Cover Story
A villa unveiled: Uncovering ‘ritual activity’ in Roman Oxfordshire Archaeological work in rural Oxfordshire has uncovered the remains of a previously unknown Roman villa, as well as echoes of activities ranging from agriculture and industry to more enigmatic practices. Carly Hilts spoke to Louis Stafford to learn how the… Features
Ringing the changes: Investigating an enigmatic monument at Aspull Three years of investigations have shed intriguing light on a near-circular feature identified on the outskirts of a village near Wigan. Patrick Maloney reports. 
Horse power: Tracing the trade and travels of elite animals in late medieval and Tudor London Cutting-edge scientific analysis of horse remains excavated in Westminster 30 years ago has opened a unique window on how such animals were sourced from far afield and put to work… 
A wonder of the world: Wandering along London’s post-medieval waterfront What can the combination of archaeology, documents, maps, and plans tell us about London’s port in the period between the Great Fire of 1666 and the shift of shipping activity… 
A conflict reimagined: Creating a digital model of the Roman assault on Burnswark Hill Advances in digital technology are opening up ever-more realistic ways to depict archaeological sites and events from the past. John Reid describes how excavated evidence has been used to create… News
The future is plastic: the potential effects of microplastics on archaeological preservation It is generally assumed that archaeological remains buried in the ground are relatively safe, and that – aside from the effects of climate change and natural forces like erosion –… 
Large medieval cemetery uncovered in Carrickfergus Recent excavations by Gahan and Long Archaeological Services in advance of the construction of a new retail store in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, have unearthed a previously unknown medieval cemetery. As… 
Proven link between heritage and wellbeing New research, funded by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) through its Culture and Heritage Capital Programme, has demonstrated that heritage has a positive effect on wellbeing, with… 
‘Sacred landscape’ spanning millennia unearthed in Lincolnshire Excavations at Crowland, in Lincolnshire, have revealed new evidence of how this landscape was used over the millennia – from the Neolithic to the post-medieval period – and in particular… 
Estimating the population of Roman Silchester Research recently published in the journal Britannia has proposed a way to estimate the possible population of Roman Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), in Hampshire, suggesting that the town may have included… 
Human brains appear to be exceptionally preserved in the archaeological record A new project led by researchers at the University of Oxford, which has collated evidence from around the world, has shown that the human brain can remain preserved in diverse… 
World news Roman residence revealed A remarkably preserved domus, dating to the late Republican period, has been excavated in Rome between the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. First discovered in 2018,… 
Tracing the origins of early medieval silver coinage During the mid-7th century AD there was an abrupt economic shift in north-west Europe, particularly around the North Sea, with silver coinage largely replacing the use of gold. Recent research… Views
Current Archaeology’s May Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home What's on As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, there are lots of exciting opportunities to get out and about and enjoy the UK’s archaeology, history, and heritage, ranging… 
Excavating around Salisbury Plain Comment Last month I began a tour around the final county of the UK that I had yet to visit in these pages: Wiltshire. I began in the north and headed… 
Sherds CA 411 Comment Historic England has recently listed three properties that have been claimed as the ‘first’ examples of their kind (not, it has to be said, by Historic England themselves – they… 
The Milestone Society Groups This month we are revisiting the subject of the very first ‘Odd Socs’ column (CA 211): the Milestone Society. The original idea for ‘Odd Socs’ was to adopt a tongue-in-cheek… 
Combing through history: Ipswich, Suffolk The Picture Desk A new publication, An Early Medieval Craft: antler and bone working from Ipswich excavations 1974-1994, details the extraordinary Viking Age finds discovered over the course of 20 years of digging… 
Finds Tray – Silver pendant Objects This is a medieval or early post-medieval silver pendant, set with jet, which was found last August by a metal-detectorist near Bletchingley in Surrey. It is probably a pilgrim souvenir… Reviews
Current Archaeology’s May Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, there are lots of exciting opportunities to get out and about and enjoy the UK’s archaeology, history, and heritage, ranging… 
Amesbury History Centre With Amesbury’s recently opened History Centre celebrating six months of operations, Carly Hilts learned more about its displays and plans for the site’s future from Andrew Doig, one of its… 
Living in the Ice Age REVIEW BY AB What was life like for the inhabitants of Europe in the last Ice Age? How did they make their clothes? Did children play with toys? What was… 
Wolf Road REVIEW BY KK Wolf Road is Alice Roberts’ first foray into children’s literature. Drawing on archaeological and anthropological evidence, the book tries to provide as accurate a window as possible… 
Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, and Saxon settlements along the route of the A43 Corby Link Road REVIEW BY MIKE SHAW Northamptonshire is a county rich in archaeological remains, many of them discovered along the Nene Valley in the south of the county. Hence the present volume… 
Excavations at Tlachtga Hill of Ward, Co. Meath, Ireland REVIEW BY FINOLA O'CARROLL This book details the results of research into the monument known as Tlachtga, which combined LiDAR and geophysics to build a picture of an extensive multi-phase… 
Rushen Abbey, Isle of Man: a hundred years of research and excavation REVIEW BY HUGH WILLMOTT This volume was prompted by a decade of excavations by Peter Davey following Rushen Abbey’s purchase by the Isle of Man government in 1998. While these… 
Places for the living, places for the dead: archaeological discoveries on the N25 New Ross Bypass REVIEW BY CH The N25 New Ross Bypass in Co. Wexford was designed to alleviate the notorious peak-time tailbacks that were known to extend for miles on either side of… 
From the editor
This month’s cover feature takes us into rural Oxfordshire, where archaeological investigations ahead of the construction of a housing estate have uncovered the remains of a previously unknown Roman villa. The site’s story is still developing, but finds already paint a picture of an elegantly appointed residence, as well as activities ranging from the agricultural to the industrial – and hints of some rather more enigmatic practices.
The subject of our next feature is also unusual. In the mid-1990s, MoLAS (now MOLA) uncovered a unique burial ground in Westminster, used to dispose of the remains of dozens of horses in the late medieval and Tudor periods. Fast-forward to the present day, and cutting-edge scientific research at the University of Exeter has transformed our understanding of trade and travel networks stretching back over 500 years.
We remain in London for our next article, edging forward into the period just after the Great Fire, when the city’s waterfront transformed into a commercial powerhouse. What can recent interdisciplinary research tell us about the rise and fall of this influential area?
The following feature turns the spotlight on an enigmatic prehistoric site at Aspull, near Wigan, which appears to have begun life as a Neolithic henge before being repurposed for Bronze Age burials.
Finally, we examine how digital technology can help to bring the past to life, focusing on an immersively detailed interpretation of the Roman assault on Burnswark Hill in Dumfriesshire.
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