Forging ahead
New research is exploring the sophisticated metalworking involved in the creation of the famous Nebra Sky Disc.
Bronze Age
Landscapes of Death: Early Bronze Age tombs and mortuary rituals on the Oman Peninsula
REVIEW BY GEORGE NASH The Oman Peninsula and the surrounding Gulf States have been the focus of archaeological research for at least 120 years. Although the region’s archaeological record extends as far back as the Middle Palaeolithic – including evidence…
Bronze Age ceremonial site identified in Farley Wood
Excavations in Derbyshire have revealed that an apparently solitary standing stone in Farley Wood is in fact part of a larger ceremonial complex dating to the early Bronze Age. Standing 2m (6.6ft) tall, the upright was long believed to be…
My Jewellery, My Story at Charnwood Museum
An unusual Bronze Age necklace has inspired a colourful exhibition exploring the personal stories behind ancient and modern items of jewellery. Carly Hilts visited to learn more.
A Hillfort through Time: Excavations at Rathgall, Co. Wicklow
REVIEW BY JAMES O’DRISCOLL It is safe to say that I, and many others interested in the later prehistory of Ireland, have been waiting for this book for decades. This volume documents the excavations undertaken at the multivallate hillfort of…
Close to the Edge: Excavations of Five Cornish Coastal Barrows
REVIEW BY JODIE LEWIS This monograph presents the results of excavations at five Bronze Age round barrows located on or near the north Cornish coast, undertaken by the Cornwall Archaeological Unit. Each barrow has a separate chapter, allowing readers to…
Bronze Age brutality? Exploring evidence for interpersonal violence at Charterhouse Warren
Why were the remains of dozens of men, women, and children thrown into a deep shaft in Bronze Age Somerset? They had suffered violent deaths, after which their bodies were butchered and probably partly consumed in an act unprecedented in British prehistory. Carly Hilts describes recently published research into possible motivations behind these events.
Dover boat & Newport Ship: Excavating the CA archive
My ‘great’ site this month comprises two sites – actually, two ships – linked by common stories of survival against the odds. In September 1992, the remains of a boat dating to the Middle Bronze Age were discovered in central Dover by workers constructing part of the A20 link road leading to Folkestone.
Baltinglass and the Prehistoric Hillforts of Ireland
REVIEW BY GARY LOCK The Baltinglass area has rightly been called ‘Ireland’s Hillfort Capital’ due to the 13 or so large enclosures on hilltops surrounding the modern town. The area has been intensively studied by a team from University College…
CA Letters 419 – January
Language and linen I have just finished reading the latest ‘Sherds’ column in CA 417. His pieces are always thought-provoking, and I thoroughly enjoyed the section on the Norse/Anglo-Saxon influence on our modern language. I am fascinated by place-names, and…
British Pottery: The first 3,000 years – Ceramic Art in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age
REVIEW BY ALISTAIR BARCLAY This is the latest in a series of accessible and well-illustrated books by the author on the development of British Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery. In it, he shares his fascination for the subject in a…
Fleeting finds: Investigating intertidal discoveries in the Severn Estuary
Intertidal archaeological sites are challenging to investigate, often being exposed for just a few hours at a time, but they can be rich repositories of organic finds and environmental evidence. Martin Bell, Thomas Walker, and Adam Turner describe the illuminating discoveries that have been made at Goldcliff in the Severn Estuary over the last three decades.
Unearthing the Peebles Hoard: A unique collection from Bronze Age Scotland
In CA 417, we described how best-practice reporting, expert archaeological work, and cutting-edge analysis were coming together to give intriguing insights into a remarkable assemblage that had lain undisturbed in the Scottish Borders for 3,000 years. Matthew G Knight, Emily A Freeman, Mary Davis, and Fraser Hunter take up the story to reveal what has been learned so far.
Intentional offerings? Examining Bronze Age metalwork from the River Trent
An exhibition running at the University of Nottingham Museum showcases the intriguing and eclectic Bronze Age metalwork that has been recovered from the waters and wetlands of the River Trent. Carly Hilts spoke to Mark Pearce and Clare Pickersgill to learn more.
The Bell Beaker Phenomenon in Europe: A harmony of difference
REVIEW BY OLIVIER LEMERCIER To begin with, the Bell Beaker referred only to a small ceramic cup with a very recognisable morphology and decoration. In burials, this drinking vessel was often associated with weapons (particularly daggers and archery equipment) and…
Europe’s earliest inter-regional conflict?
Analysis of arrowheads from Bronze Age Europe is uncovering new details about an ancient battle that took place in the Tollense Valley.
Arrowheads shed light on one of Europe’s oldest battlefields
It is one of the oldest and most mysterious battlefields in Europe. But new research into arrowheads dating from the 13th century BC has revealed more about who was involved. The Tollense Valley in the northern German state of Mecklenburg…
Secrets of the Dorset marsh: Excavating Bronze Age remains and one of Britain’s oldest wooden tools
Over the last two years, excavations on marshland near Poole Harbour have revealed evidence of unusual seasonal activity dating to the Bronze Age – including one of the oldest and most complete wooden tools ever found in Britain. Carly Hilts spoke to Greg Chuter and Ed Treasure to find out more.
The Peebles Hoard: Investigating one of Scotland’s ‘most significant’ hoards
The prompt reporting and careful recovery of a Bronze Age hoard has enabled expert analysis of its contents. CA reports on the potential of the Peebles Hoard to transform our understanding of Bronze Age Scotland.
Making a splash: The Big Bronze Age Boat Build at Stanwick Lakes
A recent experimental archaeology project has seen three Bronze Age-style logboats constructed and launched at Stanwick Lakes in Northamptonshire. Carly Hilts visited the project’s grand finale to learn more about the excavated evidence that had fed into the design of the dug-outs, and the rich heritage of the site itself.
CA Letters 416 – October
Vitrified forts I was interested to read (in CA 415) that one version of Tinnis fort [underlying Tinnis Castle, which is shown in its medieval prime BELOW] had been set alight and vitrified. It is remarked that this is not…
Children’s burial ground found in Norway
Excavations in south-eastern Norway have uncovered a unique prehistoric burial field containing graves belonging almost exclusively to children. In November 2023, archaeologists from Norway’s Museum of Cultural History working in the municipality of Fredrikstad came across 41 circular formations composed…
Chalking it up: The Uffington White Horse
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 (fundraised by David Miles and Simon Palmer, and undertaken by…
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 monuments. Mike Woods, Arwyn Owen, and George Nash take up the story of a long-forgotten and recently rediscovered ritualised landscape.
‘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 phase of archaeological work on the site, which is being…
Current Archaeology 412
• Must Farm revisited: an extraordinary insight into everyday Bronze Age life
• Stonehenge: a monumental walk
• Excavations over the White Cliffs of Dover: uncovering a WWII story
• Personalising the anonymous dead from medieval cemeteries
New research suggests Seahenge built as response to prehistoric climate change
New interdisciplinary research from the University of Aberdeen has suggested that Holme I – a Bronze Age timber circle in north Norfolk that is also known as ‘Seahenge’ – was created as a response to a period of climatic deterioration.…
Must Farm revisited: Extraordinary insights into everyday Bronze Age life
Between 2015 and 2016, Cambridge Archaeological Unit excavated Britain’s most completely preserved prehistoric settlement outside Whittlesey, near Peterborough. As a time-capsule of late Bronze Age life, Must Farm is unique; now, with post-excavation analysis published in full, Carly Hilts explores how the site’s significance lies in its ordinariness.
Excavating around Salisbury Plain
Last month I began a tour around the final county of the UK that I had yet to visit in these pages: Wiltshire. I began in the north and headed south as far as the Vale of Pewsey. This month I will continue into what is popularly seen as the most fertile of all archaeological hunting grounds: the county’s central belt around Salisbury Plain
Documenting a sacred landscape: Rock art and monuments of the South Wales uplands
Over the last three decades, archaeologists and amateur enthusiasts alike have been greatly expanding our understanding of how the upland areas of Glamorgan were used in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. George Nash, Kim Allen, and Dewi Bowen are our guides to a series of recent discoveries hinting at a significant and complex symbolic landscape almost 100km wide.
Introducing Must Farm, a Bronze Age Settlement at Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery
A new exhibition set to open later this month, and two newly published monographs, tell the story of Must Farm, an extraordinary Bronze Age site in Cambridgeshire that has shed vivid light on everyday life 3,000 years ago. Carly Hilts reports.
Derrycarhoon: A later Bronze Age copper mine in south-west Ireland
REVIEW BY ROB IXER Over the decades, O’Brien has recorded, in intense detail, the earliest prehistoric copper mining in south-west Ireland, namely Beaker People’s Chalcolithic to early Bronze Age exploitation at Ross Island (now known for its massive contribution to…
Ritual deposits in prehistoric Poland
Archaeologists in Poland have discovered hundreds of metal objects deposited in a lake by a Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age community. The site of Papowo Biskupie is located in north-central Poland, in an area that was once home…
Family ties: Examining ideas of kinship in the early Bronze Age
New analysis of two Bronze Age burials discovered more than a century – and over 300 miles – apart has raised intriguing questions about prehistoric ideas of family relationships, highlighting cross-Channel cultural links stretching back 5,000 years. Carly Hilts reports.
Bronze Age burnt mounds discovered in Annan
Recently published research by GUARD Archaeology reports on the discovery of a pair of Bronze Age burnt mounds at Hallmeadow in Annan, 24km south-east of Dumfries. They were first identified in 2020, during archaeological works ahead of the construction of…
Let the sun shine in!
An Early Bronze Age sanctuary that functioned as a solar calendar has been discovered in the Netherlands. Cristian van der Linde tells us more.