Recent analysis of the remains of two children who were buried in the same grave in 7th-century Gloucestershire has revealed them to be brother and sister. CA reports.
A new exhibition at Discover Bucks Museum in Aylesbury draws together antiquarian excavations and very recent finds to illuminate life and death at different levels of early medieval society. Carly Hilts visited the displays and spoke to their curator Brett Thorn.
This month’s selection of summer digging opportunities includes projects from the Midlands, south-east England, Scotland, and Wales.
A glittering exhibition at Battersea Power Station in London explores the life and legacy of one of ancient Egypt’s most famous rulers. Carly Hilts visited to learn more.
This year marks a century since the birth of the pioneering prehistorian Aubrey Burl, and the 50th anniversary of the publication of his landmark study The Stone Circles of the British Isles, which is often considered the foundational work on the subject. To reflect these milestones, Neil Mortimer offers an overview of how the book came into being – and the occasionally unconventional approach of its author.
The elaborately decorated Book of Kells takes its name from the eponymous abbey in Co. Meath where it was kept for centuries, but it has been previously suggested that the early medieval manuscript was created on Iona. Now, thanks to…
It is said that reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body, so as well as trying (but not always succeeding) to keep the body trim by going for a short run every day, Sherds also (more successfully) sets aside time to spend with a book in the evening.
An absorbing new exhibition at Oriel Môn in Llangefni highlights Anglesey’s long and varied archaeological heritage. Carly Hilts visited the displays.
Caves have always captured the imagination. This is no less true of High Pasture Cave on the Isle of Skye, whose publication represents the latest contribution to a growing corpus in British cave archaeology. Nestled under the slopes of the…
The story of Roman Britain is often seen as a tale of two zones. To the south and east lay a ‘civil zone’, where towns and villas were at their most plentiful, while to the north and west a profusion…
With excavation at the Ness of Brodgar – one of the largest Neolithic sites known in north-west Europe – having finished in August 2024, after a remarkable 20 years of fieldwork, the long process of post-excavation analysis has now commenced.…
Richard Hodges’ most recent book takes us back to his original area of study: the economic and political conditions leading to the rebirth of towns in early medieval Britain. He starts by reminding the reader of his 1982 book Dark…
What makes this is a welcome addition to the not inconsiderable number of histories of Glasgow, is that Moffat knows how to tell a good story. The book is of interest because it extends back to prehistory and up to…
This volume was occasioned by the anniversary of the foundation charter of the burgh of Glasgow in 1175. The tongue- in-cheek title obscures the serious intent to recount the history of Glasgow through an examination of its central throughfare, which…
This early medieval finger-ring was found by a metal-detectorist near Quadring in Lincolnshire, south-west of Boston, in May 2024, and has more recently been declared Treasure. It is made of silver and dates to c.AD 700-1000. The middle of the…
Vanbrugh 300, presented by the Georgian Group and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, marks the life and work of Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726), a man who managed to pack multiple careers into his 62 years. By the time…
Dogs are man’s best (and oldest – see CA 352 and 401) friends, but how they came to be that way is still a bit of a mystery. Based on morphological changes and genetic estimations, they are believed to have…
Archaeological investigations in Bearsden, near Glasgow, have revealed evidence of a previously unknown fortlet on the Antonine Wall. This is the 13th Antonine Wall fortlet to have been confidently identified, adding to other examples that were recently revealed during geophysical…
Excavations south of Gloucester have uncovered a remarkably well preserved Bronze Age watering hole, with many of its wooden structures surviving in situ. The discovery was made last year during investigations by Cotswold Archaeology. When they first stripped back the…
The watering hole found near Gloucester is not the only reworked water source recently discovered in England. Excavations in advance of a new Rolls-Royce extension site at Goodwood, near Chichester in West Sussex, have revealed evidence of a thriving Iron…
Excavations at Honeygar Farm, a nature reserve that forms part of the Somerset Wildlife Trust, have uncovered the remains of a 6,000-year-old wooden trackway that would have been used during the early Neolithic period to allow people to cross the…
Food plays an important role in cultural identity, and can be used in archaeology to identify patterns of migration and assimilation. The early medieval inhabitants of Scandinavia are known to have had a marine-focused diet, but the extent to which…
We are what we eat, they say, and a new study by the University of Cambridge has found that this was as true in the medieval period as it is today, with diet being highly dependent on social status. The…
Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle redeveloped Redevelopment of Edinburgh Castle’s Crown Room is under way. The project, which began in January, will see elements of the Victorian design, including oak panelling, restored and new enhanced displays for the Honours of…
• Sizewell C: tracing 6,000 years of history in Suffolk
• Buildings of the Temperance movement
• Unusual ditch burials at Venta Icenorum
• Woodworking tools of Late Bronze Age Britain
• Pointing to the past: arrowheads, experimental archaeology and CA awards
• Surveying Falerii Novi: the development of a Roman town
• An island kingdom: extraordinary Hawaiian ancestral art
• In the heart of the Sahara: the rock art of Wadi Djerat
• Re-examining the Hjortsprint boat
• Discovering Denmark: from prehistoric burials to Viking age power
• Exploring ancient graffiti in Pompeii
• Charlemagne at war: the battle for Europe
• Revolution in America: how independence was finally won
• Judgement at Nuremberg: the Nazis on trial
• The Tsar’s last victory: the Brusilov offensive
• The bridge that saved a city: the Berlin airlift
Oxford Cotswold Archaeology’s ongoing excavations on the site of the planned Sizewell C power station in Suffolk have uncovered a vast array of features and finds spanning 6,000 years of history. Project Manager Richard Mortimer guides us through some of the most significant discoveries to-date.
The latest excavation by the long-running Caistor Roman Project has uncovered a series of unusual deposits within the monumental triple ditches that encircled Venta Icenorum, capital of the Iceni. At the same time, recent GPR surveys have shed new light on aspects of the settlement that these once-imposing earthworks surrounded. Giles Emery and Will Bowden report.
There are lots of great ways to get involved with history and archaeology over the next few months, including exhibitions, lectures, and conferences exploring a wide range of subjects. If you would prefer to get your heritage fix from the comfort of your sofa, though, there is a variety of resources on offer online, too, from virtual site-tours and digital offerings by museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Kathryn Krakowka has put together a selection of some of the options available.
Under the rather ponderous headline ‘Revealing Misunderstandings about Stewardship of Our Ancient Churches’, Historic England has just published the results of its survey into public awareness of the crisis facing the nation’s places of worship. The results show that people are blithely unaware that many are at risk of closure and sale.
• Prosperity and plague: Broughton Lodge’s Anglo-Saxon cemetery
• Late Roman and early medieval silver
• Examining the lives of Britain’s oldest church doors
• Evidence of a Roman villa estate at Milton, Cambridgeshire
• Sarsen study sheds new light on the construction of Stonehenge
Temperance halls, hotels, coffee houses, memorials, and drinking fountains blossomed in the 19th century under the influence of the burgeoning teetotal movement. Most have now been converted to other uses, but they are still there – if you know where to look. A new Historic England book by Andrew Davison draws our attention to this forgotten heritage, as Chris Catling reports.
In the last couple of years, the rise of artificial intelligence has permeated almost every aspect of society, but (outside exhibitions and other ways of presenting the past) archaeology has remained very much grounded in the physical world. New research,…
This is a medieval seal matrix, made of copper alloy, that was recently found by a metal-detectorist near the village of Patrick Brompton in North Yorkshire. The matrix’s handle extends out from the die in a pinched bell shape with…
Recent renovations at Durham Castle have revealed new details of how the fortification was redecorated and altered over its almost 1,000-year history. With the renovation of the castle presenting a rare opportunity to learn more about this World Heritage Site’s…