Current Archaeology 436
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Current Archaeology’s June Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home
There are lots of great ways to get involved with history and archaeology over the next few months, including exhibitions, lectures, and conferences exploring a wide range of subjects. If you would prefer to get your heritage fix from the comfort of your sofa, though, there is a variety of resources on offer online, too, from virtual site tours and digital offerings by museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Kathryn Krakowka has put together a selection of some of the options available.
Understanding Scottish Graveyards
This is the fourth edition of a book that was first published by Betty Willsher (1915-2012) in 1985, with subsequent updates in 1995 and 2005. The original publication came about due to
History of Sheffield Castle foundations revealed by archaeologists
Archaeologist and Digging for Britain presenter Dr Cat Jarman with Dr Daniel Young from Wessex Archaeology examining the Sheffield Castle core samples at the Wessex Archaeology labs. Image: Wessex Archaeology.
The man in the parcel: explaining a puzzling burial rite
The discovery of a burial in pride of place in Gårdby Church, Sweden, marked the beginning of an archaeological detective story. What could explain the unusual treatment of the man’s body? Caroline Arcini investigates.
Clare Tuffy and Newgrange
I would restore the great chambers of Boyne, prepare a sepulchre under the cupmarked stones. Seamus Heaney, ‘Funeral Rites’
Roman Aquileia: the impenetrable city-fortress, a sentry of the Alps
Review by Carolynn Roncaglia In AD 452, Attila the Hun led his forces over the eastern Alps into Italy. Straightaway they besieged the city of Aquileia, which for more than 600 years
Linguistics, genetic links, and a long-lost ‘emperor’
A long-lost Roman emperor. Who could resist such a headline? The media lapped it up. But how could anyone lose an emperor in the first place? It turns out that this emperor was self-declared, so he wasn’t really an emperor at all
Hominin footprints in Spain 200,000 years older than previously thought
New analysis has revealed that the layer containing the footprints dates to c.295,8000 years ago.
Ivory comb with rare Canaanite inscription
Until now, inscriptions found in the Canaanite alphabet have been limited to two or three words; this is the first meaningful Canaanite inscription found in Israel.
A Byzantine business district
Excavations in the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey have uncovered the remains of early Byzantine shops and businesses. Archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) working this year in Domitian
Funerary finds in Fayum
Inside the funerary structure, archaeologists found a number of rock-cut and stone-lined burial chambers containing a variety of burials, ranging from simple interments to examples of high-quality embalming.
Palaeolithic Rock Art of the Italian Peninsula
Review by George Nash Until relatively recently, European Palaeolithic rock art outside the Franco-Cantabrian area (south-west France and northern Spain) was considered a rare occurrence. This belief was partly based on harsh
A chicken coup
An infant who died at birth during the fourth Bronze Age phase was interred with a hen’s egg over the left hand; perhaps the infant was holding it when placed in the grave. What better symbol can be found for the regeneration of life itself than an egg?
New analysis shines light on medieval shipwrecks in Sweden
Both wrecks had been crafted outside of Sweden in the mid-14th century.
Extremely rare inscribed sling bullet from 2nd century BC found in Israel
It bears the Greek inscription ‘Victory of Heracles and Hauronas’, signifying the bullet’s use as both a physical and psychological weapon
Possible section of original Thames River wall unearthed beneath Palace of Westminster
The remains, which lie along the original course of the Thames riverside, are likely to be at least 700 years old.
Gates of the City of London
Review by AB The City of London’s seven historic gates – Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Moorgate, Bishopsgate, and Aldgate – were first constructed in the Roman period and continued to play a
Pondering Penywyrlod: in search of the early origins of the Cotswold-Severn long cairn and barrow group
The title of The First Stones, a newly published book edited by William Britnell and Alasdair Whittle, proclaims a bold new thesis: that the Neolithic long cairn at Penywyrlod, in the Black Mountains of south-east Wales, is one of the earliest of its kind. With the benefit of 50 new radiocarbon dates, and new ways of modelling those dates using Bayesian analysis, its authors revisit excavations that first took place in the 1970s – and argue that this distinctive monument represents the birth of a new tomb-building tradition, as Chris Catling discovers.
BOOK TICKETS NOW FOR CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY LIVE! 2023
Current Archaeology Live! 2023 is coming up quickly, and tickets are selling fast. This year the conference, in partnership with University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, will be on 25 February (Saturday) at the UCL Institute of Education, a stone’s throw from our previous venue of Senate House, near Russell Square. Join us as we listen to a fantastic line-up of expert speakers sharing the latest discoveries from these shores as well as further afield (and even underwater). Here are the latest details of what we have planned, and everything you need to know to book your place.
Honouring Honor Frost
‘As early as 1958, she took part in the first excavation of a 13th-century BC Bronze Age shipwreck.’
The Corbett Society
Harold James Dyos, late Professor of Urban History at the University of Leicester, wrote that London underwent three distinct periods of growth: an increasingly dense build-up of the population in the centre,
Treason: people, power, and plot
A new exhibition at the National Archives in London traces the history of treason since it was first written into English law in 1352. Carly Hilts visited to find out more.