Cover Story
Stonehenge and the moon: Exploring a Neolithic monument’s lunar links Stonehenge is famous for its association with the sun, and particularly with the summer and winter solstices – but did the movement of the moon also influence its design? Carly Hilts spoke to Dr Amanda Chadburn and Dr Heather Sebire… Features
Illuminating Anglesey: Echoes of a later prehistoric ritualised landscape at Bedd y Foel Recent investigations on the slopes of Pen y Foel, and a wider survey of its surrounding landscape, have shed new light on a previously undocumented dolmen and other later prehistoric… 
From stronghold to Steel City: Uncovering the ‘birthplace of Sheffield’ A recent excavation by Wessex Archaeology for Sheffield City Council has uncovered long-buried traces of Sheffield Castle, as well as glimpses of the city’s influential industrial past. Carly Hilts spoke… 
Orchards in England, a landscape history: A fruitful wander through the agriculture of the past Orchards have not featured largely in studies of the historic environment, though there is a growing recognition of their ecological value. Yet orchards were once ubiquitous features of the landscape… 
Birdoswald and beyond: Investigating an extramural settlement on Hadrian’s Wall The final season of a four-year excavation exploring the civilian settlement outside Birdoswald Roman fort concluded this summer. Carly Hilts visited the project at its outset, and again in 2023;… 
Underground, overground: Excavating an Iron Age fogou and Romano-British remains at Boden A long-running community excavation in rural west Cornwall has been exploring an enigmatic network of Iron Age tunnels, as well as Bronze Age and Romano-British features, for more than 15… News
Time Team at Sutton Hoo The most intensive excavation to take place at Sutton Hoo in two decades has revealed new aspects of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery pre-dating the site’s famous royal burial ground, as well… 
Science Notes: Reading Roman water mills using carbonate deposits Researchers from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, along with colleagues from Austria and France, have used carbonate deposits recovered from Roman water mills in Barbegal, near the city of Arles… 
‘Cardiff’s oldest house’ stood over an even earlier structure Excavations running at Trelai Park, Cardiff, this summer have uncovered traces of a mysterious structure beneath well-preserved roundhouse remains in the heart of the Welsh capital. This is the third… 
Medieval grave slabs lifted from England’s oldest shipwreck Two medieval slabs have been raised from Studland Bay by a team of maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University. The slabs had been lying at a depth of 7m before they… 
World news Mass horse burial in central France The remains of 37 horses have been recovered from 14 pits in Villedieu-sur-Indre. The horses date back 2,000 years, and have all been identified… 
Inside the minds of 18th-century guards at Dover Castle Research for a new experience that opened at Dover Castle this July has led to the discovery of a heavily graffitied door dating to the 1790s, revealing intriguing insights into… 
Exploring Fife’s spiritual home of whisky at Lindores Abbey The first year of the University of St Andrews Monastic Archaeology Field School has unearthed evidence of medieval buildings and pottery at Lindores Abbey, close to Newburgh in Fife. A… 
Geophysical survey identifies two Roman villas near Wroxeter The largest-ever geophysical survey undertaken by the National Trust has revealed two probable Roman villas among other archaeological features on the Attingham Estate in Shropshire. The work, carried out by… 
Roman horse-changing station uncovered in Gloucestershire Oxford Cotswold Archaeology (OCA) archaeologists working on the A417 Missing Link improvement scheme in Gloucestershire have uncovered a Roman mutatio (literally ‘change’; the Latin term for a horse-changing station) among… Views
Current Archaeology’s August Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home What's on There are lots of great ways to get involved with archaeology, history, and heritage over the next few months, from country-wide festivals and new exhibitions to exciting conferences and lectures.… 
The Ridgeway: Excavating the CA archive Comment I concluded last month’s column just east of Avebury at the Sanctuary, a Neolithic and Bronze Age site that is also the start and end point of the Ridgeway, an… 
What can we learn from Knepp? Comment Recently showing at arts cinemas around the UK is a documentary called Wilding, which tells the story of how Isabella Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell decided in 2001 to… 
Commanding the coast: Pendinas hillfort, Cardigan Bay The Picture Desk Pendinas hillfort is a well-situated pre-Roman defended village, commanding a prominent hill on the west coast of Cardigan Bay. The Iron Age hillfort developed over several centuries, eventually encompassing both… 
Six Lives at the National Portrait Gallery, London Museum, What's on Carly Hilts visited a new exhibition aiming to restore individuality to six women often grouped merely as the ‘wives of Henry VIII’. 
The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland Groups Lord Lisvane, former Clerk to the House of Commons and Chairman of the Royal College of Organists, sparked a lively correspondence in The Times earlier this year when he asked… 
Finds Tray – Roman glass Objects Found in 2019, but only recently uploaded to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) website, this beautiful piece of Roman glass once formed part of a colourful bracelet. It dates to… 
Reviews
Current Archaeology’s August Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home There are lots of great ways to get involved with archaeology, history, and heritage over the next few months, from country-wide festivals and new exhibitions to exciting conferences and lectures.… 
Museum of Cornish Life: a new archaeology display A new display drawing on the Museum of Cornish Life’s extensive archaeological collections was recently unveiled. Laura Miucci introduces its key themes and highlights her favourite finds. Six Lives at the National Portrait Gallery, London Carly Hilts visited a new exhibition aiming to restore individuality to six women often grouped merely as the ‘wives of Henry VIII’. 
Contemplating Calanais: A Guide to the Standing Stones REVIEW BY GERALD PONTING The subtitle of this book is ‘A Guide to the Standing Stones’, but it is not a conventional guide-book. A detailed and considered tour of each… 
50 Finds from Childhood: Objects from the Portable Antiquities Scheme REVIEW BY RP Unlike other books from the 50 Finds series, Kayt Hawkins’ volume explores objects that are grouped not by geographical location or chronological period, but instead collected as… 
Rushen Abbey, Isle of Man: A hundred years of research and excavation REVIEW BY GEORGE NASH I have always thought that, for many archaeological projects, the process of data-gathering and reporting on previous archaeological activity is as important as the archaeology itself;… 
The Lost Paths REVIEW BY JIM LEARY Jack Cornish is Head of Paths at the British walking charity Ramblers and, like me, an advocate of old and lost paths, the overgrown and the… 
Wicked Problems for Archaeologists REVIEW BY TIMOTHY DARVILL Archaeology is not just concerned with learning about the past – it is also about using our hard-won understandings to help inform the present and shape… 
Picts, Gaels, and Scots: Early historic Scotland REVIEW BY NICHOLAS EVANS This reprint of the updated 2014 edition of Dr Foster’s accessible multidisciplinary study is very welcome. Originating in a 1996 publication by Batsford for Historic Scotland,… 
From the editor
As the sun has proven somewhat unreliable this summer, let’s talk about the moon instead. Stonehenge is best known for its solar alignments, but was its design also influenced by a once-in-a-generation lunar phenomenon? This month’s cover feature discusses an ongoing project that is documenting the effects of a Major Lunar Standstill in real time.
Three articles then spotlight a trio of very different site visits from June and July (we also have a News Focus drawing on a recent trip to Sutton Hoo; if you would like CA to come to your dig, do get in touch – have notebook, will travel!). We begin near Boden in Cornwall, where a long-running community excavation is uncovering the remains of an Iron Age fogou – an enigmatic form of underground passage – as well as unusual Romano-British remains nearby. Our next destination is Hadrian’s Wall, where we report on the final season of a four-year project that has been investigating the civilian settlement outside Birdoswald Roman fort. How has the story changed since our visit last year? Finally, we travel to Wessex Archaeology’s excavation on the site of Sheffield Castle, where they have uncovered impressive medieval fortifications, as well as traces of the Steel City’s influential industrial heritage.
From the urban setting of the Sheffield finds, our next article discusses something more bucolic: orchards. A long-standing feature of historic landscapes, how have they evolved in England from the medieval period to the present day?
Finally, we head to Anglesey in north Wales, to learn about the excavation of a Neolithic dolmen and the identification of a previously undocumented ceremonial landscape surrounding it.
CARLY
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