Current Archaeology 435
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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, Bronze Age burials, hundreds of Iron Age storage pits, a Roman farmstead, and the largest late Roman cemetery known in the county. Constance Mitchell reports.
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 the Isle of Anglesey, so, when metal-detectorists began reporting these and other exceptional artefacts from the early medieval period, the National Museum of Wales (now Amgueddfa Cymru) sent Mark Redknap, then Curator of Medieval and Later Archaeology, to investigate. Between 1994 and 2012, Mark led ten seasons of fieldwork on the site, revealing the remains of a trading settlement with a form unparalleled in Wales. With the full report recently published, Chris Catling describes its key findings.
CA 435 Letters – May
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. When I
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 to the story of the Lechlade ‘chieftain’.
Excavating the CA archive: The Norman Conquest
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 that might be of interest to the readers of Current Archaeology
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 you would prefer to get your heritage fix from the comfort of your sofa, though, there is a variety of resources on offer online, too, from virtual site tours and digital offerings by museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Kathryn Krakowka has put together a selection
of some of the options available.
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 to the show’s creator and Executive Producer Tim Taylor about how technology gave the show new life – and could transform the future of how archaeological stories are told.
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.
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 Hilts visited the displays and spoke to their curator Brett Thorn.
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.
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 British Isles, which is often considered the foundational work on the subject. To reflect these milestones, Neil Mortimer offers an overview of how the book came into being – and the occasionally unconventional approach of its author.
Recreating early medieval manuscripts: Tarbat Discovery Centre, Portmahomack
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 early medieval
History of the National Trust
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 going for a short run every day, Sherds also (more successfully) sets aside time to spend with a book in the evening.
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 in British
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 most plentiful,
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 fieldwork, the
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 starts by
Glasgow: A new history
What makes this is a welcome addition to the not inconsiderable number of histories of Glasgow, is that Moffat knows how to tell a good story. The book is of interest because