UK news in brief
A round-up of some of the latest archaeology news from around the UK.
archives
Deciphering the decipherers: Young Versus Champollion
The rivalry between Young and Champollion in the race to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs is legendary. But what motivated these two scholars, and what qualities did they bring to the endeavour? Andrew Robinson goes in search of the personalities behind an extraordinary intellectual achievement.
Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Reviewing the best Military History Exhibitions with Christopher Warner.
House of Life
Roger Forshaw investigates this intriguing institution and its role in ancient Egyptian society.
Lancashire Parish Register Society
We are grateful to LPRS Council member Simon Oliver for contributing this month’s ‘Odd Socs’ column.
English Civil War cipher belonging to Cromwell ally goes on display
A cipher belonging to an ally of Oliver Cromwell early in the English Civil War has gone on display for the first time. The document, dating from the 1640s and rediscovered only last year, is being featured as part of…
The Stereoscopic Society
Stereoscopy is as old as photography itself. The techniques for tricking the suggestible brain into seeing three dimensions by placing two overlapping images side by side was first described in 1838 in a Royal Society paper ‘on some remarkable, and…
The Earl and the Pharaoh: From the real Downton Abbey … To the discovery of Tutankhamun
REVIEW BY BOB BRIER With all the Tutankhamun books published for the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb, it is reasonable to wonder if there is really anything new to say. The Earl and the Pharaoh answers with…
Walking Among Pharaohs: George Reisner and the dawn of modern egyptology
REVIEW BY CATHIE BRYAN Harvard-based Egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian examines the life, career, and legacy of George Reisner (1867-1942), and considers his place in Egyptological and archaeological history. He argues that Reisner’s contribution ‘cannot be overstated’, and is not sufficiently…
Excavating 400 issues of Current Archaeology
editor Carly asked me to delve into the archives for a bumper edition of my column, in order to tell the story of archaeology in the UK across the lifespan of the magazine
History of Indian indenture in the British Caribbean explored in museum display
'Indo + Caribbean: The creation of a culture' is free and will run until 19 November as part of the museum’s 'London, Sugar, and Slavery' gallery.
CA 399 Letters – May
Your views on issues raised in CA.
Library unveils detailed paper tapestry depicting 17th-century naval battles
The document was unfurled as part of research into a collection of more than 3,000 books, pamphlets, and periodicals donated to Leeds Central Library in the 1960s.
Tea on the Terrace: Hotels and Egyptologists’ Social Networks, 1885-1925
REVIEW: Anna Garnett For many of us, it is the human stories behind major archaeological discoveries that first spark our fascination with Egyptology. Who were the people on the excavation teams? What did they do, and how did they spend…
Postcards from WWI uncovered in roof of railway station
The discovery was made during renovation work at Stirling station in 2021, offering a fascinating snapshot into the experiences of serving soldiers.
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.
Hilda Petrie (1871-1956)
Having learnt Arabic, Hilda would hire and pay their workers. She slept in a hut at Tarkhan with 80 skulls by her bed, living off canned pilchards and bully beef.
UK exhibitions, events, and heritage from home in Winter 2022 and Spring 2023
There are many great historical and archaeological events on offer this winter, including newly opened heritage experiences and exhibitions, lectures, and events. Or, if you would prefer to get involved in history and heritage at home, there are plenty of resources online, ranging from new digital collections and virtual tours to podcasts, social media accounts, games, and much more. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the options available.
The sky’s the limit: surveying the aerial photography of Harold Wingham
Almost 2,000 images taken by Harold Wingham (1924-2021), an unsung pioneer of archaeological aerial photography, have been made available to the public for the first time in a new project by Historic England. CA explores his life and work.
‘One of the most valuable women that ever lived’
During archaeological works beneath the floor of Bath Abbey between 2018 and 2020 (see CA 348), Wessex Archaeology recovered a stunning piece of an 18th-century bas relief marble sculpture. It was one of approximately 4,000 fragments removed from the Abbey’s…
From the Princes in the Tower to Northumbria’s Golden Age
Beneath the foundations of the staircase, the workmen found a wooden chest containing human bones and pieces of velvet. Charles II arranged for the remains to be reinterred in Westminster Abbey, but the bones were re-examined in 1933.
Ancient Egypt Exhibitions – Winter 2022 to Spring 2023
Exhibitions and events on ancient Egypt from around the world.
Johannes Østrup’s journey of discovery: exploring the value of centuries-old scientific records
Dig into archive records. Leaf through forgotten research in books that were written in foreign tongues. Centuries-old observations can provide important perspectives on the archaeological record, as Eva Mortensen and Rubina Raja highlight in this account of a pioneering Danish explorer in the Syrian Desert.
Travellers from an antique land: exploring the collections of the Society of Antiquaries of London
As the Society of Antiquaries of London launches a new affiliate membership, increasing access to its library and museum collections for the general public, Carly Hilts visited Burlington House to learn more about three centuries of antiquarian activity, and its very eclectic holdings.
Archaeologists explore Bronze Age site emerging from Mosul dam
Remains of a palace at the site emerged from the waters in 2010, and in 2018, when water levels were again low, archaeologists carried out a short campaign, documenting the palace.
This week: Golden manuscripts
Throughout history, gold has captured the imagination – as a glittering symbol of money, sex, power, divine love, or whatever else our hearts desire. From the Greek myth of the Golden Fleece to Titian's Danae, and from the golden objects found in Ancient Egyptian tombs to the quest at the heart of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, the precious metal has been mined as subject matter for writers and artists across continents and down millennia.
Books and Manuscripts Quiz
What is the writing material known as 'vellum' made from?
Maps Quiz
In Greek myth, who carried the heavens on his shoulders?
Machu Picchu may have been known by another name, study suggests
The Inca may have called the city Picchu, or more likely Huayna Picchu.
Museum news: the return of JORVIK Viking Festival, and Darwin’s missing notebooks
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Charles Darwin’s notebooks returned 22 years after theft
An envelope addressed to the University Librarian was included, with the printed message: ‘Librarian/ Happy Easter/ X’.
The Searchers: the quest for the lost of the First World War
One of the most tragic consequences of the First World War was the idea and the reality of ‘the missing’. All earlier wars had victims of which no trace was ever found, but the world’s first global industrialised conflict created…
Two rare letters by Jane Austen acquired after fundraising effort
The letters form part of the Honresfield Library, a private collection of manuscripts and books associated with some of the greatest writers in English and Scottish literature.
Rediscovered document reveals how Henry VIII dissolved one of England’s richest monasteries
A document detailing the process by which Henry VIII dissolved one of England’s wealthiest monasteries has been rediscovered. The Reformation-era blueprint, which discusses the suppression of Furness Abbey, was found recently by an English Heritage historian in the National Archives…
News in brief: Enabled Archaeology
A round-up of some of the latest archaeological stories in the UK.
Beyond Notability
Beyond Notability is a new project examining the role that women played in archaeology, history, and heritage in Britain between 1870 and 1950. The three-year £929,729 research project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and led by the Institute of Classical Studies at the University of London’s School of Advanced Study, in partnership with the Society of Antiquaries of London and the University of Southampton Digital Humanities.