Rehabilitating the Neanderthals
He told us that he was a speleologist, whose girlfriend had just left him. He was in a very sorry state of distress.
Archaeology
Scandinavia’s earliest ship burial
With a diameter of 60m, the burial mound of Herlaugshaugen is one of the largest in Norway. New research has now revealed that it is older than was previously thought. The site on the island of Leka was excavated on…
Ritual deposits in prehistoric Poland
Archaeologists in Poland have discovered hundreds of metal objects deposited in a lake by a Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age community. The site of Papowo Biskupie is located in north-central Poland, in an area that was once home…
Rare early medieval burials uncovered near Fonmon Castle in south Wales
A rare early medieval cemetery containing the remains of several women has been found near Fonmon Castle in South Wales. The remains, estimated to be of roughly 80 individuals, were buried around 1,500 years ago and are believed to have…
Legion: Tracing the impact – and the experiences – of the Roman army in Britain
A major new exhibition at the British Museum shows what life was like for the men, women, and children associated with the Roman military machine – and those they encountered through campaign and conquest. Carly Hilts visited to learn more.
Current Archaeology’s March Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home
There are many brilliant archaeological events on offer over the next few months, including new exhibitions, conferences, and lectures. If you would prefer to get your history and heritage fix at home, though, there is a wide variety of offerings to choose from, including virtual museum- and site tours, digitised historical resources, games, TV shows, and more. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the options available.
Museum news
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Frame of reference: Rare wooden funerary finds from Roman London
Excavations in central London have revealed the remains of a c.2,000 year-old cemetery, where waterlogged soil conditions have preserved an extraordinary array of wooden finds, including coffins and what may be the first complete funerary bed from Roman Britain. Carly Hilts learned more from Gwilym Williams.
Gloucestershire
The Cotswolds these days have a reputation as a playground of the rich and famous. The Roman occupation of this area certainly had its social high society too.
CA 409 Letters – March
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
Preserving the past: Highlighting the Welsh heritage sector’s rich history and uncertain future
In last month’s ‘Sherds’ column, Chris Catling described the threat to the future of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), so we asked him to tell us more about the work of the Commission, as well as the heritage sector in Wales more generally. Here is his report.
Piety and plague: Exploring evidence for life and death in Cambridge’s Augustinian friary
Excavations in central Cambridge have uncovered traces of one of the medieval town’s many religious communities, including remains of the friary itself, and of the people who were buried in its bounds. Craig Cessford reports.
Access & Navigating Nature
Much that is done in the name of access is admirable: lectures are now broadcast to the world; collections can be searched online; journals and academic papers can be read free of charge
Family ties: Examining ideas of kinship in the early Bronze Age
New analysis of two Bronze Age burials discovered more than a century – and over 300 miles – apart has raised intriguing questions about prehistoric ideas of family relationships, highlighting cross-Channel cultural links stretching back 5,000 years. Carly Hilts reports.
Zimingzhong 凝时聚珍: clockwork treasures from China’s Forbidden City
London’s Science Museum is currently home to more than 20 examples of intricately ornate timepieces loaned from the Palace Museum in Beijing. Carly Hilts visited to find out more.
UK news in brief
A round-up of some of the latest archaeology news from around the UK.
Finds Tray: Fibula brooch
This copper-alloy fibula brooch was found by a metal detectorist in 2019, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, and recently appeared as a star find in the Portable Antiquities Scheme Annual Report (see here). The brooch features a human face design or…
World news: From rare tomb in Naples to baboons in ancient Egypt
Rare tomb found in Naples A rare underground funerary chamber was recently found during excavations in advance of the laying of a water pipeline in northern Naples, Italy. Measuring 3m by 4m, the walls of the chamber are completely covered…
Bronze Age burnt mounds discovered in Annan
Recently published research by GUARD Archaeology reports on the discovery of a pair of Bronze Age burnt mounds at Hallmeadow in Annan, 24km south-east of Dumfries. They were first identified in 2020, during archaeological works ahead of the construction of…
Conserving mining sites in the Tamar Valley
For the past two years, Cotswold Archaeology – led by their Senior Heritage Consultant Clive Meaton – have been working with the Tamara Landscape Partnership to survey a series of mining sites in the Tamar Valley of Cornwall and Devon,…
Record year for Treasure cases
The latest Annual Report from the Portable Antiquities Scheme reveals that, in 2022, 53,490 finds were recorded by the initiative, including 1,378 Treasure cases – the highest ever reported in a single year. The county producing the largest number of…
Tudor paintings revealed at Christ’s College, Cambridge
Rare early 16th-century wall paintings have been uncovered – for the first time in almost 300 years – in the loft space of the First Court building at Christ’s College, Cambridge. Restoration work to the 15th-century building revealed three crowned…
Science Notes: Identifying chromosomal conditions in the archaeological record
In this month’s ‘Science Notes’, we examine a recent paper that has developed a new method to identify ‘aneuploidies’ – conditions characterised by an atypical number of chromosomes – among a large array of individuals from Europe, spanning the Iron…
Early medieval cemetery uncovered on Fonmon Castle estate
A large cemetery dating to the 6th-7th centuries has been discovered on the Fonmon Castle estate – a fortified castle just to the north-west of Cardiff Airport. The project, led by Dr Andy Seaman, began in 2021 when the team…
New evidence of women’s mobility during the Conversion Period
Recent discoveries of exceptionally well-furnished 7th-century female burials – such as those from Trumpington (CA 343) and from Harpole (CA 395) – have drawn increasing attention to a phenomenon associated with the Conversion Period. Isotope analysis of three of these…
Medieval boat graffiti – Isle of Luing
On the outer walls of an old parish church, on the small island of Luing in the Inner Hebrides, are carvings of longships that are thought to date from the 13th century, when Norwegian and Scottish kings were fighting for…
X Marks the Spot: The story of archaeology in eight extraordinary discoveries
REVIEW BY AMARA THORNTON Popular histories of archaeology have been published, in one form or another, for centuries. These narratives, at least those produced for European and American readers, frequently lean heavily on adventures and derring-do, thrilling revelations of ancient…
Prehistoric Sussex
REVIEW BY AB In the 1990s, archaeologists excavating in West Sussex made a remarkable discovery: human remains belonging to ancient humans who lived around half a million years ago. These discoveries from Boxgrove continue to represent the oldest human remains…
Excavations on Wether Hill, Ingram, Northumberland 1994-2015
REVIEW BY CHRIS JONES This important book is the product of 11 seasons of careful fieldwork by members of the Northumberland Archaeological Group. The book is structured around the five main areas of the project, beginning with the geoarchaeological survey…
Eilean Donan Castle: Exploring a Highland icon, archaeological research excavations 2009-2017
REVIEW BY DEREK ALEXANDER Eilean Donan Castle is indeed a Scottish icon, featuring on many calendars and in movies – Highlander for one. You can’t fail to notice it if you are driving to the Isle of Skye, as it…
Making Flour the German Way in Roman Britain: Distribution, use, and deposition of imported lava quernstones and millstones
REVIEW BY ROB IXER Broken fragmentary Niedermendig (Banfield convincingly suggests that Mayen is the better term) lava is commonly recorded, but seemingly in passing, from Roman (and later) sites. This 190-page, very well-figured text corrects this slight, and must now…
Life in Early Medieval Wales
REVIEW BY HOWARD WILLIAMS A truly stupendous achievement of synthesis and evaluation, Life in Early Medieval Wales is a first for Welsh archaeology. Nancy Edwards’ concise prose draws on the experience of a lifetime spent teaching and researching early medieval…
Historic Houses
Formerly known as the Historic Houses Association (HHA), Historic Houses has just marked its 50th anniversary, having been formed in 1973. A year after its foundation, a campaigning exhibition at the V&A drew attention to the loss of some 2,000…
The celestial harmonies at Dendera
José María Barrera describes the beautifully restored ceiling of the pronaos of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera.
Ancient Egypt February listings
SCULPTED PORTRAITS FROM ANCIENT EGYPT Sculpted Portraits explores revival and renewal during Egypt’s Twenty-sixth Dynasty, through a series of sculpted portraits of court officials and priests, created for display in tombs and temples. The artefacts at the exhibition are on…
A Tawaret talisman for perilous pregnancy
Retired obstetrician W Benson Harer Jr explores the role of a special magic talisman in protecting pregnant women in ancient Egypt.