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Archaeology
Rome versus the Egyptian priesthood
Sean P Rigby explores Roman influence on the post-pharaonic religious life of Egypt.
The great of dread in the foreign lands: Tiye, wife of Amenhotep III
Robert G Morkot tells us about the life and achievements of one of the most remarkable and influential characters of the New Kingdom.
Hilary Wilson on… Party Time
Just like us, ancient Egyptians enjoyed a good party with plenty of food and drink!
The modern resurrection of the Kushite kings of Egypt
Aidan Dodson explores how the history of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty has been pieced together over the past two centuries, emerging only recently from the racist views of early Egyptology scholars.
Ancient Egypt Letters 141
Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.
Conserving the Scottish crown jewels – Edinburgh Castle
The Honours of Scotland recently underwent the most significant conservation in their centuries-long history, helping preserve them for generations to come. The Crown, Sceptre, and Sword of State represent the oldest crown jewels in Britain and are among the oldest…
Warham Camp: Investigating an Iron Age enigma
Last summer, excavations at Warham Camp – a monumental Iron Age enclosure in north Norfolk – revealed intriguing clues to the site’s date and purpose. Carly Hilts visited the project and spoke to Andy Hutcheson to find out more.
St Aidan’s settlement: Finding evidence of medieval Ferns
In the year AD 580, St Aidan crossed the Irish Sea from St Davids in Pembrokeshire (where he had been studying as St David’s favourite pupil) to Rosslare in County Wexford. Eighteen years later, he established a new monastery at Ferns, in the same county. This grew to become one of south-east Ireland’s most important settlements, a seat of royal power and the site of an Augustinian abbey. Little was known about the early history, however, until the Irish Archaeology Field School launched a major research project in June 2021. With commendable speed, the first fruits of that research have just been published, as Chris Catling reports.
From the Caucasus to Cambridgeshire: Retracing the story of Offord Cluny’s ‘Sarmatian’ burial
Roman histories attest that thousands of Sarmatian warriors – renowned horse-riders from the Caucasus – were resettled in Britain after their defeat by Marcus Aurelius in AD 175, but vanishingly few archaeological traces of their presence here have been found. Now scientific analysis of a skeleton found during the excavation of a Roman farmstead in Cambridgeshire has produced what is thought to be the first genetic evidence of an individual from that region. Carly Hilts reports.
CA 408 Letters – February
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
Current Archaeology’s February 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.
Pieces of the past: Making sense of the Knaresborough Hoard
Found in the 19th century, the Knaresborough Hoard is one of the largest and most unusual late Roman metalwork hoards known from Britain – but until recently its contents had never been studied in detail, and the circumstances of its discovery were shrouded in mystery. Carly Hilts reports on recent research that has brought to light new elements of the story of these objects.
Excavating the CA archive
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.
Resurrecting Imber: Exploring relics of a requisitioned village
When the Salisbury Plain village of Imber was taken over by the War Department in 1943, its inhabitants all departed, never to return. What has recent archaeological work revealed about the life and death of a long-lived Wiltshire community? Richard Osgood reports.
Current Archaeology Live! 2024
In partnership with: Current Archaeology Live! 2024 is almost here, but it is not too late to book your place. The conference, held in partnership with University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, will be on 24 February (Saturday) at the…
Museum news
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions
Sherds CA 408
Christopher Catling, Contributing Editor for CA, delves into the eccentricities of the heritage world.
The Pole Society
The Pole Society is the delightful invention of a group of satirists who have taken to the internet to poke fun at Tripadvisor by championing the merits of a new tourist attraction in Gloucestershire’s Forest of Dean: the ‘Cinderford Rusty…
UK news in brief
A round-up of some of the latest archaeology news from around the UK.
A new chronology for Dinas Powys
The hillfort of Dinas Powys, located about 9km south-west of Cardiff, was first excavated by Leslie Alcock in the 1950s. While the excavation and its subsequent report were pioneering for their time and led to Dinas Powys being widely considered…
Finding the lost monastery of Deer
After almost 15 years of searching, the lost monastery of Deer may have finally been found, only 80m from the ruins of Deer Abbey in Aberdeenshire. The search began in 2009 with a series of evaluations and small-scale excavations in…
Becoming Roman – Silchester, a town of change
A new exhibition exploring Silchester, an important Roman town in Hampshire, and the long-running excavations that have brought its remains to light once more, will open later this month. Michael Fulford previews some of its key themes.
An ancient jigsaw puzzle: Reconstructing a Roman arm guard from Trimontium Fort in the Scottish Borders
A piece of armour that would have been worn by a legionary stationed on Rome’s northern frontier almost 2,000 years ago has been painstakingly pieced back together. Bethan Bryan, Fraser Hunter, and Richard Abdy share the latest thinking on this rare object.
Medieval moated farm discovered in Tewkesbury
Work by Cotswold Archaeology has revealed the evolution of a farmstead known as Cowfield Farm, from its medieval origins to its redevelopment in the 18th century. When the centuries-old brick farmhouse at Cowfield Farm burnt down during a fire in…
Finds Tray – Roman brooch
This is a Roman brooch made of copper alloy and dating to c.AD 60-100. It was recently found by a metal-detectorist on cultivated land near Sleaford in Lincolnshire, and has been designated as a find of county or local importance.…
Science Notes: Investigating race and mortality during the Black Death
Past studies of medieval populations have often glossed over any heterogeneity that probably existed in that period, often depicting a majority ‘white’ society. While this may be true of more rural settings, urban ones, particularly in places like London which…
English Orchards: A landscape history
REVIEW BY AB Until the mid-20th century, England was covered with orchards. But these quintessential features of the historic landscape did not simply spring into being: the story of England’s orchards is filled with generations of people who cultivated them.…
London’s Waterfront and Its World, 1666-1800
REVIEW BY KK With additional contributions by I M Betts, Lyn Blackmore, Julian Bowsher, Jacqui Pearce, and Alan Pipe, this latest book on London by John Schofield and Stephen Freeth offers a comprehensive assessment of life on the Thames during…
Road to the Manor: Excavations at Graven Hill, Oxfordshire, 2015-2016
REVIEW BY JACQUELINE PITT This monograph successfully compiles the results of a series of excavations into a comprehensive chronology of a former MOD site south of Bicester. Evidence for prehistoric to modern activity was identified, along with a significant medieval…
Echolands: A journey in search of Boudica
REVIEW BY CHRISTOPHER EVANS Thoroughly researched and well-written, this is simply a very good read, one informed by its author’s long experience of archaeological fieldwork. In it, Mackay tracks down the route of Boudica and her rebel followers, as well…
Mesolithic fish trap found in the Severn Estuary
A research team from the University of Reading, led by Professor Martin Bell, has been working for the last 33 years to record eroding Mesolithic archaeology from the seabed of the Severn Estuary at Goldcliff, near Newport (see CA 331…
Anglo-Saxon cemetery revealed in Lincolnshire
Another Anglo-Saxon cemetery associated with Bronze Age monuments was recently uncovered by Wessex Archaeology in Lincolnshire. The discovery was made during excavations in advance of the National Grid’s ambitious new infrastructure project, the Viking Link, which will allow for the…
Bronze Age barrows and an Anglo-Saxon cemetery discovered in Hampshire
Excavations this past summer have revealed the remains of three Bronze Age barrows, as well as a large Anglo-Saxon cemetery in New Alresford, Hampshire. Led by PCA Winchester and the environmental consulting group RPS, the project was carried out last…
World news: From burials in the Arctic to Beavers at Bilzingsleben
Burials in the Arctic? A recent re-evaluation of the Tainiaro site in Finnish Lapland, c.80km south of the Arctic Circle, suggests that it could be one of the most northernly prehistoric cemeteries known in Europe. Although the site was first…
Cova Dones: A surprising Palaeolithic cave-art site
A major new cave-art discovery has recently been made in Cova Dones, Spain. The nature of these images poses fascinating questions about how and where Palaeolithic people created such art, as Aitor Ruiz-Redondo told Matthew Symonds.