Review by Molly Masterson. In just a few hundred pages, Scenes from Prehistoric Life takes readers on a journey through 900,000 years of prehistory, weaving a narrative that connects the ancient and historic pasts and the more recent memories provided…
The hoard, which dates from 1000-800 BC, was unearthed in Llanddeusant Community, Carmarthenshire.
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Your views on the latest issues raised by CA.
Jodrell Bank Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of The University of Manchester, is a working research facility that has supported the discovery of meteors, black holes, and the afterglow of the Big Bang. Last month saw the…
The result of many years’ fieldwork by local voluntary and educational organisations came to a head there in the early 1990s, when a long-proposed bypass was constructed, destroying major elements of the Roman settlement.
Review by Stephen Mileson. This latest, well-produced, and richly illustrated contribution to the Ruralia series tells us much about medieval and early modern use of the mountains, moorlands, forests, and remote coastlines that lay beyond Europe’s more populous lowland valleys…
This July, the Festival of Archaeology returns with a wonderful array of events, resources, and activities taking place around the UK and online. The theme of
the 2022 Festival is ‘Journeys’, ranging from personal journeys to trade routes and migrations. Here is a selection of some of the options available this year.
Excavations at Bar Hill in Cambridgeshire yielded almost 700kg of animal bone – including over 8,000 amphibian bones.
With Butser Ancient Farm marking its 50th birthday this year, Trevor Creighton reflects on the past and present of this pioneering experimental archaeological site, and shares the memories of some of the people who have been involved with its work.
The find has been hailed as the most significant British maritime discovery since the Mary Rose.
Review by Kevin Leahy. This book joins the growing list of publications on the Staffordshire Hoard, but Warrior Treasure is published by Historic England and can be viewed as an ‘official’ popular account. Written by Chris Fern, one of the…
A round of some of the latest archaeological news stories from the UK.
Influential figures in the heritage world are concerned about the scale and height of new buildings proposed for the centre of Canterbury, where the primacy of the cathedral as a focal point of views and the intimacy of historic streets are under threat. Chris Catling reports on a manifesto for the city produced by SAVE Britain’s Heritage, warning against the mistakes of post-war development and recommending a new approach that has lessons for many of our towns and cities.
Previous investigations have uncovered traces of human activity spanning the Neolithic to Roman periods.
A round-up of the latest archaeological stories from across the globe.
This represents a rare find for the area: the only other known Cornish henge monument with a stone circle is Stripple Stones on Bodmin Moor.
Review by E O’Brien. In Buried, Alice Roberts, derives information relating not only to the death of individuals but to the lives lived by those individuals from examination of their bones. Topics explored include infant mortality in the Roman world;…
With the Florence Nightingale Museum having recently reopened, Carly Hilts dropped by to learn more about the life, legacy, and legend of the ‘Lady with the Lamp’.
Seventy years after John Pull’s excavations at Cissbury Ring transformed our understanding of Neolithic flint-mining, an innovative new interpretive trail has been launched at the West Sussex landmark. Carly Hilts visited the site with James Brown and James Sainsbury to find out more.
This 19th-century letterpress printing plate was found by a metal-detectorist, on cultivated land in Warwickshire, last summer. It is made from copper alloy, and – measuring 6.24cm by 4cm by 0.48cm – it weighs just over 100g. Rectangular plates like…
The research focused on carbon and nitrogen signatures preserved in the bone collagen of 2,023 people buried in England between the 5th and 11th centuries AD.
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.
The site at Eccles in Kent was excavated on a shoestring from 1962 to 1976 by Alec Detsicas with the Lower Medway Archaeological Research Group and then the Eccles Excavation Committee. Lack of funding hampered post-excavation, and while Alec Detsicas…
CAER Heritage is a model of genuine partnership between heritage professionals and community interest groups.
The festival welcomed some 4.3 million visitors over 152 days, and featured themed gardens, performances, a replica Roman bathhouse, and the much-loved ‘Coca-Cola’ roller coaster.
Review by Nick Higham. Stephen Rippon must be congratulated on a handsome, well-illustrated book that is a new must-read for anyone interested in the East Saxons or what the transition from Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England meant to the ordinary…
Woodchester Mansion is considered to be one of the UK’s most haunted buildings, and people pay large sums to spend the night in the freezing cold mansion with their ghost-detecting cameras and radar equipment.
An investigation stretching from Durham to the southern Scottish Highlands is illuminating the lives of communities who lived under Roman occupation, and on the fringes of imperial influence. The first phase of this work has already identified more than 130 previously unknown settlements, as Carly Hilts reports.
All individuals will be carefully reburied following completion of the research work.
In its heyday, HMS Invincible was considered one of the finest ships in the Royal Navy – and although it sank off Portsmouth in 1758, its remains represent the best-preserved 18th-century warship known in UK waters. Carly Hilts spoke to Daniel Pascoe, who headed recent excavations of the wreck, and visited an exhibition currently running at The Historic Dockyard Chatham to find out more.
Almost three-quarters of the burials contained grave goods, including more than 2,000 beads, 86 brooches, 51 knives, 15 spearheads, and even a personal hygiene kit.