Interpersonal violence has been a fact of human existence for much of our long history – but how far is this reflected in the archaeological record? With a major new exhibition now open at the National Museum of Scotland, Matthew G Knight and Hannah Boddy examine traces of past conflicts spanning 4,000 years, and consider how to present these stories to modern audiences.
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been used to great effect to map underlying archaeology on open-area sites, but how well does it perform in urban environments? John Creighton, Thomas Matthews Boehmer, Martin Millett, and Lieven Verdonck describe the trials and triumphs of recent surveys in York’s historic centre.
After last month’s column on Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Canterbury Cathedral, I will continue my ecclesiastical theme this month by exploring three of the great religious buildings in the north of England: York Minster, Durham Cathedral, and Whitby Abbey.
This month’s selection of summer digging opportunities includes projects from Staffordshire, Stirling, Edinburgh, and Nottinghamshire.
This month sees a return of the Council for British Archaeology’s annual Festival
of Archaeology, with a wealth of in-person and online events taking place across
the UK in July and August. The theme for 2026 is ‘Archaeology and Nature’.
Here is a selection of regional highlights; for more details of each (including
prices and booking information, where relevant), and to explore the full programme, see www.archaeologyuk.org/festival.html.
The Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) has been excavating sites along the banks of the River Great Ouse since 1994, keeping one step ahead of sand- and gravel-quarrying that is steadily transforming the landscape from solid ground to a series of lakes that will eventually form a large nature reserve. Chris Catling reports on the latest volume to emerge from this project, which brings together a series of excavations exploring a c.5km length of the river at the point where it enters the Fen marshlands near Earith in Cambridgeshire.
Preserving trig points There are various ways of protecting trig points (‘Sherds’, CA 436). This example (below) sits within the Iron Age hillfort known as Castle Hill, close to the Roman fort of Bar Hill on the Antonine Wall in…
A huge replica of a Neolithic hall, based on archaeological evidence excavated at Durrington Walls, has opened at Stonehenge. Carly Hilts reports.
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.
Many of Cornwall’s churches preserve centuries-old murals of saints and religious scenes. Laura Miucci shares some of the stories behind these colourful creations, and explores how organised Community Archaeology visits to sites like these can boost the well-being of participants.
Does ‘balti’, the Birmingham-created curry named after the steel bowl in which the dish is cooked and served, count as part of the UK’s intangible heritage?
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Excavations at Bulford have revealed the remains of a 5,000-year-old structure suggesting that the solstice was celebrated on Salisbury Plain centuries earlier than thought. CA reports.
A team from Wessex Archaeology – working with FlyThru, a commercial drone company – have recently conducted a survey of a medieval well, once a vital source of water for Sheffield Castle’s Norman motte. The well was discovered during Wessex…
This book explores an important, new aspect of archaeological interpret-ation that deals with the description and transmission of mythical romanitas. One of the most prominent and novel features of Dr Turner’s study is his use of what he terms ‘heat…
Stephen Cosh, together with his colleague Dr David Neal, are the authors of a truly monumental and authoritative five-volume survey of all the Roman mosaics of Britain, the only province of the Empire which brought such a venture to completion:…
This new book from Pen & Sword is a most welcome one: many people are familiar with the Saxon Shore forts of east and south-east England, but there has not been a comprehensive guide to them published since Andrew Pearson’s…
Highdown Hill is an extraordinary place. It stands detached from the great chalk spine of the South Downs, dominating the coastal plain across to the English Channel. The Bronze Age saw the hill crowned with an enclosure, perhaps a redistributive…
The Roman auxillary fort of Vindolanda has produced by far the largest assemblage of Roman footwear to be recovered anywhere. The remains of 5,000 shoes have been found, many in a remarkably good state of preservation, allowing 1,000 to be…
I visited Norwich as a teenager several times in the 1970s while my brother was at the School of Art there. Even then, the city was ‘known’ for having a church for every week of the year, and a pub…
This early medieval coin hoard was discovered near Maldon in Essex, in January 2025, by a metal-detecting group. Found dispersed across a field, its contents comprise 14 silver pennies, all the Long Cross type of Æthelred II (better known as…
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Grade II-listed house and garden at Marsh Lane, Harlow, by the architect Sir Frederick Gibberd and his wife. He is remembered for designing Liverpool’s Catholic Cathedral, dedicated to Christ…
Iron Age burial practices in Britain are among the most enigmatic, as few ‘formal’ cemeteries are known from this period (with some exceptions, such as among the Durotriges in Dorset; see CA 281). In this month’s ‘Science Notes’, we are…
Archaeological investigations near Cirencester in Gloucestershire have revealed the remains of what may have been a major religious, or ‘votive’, centre dating to the late Iron Age (c.100 BC-AD 43). The first clues to the site’s existence came in 2020,…
Archaeological investigations in advance of the A46 Newark Bypass scheme in Nottinghamshire have revealed a landscape scattered with features spanning six millennia. Archaeological Management Solutions (AMS) was contracted on behalf of National Highways to examine more than 23 acres (9.6ha)…
The recent excavation of a clandestine stone bothy at Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve (NNR) has uncovered a rare piece of a copper still, providing concrete proof that the site was once used for illegal whisky production. The investigation was…
Recent analysis of a mandible (lower jawbone) from an individual buried inside the East Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen has identified a rare example of late medieval/early post-medieval dentistry: the earliest evidence of dental interventions yet found in Scotland.…
A series of ten red horizontal lines, recently rediscovered in Bacon Hole on the southern coast of the Gower Peninsula in Wales, has been interpreted as rock art possibly dating to the Upper Palaeolithic period c.17,100 years ago. If this…
Excavations in Colchester have unearthed a rare and exceptionally well preserved lead coffin, housing the remains of a woman who lived and died during the later Roman period. Recent analysis has now provided new insights into the experiences of this…
Unusual religious monument uncovered in Egypt Excavations at the ancient Egyptian port city of Pelusium (modern-day Tell el-Farama) have uncovered the remains of a unique 2,000-year-old temple that is believed to have been dedicated to the local deity Pelusius. Archaeologists…
Exploring the archaeology of Sandwich Bay The Nautical Archaeology Society has launched a new project: ‘Coastal Pasts – Connecting Community with Coastal Heritage at Sandwich Bay’. This initiative, largely funded by a recent National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, will create…