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.
Last Word: Neil Faulkner
Neil was an interesting person, as he lived two lives. One was as an archaeologist, as a tour guide, excavator, and valued contributor to our magazines. But he also had another life, as a revolutionary Marxist…
Middle Bronze Age and Roman Settlement at Manor Pit, Baston, Lincolnshire
Review by Andrew Tibbs. Over a decade of excavation has taken place at the Manor Pit quarry site in Baston, Lincolnshire, and this volume details the archaeological work undertaken at the site,
Bretons and Britons: exploring prehistoric Britain’s French connection
The fact that Britain and Brittany have similar names is more than coincidental. The two places have enmeshed histories, as Barry Cunliffe discusses in his latest book, Bretons and Britons. Chris Catling reports on the periods in prehistory when the people of the two cultures facing each other across the Channel were particularly close.
Excavating Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Dramatic evidence was found here for Iron Age ritual practices: parts of at least five human bodies were discovered, arranged round the western edge of a shallow hollow filled full of articulated animal bones.
A History of Norfolk in 100 Places
Review by HB. From traces of Palaeolithic life along the coast to deserted medieval villages and a Cold War airfield, A History of Norfolk in 100 Places is a whistle-stop tour of
Peasant Perceptions of Landscape: Ewelme hundred, south Oxfordshire, 500-1650
Review by Susan Oosthuizen. This study of 14 south Oxfordshire parishes covers the lowland valleys of both the Thame and Thames, typified by nucleated settlements and open fields, and the uplands of
The Long Distance Walkers Association
Active travel, as it is known, is set to become even more popular as people rediscover the riches of the UK’s natural and cultural heritage.
Petuaria revisited: searching for Brough-on-Humber’s lost Roman theatre
Eighty-five years ago, an inscription was discovered at Brough-on-Humber hinting that the town was once home to a Roman theatre. Peter Halkon and James Lyall report on more recent excavations seeking to relocate its remains.
Bronze Age burial mound discovered beneath former Oxford college
A fragment of skull and part of a human jawbone were also uncovered.
Beyond the Wall: exploring the prehistoric origins of Scotland
Hadrian’s Wall is often blamed for splitting ancient Britain in two, but a new look at the archaeological evidence suggests that the peoples of what would become Scotland and England were already culturally divergent long before the Romans arrived in Britain – as Ronan Toolis explains.
Iron Age Chariot Burials in Britain and the Near Continent
Review by Peter Halkon. Chariot burials are icons of Iron Age Britain. Apart from those found near Edinburgh and in Pembroke, they are clustered in eastern Yorkshire, with an outlier at Ferry
Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle reopened last year following a £33-million transformation of its grounds and galleries. Carly Hilts dropped by to see what has changed.
From tents to towns: tracing Torksey after the Vikings
In AD 872-873, a Viking army spent the winter at Torksey in Lincolnshire. Their camp is now well known, but the team that discovered it have since turned their attention to what happened after the Vikings left. Dawn Hadley, Julian D Richards, Gareth Perry, and Elizabeth Craig-Atkins explore the evidence for the town that was left behind, and discuss the significance of this Viking legacy for Anglo-Saxon England.
Unearthing an ‘idol’
Prehistoric anthropomorphic items made of wood represent rare finds in British archaeology.
‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ Roman mosaic unearthed in London
Archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) uncovered the mosaic during excavations ahead of construction of The Liberty of Southwark
Research underway to find best materials for conserving HMS Victory
Specially designed tests will assess a range of paints, caulking, glues, and metal fastenings.
Ancient Nottingham caves part of plan to regenerate city
The new ‘City of Caves’ project will see researchers exploring historical records and creating 3D laser scans.
Near-Earth comet explosion may have triggered end of Native American Hopewell culture
Hopewell archaeological sites stretching across the Ohio River Valley were exposed to fires and extreme heat.
Artistic obscurity: analysing Britain’s most elusive Roman sculptures
Research in the hinterland of Hadrian’s Wall has revealed remarkable examples of Romano-British artistry hidden in plain sight. Ian Haynes and Lindsay Allason-Jones explore some of the key examples identified by the Elusive Sculptures project, and how these carvings have evaded archaeological attention in the past.
North Wales finds spanning the Bronze Age to post-medieval period declared Treasure
A collection of ten silver coins minted during the reigns of Edward I and Edward II were among the finds.