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?
'As early as 1958, she took part in the first excavation of a 13th-century BC Bronze Age shipwreck.'
Review by Edward Caswell This book provides a new and welcome synthesis of a particularly enigmatic group of Bronze Age ceramics, which have been variously named, but which the authors choose to classify, justifiably, as cups. Drawing on a large…
Traces of gold residue have been identified on five stone grave goods from a Bronze Age burial in Wiltshire.
Researchers have successfully traced the origin of tin ingots found aboard the shipwreck to ore deposits in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
This stunning coastal location is better known for its Pictish carvings, but researchers have shown that it has a much longer, and more enigmatic, prehistoric pedigree, dating back at least as far as the Bronze Age.
Svante Pääbo is the second member of his family to be elected a Nobel laureate: his father, Sune Bergström (1916-2004) shared the same Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1982. Is there a gene, one wonders, for Nobel-Prize-winning science?
A round-up of some of the latest archaeology news from around the world, including: evidence of an ear infection identified in 100,000-year-old remains; analysis of ancient Chinese bronze formulae; and a rethinking of how Cahokia's North Plaza was used.
Project 'Horse Power' aims to test the hypothesis that horses from the northern steppe region were traded south in exchange for Chinese metals.
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions
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 wrote, of which a shorter draft was published…
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.
In the decades since the cracking of the human genome, the study of ancient DNA – known as archaeogenetics – has had a dramatic effect on our understanding of the distant past. The analysis of genetic material preserved in archaeological…
The team has unearthed evidence of settlements ranging in date from the Neolithic to the medieval period, though most features relate to the Bronze and Iron Age (c.1500 BC-AD 100).
Review by KK. This thought-provoking book reimagines how we approach maritime archaeology – demonstrating that it is not solely for the adventurous diver but can, and should, be practised from the comfort of dry land. Specifically, by examining all of…
Review by George Nash. Throughout prehistoric Europe, there are significant areas where rock art was commissioned, executed, consumed, and abandoned. One of these is southern Scandinavia. Here, during the later prehistoric period, ancient artists provided a sometimes- cryptic insight into…
One common motif is that of a knight in armour engaging in combat with a snail. Another is that of the killer rabbit, shown wielding sword, axe, or bow and arrow as it fights against those hunting it.
The recipe in question is recorded in an ancient Chinese text known as the Kaogong ji, which is believed to be the world’s first encyclopaedia of technology, probably dating to c.300 BC.
The newly discovered structure sits within view of Caerau Hillfort, one the largest Iron Age hillforts in south-east Wales.
The latest on exhibitions, acquisitions, and key decisions.
The dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings.
It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that Chinese culture began with the Qin – the regional powerbrokers who in the 3rd-century BC conquered their warring rivals to become the country’s first imperial dynasty, thereby ushering in…
The Bronze Age kingdoms of China have long been overshadowed by the Qin, who replaced them with a unified empire. Fan Jeremy Zhang explores the spectacular discoveries that have been helping two of them, the Zeng and Chu, rise from obscurity.
Throughout history, writers and artists have used their imaginations to tell stories from former times. From The Iliad to A Tale of Two Cities, and from The Last Supper to the Sistine ceiling, the results have inspired countless millions down…
'Through a series of spectacular experiments, the archaeologist Peter Reynolds... told us more about Iron Age buildings and agriculture than most of the excavations of that period put together,' said The Guardian in its 2001 obituary of the first director of Butser Ancient Farm, the pioneering archaeological open-air museum nestling in the South Downs, which is now celebrating its 50th birthday.
A round of some of the latest archaeological news stories from the UK.
Previous investigations have uncovered traces of human activity spanning the Neolithic to Roman periods.
At the site of Mont'e Prama in Sardinia, archaeologists have uncovered Bronze Age fragmentary sculptures of two boxers. And at Saqqara, a host of statues, coffins, and figurines have been revealed.
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.
Six Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age timer-posted roundhouses and an array of animal bone and pottery fragments were also uncovered.
Review by David Field. Rarely in recent times have extant barrows, let alone groups of them, been excavated, for in most cases developer-funded excavation has only encountered levelled examples and the ditch alone has been sampled. At Petersfield Heath, 14…
Review by Chris Griffiths. Those with an interest in Bronze Age metalwork will know that the literature tends to focus on the question of why metal objects were destroyed and buried: were they deliberately broken for recycling, to serve a…
One discovery in Essex above all others has regularly hit the archaeological headlines since the early 2000s – the spectacular Saxon princely burial from Prittlewell, near Southend-on-Sea. This was... one of the most exciting finds made in Britain in this period.
A community excavation led by DigVentures has unearthed post-holes and artefacts thought to date from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Roman periods.
These days, we take it for granted that we carry the world – and the cosmos – in our pockets. Powerful smart phones and ever-more-sophisticated technology mean that we can summon up highly detailed maps both of the earth and the heavens above with just a few taps of the screen. It was not always like this, of course.
It was probably around 3,600 years ago that the earliest known depiction of the cosmos was buried in eastern Germany. By then, the Nebra Sky Disc had already served several roles. Repeatedly refashioning the artefact allowed it to keep pace with changing desires to express knowledge, belief, and power, as Neil Wilkin told Matthew Symonds.