CA439

Current Archaeology’s September 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.

Staffa’s past signatures: Uncovering the hidden human history of a celebrated Scottish island

A small team of archaeologists has been undertaking research into the island of Staffa in the Inner Hebrides. Camping for a few days at a time over a number of years, they have carried out both survey and excavation work. Derek Alexander, Daniel Rhodes, Stuart Jeffrey, Tessa Poller, and Siân Jones describe the results of these efforts to date.

Excavating the CA archive: Monasteries of the high medieval period

One of the joys of the Current Archaeology archive is its ‘tales of the unexpected’. After last month’s column on early medieval monasteries, this and next month’s columns will be companion pieces exploring .

Bacon Hole: Rediscovering Britain’s forgotten Ice Age cave art

Hidden within the limestone cliffs of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales is a cave that has witnessed dramatic changes in climate, landscape, and human history. Bacon Hole, overlooking what is today the Bristol Channel, is home to one of the most intriguing and controversial stories in British prehistoric archaeology. It is a story that began more than a century ago with the discovery of possible Ice Age paintings, continued through decades of doubt, and has now been reopened through modern scientific investigation. George Nash explains.

Finds Tray: Lead toy figurine

This is a small toy figurine dating to between AD 1550 and 1700, recently found by a metal-detectorist near Azerley in North Yorkshire. Measuring approximately 4cm by 2cm (1.6in by 0.8in) and made of lead, it is incomplete but takes…

Science Notes: Sensing the future of ceramic conservation

We often write in ‘Science Notes’ about how technology is revolutionising many aspects of archaeology, but this column rarely touches on conservation. This is one of the areas, however, where technological advances are having some of the biggest impacts, with…

Oscar Wilde’s room rediscovered at Brighton hotel

The hotel suite in which Oscar Wilde stayed shortly before his arrest for gross indecency has been rediscovered during recent archaeological work at the Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton. The room was identified by Dr Michael Shapland from UCL Archaeology…

Interpreting signs of child abuse in excavated remains

While research is increasingly looking at the experience of children in the past, this is still an under-researched area, and in terms of children’s exposure to violence, while cases of exceptional mass events can be recognised in archaeology, subtler, systematic…

New excavations shed light on Shropshire marsh-fort

The first excavations at Wall Camp in more than 40 years have revealed new evidence for how Iron Age communities built and used one of Britain’s most unusual wetland enclosures. Archaeologists and students from the University of Birmingham have completed…

UK news in brief

Bronze Age sword discovered by divers at Salcombe A rare Bronze Age sword has been discovered by divers Becky Gill and Catherine Gill from the South West Maritime Archaeological Group (SWMAG) while investigating the Salcombe Cannon and Moor Sand protected…

Grave concerns: Exploring the history of the British cemetery and its uncertain future

The cemetery – defined as a burial ground without an attached primary church or chapel – is a place where artistic, architectural, horticultural, historical, and literary interests are combined. Many were planned as places of botanical and geological instruction, while the epitaphs, extolling the moral virtues of the deceased, were intended to encourage emulation by the living. Appreciating their great value is a vital step towards ensuring that these spaces do not succumb to neglect and decline, as Chris Catling reports.

CA 439 Letters – September

Milestone Ground at midsummer The description of 59 pits forming a long, neat line at the Milestone Ground, Worcestershire (CA 435) is intriguing, especially as such features found elsewhere in prehistoric Britain remain enigmatic. I suggest a clue is the…

Museum news

The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.

Fossil find from Roman Colchester

Archaeology is often confused with palaeontology – with most archaeologists having been asked at least once in their career about the most interesting fossil they have found. Now archaeologists from Colchester Archaeological Trust (CAT), at least, can provide an answer…

World News

Earliest evidence of Yersinia pestis? As DNA analysis of human remains continues to expand, evidence is mounting that Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the plague, has been ravaging human populations for millennia. Now a new study has identified the…

More finds from Magna Roman Fort

The latest season of digging at Magna Roman Fort is currently uncovering further details of how the site was used both during and after the Roman period. One of the star finds for 2026 so far is a die which…

Roman hoard uncovered in Buckinghamshire

A metal-detectorist has discovered a hoard of Roman bronze objects in the Chilterns, Buckinghamshire, including a rare rattle that may have been used in religious ceremonies (below centre). Adam McClelland was detecting with the permission of the landowner when he…

Daily dose of cultural activities

Several recent reports have suggested that participation in cultural activities is good for one’s well-being. Under the headline ‘Daily dose of art as important to health as 5-a-day’, The Telegraph reported that cultural engagement not only slows down ageing, but is a ‘human necessity’.

Castlehill Wood (re-)Dun: reinterpreting a Stirling oddity

Castlehill Wood, located south-west of Stirling, has historically been labelled a ‘dun’ – a poorly defined term that is usually used to describe an unroofed enclosure that is smaller than a hillfort but more fortified than a farmstead. Situated within…

50 Stone Age Finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme

This slim volume is the latest addition to the ‘50 Finds’ series produced by the Portable Antiquities Scheme in England and Wales (PAS). While most finds recorded by PAS are metal artefacts recovered by detectorists, more than 100,000 struck flints…

Feeding Medieval England: a long ‘Agricultural Revolution’, 700-1300

This volume by Helena Hamerow and her team is the interpretive companion to their digital database () for the recently finished five-year FeedSax project. It explores the profound changes in farming and environment across the period, with new insights on…

On the Banks of the Humber: archaeological and palaeoenvironmental investigations at Goxhill, North Lincolnshire, and Paull, East Yorkshire, 2016-2020

This site report details excavations carried out by Oxford Archaeology ahead of the replacement of the gas transmission pipeline that crosses the Humber between Goxhill in North Lincolnshire and Paull in East Yorkshire. Palaeoenvironmental evidence sheds light on how this…

The Archaeology of Leicester in 20 Digs

This is the latest in the ‘…in 20 Digs’ series. Gavin Speed has been involved in Leicester’s archaeology for more than 20 years, and he has produced a well-illustrated account of 20 key sites in Leicester (with a bonus 21st…

Unearthing the present: Why archaeologists should study the contemporary world

‘There’s no time like the present’, as the adage goes – and those who specialise in Contemporary Archaeology certainly agree. John Schofield explores how applying archaeological techniques to the material remains of our own times can illuminate current issues, as well as improving our understanding of the past.

Geevor: Voices from a mining community

Mining is rooted in Cornish heritage and woven into the fabric of Cornwall’s historic landscape, and so it seems fitting, as we mark the 20th anniversary year of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape becoming a UNESCO World Heritage…

PeteSeaward drought photo Blenheim Palace

Historic drought reveals historic garden: Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire

While this summer’s drought conditions have had a dramatic effect on many aspects of our environment, one upside of the recent hot and dry conditions has been the discovery of long-forgotten or completely unknown archaeological sites. This was the case…

Worth a thousand words: Examining medieval wall-paintings at Goodrich Castle

Tiny traces of medieval wall-paintings have been discovered at Goodrich Castle in Herefordshire, transforming our understanding of how its chapel was decorated. Carly Hilts spoke to Sophie Stewart to learn more.

Scottish Archaeology Month

Scottish Archaeology Month, Archaeology Scotland’s flagship festival, returns this September to showcase the best of the country’s archaeology, history, and heritage in a month-long programme of events for all ages. Tessa Till shares some highlights; full listings are at www.archaeologyscotland.org.uk/events.