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OPPOSITE Overlooking the remains of an Anarchy period smithy excavated by Headland Archaeology. Once a vital asset to Cheveley’s 12th century villagers, today its outline is preserved through foundation trenches and post holes.

Iron in the time of Anarchy: investigating a smithy site forged in 12th-century civil war

When Headland Archaeology excavated a site in Cheveley, Cambridgeshire, there was every expectation that the medieval village would yield archaeological remains. What was found far exceeded the team’s anticipation, though, as they unearthed the remains of a 12th-century smithy surrounded by both the objects and waste material that it had produced. It was the site’s date, and that of its abandonment, which proved the most compelling part of the story, however, suggesting a connection to a dark period in the history of the Fens. Julie Franklin reveals more.

Using computer science to classify potsherds

‘Now, using digital photographs of pottery, computers can accomplish what used to involve hundreds of hours of tedious, painstaking, and eye-straining work by archaeologists, who physically sorted pieces of broken pottery into groups, in a fraction of the time and with greater consistency.’

Finds tray – dragonesque Roman brooch

While these types of brooch first appeared in Britain shortly after the Roman conquest in AD 43, they clearly include aspects of Celtic design, and this is reflected in the fact that many have been discovered near the northern frontier of the Roman Empire – the point where Roman and Celtic cultures converged.

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‘Who will deliver me from this turbulent priest?’ How two Henrys failed to erase the memory of Thomas Becket

The story of Thomas Becket’s murder in AD 1170 still resonates after 850 years, despite the attempts of Henry VIII to eradicate all memory of the man that Henry II reportedly called ‘this turbulent priest’. Henry VIII called for the destruction of his shrine and the defacing of prayer books referring to his martyrdom. Even so, the Becket cult refused to die, and the British Museum has brought together an array of pilgrim badges and reliquaries, medals, paintings, and stained glass to show us why so many people in medieval Europe flocked to his Canterbury shrine. Current Archaeology's Chris Catling reports.

BELOW The chancel at Clodock (Herefordshire) reflects 16th century Protestant reforms: the altar has been replaced by a Communion Table, and memorials inhabit the floor and walls of a space from which the congregation was previously excluded because this was regarded as the priest’s part of the church.

The Church Recording Society

Church Recorders work in groups of 10-15 people, supported by a skilled photographer. They research and document the memorials, stonework, flooring, woodwork, metalwork, windows, textiles, paintings, organ, books, and historical records.

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Nero’s Britain: rebellion, reconstruction, and a revised reputation

The Roman emperor Nero has long been reviled as a notorious tyrant, prone to lavish and often murderous excesses, who headed a chaotic regime that saw Britain erupt into open insurrection led by the rebel queen Boudica. A new exhibition at the British Museum presents a more nuanced picture, however, and Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts spoke to the curator, Thorsten Opper, to find out more about what Nero’s reign had meant for Roman Britain.

Left An 11×11 and a 12×12 Kohonen map of characters aleph and bet from the study. Each of the characters in the Kohonen maps are formed from multiple instances of similar characters (shown as the zoomed box with red lines). These maps are useful for chronological style development analysis.

AI advances in archaeology

Recently, researchers from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have used the latest in AI technology to study the Great Isaiah Scroll (known as 1QIsaa), an ancient manuscript dating to the 2nd century BC that is considered one of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

50 Finds of Early Medieval Coinage

In this latest publication in the ‘50 Finds’ series from the Portable Antiquities Scheme, John Naylor draws on a selection of 50 early medieval coins from the 10,000 recorded in the PAS database to present a sweeping yet engaging history…

Opposite Works to install a 317km gas pipeline in south Wales have offered archaeologists the opportunity to carry out one of the longest excavations in Wales one of their most significant discoveries was a previously unknown Neolithic henge at Vaynor Farm in Carmarthenshire. Its remains can be seen in the foreground, while the pipeline corridor stretches away into the distance.

Carmarthenshire’s missing monument: how one of the biggest excavations in Wales uncovered a long-lost henge

The installation of the South Wales Gas Pipeline allowed archaeologists to investigate a 317km corridor stretching from the Pembrokeshire Coast to Gloucestershire. Their finds have illuminated more than 10,000 years of human history, including the previously unknown remains of Britain’s most south-westerly Neolithic henge. Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts reports.

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Excavating Surrey

The county is one that historically suffers from being overlooked: its proximity, and partial absorption, into Greater London risks obscuring its significance.

Gloucester Castle: from garrison to gaol

Previous archaeological work at the prison had already confirmed the location of the medieval keep and a few other buildings that would have formed part of the castle complex; the castle was an important English stronghold before the Second Barons’ War (1264-1267) and the subsequent invasion and conquest of Wales.