Review by AB The City of London’s seven historic gates – Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Moorgate, Bishopsgate, and Aldgate – were first constructed in the Roman period and continued to play a central role in controlling access to the city…
The title of The First Stones, a newly published book edited by William Britnell and Alasdair Whittle, proclaims a bold new thesis: that the Neolithic long cairn at Penywyrlod, in the Black Mountains of south-east Wales, is one of the earliest of its kind. With the benefit of 50 new radiocarbon dates, and new ways of modelling those dates using Bayesian analysis, its authors revisit excavations that first took place in the 1970s – and argue that this distinctive monument represents the birth of a new tomb-building tradition, as Chris Catling discovers.
Your views on some of the latest issues raised in CA.
Current Archaeology Live! 2023 is coming up quickly, and tickets are selling fast. This year the conference, in partnership with University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, will be on 25 February (Saturday) at the UCL Institute of Education, a stone’s throw from our previous venue of Senate House, near Russell Square. Join us as we listen to a fantastic line-up of expert speakers sharing the latest discoveries from these shores as well as further afield (and even underwater). Here are the latest details of what we have planned, and everything you need to know to book your place.
'As early as 1958, she took part in the first excavation of a 13th-century BC Bronze Age shipwreck.'
Harold James Dyos, late Professor of Urban History at the University of Leicester, wrote that London underwent three distinct periods of growth: an increasingly dense build-up of the population in the centre, its spill-over into the outer districts of London,…
A new exhibition at the National Archives in London traces the history of treason since it was first written into English law in 1352. Carly Hilts visited to find out more.
Review by Kelly Kilpatrick The Picts first appear in written sources as a cultural entity to the north of the Roman frontier, and disappear from the written record before the turn of the 1st millennium. In combination with their still…
This Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) Battery – located some 350m east of Decoy Farm, to the north of the River Bure, near Mautby, Norfolk – is believed to be the most-complete battery of its type in Britain, and one of only…
To many, this part of the country is the ‘definitive’ Scottish landscape of their dreams, the stuff of countless movies and TV shows. To less romantically inclined archaeologists, it is a place forged by the environmental extremes experienced there.
Archaeological work just outside Northampton has uncovered an internationally significant burial, furnished with a remarkable 7th-century necklace, as well as a number of other high-status grave goods. With conservation and analysis of the finds under way, Carly Hilts spoke to Paul Thompson and Lyn Blackmore about what these artefacts can tell us about the woman they were buried with, and what they could add to our understanding of early medieval England as research progresses.
Review by CH This entertaining and adeptly written account traces the story of London’s private members’ clubs from the 18th century to the present day. Dr Seth Alexander Thévoz – historian, investigative journalist, and (since 2013) Librarian of the National…
It probably dates to between the 5th and 7th centuries AD, before the Picts were converted to Christianity.
Review by Hugo Anderson-Whymark Carved stone balls are one of Scotland’s most intriguing Neolithic artefacts. Some 500 of these palm-sized stone spheres are known, with most found in Aberdeenshire. This monograph is the first solely devoted to the study of…
In 2020, we reported on intriguing discoveries emerging from a Roman villa site near Corby, Northamptonshire. Now further excavations have been carried out at Priors Hall, illuminating the area’s industrial heritage, its interconnectivity with other villa sites, and its Iron Age origins. Paddy Lambert reports.
Although people with this variant would have been better able to survive a Y. pestis infection, it overlaps with alleles that are associated with an increased risk of developing an autoimmune disease,.
There is a great selection of opportunities on offer this year to get involved in heritage, history, and archaeology, with new exhibitions, lectures, conferences, and more coming up over the next few months. Or, if you would prefer to get your heritage fix at home, there are plenty of resources available, including virtual exhibitions and heritage-site tours, podcasts, games, and TV shows. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the latest options.
Since the first hints of Neolithic masonry emerged at the Ness of Brodgar in 2003, two decades of excavations have uncovered an extraordinary complex of monumental stone buildings dating back 5,000 years. The site continues to revolutionise our understanding of this period of prehistory both in Orkney and further afield, and last summer Carly Hilts visited the site and spoke to Nick Card to find out the latest news from the Ness.
Why not mark the start of the other calendric festivals and their associated deities with holidays?... Time to bring back bonfires, dancing at dawn, May Day frolics, and the dressing of rivers, springs, and wells.
This copper-alloy disc brooch, measuring approximately 27mm in diameter, was found last year by a metal-detectorist in the parish of Thirkleby High and Low with Osgodby, just north of York. It is decorated with a red enamel bird, which is…
Review by Andrew Tibbs In Roman times, water was an important resource, but also had symbolic importance. Waterways acted as arterial routes of the Empire, used by the military, traders, and civilians to move resources and people, while on dry…
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…
In the early years of the 19th century, military camps sprang up along the south coast of England to guard against French invasion. Once the Napoleonic Wars ended, most were dismantled, leaving little trace of this turbulent period – but now archaeological work at Weeley, a small village 11 miles from Colchester, has uncovered the remains of one such site, as Nick Cox reports.
The three fragments of an Islamic glass vessel were found in the late 1990s at Caerlaverock Castle, near Dumfries.
The artefacts were found during the 1977-1981 excavations of nearly 200 graves at Ozengell, near Ramsgate in Kent.
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions
A round-up of some of the latest archaeological news from around the globe.
While the chapel’s exact location remains unknown, it was probably situated on the south side of the 13th-century Lady Chapel, perhaps near St Mary’s garden.
The instrument is remarkably well-preserved, and was found in association with medieval pottery dating to between the 12th and 15th centuries.
This past summer, the team returned to explore other buildings on the site, in order to learn more about the complex as a whole.
The remains found at Boxgrove – consisting of two teeth and part of a tibia – were re-examined by an international team using advanced 3D imaging and virtual reconstruction techniques.