Cover Story
Unearthing ancient Tweeddale: ‘Merlin’s Grave’ and other lost stories On the banks of the Tweed in the Scottish Borders is the reputed site of Merlin’s Grave, the embedded remnant of a legend long associated with the nearby village of Drumelzier. Dr Ronan Toolis explains how a community archaeology project… Features
How to restore a manor: Breathing life back into a Grade II*-listed Norfolk building In 2014, archaeologist Warwick Rodwell and art restorer Diane Gibbs bought the Grade II*-listed manor house in Northwold, Norfolk, after it had been neglected for 60 years. With water pouring… 
Roman replicas: Recreating the Hallaton Helmet The Hallaton Helmet, an ornately decorated piece of Roman cavalry equipment discovered in rural Leicestershire in 2000, is undeniably an important artefact – but how do you interpret its now-fragmentary… 
Nine millennia of life on the banks of the ‘goodly Barow’: Archaeological excavations on the N25 New Ross Bypass in south-east Ireland Excavations associated with a major road scheme in Co. Wexford and Kilkenny identified more than 35 previously undocumented archaeological sites spanning 9,000 years. James Eogan, Senior Archaeologist at Transport Infrastructure… 
A home for hunter-gatherers? Reconstructing ‘Britain’s oldest house’ at the Yorkshire Museum A recent experimental archaeology project has seen the construction of a replica of one of Star Carr’s 11,000-year-old structures in York’s Museum Gardens. Carly Hilts visited the build and spoke… News
Scottish origins for the Stonehenge Altar Stone? Geological clues to an astonishing Neolithic journey Cutting-edge scientific research indicates that a stone at the centre of Stonehenge may have travelled hundreds of miles from north-east Scotland to Salisbury Plain. Carly Hilts reports. 
World news Culinary traditions of central Europe A new study in Germany has analysed the fat residues in a collection of over 100 pottery vessels from various sites across Europe, all of… 
UK news in brief Ireland’s new UNESCO World Heritage Site Northern Ireland has gained a second UNESCO World Heritage Site, after the Gracehill Moravian Church Settlement in County Antrim was awarded the status in… 
Science Notes: Exeter’s cutting-edge scans of Roman medical instruments A set of six Roman medical instruments, originally found in London 125 years ago, has undergone scanning at the University of Exeter using state-of-the-art scientific technology. The artefacts were recovered… 
Evidence of missing B-17 bomber crew uncovered in Suffolk A project aiming to recover the remains of three crew members from a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber that crashed after a mid-air collision near Thurston, Suffolk, in 1944 has located… 
Malmesbury’s first confirmed Anglo-Saxon burials discovered near abbey Dozens of Anglo-Saxon burials have been uncovered on the site of the Old Bell Hotel, which is located next to Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire. Some 24 articulated skeletons and the… 
Roman wine for the Iron Age afterlife A prehistoric cemetery excavated at Winterborne Kingston, near Bere Regis in Dorset, is providing evidence of how locals adapted during the aftermath of the Roman invasion. Among the grave goods,… 
High-status Anglo-Saxon cemetery discovered in Banbury Excavations ahead of a new housing development in Banbury, Oxfordshire, have uncovered a previously unknown Anglo-Saxon cemetery of more than 50 burials, many of them richly furnished. These findings were… 
Iron Age insights from the Knowe of Swandro in Orkney A rare Iron Age belt-hook and comb are among the artefacts recovered by University of Bradford archaeologists and students during this summer’s excavations at the Knowe of Swandro on Rousay,… 
Roman villa found near Loughborough Archaeology students from the University of Leicester have uncovered the remains of a Roman villa in Leicestershire, near Loughborough. Clues to the villa’s presence had been surfacing for years, in… Views
The Channel Islands: Excavating the CA archive Comment Since March 2020 I have criss-crossed the United Kingdom, examining its history through the eyes of Current Archaeology. I have now visited every county in every country, but I have… 
Current Archaeology’s September Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home What's on There is a great selection of archaeological events coming up over the next few months, whether you’re looking for conferences, exhibitions, or heritage events for the whole family. If you… 
Maps that tell a story Comment When Venice features in the media, the story is usually about the malign consequences of flooding, cruise ships, and tourism, which crowds out more positive news, like the development of… 
The Coker Rope & Sail Trust Groups There were nine sailmakers in West Coker at the start of the 19th century, and the bleaching fields around the Somerset village were white with canvas sheets laid out in… 
Chalking it up: The Uffington White Horse The Picture Desk A recent initiative has been working to restore the profile of the Uffington White Horse, a Bronze Age hill-figure in the care of the National Trust. When a drone survey… 
Star Carr: Life after the ice at the Yorkshire Museum Museum, What's on Britain’s largest exhibition focused on the Mesolithic period is currently running in York. Dr Adam Parker showed Carly Hilts around its displays. 
Finds Tray: Early medieval harness pendant Objects This intricately decorated early medieval harness pendant dates to AD 475-570, and was found in Quarley, Hampshire, on 13 July. It is made of copper-alloy, which has been cast and… Reviews
Current Archaeology’s September Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home There is a great selection of archaeological events coming up over the next few months, whether you’re looking for conferences, exhibitions, or heritage events for the whole family. If you… Star Carr: Life after the ice at the Yorkshire Museum Britain’s largest exhibition focused on the Mesolithic period is currently running in York. Dr Adam Parker showed Carly Hilts around its displays. 
Heritage and Wellbeing: The Impact of Heritage Places on Visitors’ Wellbeing REVIEW BY LINDA MONCKTON In this book, seven chapters chart the development of heritage-led wellbeing and present research into six heritage sites across three countries (and continents). Heritage here means… 
Double-Sided Antler and Bone Combs in Late Roman Britain: Stylistic Groups, Context and Status REVIEW BY NICOLA TRZASKA-NARTOWSKI Keeping up appearances seems to have been as much a part of the ritual of daily life in late Roman Britain as it is today. Combs… 
Kirin of the Dobunni REVIEW BY CHRISTOPHER CATLING Rather than inventing a landscape, Anne Buffoni has set this gripping adventure story within places that can be visited in the Cotswolds. Usefully, she includes itineraries… 
Our Island Stories: Country Walks through Colonial Britain REVIEW BY JONATHAN FINCH Corinne Fowler’s first book, Green Unpleasant Land (2020), explored the connections between England’s colonial histories and the rural landscape, sparking a backlash from those for whom… 
Historic Building Mythbusting: Uncovering Folklore, History and Archaeology REVIEW BY KATE GILES Do secret tunnels connect the ruins of ancient castles, churches, and lost monasteries across England? Are spiral staircases designed to favour the right-handed defenders of castles… 
Stone Circles: A Field Guide REVIEW BY ROB IXER This is a book for stone circle fans. After a brief but succinct account of prehistoric stone circle-building, the stones are described starting at the geographical… 
From the editor
This month’s cover story takes us to Drumelzier in the Scottish Borders, and more specifically to a site with a wonderfully romantic name: Merlin’s Grave. A community project has been exploring the origins of this legendary link – uncovering illuminating evidence of the area’s early medieval and Iron Age past along the way.
We remain in Scotland for a special ‘News Focus’ about Stonehenge. Yes, you read that right – recently published scientific research suggests that the Altar Stone was originally quarried in the Orcadian Basin, over 450 miles from Salisbury Plain. What does this mean for our understanding of social organisation in Neolithic Britain, and of Stonehenge itself?
From long journeys to long spans of time, we then travel to New Ross in Ireland, where a major bypass project has uncovered archaeological evidence reflecting 9,000 years of human history, including the first early Neolithic house to be found in Co. Wexford.
A rather more recent house forms the focus of our next article, which describes the trials and triumphs of restoration work at Northwold Manor in Norfolk.
From restoration to reconstruction, we then travel to Harborough Museum in Leicestershire, where an innovative project centred on the Hallaton Helmet has created contrasting reconstructions of this ornate Roman artefact, using traditional and cutting-edge techniques.
Finally, we visit another experimental reconstruction, albeit on a rather larger scale, in York’s Museum Gardens, where archaeologists have rebuilt ‘Britain’s oldest house’ based on Mesolithic evidence from Star Carr.
CARLY
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