Description
In this issue:
– THE MANY FACES OF SILBURY HILL: Unravelling the evolution of Europe’s largest prehistoric mound
– THE SACKING OF AULDHAME: Investigating a Viking burial in a monastic graveyard
– RETURN TO BLICK MEAD: Exploring the Mesolithic origins of Stonehenge’s ritual landscape
– THE RUIN OF ROMAN BRITAIN: Exploring how the empire gave way to England
– WHO GOES THERE? Inside the Hadrian’s Wall milecastles
Plus: News, Reviews, Comment, Sherds, Odd Socs, and more!
From the Editor:
When a hole appeared in the summit of Silbury Hill, English Heritage had a crisis on their hands. As a major conservation operation swung into action, a team of archaeologists grasped this opportunity to re-enter the mound. Their remarkable discoveries have demolished views of Silbury Hill as a chieftain’s vanity project.
A powerful figure may be responsible for an archaeological anomaly at Auldhame, though. Historical accounts refer to the Viking king Olaf Guthfrithsson being struck down as a punishment for attacking the churches of St Balthere. Could this raid explain the presence of a Viking burial in a recently discovered monastic cemetery?
On Salisbury Plain, a hunter-gatherer home-base is being excavated at Blick Mead. This remarkable Mesolithic missing link is rewriting the origins of the famous ceremonial landscape around Stonehenge, and raising questions about whether its earliest Neolithic monuments were inspired by the traditions of the hunt.
The transition between Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England also continues to excite debate. While the image of Roman soldiers waving goodbye as they sailed away has long since been debunked, could it be that the imperial twilight brought more continuity than change?
Finally, I’m off for six months to research Hadrian’s Wall milecastles. Nadia Durrani ‚ formerly of Current World Archaeology ‚ will take the reins while I’m away, and Chris Catling will appear as a special guest editor. For now, I would like to leave you with a piece about why I find milecastles so fascinating. I hope you will forgive this indulgence.
Cover Date: Aug-2014, Volume 25 Issue 5