Cover Story
Interpreting Dover Castle’s great tower: Angevin innovation, or a medieval white elephant? Dover’s massive castle, rising in tiers above the harbour to the crest of the hill above the town, looks like the very model of a medieval fortification – but, as a new book reveals, it has some very odd features… Features
Reimagining the past: experiments in construction at Butser Ancient Farm Butser Ancient Farm is an experimental archaeology centre nestled in the Hampshire South Downs. Its staff specialise in exploring the past by engaging with ancient tools and building techniques, and… 
Sailing ahead: the latest news from the Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company A project working to reconstruct the famous Anglo-Saxon ship excavated at Sutton Hoo in 1939 continues apace. Philip Leech brings us up to date on the latest progress. 
A golden anniversary: marking 50 years of the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit Before development-led archaeology was enshrined in law, many archaeological features were destroyed by construction projects without being documented – so, in the 1970s, a number of ‘rescue’ groups were set… 
Northampton’s chequered history: uncovering Britain’s first medieval chess workshop Excavation in Northampton town centre has revealed the remains of a 12th-century bone-working workshop that yielded not only antler offcuts and other echoes of industry, but a number of high-quality… News
Cornish connections in Bronze Age Germany This identification of Cornish gold in Central Europe indicates that there was probably contact between these two regions during the Bronze Age, and perhaps even a well-established trade route. 
Examining the Hours of Isabella Stuart Isabella (c.1427-1494) was the second daughter of James I of Scotland, and was given the manuscript by her husband, Duke Francis I of Brittany, on their marriage. 
Assessing the impact of industrialisation on our gut health In this month’s ‘Science Notes’, we are looking at a recent study from a team of researchers led by Aleksandar Kostic from Harvard Medical School, which analysed examples of palaeofaeces,… 
Roman execution cemeteries revealed in Cambridgeshire Of the 52 human remains recovered from the three cemeteries, 17 of the bodies had been decapitated and 13 were prone, with six burials involving both practices. 
Examining a shackled Roman burial at Great Casterton The skeleton of a Roman man with iron shackles locked around his ankles has been described as ‘perhaps the most convincing candidate for the remains of a Roman slave yet… 
Medieval village uncovered near Netherton Underneath the foundation level was an eclectic assemblage of artefacts, including a whetstone of fine-grained sandstone, a spindle whorl made of cannel coal, a possible gaming piece or counter crafted… 
Further fingerprints found at the Ness of Brodgar 'The analysis has much wider implications in the study of Neolithic ceramics, but we will need many more fingerprint examples before any firm conclusions can be drawn.’ 
Prehistoric animal carvings discovered in Kilmartin Glen What makes this discovery particularly exciting is that, even though animal carvings from this period are known from continental Europe, such realistic prehistoric depictions were not thought to exist in… Views
Excavating West Sussex Comment Fishbourne is just about the largest Roman villa yet to be discovered in this country, but until excavations began the site was virtually unknown... 
Heritage from home: July Museum, Places, What's on Many museums and heritage sites in the UK and Ireland have already reopened to visitors, with more to follow in the coming weeks, but if you still fancy getting your… 
Festival of Archaeology Museum, What's on This July, the Festival of Archaeology returns with an exciting mixture of digital and on-the-ground events, as well resources and activities, all centred around ‘Exploring Local Places’. Here is a… 
Saving British heritage Comment the organisation has halted the Westminster Parliament’s expensive and environmentally damaging plan to demolish Richmond House, listed at Grade II* as a rare example of a fine building from the… 
Saline & District Heritage Society Groups Placename experts say that Saline (pronounced to rhyme with the Estonian capital Tallinn) means ‘little barn’ – probably a place of collection and storage for tribute due to the Scottish… 
Finds tray – late medieval silver seal matrix Objects This is a burnt silver seal matrix, dating to the 13th or 14th century, which was found last August by a metal-detectorist near King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Despite the damage, clearly… Reviews
50 Finds from Kent: objects from the Portable Antiquities Scheme Kent is a county with a rich and unique archaeological record. Situated as it is, surrounded by sea to the north and east, cut off from London and Essex by… 
Breaking Seas, Broken Ships: people, shipwrecks, and Britain, 1854-2007 Broken Seas, Broken Ships is Ian Friel’s latest book on the history of ships and shipwrecks in Britain, and is the ‘sequel’ to Britain and the Open Road (2020), which… 
Roman County Durham: the eastern hinterland of Hadrian’s Wall At over 500 pages, David Mason’s volume on Roman activity in County Durham is the first comprehensive analysis of Roman military and civilian activity for this part of north-east England;… Heritage from home: July Many museums and heritage sites in the UK and Ireland have already reopened to visitors, with more to follow in the coming weeks, but if you still fancy getting your… Festival of Archaeology This July, the Festival of Archaeology returns with an exciting mixture of digital and on-the-ground events, as well resources and activities, all centred around ‘Exploring Local Places’. Here is a… 
Garranes: an early medieval royal site in south-west Ireland In 1938, the large triple-banked early medieval ringfort of Lisnacaragh at Garranes was excavated by Professor Brendan O’Riordain of University College Cork. He uncovered debris from fine metalworking and imported… 
Migrants in Medieval England c.500-c.1500 One of the more impressive aspects of this book – the outcome of a British Academy Conference held in 2015 – is the range of evidence that is marshalled to… 
Silchester Revealed: the Iron Age and Roman town of Calleva Writing a book about the history of a Roman town in Britain is not an easy task. To create a readable and balanced account, an author has to contend with… 
From the editor
This issue is bookended by the archaeology of Kent. Our cover feature showcases Dover Castle, whose 12th-century great tower is banded with gleaming limestone imported from Normandy to make its fortifications an even more visible landmark guarding the entrance to Henry II’s English kingdom. Meanwhile, this month’s ‘In Focus’ highlights more ephemeral historic remains – hosts of buried features that were threatened with destruction during development, but have been painstakingly recorded by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit for over half a century.
Staying in the 12th century, Northampton was another of England’s most important towns during this period (and also home to an impressive castle, sadly no longer standing). Excavation in the town centre has revealed what is thought to be the first medieval workshop making chess pieces yet found in Britain – as we learn in our next feature.
Our two following articles take experimental archaeology as their theme. The first goes behind the scenes of Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire, illuminating the archaeological research and imagination that went into their latest reconstructed building, a Neolithic house. We then take a trip to Woodbridge, Suffolk, for an update from the Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company, who are working to build a full-sized, seaworthy reconstruction of the Anglo-Saxon vessel famously excavated at Sutton Hoo in 1939.
Finally, I hope you are keeping well and managing to explore some local – or not-so-local! – heritage sites as restrictions ease. Having moved to West Sussex a year ago, I have loved recent visits to hillforts and the castle remains at Bramber and Edburton Hill. I hope your archaeological adventures are just as enjoyable.
