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.
Viking settlement in Canada dated to exactly 1,000 years ago
The latest research has used a newly developed approach to radiocarbon dating, which is capable of dating objects to an exact year.
Roman Britain in colour: recent finds at Richborough’s amphitheatre
English Heritage and Historic England archaeologists have been investigating the remains of Richborough’s Roman amphitheatre – uncovering rare traces of painted decorations, as well as insights into the later years of the associated town. Carly Hilts visited the excavation to find out more.
News in brief: Roman diets, a Byzantine warrior, and Cassowary chicks
A brief look at some of the latest exciting archaeological stories.
Face to face with the Netherlands’ first Neanderthal
The young Neanderthal man, known as ‘Krijin’, lived between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago in Doggerland, the prehistoric landscape that lies subsumed in the North Sea.
Bronze Age coffin found in Lincolnshire
The coffin contains the remains of a man and an axe, which is thought to have been more of a symbol of authority than a practical tool.
Making a difference?
The wealth produced by Egyptian peasants was spent on warfare, monuments, and luxury. Egyptian artisans were despised as manual labourers. So Egyptian civilisation looked essentially the same in 30 BC as it had done in 3000 BC.
Late Bronze Age Hillfort found in France
Around 800 objects have been recovered so far, making it one of the richest Late Bronze Age sites in Europe.
Ontologies of Rock Art
Back in the days when I was an undergraduate, I was introduced to the mystical world of social theory. My tutors – Christopher Tilley and, later, Michael Shanks – introduced me to
Byzantine wine factory
Excavations in the city of Yavne in Israel have discovered a vast 1,500-year-old industrial complex thought to be the largest wine production centre known from the Byzantine period. The factory complex encompasses
Gold of the Great Steppe
A new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge presents an array of artefacts from the Iron Age Saka culture of East Kazakhstan. Amy Brunskill visited to find out more.
Teotihuacan complex found in Maya city
Archaeologists exploring the Ciudadela at Tikal have discovered six phases of construction, mostly dating to the Early Classic period (c.AD 300-550).
American advances
activists in Mexico City are claiming that the arrival of Columbus in America opened the door to European oppression and colonialism. Mexico City’s governor has confirmed that the place of Columbus will be taken by a replica of a pre-Columbian statue
History of the Caucasus
For thousands of years, people have lived on the 1,000-mile span of mountains stretching, high and low, from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, or in the numerous mountain valleys that
Butrint’s slave manumissions: shedding new light on the UNESCO World Heritage city
During 2020, ‘squeezes’ – copies – made in the 1930s of Butrint’s exceptional inscriptions from the Sanctuary of Asclepius were rediscovered by chance. Enrico Giorgi shares the story of these texts and their facsimiles.
New discoveries from Egypt’s sunken city
Among the objects found were bronze artefacts, imported Greek ceramics, and wicker fruit baskets still containing grape seeds
CARD Fund applications are open
The CARD fund provides funding for ten radiocarbon dates from British archaeological sites which are organised by community archaeology groups.
Restored Battersea Power Station finally removed from ‘heritage at risk’ register
Battersea Power Station is one of several sites to have been removed from Historic England’s ‘heritage at risk’ register, the organisation has announced. The former electricity station in southwest London is in
England’s largest Anglo-Saxon gold coin hoard unearthed
The trove consists of 131 gold coins and four gold objects
World News in Brief
CA explores the latest archaeological news from across the globe, including the discovery of the world’s oldest Christian monastery.
