In partnership with: Current Archaeology Live! 2024 is almost here, but it is not too late to book your place. The conference, held in partnership with University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, will be on 24 February (Saturday) at the…
There is a great range of opportunities to get involved in history, heritage, and archaeology this year, with new exhibitions, lectures, activities, and more coming up over the next few months. Or, if you would prefer to get your history fix from the comfort of your home, there are plenty of ways to do so, from virtual tours of museums and heritage sites to recently digitised resources and new radio and TV shows. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the latest options.
With one of the UK’s oldest commercial units recently celebrating its 50th birthday, Carly Hilts spoke to its founding director, Tom Hassall, and current CEO, Ken Welsh, about how the archaeological profession has changed over this period – and what the future might hold for the ways in which we engage with the past.
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.
This is a medieval ampulla, probably dating to c.1350-1500, that was recently found near Titchmarch in Northamptonshire. It is made of lead and has a bulbous body that tapers into an inverted trapezoidal upper portion with an integrated handle on…
Two burials were discovered this past December along the coastline in front of the Wemyss Caves in Fife. While investigations are ongoing, it is thought – based on the date of other burials that have previously been found nearby –…
More than a year after the discovery of one of the most significant early medieval female burials in Britain (see CA 395), expert conservation work has revealed the artistry of the grave goods that were buried with a young woman…
The Caithness Broch Project (CBP), a charity aiming to build a replica of an Iron Age broch, has finally found – after an extensive search – the perfect location for their ‘Big Broch Build’ in an area north of Latheron,…
In 1789, an opinion column in The Times hailed Britain’s canal-building achievements as a matter of national pride – contrasting them with the revolutionary turmoil in France. Aristocrats and entrepreneurs were losing their heads across the Channel, while in Britain they were busy building and funding a canal network that would serve the rapid growth of the nation as an industrial power. In his new book on the Swansea Canal, Stephen Hughes looks in detail at the archaeology and history of one such pioneering enterprise, as Chris Catling reports.
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
Archaeological investigations ahead of a road improvement scheme near Roscommon town have uncovered traces of more than 1,000 years of medieval life, as well as a major multi-generation cemetery. Carly Hilts spoke to Shane Delaney, Eileen Murphy, and Martin Jones to find out more.
A new Roman garden and mosaic has been unveiled at Butser Ancient Farm, an open-air museum in East Hampshire that hosts a number of historical building recon-structions, spanning from prehistory through to the early medieval period. The garden was funded…
Ritual evidence from ancient Arabia Recent research into two different mustatils – prehistoric open-air structures seen across northern Arabia – has found that they may have been used for communal ritual activities during the late 6th millennium BC. Each of…
Although cattle were introduced to Ireland during the Neolithic period (specifically, by at least 3800-3700 BC), archaeological and documentary evidence indicate that early medieval communities in Ireland put increased value on cattle husbandry, so much so that it became the…
The third and final season of excavation at Rendlesham, the East Anglian royal settlement near Sutton Hoo, has revealed the foundations of at least three new structures, including a possible pre-Christian temple or cult house, as well as illuminating the…
In the past, most analyses of human remains have examined specific, discrete aspects of osteological data such as health, trauma, and migration. In an attempt to provide a more holistic approach to the analysis of cemeteries, researchers at the University…
Excavations in Beaumaris, Anglesey, have uncovered elements of the town’s medieval defences that were thought to have been demolished half a century ago, as well as providing vivid insight into the lives of the people who lived beside them for hundreds of years. Matthew Jones and Catherine Rees report.
A round-up of some of the latest archaeology news from around the UK.
As the British Museum launches its first permanent display dedicated to the cultures of Peru and the Andes, Carly Hilts visited to find out more.
This rare example of a private colliery – called Swanwick Common Colliery and dating to the early 20th century – was recently granted Grade II-listed status. Surviving collieries are rare in England, and those from private, small-scale operations particularly so,…
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions
The British Sauna Society (BSS) qualifies for inclusion in our ‘Odd Socs’ column by virtue of its support for the bid to secure listed status for Britain’s oldest sauna, a wooden hut in Kent that is (in the words of…
REVIEW BY EDWARD BIDDULPH How did a giant ship create the White Cliffs of Dover? Why can Oxfordshire’s Rollright Stones never be counted? Which ghost said to haunt Lake Windermere was recorded on Ordnance Survey mapping? The answers can be…
REVIEW BY CH Large infrastructure schemes are often archaeologically exciting because they allow us to explore underlying features on a landscape scale. This comprehensive monograph summarises the results of one such excavation, by Cotswold Archaeology, where the creation of a…
REVIEW BY KK This brief volume provides a succinct overview of the main castles and fortifications found across the West Country. Starting in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Powell-Thomas then gives special attention to examining the Palmerston forts surrounding…
REVIEW BY AB We have so many written and pictorial records created between 1500 and the present day that it might be supposed that artefacts from this time are of less importance than for earlier periods. Laura Burnett and Rob…
REVIEW BY MARIE THERESE FLANAGAN Discovering Medieval Ferns, Co. Wexford, focuses on the town as a regional religious and royal centre in the Kingdom of Leinster during the medieval period. It provides reports on surveys and excavations at three sites.…
REVIEW BY ROBBIE MACNIVEN It is sometimes best to start a review with a comment on what a book is not: War Paths is not an academic work, as the lack of footnotes or a proper bibliography make clear. Fortunately,…
Christopher Catling, Contributing Editor for CA, delves into the eccentricities of the heritage world.