Review by CH. This engaging overview of archaeological evidence in the Nene Valley spans the Iron Age to the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. Although relatively slim at 72 pages, it is packed with information and richly illustrated, drawing on the…
There are many wonderful archaeological, historical, and heritage-related events on offer over the coming months, whether you’re looking for exhibitions and conferences or an opportunity to get your hands dirty at a real excavation. Or if you’d prefer to get your archaeology fix at home, there are still plenty of ways to experience the past from your sofa, ranging from virtual tours of museums and heritage sites to online learning resources and educational games. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the best options available.
You views on the latest issues in Current Archaeology.
I’d wager that every one of us has beachcombed at some point in our lives. Collecting intriguing, eye-catching, and occasionally useful objects from the foreshore of beaches, lakes, and rivers is an instinctual behaviour likely as old as our earliest…
An international team of 58 archaeologists, historians, geographers, and environmental scientists has used felling-date data to conduct a larger-scale investigation into medieval and early modern building activity rates as indicators of social, demographic, and economic change.
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Neil was an interesting person, as he lived two lives. One was as an archaeologist, as a tour guide, excavator, and valued contributor to our magazines. But he also had another life, as a revolutionary Marxist...
Review by Andrew Tibbs. Over a decade of excavation has taken place at the Manor Pit quarry site in Baston, Lincolnshire, and this volume details the archaeological work undertaken at the site, and subsequent analysis. Initially occupied in the Neolithic…
The fact that Britain and Brittany have similar names is more than coincidental. The two places have enmeshed histories, as Barry Cunliffe discusses in his latest book, Bretons and Britons. Chris Catling reports on the periods in prehistory when the people of the two cultures facing each other across the Channel were particularly close.
The latest discovery – an extensive floor surface made up of glazed green and white tiles – is thought to represent the northern part of the friary’s cloister.
Dramatic evidence was found here for Iron Age ritual practices: parts of at least five human bodies were discovered, arranged round the western edge of a shallow hollow filled full of articulated animal bones.
Review by HB. From traces of Palaeolithic life along the coast to deserted medieval villages and a Cold War airfield, A History of Norfolk in 100 Places is a whistle-stop tour of the county’s most intriguing buildings, archaeological sites, and…
Review by Susan Oosthuizen. This study of 14 south Oxfordshire parishes covers the lowland valleys of both the Thame and Thames, typified by nucleated settlements and open fields, and the uplands of the Chiltern Hills, characterised by dispersed farms and…
Active travel, as it is known, is set to become even more popular as people rediscover the riches of the UK’s natural and cultural heritage.
Eighty-five years ago, an inscription was discovered at Brough-on-Humber hinting that the town was once home to a Roman theatre. Peter Halkon and James Lyall report on more recent excavations seeking to relocate its remains.
MOLA Headland Infrastructure uncovered c.300 pieces of animal bone and deer antler while excavating a small Roman settlement between 2016 and 2018 as part of the National Highways A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme.
The building will also incorporate triangular doorway lintels, staircases, and internal cells, as well as outbuildings, including wheelhouses, blockhouses, and ‘wags’.
Hadrian’s Wall is often blamed for splitting ancient Britain in two, but a new look at the archaeological evidence suggests that the peoples of what would become Scotland and England were already culturally divergent long before the Romans arrived in Britain – as Ronan Toolis explains.
A round up of some of the latest archaeological stories from across the globe, including the discovery of a tudor coin found in Canada, evidence of leprosy in the Caribbean, an ancient murder victim in China.
Review by Peter Halkon. Chariot burials are icons of Iron Age Britain. Apart from those found near Edinburgh and in Pembroke, they are clustered in eastern Yorkshire, with an outlier at Ferry Fryston in West Yorkshire. The most spectacular were…
The earliest evidence of settlement at the site consisted of postholes marking out the footprints of two large roundhouses
Seal matrices are inscribed, flat-bottomed metal items used to make impressions on wax to create ‘seals’ – marks of authentication commonly appended to medieval documents. They are made, typically, of lead or copper-alloy and, more rarely, of precious metal. This…
Nottingham Castle reopened last year following a £33-million transformation of its grounds and galleries. Carly Hilts dropped by to see what has changed.
In AD 872-873, a Viking army spent the winter at Torksey in Lincolnshire. Their camp is now well known, but the team that discovered it have since turned their attention to what happened after the Vikings left. Dawn Hadley, Julian D Richards, Gareth Perry, and Elizabeth Craig-Atkins explore the evidence for the town that was left behind, and discuss the significance of this Viking legacy for Anglo-Saxon England.
Prehistoric anthropomorphic items made of wood represent rare finds in British archaeology.
The team found Iron Age and Roman settlement phases with rubbish pits, postholes, and boundary ditches.
Specially designed tests will assess a range of paints, caulking, glues, and metal fastenings.
Around ten percent of the excavated individuals were missing skulls, with many clearly decapitations, evidenced by visible cut marks and placement of the head between the legs.
The sculpture had been placed in a Neolithic grave containing the remains of three children.
The new ‘City of Caves’ project will see researchers exploring historical records and creating 3D laser scans.