHM’s round-up of the latest military history releases.
Analysis of engraved stone slabs from the 15,800-year-old site of Gönnersdorf, located on the banks of the Rhine in west-central Germany, has identified a set of carvings that appear to depict fish nets or traps. Gönnersdorf has produced a rich…