Current Archaeology 435
The comprehensive website for archaeology, history, heritage and the ancient world. Find out more about us here
An enduring landscape: Uncovering 8,000 years of life and death on the Cotswold Edge
Recent excavations at Milestone Ground on the eastern edge of Broadway have revealed one of the most intriguing archaeological landscapes yet found in Worcestershire. Beneath quiet pasture lay evidence of human activity stretching back 8,000 years, including Mesolithic flint tools, Bronze Age burials, hundreds of Iron Age storage pits, a Roman farmstead, and the largest late Roman cemetery known in the county. Constance Mitchell reports.
Llanbedrgoch: Exploring a unique early medieval trading centre on Anglesey
Ninth-century Carolingian coins from the reigns of Louis the Pious and Charles the Bald are not the sort of objects you would expect to find on a remote farm on the Isle of Anglesey, so, when metal-detectorists began reporting these and other exceptional artefacts from the early medieval period, the National Museum of Wales (now Amgueddfa Cymru) sent Mark Redknap, then Curator of Medieval and Later Archaeology, to investigate. Between 1994 and 2012, Mark led ten seasons of fieldwork on the site, revealing the remains of a trading settlement with a form unparalleled in Wales. With the full report recently published, Chris Catling describes its key findings.
Exploring Etruscan endurance
Recent investigations in southern Tuscany have found a Late Etruscan and Roman Republican village, manufacturing district, sanctuary, and a necropolis.
Aï Khanoum, 1968-1973
One archaeological milestone this year is the centenary of the founding of the Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan (DAFA) in 1922. Their century of research has included investigations at Aï Khanoum, a
Roman cemetery unearthed in Nîmes
One of the most exciting discoveries was that of a casket carved out of a single stone, which contained a glass cinerary urn, along with a wealth of stunningly-preserved funerary goods.
Footprints on Merseyside beach shine light on biodiversity in Ancient Britain
The footprint beds reveal that the intertidal landscapes of Mesolithic Britain were hubs of human and animal activity for the first few thousand years after the last glacial period.
Ancient settlement and mosaics uncovered on the shores of the Sea of Galilee
Analysing pottery fragments recovered from the site, archaeologists have dated the construction of the settlement to between the 5th and 7th centuries AD.
Hundreds of prehistoric hunting traps identified across the Arabian desert
These monumental structures, termed ‘kites’, consist of low stone walls that stretch hundreds of metres and lead to an enclosure, in which gazelles and other game could have been trapped.
Royal hall used by kings of East Anglia unearthed in Suffolk
‘The results of this season’s excavation are of international importance. Rendlesham is the most extensive and materially wealthy settlement of its date known in England.’
News in brief: Hadrian’s Wall, Bishop Auckland, and Scottish heritage
A round-up of some of the latest stories from the realm of UK archaeology.
Excavating Northamptonshire
If there is a challenger to Piddington’s crown as the ‘prime’ site of Northamptonshire, then the multi-period site of Raunds in the north-east of the county, with its intriguing history of early medieval and later settlement, is a strong contender.
World news: Israel, Netherlands, and Spain
A round-up of some of the latest archaeology news from across the globe.
CA 392 Letters – October
Dedication for the Dover Boat This year is the 30th anniversary of the discovery and rescue of the Dover Bronze Age boat (see ‘Context’, CA 391). I am sending a poem I
Mysterious stone spheres may have been used for Ancient Greek board game, study finds
Bronze Age sites across the Aegean and Mediterranean have yielded a wealth of small, spherical stone artefacts, which for years have puzzled archaeologists. Now, using artificial intelligence (AI), a research team from the University of Bristol has presented new evidence that the stones were used as counters in an ancient board game.
Research reveals Tattershall Castle was an architectural trendsetter
A series of new investigations, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in partnership with the University of Nottingham and the National Trust, has completely rewritten the castle’s history.
British Historic Towns Atlas – Volume VII: Oxford
Review by Graham Keevill The Historic Towns Trust was established in 1965 as part of the International Commission for European Towns to publish analytical maps of our historic urban centres. The early
Transformations in early medieval England: the perspective from population genetics
Ancient human DNA is revolutionising our ability to detect human migration that occurred hundreds of years ago. Joscha Gretzinger and Stephan Schiffels explain how these advances have transformed our understanding of the past.
Setting the scene: early medieval migration into the east of England
Newly published research centred on ancient DNA, which is revolutionising our understanding of early medieval mobility and the genetic changes it brought in its wake, forms the focus of this special issue of Current Archaeology. Duncan Sayer discusses some of the key themes that we will cover this month, and how the project came together.
The migration question: re-grounding Anglo-Saxon archaeology
Was the arrival of the ‘Anglo-Saxons’ in England a limited elite takeover, an invasion force, or a mass movement of migrants? Perceptions of the immediate post-Roman period have shifted and evolved over the centuries. John Hines places the new genetic data explored in this issue in the context of research history.
Grave affairs: what can ancient DNA tell us about early Anglo-Saxon cemeteries?
By combining excavated evidence from early medieval burials with genetic information, we can gain powerful insights into patterns of population movement, and ideas of identity and integration. Duncan Sayer explains more.
Individual encounters: capturing personal stories with ancient DNA
The study of ancient DNA is a potent recent addition to the archaeological arsenal, with the power to illuminate (and eliminate) family relationships between excavated individuals. Duncan Sayer, Dominic Powlesland, and Allison Stewart explore some of the most-intriguing recent revelations from the early medieval period.
Isotopes and aDNA: teasing apart ancestry versus migration in early medieval England
The previous articles in this issue have focused primarily on ancient DNA – but what can isotopic analysis add to this picture? Sam Leggett explores how this technique can complement genetic analysis, and how it illuminates the experiences of people living centuries earlier.