CA Letters 394 – December
Your views on the latest issues raised in CA.
ca394
Marks of devotion: exploring historic graffiti in St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall
The distinctive red sandstone edifice of St Magnus Cathedral is an unmistakeable landmark in Orkney’s largest town – as well as a fascinating repository of Kirkwall’s history. A recent graffiti survey there has recorded hundreds of markings and inscriptions dating from the medieval period to the present day. What can they tell us about the hopes, fears, and experiences of generations of visitors to the sacred site? Carly Hilts toured the cathedral with custodian Fran Flett Hollinrake to find out more.
Clachtoll: an Iron Age broch settlement in Assynt, north-west Scotland
Review by Ronan Toolis The excavation of Clachtoll in 2017 examined the interior of a broch buried beneath a conflagration that had occurred during the early 1st century AD and untouched since. This book examines an impressive assemblage of finds…
Ogham inscription discovered on Pictish cross found near Doune
Such inscriptions are relatively rare in Scotland, with only 35 currently known
BUY TICKETS NOW for Current Archaeology Live! 2023
We are pleased to announce the latest details of our upcoming conference. Current Archaeology Live! 2023 will be on 25 February at University College London’s Institute of Education. Buy tickets now at http://www.currentpublishing.com/shop!
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.
UK museum news: Jorvik Viking Centre celebrates milestone and Manchester Museum reopens
The latest on exhibitions, acquisitions, and key decisions.
The Marlborough Mound: prehistoric mound, medieval castle, Georgian garden
Review by Stephen Rippon Silbury Hill in Wiltshire is one of our best-known prehistoric monuments, but was it unique? It seems not, as a similar – if somewhat smaller – mound appears to have lain ‘hidden in plain sight’ just…
Walking the Antonine Wall
Review by Andrew Tibbs Stretching for 38 miles across central Scotland, between the Firths of Forth and Clyde, the Antonine Wall is perhaps not as well-known as its southern counterpart, Hadrian’s Wall, but it is no less of an enigmatic…
Roman villa and bathhouse unearthed in Kent
Small finds included 3rd- to 4th-century Roman pottery – comprising local coarse ware, Oxfordshire ware, and a few shards of Samian ware – as well as a small number of 4th-century Roman coins.
World news: discoveries in Borneo, Spain, and Micronesia
A round-up of some of the latest archaeological news from across the globe.
News in brief: conserving the Trinity College Dublin’s Old Library, and mapping the BBC
Some of the latest stories from the world of archaeology and heritage from Ireland and the UK.
‘Not so much a residence as a tradition’: the evolution of St James’s Palace from leper hospital to royal court
Buckingham Palace has been the main London residence of the British monarch since 1837, when Queen Victoria chose it as her base, but St James’s Palace remains the official seat of the sovereign, as it has since 1698. Newly appointed ambassadors, therefore, are accredited to ‘the Court of St James’s’, and it is from there that the public proclamation of a new sovereign is first read. Despite this, a comprehensive account of the 800-year history of this royal palace has only just been published, as Chris Catling reports.
Rare investigation in Verulamium
Excavations at Verulamium Park in St Albans during the summer uncovered the corner of a possible mansio – a stopping place on the Roman road network – as well as remains of other buildings from the Roman town.
Historic England announces its 2022 Heritage at Risk Register
Historic England recently published its Heritage at Risk Register for 2022.
Pitch perfect: tackling a previously unknown Roman villa at Dings Crusaders RFC
Between 2016 and 2018, Cotswold Archaeology’s excavation of disused rugby pitches in Stoke Gifford, just north of Bristol, provided the opportunity to explore the layout of a Roman villa estate. Clare Randall describes some of the key findings.
First Palaeolithic DNA from Britain successfully sequenced
The study suggests that two Palaeolithic individuals - one from Kendrick’s Cave in Wales, and the other from Gough’s Cave in Somerset - came from two completely separate populations.
Highlights from the CARD Fund: community radiocarbon-dating fund continues to unlock new secrets
A specialist grant that helps volunteer and community groups date their finds has opened applications for its 2022 funding cycle. Maryne Baylet and Roger Doonan discuss some of the key findings from the nine projects supported in the last round – and how to apply this year.
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.
An updated chart for determining the age-at-death of human remains
In this month’s ‘Science Notes’, we explore a recent paper that tests some of the assumptions behind Brothwell’s chart relating dental-wear to age and develops a more up-to-date one.
Highlighting hieroglyphs at the British Museum and the Petrie Museum
This autumn marked 200 years since the ‘hieroglyphic code’ was cracked, allowing scholars to read and understand the ancient Egyptian script for the first time in centuries, and revolutionising our understanding of the people who used it. Carly Hilts visited two London-based exhibitions reflecting this milestone.
Frontiers of the Roman Empire: the Roman frontiers in Wales
Review by Al McCluskey The Roman Frontiers in Wales is one of the latest tranche of publications in the ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire’ series. Co-authored by David Breeze and Peter Guest, this neat, informative, and accessible volume brings a…
The Watlington Hoard: coinage, kings, and the Viking Great Army in Oxfordshire, AD 875-880
Review by Murray Andrews This exciting new book is the definitive publication of the Watlington Hoard, a remarkable find of precious metal coins, ingots, and jewellery hidden in Oxfordshire in the late 870s AD and rediscovered in October 2015. Richly…
‘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…
Excavating the archives… from Fife to Moray
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.
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.
Dying Young: a bioarchaeological analysis of child health in Roman Britain
Review by Claire Hodson Over the last decade, numerous studies have challenged the traditional assumptions that the words ‘Roman Britain’ may incite. Included within this re-evaluation has been the increase in osteological analyses to reveal further insights into those working,…
New dietary evidence for The Cairns ‘Elder’
New isotope analysis of a jawbone found buried against the outside wall of an Iron Age broch at The Cairns on South Ronaldsay, Orkney, has shown that seafood was probably a major part of this person’s diet throughout their lifetime.
The London Gasketeers
The London Gasketeers (the name alludes, one assumes, to the swashbuckling heroes of the Alexander Dumas novel) are a newly created group set up to campaign for Britain’s historic gas lamps. Founded in January 2022, the Gasketeers operate by using…
Finds tray – Chinese lion figurine
This is a rare find – at least within Britain – that was recently discovered by archaeologists from Pre-Construct Archaeology at Bermondsey Square in Bermondsey, London. It is a stoneware lion figurine, probably Chinese in origin, but was found in…
Railway siding from the 19th century revealed in Huddersfield
It is believed these were used to house and maintain trains on the Manchester & Huddersfield Railway