Cover Story
An enduring landscape: Uncovering 8,000 years of life and death on the Cotswold Edge Recent excavations at Milestone Ground on the eastern edge of Broadway have revealed one of the most intriguing archaeological landscapes yet found in Worcestershire. Beneath quiet pasture lay evidence of human activity stretching back 8,000 years, including Mesolithic flint tools,… Features
Llanbedrgoch: Exploring a unique early medieval trading centre on Anglesey Ninth-century Carolingian coins from the reigns of Louis the Pious and Charles the Bald are not the sort of objects you would expect to find on a remote farm on… 
Lechlade’s buried secrets: Revisiting a long-lived ritual landscape in Gloucestershire In 2017, excavations revealed an unusual Bronze Age burial alongside other signs of ceremonial activity spanning thousands of years. With some of the grave goods now on display, CA returns… 
Time flies: Marking five years since the return of Time Team In 2021, an archaeological household name returned to our (computer) screens, as Time Team relaunched on YouTube. Carly Hilts visited the team at their first dig of 2026 and spoke… 
The warlord, the prince, and the village people: Examining three early Anglo-Saxon burial sites from Buckinghamshire A new exhibition at Discover Bucks Museum in Aylesbury draws together antiquarian excavations and very recent finds to illuminate life and death at different levels of early medieval society. Carly… 
A monumental legacy: Aubrey Burl and The Stone Circles of the British Isles This year marks a century since the birth of the pioneering prehistorian Aubrey Burl, and the 50th anniversary of the publication of his landmark study The Stone Circles of the… News
The swords in the stones: New insights from an unusual child burial in Gloucestershire Recent analysis of the remains of two children who were buried in the same grave in 7th-century Gloucestershire has revealed them to be brother and sister. CA reports. 
New details about the domestication of dogs Dogs are man’s best (and oldest – see CA 352 and 401) friends, but how they came to be that way is still a bit of a mystery. Based on… 
Antonine Wall fortlet found Archaeological investigations in Bearsden, near Glasgow, have revealed evidence of a previously unknown fortlet on the Antonine Wall. This is the 13th Antonine Wall fortlet to have been confidently identified,… 
Bronze Age watering hole found near Gloucester Excavations south of Gloucester have uncovered a remarkably well preserved Bronze Age watering hole, with many of its wooden structures surviving in situ. The discovery was made last year during… 
Recycled Roman well discovered at Rolls-Royce site The watering hole found near Gloucester is not the only reworked water source recently discovered in England. Excavations in advance of a new Rolls-Royce extension site at Goodwood, near Chichester… 
Neolithic trackway uncovered in Somerset Excavations at Honeygar Farm, a nature reserve that forms part of the Somerset Wildlife Trust, have uncovered the remains of a 6,000-year-old wooden trackway that would have been used during… 
Cooking with the Vikings Food plays an important role in cultural identity, and can be used in archaeology to identify patterns of migration and assimilation. The early medieval inhabitants of Scandinavia are known to… 
Diet and social status in medieval Cambridge We are what we eat, they say, and a new study by the University of Cambridge has found that this was as true in the medieval period as it is… 
World news Prehistoric cultural exchange in Germany Excavations at Eilsleben in northern Germany have revealed a fortified settlement site, dating to c.5375 BC, that may have been founded by some of the… 
UK news in brief Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle redeveloped Redevelopment of Edinburgh Castle’s Crown Room is under way. The project, which began in January, will see elements of the Victorian design, including oak… Views
CA 435 Letters – May Letters Medical memories The article on Temperance (CA 434) was very interesting, but one important establishment was missed: the National Temperance Hospital on Hampstead Road, purpose-built in the late 19th century.… 
Excavating the CA archive: The Norman Conquest Comment The news that the Bayeux Tapestry will be making a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Britain from September 2026 until July 2027 made me think about sites associated with the Norman Conquest… 
Cornish Myths and Legends What's on The newest exhibition at the Cornwall Museum & Art Gallery (CMAG) in Truro explores local lore and its lasting legacy. Laura Miucci describes the displays. 
Current Archaeology’s May Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home What's on There are lots of great ways to get involved with history and archaeology over the next few months, including exhibitions, lectures, and conferences exploring a wide range of subjects. If… 
Go digging! What's on This month’s selection of summer digging opportunities includes projects from the Midlands, south-east England, Scotland, and Wales. 
Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold What's on A glittering exhibition at Battersea Power Station in London explores the life and legacy of one of ancient Egypt’s most famous rulers. Carly Hilts visited to learn more. 
Recreating early medieval manuscripts: Tarbat Discovery Centre, Portmahomack The Picture Desk The elaborately decorated Book of Kells takes its name from the eponymous abbey in Co. Meath where it was kept for centuries, but it has been previously suggested that the… 
History of the National Trust Comment It is said that reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body, so as well as trying (but not always succeeding) to keep the body trim by… Reviews
Cornish Myths and Legends The newest exhibition at the Cornwall Museum & Art Gallery (CMAG) in Truro explores local lore and its lasting legacy. Laura Miucci describes the displays. Current Archaeology’s May Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home There are lots of great ways to get involved with history and archaeology over the next few months, including exhibitions, lectures, and conferences exploring a wide range of subjects. If… Go digging! This month’s selection of summer digging opportunities includes projects from the Midlands, south-east England, Scotland, and Wales. Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold A glittering exhibition at Battersea Power Station in London explores the life and legacy of one of ancient Egypt’s most famous rulers. Carly Hilts visited to learn more. 
Trysor An absorbing new exhibition at Oriel Môn in Llangefni highlights Anglesey’s long and varied archaeological heritage. Carly Hilts visited the displays. 
High Pasture Cave: ritual, memory, and identity in the Iron Age of Skye Caves have always captured the imagination. This is no less true of High Pasture Cave on the Isle of Skye, whose publication represents the latest contribution to a growing corpus… 
Britannia under the Boot: Roman militaria from the ‘civil zone’ of southern England The story of Roman Britain is often seen as a tale of two zones. To the south and east lay a ‘civil zone’, where towns and villas were at their… 
Ness of Brodgar: Elements of architecture With excavation at the Ness of Brodgar – one of the largest Neolithic sites known in north-west Europe – having finished in August 2024, after a remarkable 20 years of… 
The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Towns: A Viking gift? Richard Hodges’ most recent book takes us back to his original area of study: the economic and political conditions leading to the rebirth of towns in early medieval Britain. He… 
From the editor
Our cover feature takes us to Broadway, a picturesque Gloucestershire village where excavations have revealed a palimpsest of human activity stretching back 8,000 years – including Beaker burials, Iron Age graves, and the county’s largest-known late Roman cemetery.
Funerary practices also form the focus of our next article, exploring a new exhibition that examines what three burial sites in Buckinghamshire (a solitary ‘sentinel’ grave, the Taplow ‘princely’ barrow, and a large community cemetery) can tell us about Anglo-Saxon society.
We then turn to an unusual grave that was discovered in Gloucestershire in 2017. With some of its artefacts newly on display at the Corinium Museum, we revisit the story of the Lechlade ‘chieftain’ and his enigmatic companion.
From there, we head to Anglesey, where long running excavations have revealed the remains of a unique early medieval trading site and production centre. With the full report now published, we share some of the key findings.
We end with two shorter pieces about milestones. The first celebrates five years since the return of Time Team, and considers how technology can transform how we experience the past. The second marks 100 years since the birth of the pioneering prehistorian Aubrey Burl and 50 years since the publication of his still-influential book The Stone Circles of the British Isles.
P.S. You might notice that this month’s ‘Welcome’ page looks a bit different. We are now running contributors’ biographies and photos at the end of their respective articles, to link authors more directly to their work, and to make sure that everyone can be featured in this way (we were rarely able to squeeze everyone on to the ‘Welcome’ page). This change also means that we can highlight the brilliant trio who contribute to the magazine every single month!
CARLY
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