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FESTIVAL
Eboracum Roman Festival 2026
York Museum Gardens (and throughout York)
16-31 May
http://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/eboracum-roman-festival-2026
Romans will once again descend on York as the Eboracum Roman Festival returns. The festival’s centrepiece, the popular Living History Encampment, will be held on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May, transforming York Museum Gardens into a bustling Roman field camp. Visitors can meet costumed interpreters, enjoy re-enactments, and explore demonstrations of Roman life, while children can take part in battle themed activities. Other events include guided walks, city-wide trail activities, and an archaeology zone showing Roman discoveries from the city.
EVENTS
Staffordshire Archaeology Day 2026
Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Hanley
18 April
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/staffordshire-archaeology-day-2026-tickets-1980669605107
The fourth annual Staffordshire Archaeology Day will host a star line-up, talking about the latest archaeological discoveries in the county. Confirmed speakers include Colin Merrony, from the University of Sheffield, discussing a newly discovered henge in the Peak District; John Thomas, from the University of Leicester, on the Glenfield Iron Age cauldrons; and Michael Fradley, from the University of Oxford, on new discoveries from aerial archaeology. The event is free, but it is essential to reserve a spot in advance.
LECTURE
Found Architecture: places becoming monuments in northern Britain
Magdalene College, Cambridge
11 May
http://www.prehistoricsociety.org/events/2026-05-11
This year’s joint lecture between the Prehistoric Society and the Cambridge Antiquarian Society will be given by Professor Richard Bradley. It will focus on how features in the landscape transformed into places of importance in past cultures. In particular, Professor Bradley will explore, through recent excavations, how monuments could develop from topographical features that gained a special significance in people’s lives, and glacial mounds and rock outcrops might have been mistaken for the remains of older structures. Tickets are free, but booking is essential.
CONFERENCES
Unravelling the Palaeolithic
University College London
19-20 June
https://sites.google.com/view/unravelling-the-palaeolithic/home
‘Unravelling the Palaeolithic’ is a conference led by early career researchers and students, with a history of showcasing excellence in research in Palaeolithic archaeology, early human origins, and related fields. In particular, the aim of the conference this year is to put the spotlight on Palaeolithic work being undertaken in developer-funded archaeology and to encourage submissions from those working in the area. On the website, you can find information about ticket sales, paper submissions, and links to past conferences. Early bird tickets are available until 24 April.
Post-Medieval Archaeology Congress 2026
University of Reading
15-17 May
https://spma.org.uk/pmac26
The 8th annual Post-Medieval Archaeology Congress (PMAC26) returns this year to the University of Reading. The conference includes a full schedule of talks, round-tables, and posters focused on everything post medieval, from the ‘Archaeology of Drinking and Smoking’ to ‘Industrial Heritage’. The keynote speech will be given by Kate Arnold-Forster, Director of the Museum of English Rural Life, with an evening reception at the museum. There will also be a number of tours available, including at Silchester and Reading Museum.
HERITAGE FROM HOME
VIRTUAL VISITS
• Museum of East Dorset
https://museumofeastdorset.co.uk/virtual-museum
Walk through the halls, rooms, and path of the Museum of East Dorset and its gardens in this 3D virtual tour.
• Ludenwic: the other medieval London
http://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/london-stories/lundenwic-other-medieval-london
Explore early medieval London through the objects in the collections of the London Museum Docklands.
• Charles Dickens Museum
Learn about Dickensian London and its eponymous author in this interactive tour, brought to you by the Charles Dickens Museum.
• Imperial War Museum, Lambeth
http://www.pan3sixty.co.uk/portfolio/imperial-war-museum-lambeth
Enjoy 360° panoramas of the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth with this tour from Pan 3Sixty.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
• A Family History Of… podcast
This new podcast takes major events of British and Irish history, and explores them through the eyes of real families who lived through them. The first episode explores wartime women and features Lucy Worsley.
• Medieval Murder Maps
https://medievalmurdermap.co.uk/
These interactive maps, brought to you by the University of Cambridge, show the locations of murders, sudden deaths, sanctuary churches, and prisons in medieval London, York, and Oxford.
• ARCHI
Discover the UK’s historic environment by exploring historical and archaeological sites layered on to LiDAR and old maps.
• Aerial Archaeology Mapping Explorer – Historic England
https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/aerial-archaeology-mapping-explorer
Use this tool to explore archaeology that has been identified, mapped, and recorded using aerial photographs and other aerial sources across England.
• Why Did the Vikings Set Sail for Silver?
https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/why-did-vikings-set-sail-silver
Listen to 2026’s CA Archaeologist of the Year, Dr Jane Kershaw, as she explains where the Vikings sourced their silver in this podcast from the University of Oxford.
ONLINE-ONLY EVENTS
• The Archaeology of Viking Burials
On 15 April, join Dr Matt Beresford as he explores the barrows, grave sites, and funerary customs of the Viking period using archaeology, documentary sources, and contemporary accounts.
• Chaucer’s London to Canterbury Virtual Pilgrimage
On 18 April, join this virtual walk from Chaucer’s London to Canterbury, along the famous pilgrimage route. This a London Walks event (www.walks.com).
• This is Archaeology: what is archaeology, and why does it matter?
On 22 April, this online talk by Morgause Lomas, brought to you by the Council for British Archaeology, will explore how to engage young people in archaeology.
• Osteobites
http://www.archaeologists.net/civicrm/event/info?id=609
The Human Osteoarchaeology Special Interest Group will host Osteobites – a series of short online talks about osteo-archaeology – on 23 April.
• Carter to Lehner: the great explorers
On 29 April, Canadian Egyptologists Laura and Francois Roy will explore the ‘golden age’ of modern Egyptology and its most significant archaeological discoveries.
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