Cover Story
Bridge over troubled water: Roman finds from the Tees at Piercebridge and beyond Ritual or rubbish – how should we interpret objects that ended their days in rivers during the Roman period? Hella Eckardt and Philippa Walton consider this question by exploring the more than 3,600 artefacts that have been recovered from the… Features
‘A roof o’er their heads’: exploring the archaeology of Achtriachtan township in Glencoe The Highland valley of Glencoe is notorious as the location of a brutal 1692 massacre, but until recently little was known about what remained of the settlement that existed at… 
Road to the past: exploring the prehistoric heart of Galloway The construction of a new bypass on the A75 near Dunragit has uncovered a wealth of archaeological finds, illuminating around 8,000 years of human activity within a rich and complex… 
Iona’s archetype? A concrete replica of the Cross of St John speaks The Isle of Iona, located off the south-western coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, has been described by the poet Robert Crawford (b. 1959) as a place where ‘spirit,… News
A Viking Age family reunion It is believed that this group may represent a Viking population who had settled in Oxford for some years. 
Count your chickens: a new ageing technique for domesticated fowl The team from the University of Exeter applied their formula to 1,366 domestic fowl skeletons found across Britain, ranging in date from the Iron Age through to the modern day. 
Rare Roman relief revealed at Vindolanda Measuring 160mm by 215mm, the stone depicts a naked male figure holding a spear and standing in front of either a horse or a donkey. 
Roman sarcophagus discovered in Bath Next to the sarcophagus, a possible votive offering, consisting of a small pot containing what also appears to be cremated remains. 
17th-century bridge uncovered in Belfast Excavations revealed old foundations, as well as bricks and pottery, dating to the late 18th century. 
New discoveries on Rat Island These new discoveries could indicate that the harsh treatment on these prison ships was not a punishment solely reserved for men. 
Confirming Plague victims in medieval Cambridgeshire ‘Even during Plague outbreaks, individual people were being buried with considerable care and attention.' Views
Finds tray – Anglo-Saxon gesture figurine Objects This is a 7th-century gesture figurine of a man, made of copper alloy. It was found by a metal-detectorist last December in the parish of Kintbury, West Berkshire. 
The last laugh Comment Furnished graves smacked of paganism, along with the idea that worldly goods should be laid in the grave for the use of the deceased in the afterlife. 
Heritage from home: August 2021 Museum, What's on Many heritage sites and museums in the UK, Ireland, and other countries around the world have now reopened their doors to visitors, but there are still plenty of ways to… 
The Mortimer History Society Groups What is it about the members of the Mortimer family, powerful and ambitious lords of the March, that attracts people to the Mortimer History Society (MHS)? 
Illuminating a far-travelled vessel Objects, The Picture Desk The image shown here represents a fire altar with a triple-pointed crown in the flames as a central motif, surrounded by plant scrolls containing stylised leopards and tigers. 
Raksha Dave on the future of archaeology Comment Time Team taught me to look outside my trench and think about how everything fed into a wider story. And as for Tony [Robinson] – I like to call him… 
Excavating East Sussex Comment, Places Perhaps Sussex’s most famous ‘site’ of all featured in CA 286, when the Time Team examined rival theories of the location of the AD 1066 Battle of Hastings. 
Don’t underestimate Archaeology Comment Too often, we are seen as ‘people who play in the dirt’ or very occasionally ‘finders of secrets’ rather than serious academics. - Dr Hugh Willmott Reviews
Bar Locks and Early Church Security in the British Isles Have you ever wondered why there is often a big hole in the wall just inside a medieval church doorway? This book is primarily a study of the bar locks… 
Ecclesiastical Landscapes in Medieval Europe: an archaeological perspective This volume largely stems from the 2018 European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) annual meeting in Barcelona. The editors have obviously taken great care in compiling a cohesive and comprehensive collection… Heritage from home: August 2021 Many heritage sites and museums in the UK, Ireland, and other countries around the world have now reopened their doors to visitors, but there are still plenty of ways to… 
Hoards from Wiltshire The landscape of Wiltshire is full of indications of the county’s rich history, but perhaps some of the most compelling information about the area’s past comes from the hoards buried… 
Life, Death, and Rubbish Disposal in Roman Norton, North Yorkshire This report describes the results of excavations conducted in 2015-2016 on the Brooklyn Hall site, south of the River Derwent, opposite the fort at Malton, and immediately west of the… 
Visions of the Roman North: art and identity in northern Roman Britain This remarkable and important study of the art and culture of northern Roman Britain has been published almost two decades after my own – The Heirs of King Verica (Tempus,… 
The Wandering Herd: the medieval cattle economy of south-east England c.450-1450 ‘The late medieval sheep of Britain have so engaged the attention of the agrarian historians that other aspects of stock husbandry appear to have been neglected. Our knowledge of the… 
From the editor
Rivers can be rich sources of archaeological finds, but how can we tell why an object was consigned to their waters? Our cover feature considers some of the more than 3,600 Roman artefacts recovered from the Tees at Piercebridge, near Darlington. Do they represent ritual acts or discarded rubbish – and how can we distinguish between the two?
From waterways to roads, our next feature takes us to Dunragit, where the construction of a bypass has given archaeologists a linear snapshot of human activity spanning c.8,000 years – including what may be the earliest Mesolithic structure yet found in south-west Scotland.
Heading further north still, we next visit Iona in the Inner Hebrides. This important early Christian site was once adorned with numerous ornate stone crosses. Many were destroyed in the 17th century, but research centred on a replica of the Cross of St John has illuminated innovative aspects of the 8th-century original’s design.
Our fourth feature focuses on the highland village of Glencoe, which is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery but is also synonymous with an infamous massacre in 1692. What has recent fieldwork by the National Trust for Scotland revealed about surviving settlement evidence from this time?
Finally, this month, instead of the usual ‘In Focus’, we have two pieces looking at key issues facing UK archaeology today. Hugh Willmott addresses the planned closure of the University of Sheffield’s Archaeology department, while Raksha Dave – newly appointed president of the Council for British Archaeology – discusses how to dispel myths about the profession and make archaeology as accessible as possible.
