REVIEW BY GEORGE NASH I have always thought that, for many archaeological projects, the process of data-gathering and reporting on previous archaeological activity is as important as the archaeology itself; the investigative activity at Rushen Abbey, including more than 100…
REVIEW BY JIM LEARY Jack Cornish is Head of Paths at the British walking charity Ramblers and, like me, an advocate of old and lost paths, the overgrown and the abandoned. The Lost Paths charts some of Cornish’s journeys along…
REVIEW BY TIMOTHY DARVILL Archaeology is not just concerned with learning about the past – it is also about using our hard-won understandings to help inform the present and shape the future. Nowhere is this more urgent than with reference…
REVIEW BY NICHOLAS EVANS This reprint of the updated 2014 edition of Dr Foster’s accessible multidisciplinary study is very welcome. Originating in a 1996 publication by Batsford for Historic Scotland, the 2014 edition was substantially altered to take into account…
Two medieval slabs have been raised from Studland Bay by a team of maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University. The slabs had been lying at a depth of 7m before they were raised in a two-hour operation, led by Diving and…
Mass horse burial in central France The remains of 37 horses have been recovered from 14 pits in Villedieu-sur-Indre. The horses date back 2,000 years, and have all been identified as fully grown stallions. Archaeologists have made various suggestions as…
Research for a new experience that opened at Dover Castle this July has led to the discovery of a heavily graffitied door dating to the 1790s, revealing intriguing insights into the thoughts of the soldiers stationed there at that time.…
The first year of the University of St Andrews Monastic Archaeology Field School has unearthed evidence of medieval buildings and pottery at Lindores Abbey, close to Newburgh in Fife. A 12th-century foundation of the Tironensian Order, Lindores Abbey is potentially…
Oxford Cotswold Archaeology (OCA) archaeologists working on the A417 Missing Link improvement scheme in Gloucestershire have uncovered a Roman mutatio (literally ‘change’; the Latin term for a horse-changing station) among 12,000 years of archaeological material being brought to light under…
The largest-ever geophysical survey undertaken by the National Trust has revealed two probable Roman villas among other archaeological features on the Attingham Estate in Shropshire. The work, carried out by Magnitude Surveys in July, covered an area of more than…
Call for young people to uncover London archaeology The City of London Archaeological Trust (CoLAT) is launching a new scheme to encourage young people to study London archaeology. Grants of £250, plus up to £150 towards travel and equipment costs,…
Rubina Raja & Søren M Sindbæk on archives and urban archaeology
A mammoth discovery A remarkable collection of mammoth bones has been found in a wine cellar in Lower Austria. Excavations at the site in Gobelsburg, carried out by archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), have revealed a dense…
A purple dye workshop dating back some 3,600 years has been discovered on the Greek island of Aegina. Tyrian purple, a natural pigment produced by sea snails, was a highly valued commodity across the Late Bronze Age Mediterranean. Recent excavations…
Analysis of prehistoric pottery is improving our understanding of the changing culinary practices and ceramic usage of people living in central Germany between the Early Neolithic and the Late Bronze Age, c.5500-750 BC. The area of present-day Saxony-Anhalt was a…
DNA analysis of human remains from a mass burial at Chichén Itzá in Mexico is revealing new details about the ritual practices of the ancient Maya, as well as their genetic links to modern populations. In 1967, the remains of…
Archaeologists working in Berenike, Egypt, have discovered the remains of several letters written by Roman centurions. In the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD, the ancient port of Berenike, located on the west coast of the Red Sea, was…
Archaeologists working in Villedieu-sur-Indre in central France have uncovered a remarkable set of pits filled with the remains of c.2000-year-old horses. The excavations were carried out over an area of 1.3ha by a team from Inrap in advance of a…
Researchers working in Venezuela and Colombia are documenting some of the largest prehistoric rock engravings in world. Amy Brunskill spoke to Philip Riris, who led the research, to find out more.
REVIEW BY JONATHAN VALK Assyria stands out in history as the fountainhead of empire. It was perhaps the first state to subdue the bulk of its world, extending in every direction until its frontiers consisted almost entirely of sand, sea,…
REVIEW BY SIMON NORTON Ten years ago, Year 3 primary school teachers in the UK, like myself, were handed a revised National Curriculum which included a brand-new Unit of Study on ‘Prehistoric Britain’. For many teachers of seven-year-olds, this was…
REVIEW BY DENNIS B BLANTON This new book from William Kelso is in the tradition of popularised portrayals of archaeological discoveries linked to the ‘Virginia adventure’. Beginning in the 1960s, Ivor Noël Hume published several evocative, book-length accounts of studies…
What is it? This perforated baton made of mammoth ivory is believed to be a Palaeolithic tool used to make rope. The baton is 20.4cm long, 3.6cm wide, and 1.5cm thick. Four holes of slightly different sizes have been drilled…
Across 7 North American archaeological culture (6)9 Huntress of Greek mythology (8)10 Germanic people defeated by the Huns (10)11 Port, now in Israel, conquered by Alexander in 332 BC (4)12 Father of Aeneas in Greek mythology (8)13 Extinct language of…
An exhibition at the Getty Villa Museum brings together painted vessels from three major ceramic traditions to explore these dynamic objects and the stories they tell.
New research has found that an ancient suit of armour may have been used in battle, and not just for ceremonial purposes as was previously thought. The 3,500-year-old Mycenaean armour is one of the best and most complete examples of…
A community excavation in the small village of Minety has found a Roman tile kiln, which marked its products with a series of stamped letters. As the investigation, led by Cotswold Archaeology, revealed, this industry was of more than just local importance – and with another season of digging set to take place this summer, Neil Holbrook and Peter Warry report on the story so far.
Following the publication of a major new work combing through antler- and bone-working evidence, as well as signs of Scandinavian influence, from early medieval Ipswich, Ian Riddler and Nicola Trzaska-Nartowski explain how a chance meeting at a railway station helped to transform understanding of this early medieval craft.
A wide-ranging LiDAR survey in Co. Wicklow has revealed hundreds of previously undocumented archaeological features, including a cluster of five cursus monuments that are helping to illuminate this enigmatic site-type. Carly Hilts reports.
There is a fantastic selection of archaeological events on offer over the coming months, from history festivals and new exhibitions to opportunities to visit or get involved in community excavations. If you would prefer to enjoy your archaeological activities from the comfort of home instead, there is plenty to choose from, including digitised museum collections, virtual site tours, and new TV shows. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the options available.
This month sees a return of the Council for British Archaeology’s annual Festival of Archaeology, with a wealth of in-person and online events taking place across the UK between 13 and 28 July. The theme for 2024 is ‘Archaeology and Community’. Here is a selection of regional highlights, see www.archaeologyuk.org/festival/festival-event-listing.html for more details, and to explore the full programme.
One of the newest episodes released by Time Team focuses on a test-pitting investigation in the back gardens of Modbury. Carly Hilts explores the Civil War story that was uncovered over the course of three days, as well as echoes of international connections.
As the Ness of Brodgar excavations enter their final season of fieldwork, Dr Colleen Batey reviews a new exhibition exploring the Orkney site’s unique Neolithic archaeology.
Eye Kettleby ought to be far better known – it is a very rare example of an early medieval settlement, and the newly published excavation results shine a light on a formative period in English history for which we have precious little archaeological evidence, as Chris Catling reports.
After last month’s scramble through Stonehenge, this month I turn north to amble around Avebury. I know I am not the only one to hold this site in high affection.
Maidstone Museum’s impressively eclectic collection of British archaeology has been redisplayed in an absorbing new gallery. Carly Hilts attended its official launch in June.