CA429

A multi-sided story: Examining the Norton Disney dodecahedron in its wider context

Around 130 dodecahedra have been found across the northern Roman Empire, but the purpose of these ornate objects is unknown, and few have been recovered from datable contexts in modern excavations. An important exception forms the focus of an exhibition exploring the archaeology of Potter Hill, Lincolnshire. Carly Hilts visited the displays and spoke to Chris Clay, Richard Parker, and Clare Pickersgill to learn more.

100 years of Woodhenge: Tracing an archaeological icon, from discovery to new dating evidence

December 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the identification of a remarkable prehistoric timber monument just two miles from Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Amanda Chadburn is our guide around Woodhenge and its lasting legacy.

Current Archaeology’s November Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home

There are lots of great ways to get involved with history and archaeology over the next few months, including exhibitions, lectures, and conferences exploring a wide range of subjects. If you would prefer to get your heritage fix from the comfort of your sofa, though, there is a variety of resources on offer online, too, from virtual site tours and digital offerings by museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Kathryn Krakowka has put together a selection of some of the options available.

A store of secrets: Excavating Roman military kit and personal possessions at Caerleon

Between 2008 and 2010, the first modern excavation of a legionary storehouse anywhere in the Roman Empire was carried out at Caerleon. With the full findings now published, Carly Hilts reports on what has been learned about the site’s military life, and what happened when official administration ended.

Portrait of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, in a court dress. Oil painting by François Hubert Drouais, 1773 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Marie Antoinette Style at the V&A, London

Marie Antoinette is one of the most famous and most misunderstood figures of 18th-century France. Carly Hilts visited a new exhibition exploring her life and legacy.

Stories from the soil: Exploring Treasure finds in north-west England and Wales

The first archaeologically focused exhibition to be staged at the Museum of Liverpool explores what Treasure finds from north-west England and Wales can tell us about past and present connections across the region. Carly Hilts visited and spoke to Vanessa Oakden to learn more.

Strollology, Hedonia and Eudaimonia

Can you guess which of the following is a genuine university discipline: Strollology, Hedonia and Eudaimonia, or Happiness Studies? The answer is all of them.

Made in Ancient Egypt at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

A new exhibition explores ancient Egypt from the perspective of its craftspeople, showcasing their creations and illuminating their experiences. Carly Hilts visited to learn more.

Making accommodations: How 19th-century housing helped launch women’s independence

Following on from CA’s review of the golden age of the chain store (CA 426), Chris Catling looks this month at the accommodation built in the Victorian and Edwardian eras for single working women: hostels, houses, and chambers that were designed to protect their morals but also gave a first taste of freedom and independence to the growing class of businesswomen and ‘bachelor girls’.

The Friends of Cressing Temple

To enter Cressing Temple is to step back from the hurly-burly of modern Essex into a remarkable haven of timeless tranquillity in the form of a former manor that was granted to the Knights Templar in 1136 and has remained…

CA 429 Letters – November

Castles, conservation, and conquest With a week in Norfolk booked and a visit to Norwich in mind, not least to collect a fridge magnet from the Castle for a grandson, it was serendipity when CA 427 arrived with a review…

Devotion and diplomacy: Examining a treasure from the heart of the Tudor court

The British Museum has launched a £3.5 million fundraising campaign to acquire a unique pendant associated with Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, and with the wider political ambitions of 16th-century Europe. Carly Hilts reports.

Great prehistoric sites: Kent and Sussex – Excavating the CA archive

In last month’s column, I explored Palaeolithic Norfolk and Suffolk, visiting some of the most important prehistoric sites not just in Britain but in the whole of western Europe. Here I will follow up on that review by moving south into Kent and Sussex

The Stones of Britain: a history of Britain through its geology

REVIEW BY ROB IXER This is a peculiar hybrid of a book. It is a pretty good generalised account of British ‘historical geology’, namely a description of the occurrence of all the rocks given in stratigraphical order from the earliest…

Neolithic Tombs of Wales

REVIEW BY KEITH RAY Neolithic Tombs of Wales is a revised edition of a book with similar scope that was published 20 years ago by the same publisher. It is fundamentally a field guide to around 100 sites whose remains…

A Medieval Cabinet of Curiosities

REVIEW BY KK The title of this book explains it all. Reading it is like stepping into a dimly lit, 19th-century hall of curiosities, with various unusual artefacts covering every available surface. By giving a tour through this bizarre exhibition,…

Magic in Roman Britain

REVIEW BY MIRANDA ALDHOUSE-GREEN This monograph examines the important, yet underestimated subject of the magical objects that form part of the archaeological footprint left by Roman Britons. It focuses on – so often neglected – small objects that form a…

Excavations in the Roman Legionary Fortress at Caerleon: the Priory Field store building

REVIEW BY TOBY DRIVER From the outset, the authors of this impressive research report remind us of the importance both of Caerleon Roman fortress and of the excavations and evaluations carried out in the Priory Field between 2007 and 2010.…

The House of Wolf

Review KK This debut novel by Tony Robinson, of Time Team and Blackadder fame, takes us on a tour of 9th-century Europe: from the Holy Roman Emperor’s royal residence at Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) in Francia, to the home of the Pope…

Finds Tray: Copper-alloy belt hook

This copper-alloy belt hook (LIN-EE3DF6), cast in the form of a finely dressed male figure, was discovered near Digby in Lincolnshire. Dating to the late 15th to early 16th century AD, the figure’s detailed costume offers a fascinating glimpse into…

Science Notes: Searching for signs of pregnancy in the skeletal record

When excavating human remains, archaeologists are sometimes able to identify a pregnant woman if the bones of her unborn child are still present in her pelvic area. There are many reasons why this might be missed, however, such as if…

Conservation reveals new details in the Peebles Hoard

Ongoing conservation efforts on the Peebles Hoard – a collection of rare Bronze Age artefacts dating to c.1000-800 BC (see CA 417 and CA 418) – have revealed new details about its composition. The hoard was discovered by a metal-detectorist…

Uncovering Scotland’s earliest railway

Excavations along the disused Tranent–Cockenzie Waggonway have revealed a section of the historic rail route and uncovered new details about its use and construction that could potentially alter our understanding of railway innovations. The Tranent–Cockenzie Waggonway was the first railway…

Evidence of Glasgow’s medieval expansion uncovered at Gallowgate

Recent excavations at Spoutmouth in the Gallowgate area of Glasgow have revealed evidence of the city’s medieval expansion. The site was a car park for years, and will be redeveloped as social housing. It lies on the edge of medieval…

Search ongoing in Essex for missing Second World War pilot

Cotswold Archaeology is working in conjunction with Operation Nightingale and the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to search for the remains of a missing US Army Air Forces pilot, whose P-47 Thunderbolt crashed in rural Essex on 26 January…

World news

Stone tools on Sulawesi Excavations at a site called Calio, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, have found new evidence of the island’s occupation by early hominin species. Carried out between 2019 and 2022 by a joint team from Indonesia…

Areas of early Roman Wroxeter revealed on Attingham Estate

Excavations on the National Trust’s Attingham Estate in Shropshire have uncovered the remains of a Roman industrial complex and shrine, adding to our knowledge of the early northern fringes of Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter). A comprehensive geophysical and metal-detecting survey was…

Leicester Market’s secrets uncovered

Ongoing excavations at Leicester’s market are uncovering new details about the city, stretching from its role as an important Roman settlement through to the post-medieval period. Redevelopment of the marketplace began in July of this year, and the University of…

UK news in brief

New project to study ‘bog bodies’ A new project, entitled ‘Bog Biographies’ and led by researchers at Coventry University, is aiming to improve understanding of the Iron Age phenomenon of ‘bog bodies’. This period appears to have seen a significant…

Museum news

The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.

Celebrating Railway 200: Sheringham Station, Norfolk

To mark 200 years since the Stockton and Darlington Railway – the world’s first modern railway – opened on 27 September 1825, Historic England have announced seven new listings relating to railway heritage sites across the country. Four stations have…