Sherds CA 413
As part of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, one of the last acts of the outgoing government was to authorise Historic England to extend the blue plaques scheme to the whole of England.
Archaeology
World news
Analysis of ancient wooden tools from Germany Results from the analysis of more than 700 pieces of prehistoric wood from Schöningen 13, Germany, have revealed that they had been transported from at least 3-5km away. A variety of techniques were…
UK news in brief
Shots from 13th-century catapult discovered outside Kenilworth Castle Eight stone catapult-shots from Henry III’s siege of Kenilworth Castle have been found perfectly preserved outside its walls. The shots range in weight from 20kg to 105kg, and would have been launched…
Museum news
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
CA 413 Letters – July
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
In the pipeline: Besselsleigh deserted manor and village
During this season’s work at the Oxfordshire site of Besselsleigh deserted manor and village (CA 400) by Appleton Area Archaeological Research Project (AAARP), the team of volunteers and students from the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education (OUDCE) excavated the…
Finds Tray – Doll
This unusual-looking doll was found by a mudlarker in a brook in Leicestershire earlier this year. A remarkable find, the lead- alloy female figure is the only complete example of such a doll currently recorded on the PAS database. The…
The Trevithick Society
The people of Cornwall are so proud of their great engineer, Richard Trevithick, that when the Cornish Engines Preservation Committee and the Cornish Waterwheel Preservation Society decided to merge in 1971, they named the new organisation the Trevithick Society (Kowethas…
Science Notes: New research reveals link between red squirrels and leprosy in the medieval period
A recent study published in Current Biology has brought to light a link between red squirrels and leprosy in medieval Britain (). In ‘Science Notes’ this month, we’re taking a look at how these bushy-tailed rodents may have passed the…
In Search of Norfolk’s First Stone Churches
REVIEW BY MATTHEW CHAMPION It is no surprise that any study of early English stone churches should focus on the county of Norfolk. With in excess of 650 medieval churches surviving to this day, the county is a microcosm of…
Excavations along Hadrian’s Wall 2019-2021: Structures, Their Uses, and Afterlives
REVIEW BY PAUL KITCHING This monograph presents the results of archaeological investigations undertaken as part of the Heritage-at-Risk strand of the Hadrian’s Wall Community Archaeology Project (WallCAP), with fieldwork focused on understanding and mitigating the threats to the monument, both…
50 Objects from Vindolanda
REVIEW BY MATTHEW SYMONDS Vindolanda is a marvel. It lies to the south of Hadrian’s Wall, and boasts a series of superimposed Roman forts and associated structures. The Vindolanda Trust has been investigating them for over 50 years, with this…
Dirt, Dwellings and Culture: Living Conditions in Early Medieval Dublin
REVIEW BY MARY DEEVY Viking Dublin was absolutely crawling! It is a rich treasure trove for an archaeoentomologist like Eileen Reilly, who examined 12,895 of its tiny inhabitants from 100 samples taken from 13 phases of habitation at Fishamble Street.…
Archaeology of the Roman Conquest: Tracing the legions, reclaiming the conquered
REVIEW BY JOHN REID The attraction of ancient Rome is as potent today as it has ever been – just turn on your TV or look at any popular history bookstand – and how can we resist such an alluring…
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland: A new history
REVIEW BY CH ‘Linn gu linn, bho ainm gu ainm – “from one generation to the next, from one name to another” – people make this story what it is.’ So writes Alistair Moffat in the introduction to this energetic…
MOLA dig reveals medieval mill
Archaeologists from MOLA have uncovered evidence of a medieval windmill during work on the National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement scheme. Located in Cambridgeshire, the structure is an example of a sunken Post Mill – the earliest…
Thousands of years of archaeology uncovered in Cherry Hinton
Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) have discovered archaeological material ranging from the prehistoric to the medieval period during work on the new Springstead Village development in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge. The extensive findings of the excavations, which started in 2022 and will…
Evidence of human sacrifice from Iron Age Dorset?
The skeleton of an Iron Age woman found in Winterborne Kingston, Dorset, has revealed rare material evidence of possible human sacrifice from this period. The site has been extensively excavated by Bournemouth University teams for more than 15 years, owing…
Medieval walls found during ‘A Monumental Improvement’ works at Chapel Porth
Aweek of excavations at Chapel Porth, near St Agnes, has revealed the walls of the original medieval building, among other interesting finds. The work was carried out with the National Trust and local volunteers as part of Cornwall National Landscape’s…
New research suggests Seahenge built as response to prehistoric climate change
New interdisciplinary research from the University of Aberdeen has suggested that Holme I – a Bronze Age timber circle in north Norfolk that is also known as ‘Seahenge’ – was created as a response to a period of climatic deterioration.…
Timber hall uncovered among exciting early medieval discoveries in East Yorkshire
The University of York’s Department of Archaeology has uncovered a large timber hall in Skipsea, dating to the early medieval period, among other finds of ‘national significance’. Measuring 6m wide and 16m long, the hall is a rare find, thought…
Ancient Egypt Letters 143
Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.
Win a copy of After 1177 BC: The Survival of Civilizations by Eric H Cline
Where was this photograph taken? If you know, email the Editor (peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com) before 31 August with your answer, giving your full name, address, and contact number. One lucky reader will have their name selected at random from all the correct…
Must Farm revisited: Extraordinary insights into everyday Bronze Age life
Between 2015 and 2016, Cambridge Archaeological Unit excavated Britain’s most completely preserved prehistoric settlement outside Whittlesey, near Peterborough. As a time-capsule of late Bronze Age life, Must Farm is unique; now, with post-excavation analysis published in full, Carly Hilts explores how the site’s significance lies in its ordinariness.
Finds Tray – Glass bead
This glass bead was a surface find by a metal-detectorist in Wanston. It is an example of an ‘eye’ bead, possibly dating to the Early Iron Age (c.800-c.350 BC), and was found on an area of farmland known to have…
Gone, but not forgotten: Personalising the anonymous medieval dead
Medieval cemeteries often contain individuals whose names have been lost to history, buried in strikingly uniform ways. How can we understand their experiences as individual people? Craig Cessford and John Robb describe analysis of hundreds of skeletons from Cambridge that has helped to reconstruct the lives of those who were laid to rest at the Hospital of St John.
Excavations over the White Cliffs of Dover: Uncovering the Second World War story of Fan Bay and its surroundings
As we mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings this month, Carly Hilts reports on a visit to Fan Bay, near Dover, where Jon Barker showed her fascinating traces of Second World War coastal defences on the site and in the immediate area that are being investigated by the Wanstone Rediscovered project.
Rolling stones
From the Preseli Hills of Wales to the site of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain is 120 miles as the crow flies. That is quite some distance for the young farmers of Neolithic Wales to transport the bluestones that make up the inner circle at the Wiltshire monument. During April 2024, Professor Keith Ray of Cardiff University took two weeks to walk from west Wales to Stonehenge, accompanied by a series of archaeologists and anthropologists (a different one or two each day) to look at the landscape and consider the challenges facing the stone-bearers. Among them were CA’s editor Carly Hilts and Chris Catling, who now reports.
Stepping stones: Travelling on the trail of the Stonehenge bluestones
Professor Keith Ray completed his 222-mile journey from the Preseli Hills to Stonehenge on Sunday 21 April. Carly Hilts joined him for the final few miles of his adventure.
Sherds CA 412
A new organisation has come into being in Wales, in a bold move designed to increase the capacity of the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts (WATs) to compete for major developer-funded contracts, while building on their reputation for specialist regional expertise and service delivery.
Current Archaeology’s June Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home
There are many great archaeological events coming up this summer, from festivals and conferences to new exhibitions and recently reopened museums. If you would prefer to enjoy history and heritage at home, though, there are lots of fantastic resources to choose from, including virtual tours of heritage sites, online archaeological collections, radio and TV shows, and activities. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the options available.
Go digging!
Following on from our coverage in CA 410 and 411, this selection of summer digging opportunities includes projects in Staffordshire, Wiltshire, and Hampshire.
Seeing the invisible: Stonehenge, Wiltshire
For more than a decade, Adam Stanford and English Heritage have periodically recorded the parch marks that appear at Stonehenge in the summer, when conditions are right. Until recently this involved oblique low-level aerial photography via mast, kite, or drone.…
CA 412 Letters – June
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
Excavating the CA archive
In my columns to date I have barely mentioned Stonehenge. This is deliberate: for all that I worship archaeology, I am an atheist about this most famous of sites.
The Britannias: An island quest
REVIEW BY ANNE MITCHELL Alice Albinia spent some weeks at the Ness of Brodgar in 2017, and she writes of her time there as part of her Orkney experience in the opening chapter of The Britannias: an island quest. It…