The breathtaking monuments on Rousay, Orkney, have made an internationally celebrated contribution to archaeology. Now, with marine erosion increasingly threatening the island’s coastal heritage, a team has been put together to investigate sites in danger of being lost forever. Steve Dockrill and Julie Bond explain how this work is overturning long-held beliefs.
Olive trees thrive on poor soil where little else will grow, which means land that would otherwise be barren can produce food. This realisation triggered a true agricultural revolution – but when and where did it take place? Colin Renfrew and Evi Margaritis believe the clues were grown on Crete.
What impact did the Roman army have on the native population living in the military north? The recent publication of the report on a settlement at Faverdale, Darlington, by Jennifer Proctor provides some unexpected answers.
Best of all, the cameras were rolling to capture the archaeologists’ euphoria as the geophysical plot emerged from a bulky printer in the back of the survey vehicle.
In 1995 the discovery of part of a Royal Navy warship hidden in the Wheelwrights’ Shop at The Historic Dockyard Chatham sparked a hunt to determine both the name of the vessel and what it was doing there. Now, this unique find has proven to be the final twist in the tale of an exceptional warship, as Alex Patterson explained to Matthew Symonds.
On 12 September the University of Leicester held an extraordinary press conference. They announced that a three-week dig seeking the remains of Richard III had ‘entered a new phase’ with DNA testing under way on an adult male skeleton. So what had they discovered? Richard Buckley, Jo Appleby, and Helen Foxhall Forbes told Matthew Symonds and Carly Hilts.
Mass graves were needed all too often in the Medieval world, but establishing the specific tragedy behind any given set is difficult. Now Don Walker believes that a group in Spitalfields cemetery can be linked to a massive volcanic eruption, as he told Matthew Symonds.
Forget London 2012. What about Olympia in 388 BC? Archaeologist Neil Faulkner has just published a new book that attempts to reconstruct the lived experience of the ancient games. So what were they really like?
The hills around Bath look solid enough but below the surface they are riddled with tunnels and stone quarries. When some of these began to collapse, putting the village of Combe Down at risk, Oxford Archaeology was called in to record this vast labyrinth before it was filled with concrete. Chris Catling reports on the record they made of an industry that helped create the beautiful buildings of Georgian Bath’s ‘Golden Age’.
In response to Mark Horton’s prediction of an ‘oncoming crisis’ for archaeology in universities (CA 268), John Schofield argues that archaeology degrees are among the best, the most enriching, and the most useful one can take. Dr John Schofield will take over as Head of the Archaeology Department at York University in October.
What effect did the Roman occupation have on the peoples beyond Hadrian’s Wall? Fraser Hunter examines how the construction of a frontier and the garrisoning of thousands of soldiers forged new societies north of the Wall.
What price higher education? Mark Horton, Professor in Archaeology at the University of Bristol, assesses the impact of higher fees on university archaeology departments.
Lankhills, Winchester, is a landmark site for Roman cemetery studies. Excavations there in the 1960s set new standards and explored the evidence for different ethnic groups. More recent redevelopment provided an opportunity for Oxford Archaeology to test these findings, and make major new discoveries. The final report by Paul Booth, Andrew Simmonds, Angela Boyle, Sharon Clough, Hilary Cool, and Daniel Poore cements Lankhills’ status.
Rapid erosion has revealed spectacular Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeology on the coast of Westray, Orkney. Contemporary with the Ness of Brodgar’s religious monuments but with a domestic focus, what can this settlement tell us about daily life in prehistoric Orkney? Hazel Moore and Graeme Wilson explain.
What is archaeology alongside a film crew like? Matthew Symonds found out.
Neil Faulkner on the greatest excavations.
February 7th marks the anniversary of novelist Charles Dickens’ birth. But how might archaeology offer a new chapter to his blockbusting London slum story, Oliver Twist? David Saxby, of Museum of London Archaeology, explains all.
Erosion poses a constant threat to Scotland’s rich coastal heritage. Tom Dawson and Joanna Hambly reveal how knowledge is being saved from the waves.
The deadly wave that engulfed the northeastern coastline of Japan devastated many archaeological sites and museums. Prehistoric settlers along the coast chose higher ground for their sites, perhaps passing on knowledge of the danger from earlier tsunamis from generation to generation. CWA looks at a handful of these ancient sites.
Following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in Spring this year, archaeologist Simon Kaner insists there is much to celebrate about the country’s heritage – and much to mend.
A new generation of castleologists believe that castles were about much more than trebuchets, portcullises, galloping hooves, boiling oil, and the clash of swords on armour: instead, castles were centres of lordship, symbols of wealth, and expressions of status, alluding to the past and expressing poetic ideals. Current Archaeology's Chris Catling reports.
The most important quality we look for is enthusiasm and a love of all things in the past.
As Prince William’s and Kate Middleton’s nuptials this month stir up feverish national excitement, what light can archaeology shed on the pomp and pageantry of the most magnificent of Royal occasions? Brendon Wilkins goes in search of the evidence.
A tough and comfortable pair of boots and clothing for all seasons should be on anyone's list when they go digging in the UK.
Always be willing to ask questions, no one ever gets it right first time and no one minds, we all did our first dig once!
When you are about to embark on a dig, it’s a good idea to double check you have everything you might need – here is a quick checklist with the essentials.
Archaeology graduate Emma Watts-Plumpkin recalls her fieldwork experiences, from rooky through to old hand.
A sense of humour may come in handy for those days when it is wet and windy on site but these are balanced by the days out in the glorious warm weather of the summer.
If there is anything particular you would like to become involved with, then it is best to let the supervisor know at the outset, but don't appear upset if this is not possible.
There isn't really anything you shouldn't say within the course of work, as you shouldn't feel intimidated by any site supervisor.
Time Team’s geophysics crew have covered a lot of ground, and their data represents an unparalleled archaeological archive of sites from rural retreats to Royal palaces. Lisa Westcott talks with John Gater about the science behind the scenes.
Everybody knows the story of how Time Team started: one ex-teacher turned TV producer, a couple of quirky archaeologists, and a fortuitous meeting in the Mediterranean with one of Britain’s best-loved actors combined to create the most successful archaeology programme ever on British television.
Dressing up as a ghost or ghoul seems a relatively harmless activity by contrast with the inflammatory implications of burning a religious fanatic, especially to children bought up on a diet of Harry Potter and TV vampires.
The discovery of two Viking hoards in 2011 yielded silver coins, ingots, and jewellery. Dot Boughton, Gareth Williams, and Barry Ager reveal how they also provide a window into a turbulent time.
Though the Trust owns the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and last year said it would consider buying the Abbey Road studios if EMI put up for sale, it seems not to be interested in Starr’s home. Standing unloved and boarded up, it will share the same fate as a number of other Victorian two-up-two down terraces in the area known as ‘the Welsh Streets’.
Prehistoric forests, the skull of a child, the slipway of a Victorian engineering masterpiece and part of a Tudor palace jetty: all have emerged from the mud and gravel on the foreshore of the Thames, thanks to an exciting new project to record the archaeology of London’s great river. Nathalie Cohen tells CA about the Thames Discovery Programme.