Current Archaeology 435
The comprehensive website for archaeology, history, heritage and the ancient world. Find out more about us here
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.
Excavating Dinas Dinlle before it falls into the sea
The plan now is to fully preserve the roundhouse and leave it open so that people may appreciate the scale of erosion that is occurring at this site.
HMS Northumberland: diving a victim of the Great Storm of 1703
When HMS Northumberland sank off the Kent coast in 1703, the wreck remained lost for almost three centuries – until erosion of the sandbank shielding its remains brought the ship to light once more. Daniel Pascoe told Carly Hilts how archaeologists are now racing against time and tide to record as much of the site as possible before it deteriorates.
A voyage to the past
This September marks 30 years since the discovery of one of the world’s oldest-known seagoing vessels: the Dover Bronze Age Boat, whose remains are pictured here on display in a dedicated gallery
The Cairns and the Newark Project, Orkney
This summer, CA Editor Carly Hilts travelled to Orkney to catch up on recent archaeological research in the islands (watch this space for future features). While there, she also visited exhibitions showcasing discoveries from two more excavations, at Stromness Museum, and the Orkney Museum in Kirkwall.
Roman Rural Settlement in Wales and the Marches: approaches to settlement and material culture through big data
Review by Andrew Tibbs. A nalysis of ‘big data’ (large datasets of information) is a technique used to expose patterns for archaeologists to interpret, and it is utilised effectively in this book
Hunter-Gatherer Ireland: making connections in an island world
Review by George Nash. When looking at the prehistory of Ireland, we are instantly drawn to the complex societies that were involved in the construction and use of burial monuments of the
Medieval prayer beads found on Lindisfarne
They were found around the neck of a skeleton during an excavation of a cemetery area.
Radiocarbon in retrograde: the impact of CO2
It appears that, starting from now, it will become extremely difficult to accurately date certain objects based solely on 14C levels.
Pagans and folklore
I was conscious of being several decades older than most of the other graduates, but as Rosemary Cramp said when I told her about my plans, ‘Nobody under 50 should study for a PhD because they don’t have enough experience to make an original contribution.’
Conquering the Ocean: the Roman invasion of Britain
Review by Matthew Symonds. Reconstructing Roman military campaigning in Britain poses a fascinating challenge. For some periods, a solid overview of events – from a Roman perspective, at least – is provided
Bringing Glencoe back to life with a replica turf house
The new house was erected by a team of skilled craftspeople using traditional materials, tools, and building techniques.
Victorian gifts: new insights into the Stonehenge bluestones
The recent rediscovery of a series of rock samples collected during the Victorian period has allowed new analysis of some of the stones of Stonehenge. Rob Ixer, Richard Bevins, Nick Pearce, and David Dawson explain more.
News in brief: Culloden Parks and Suffolk gardens
A round-up of some of the latest news from the realm of archaeology in the UK.
The East End Preservation Society
Founded in 2013, the East End Preservation Society (EEPS) is an informal group that uses the power of social media to bring people together who ‘care about the East End and are
Growing up human: the evolution of childhood
Review by Joe Flatman. Growing Up Human examines the history of childhood in the broadest sense, from reproductive options through conception and eventual transference into adulthood, by way of gestation, birth, early
Remains of a Bronze Age roundhouse unearthed in Cardiff
The newly discovered structure sits within view of Caerau Hillfort, one the largest Iron Age hillforts in south-east Wales.
Museum news from London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Glastonbury
The latest on exhibitions, acquisitions, and key decisions.
Going underground: echoes of Napoleonic-era mining found at Alderley Edge
Alderley Edge’s rich mineral resources have attracted the attention of miners as far back as the Bronze Age. Now, though, recent investigations have revealed traces of rather more modern activity, as Carly Hilts reports.
Stratton, Biggleswade: 1,300 years of village life in eastern Bedfordshire from the 5th century AD
Review by Stephen Mileson. This report sheds light on the development of an ordinary rural settlement over the long duration. Stratton was a stræt-tun, a ‘settlement on a Roman road’ – in
Finds tray – copper-alloy strap fitting
This is a copper-alloy strap fitting in the shape of a jester’s head. It was recently found by a metal-detectorist near Warrington in Cheshire. Although the exact date is uncertain, the late