Description
In this issue:
– Coins of conquest: 1066 – upheaval or small change?
– An Anglo-Saxon enigma: encountering a cherished Cotswold child
– Excavating Caistor’s Roman temples
– Breaking through boundaries: reading the Peak District landscape
– Return to Piddington: excavating outside the villa
– Resurrecting Sutton Hoo’s ghost ship
– Investigating Silchester’s Iron Age defences
Plus: News, Reviews, Comment, Sherds, Odd Socs, and more!
From the Editor:
The most-famous date in English history is said to be 1066 – but what was the immediate impact of the Norman Conquest? Our cover story explores a recently discovered coin hoard, the largest of its kind, buried in Somerset c.1068. What can it tell us about the first years after the Battle of Hastings?
The hoard was found by metal-detectorists who immediately flagged it up to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Responsible detecting and proper recording of finds are essential to our understanding of the past – and it was another swiftly reported metal-detecting discovery that sparked the excavation in our second feature. At first glance, the 6th-century grave found in Gloucestershire is a fairly typical, if high-status, Anglo-Saxon warrior burial – but its occupant was only 9-10 years old at death. What do their lavish grave goods signify?
This issue also brings you reports from two more of this summer’s site visits. At Piddington, Northamptonshire, long-running excavations continue to explore a grand Roman villa estate. Meanwhile, investigations at Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk, have uncovered traces of one of the largest Romano-Celtic temples known in Britain. The rich historic landscape of the Peak District, which we explore in our penultimate feature, boasts an even grander scale. And ‘impressive’ is surely the word to describe both the spectacular Sutton Hoo ship burial and an experimental archaeology initiative currently working to create a full-scale replica of the vessel – a real voyage of discovery.
Finally, I would like to extend my best wishes to our Deputy Editor Kathryn as she embarks on an adventure of her own; a warm welcome to Amy Brunskill, who will be covering her maternity leave.
Carly Hilts
Cover Date: Nov-2019, Volume 30 Issue 8