Archaeology

Below An aerial view of Llangorse Lake from the north west, with the crannog close to the northern shore (centre foreground).

The palace in the lake: a royal residence on Llangorse Crannog

The Llangorse Crannog is the only example yet identified in Wales of a type of artificial island settlement more commonly found in Scotland and Ireland. Scepticism about the likelihood of the site being a crannog led to its being largely ignored in archaeological literature until the early 1980s. Then Alan Lane, who had recently been appointed to teach Post-Roman Archaeology at Cardiff University, rowed out to look and found substantial oak planks protruding from the water. Chris Catling describes what happened next.

Above Found with other fragmentary human remains in a pit near the Walbrook River, this skull speaks of the violent life and brutal death of the man it once belonged to. Might he have fought in London’s Roman amphitheatre?

Fighting talk: searching for gladiators in Roman London

A new exhibition, displayed amid the remains of London’s Roman amphitheatre, tells the story of the gladiators who fought in its arena. Carly Hilts spoke to Kate Sumnall about what light the material record can shed on the lives and deaths of these men.

Above Recovering a stoneware bottle from the wreck.

Discoveries from the deep: sailing aboard the Swan in the 17th century

In 1653, a small Cromwellian warship was lost off the west coast of Scotland. Excavated between 1992 and 2003, the wreck of the Swan yielded finds that tell stories of cutting-edge weaponry, mishaps on board, and plunder. Now the full report has been published, Colin Martin reveals the ship’s secrets and explains why wrecks are such a valuable archaeological resource.

The Past

Lawrence Alma-Tadema: the archaeologist of artists

Dominic Green looked at the sensual paintings of the acclaimed Victorian artist Lawrence Alma-Tadema on show at Leighton House in London.

Archaeology: still the best degree

Five years after he first explored the prospects of Archaeology as an academic discipline in these pages, John Schofield revisits this topic and reveals what has changed.

Air war over Malta

In the first of an occasional series on conflict archaeology, Anthony Rogers reports on the evidence for the epic air battle above the island-fortress of Malta during the Second World War.

Unpicking the Leominster hoard

The cache – a lump of fused coins, about the size of a rugby ball – was block-lifted so its contents could be teased apart under controlled conditions.

Roman riches at Scotch Corner

A range of artefacts were discovered during the excavation, many of which hint at the wealth of some of the settlement’s inhabitants.

Above Looking up the slope towards the midden mound. The remains of Structure 27 can be seen in the foreground.

The Ness of Brodgar: uncovering Orkney’s Neolithic heart

For over a decade, archaeological research at the Ness of Brodgar has uncovered an astonishing array of Neolithic structures, including monumental buildings and hundreds of examples of prehistoric artwork. Nick Card brings us the latest news from the Ness.

ABOVE Persian warriors of the Great King, as depicted on a frieze formed of glazed brick in the Pergamon Museum. The Persian Empire was the largest yet known, with vast resources of manpower and treasure. But the Greek military system, based on the hoplite phalanx, proved superior to the Persian army.

The Persian Wars

In his second article, Paul Rahe analyses Sparta’s response to the mortal challenge posed by the Persian invasions of the early 5th century BC.

Timeline: the Spartans

Traditional foundation date for Olympic Games c.776 BC Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey composed c.750 BC Sparta conquers Messenia c.700 BC Messenian Revolt followed by Spartan Reconquest c.650 BC At this time, radical changes took place in Sparta,…

1. Warrior Pit 1, 3rd century BC, Lintong, The figure wears the high hair knot and torso armour typical of higher ranking foot soldiers. Photograph: Lukas Nickel.

The Past

Professor Lukas Nickel on the Terracotta Army’s cultural connections

While studying the Terracotta Warriors in the tomb of China’s first emperor, Professor Lukas Nickel of the University of Vienna came to some interesting conclusions about links between China and the Hellenistic World, as he explains to Dalu Jones

Must Farm: an extraordinary tale of the everyday

The remarkable preservation at Must Farm promised insights into day-to-day life that would revolutionise our knowledge of the late Bronze Age. As excavations at the site reach completion, it is already clear that we will never see that era in the same way again. Mark Knight, Susanna Harris, and Grahame Appleby told Matthew Symonds about life in a Bronze Age settlement.

Left An artist’s impression of the former precinct of St Mary Spital in c.1640, looking north west towards Bishopsgate and showing (foreground) the Civil War Star Fort; (right) the converted medieval chapel with its charnel crypt; and (centre) the Earl of Bolingbroke’s house (Spittle House), with Spital Yard and the principal tenement to its right.

Excavating Spitalfields Market

The MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) Spitalfields Market excavations in 1991-2007 were one of Britain’s largest ever digs. Four major publications are being produced to cover the results. The latest volume concerns the post-medieval era (1539-1880), which was a period that saw vast social transformations, as Chiz Harward and Nigel Jeffries explain.

Left In 1016, Cnut of Denmark conquered England. He reigned until 1035 and placed the country under Viking rule until 1042. Runestones such as U194 in Uppland, Sweden, record the deeds of members of his retinue but how far can we trace his footprints on this side of the North Sea?

1016 and all that: excavating the Viking conquest of England

The Norman Conquest in 1066 is often described as the most famous date in English history, but 50 years earlier – almost to the day – the country had been captured by another foreign power: the Danish army of Cnut the Great. As we mark the 1,000th anniversary of these momentous events, what trace of the Viking conquest can be seen in the archaeological record? Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts reports.

CALAKMUL

Alice Stevens ventures deep into the Mexican jungle where, surrounded by the echoing screech of howler monkeys, Calakmul rises above the canopy, and takes a stand as the most impressive Mayan temple remaining today.

Below Looking towards the southern approach to Antigonea.

Antigonea: exploring an Illyrian city in Albania

Sarah Lindsell journeys across the Albanian hills to the 3rd-century BC Greek city of King Pyrrhus.

Scanning the Pharaohs

The results of CT imaging on Hatshepsut, Ramesses III, Tutankhamen, and a host of other New Kingdom mummies are revealed in a gripping new book by Zahi Hawass and Sahar Saleem, as Kimberley Watt illuminates.

Witchcraft at Wern Wen: interpreting a 19th-century curse from north Wales

Why was a sinister malediction cut into a beam at a 19th-century farmstead near Llandudno? Catherine Rees and Richard Suggett explore this surprising discovery.

The Statue of King Idrimi

What is it? This splendid statue depicts Idrimi, the king of Alalakh, an ancient city near the Syrian–Turkish border. Dated to the 15th century BC, it is carved from hard, white magnesite stone, with inlaid glass eyes, and sits a…

Above The haul of Iron Age and Roman metalwork from the Llyn Cerrig Bach. As well as the slave chain, the finds include a crescent shaped plaque with a decorative ‘three legged’ motif (at the top). A pair of blacksmith’s short gripping tongs and a sickle, circled by two deliberately bent sword blades (centre), and a spearhead, a horn fragment, and looking like a pair of handcuffs a bridle bit that would have been attached to a horse’s reins (bottom right to left).

The riddle of the lake: Llyn Cerrig Bach and Iron Age Anglesey

Found over a number of weeks in 1942 and1943, the treasure that was dredged from Llyn Cerrig Bach, a small peat-filled lake on the Isle of Anglesey, is still revealing new information 70 years after it was found, as Chris Catling reports.

1. Patrick Leigh Fermor in Ithaca, in his early 30s, just after the Second World War. © Benaki Museum, Athens.

The Past

Patrick Leigh Fermor: paddy power

Dominic Green leads a tour travelling in the footsteps of the accomplished writer, scholar and soldier Patrick Leigh Fermor around Southern Greece

Earthquake! How the earth shook up the past

When earthquakes strike, the consequences can be catastrophic. Yet what do we really know about their impact on past cultures? All is revealed in Andrew Robinson’s latest unputdownable book Earth-Shattering Events: Earthquakes, Nations and Civilization.

Below These now roofless dwellings at the Dinowric quarry were built as so called ‘barracks’ for unmarried quarrymen, or for father and son, uncle and nephew. Each unit consists of two or three rooms, with a communal kitchen at one end of the terrace.

Welsh slate: chiselling through time

The extraction of slate from the hills of Snowdonia is not just an industry – it is a way of life bound up with chapel, politics, and the preservation of the Welsh language. Chris Catling explains why the Welsh Royal Commission is supporting efforts to have this industrial landscape designated a World Heritage Site.

The Past

Isis in Italy

Dalu Jones follows on the trail of the Ancient Egyptian goddess to Pompeii, Naples and Turin

Below Within the walls of the C.ittadella in Victoria: view across the rear enclosed spaces of the houses.

Gozo, Malta

From Malta, we now travel to its sister-island Gozo, where Nadia Durrani encountered two new major restoration projects.

Travels to Malta

At the far end of Valletta, within the massive angular bulwarks of the fortress of St Elmo poking out at the entrance of the Grand Harbour, is a museum devoted to the town’s history and its struggle for survival.

The Past

Leading a life of luxury

Dominic Green reports on what the discovery of fragments of Aegean-style frescoes and an extensive wine cellar can tell us about life in the Bronze Age palace being excavated at the Tel Kabri site in the Galilee region of Israel

Main image The temple of Angkor Wat, pictured from the air during LiDAR data collection. What secrets lie beneath the heavy jungle?

The secrets of Angkor Wat: how archaeology is rewriting history

The stupendous temple of Angkor Wat and its forested environs are currently the focus of a major project involving LiDAR aerial laser-scanning and more. The archaeology is radically changing our understanding of this staggering site, but how? Brian Fagan and Nadia Durrani get the inside story from project co-director Roland Fletcher.

The Past

Travels to Armenia

The year 2015 is a sad one for Armenia: it marks the centenary of the great massacre of its people by the Turks, when over a million died in what many call the ‘Armenian Genocide'. But who are the Armenians? And where is Armenia? Andrew Selkirk goes in search.

Right The Western Road graves appeared almost random in their distribution, but closer investigation revealed method in the apparent madness.

Buried between road and river: investigating a Roman cemetery in Leicester

Until recently, Leicester’s Roman cemeteries had seen little major excavation, and their burial practices were poorly understood. Now an investigation in the city’s West End has given a wealth of new insights into the Roman town’s diverse population, as Mathew Morris reveals.

The Pacific god A’a

What is it? This divine sculpture was made on Rurutu, one of the Austral Islands in Polynesia. When it was given to British missionaries in 1821, its name was recorded as A’a. A’a was said to have been named after…

Lady of Çatalhöyük

A stunning Neolithic stone figure was uncovered at Çatalhöyük during the latest season of excavation. Ian Hodder, who leads the Çatalhöyük Research Project, tells CWA why this rare find is such a special lady.

Left Analysis of early Neolithic houses such as the structures at the Knap of Howar has shed vivid new light on Orkney’s Neolithic period.

A tale of two Neolithics? Investigating the evolution of house societies in Orkney

For decades, the accepted view of the Orcadian Neolithic was one of two cultural packages with a sharp break in the middle. New research has revealed a much more complex and nuanced picture, however. Carly Hilts spoke to Colin Richards to find out more.

Ancient Egyptian police and punishment

Stab wounds found on Ancient Egyptian skeletons suggest corporal punishment was used at the New Kingdom site of Amarna.

Above Inside the Metropolitan Police’s Crime Museum at New Scotland Yard, 2015.

The Crime Museum Uncovered

In October, the contents of the Metropolitan Police’s Crime Museum went on public display for the first time at the Museum of London. This teaching collection has amassed artefacts from a succession of notorious crimes, but it also invites us to reflect on their legacy, as Jackie Keily told Matthew Symonds.