The Jacobite Wars
In the first part of our new series, Graham Goodlad explores the Jacobite movement’s early attempts to overthrow Britain’s ruling Protestant monarchy.
Civil War
Siege in Ireland 1641-53
Between 1639 and 1653, the whole of the British Isles was engulfed by civil war. Despite popular opinion, however, it was not pitched battles that dominated the fighting, but sieges. Not for nothing did one veteran of the conflict comment:…
The Decline and Fall of the Ptolemies: Ptolemaic Egypt 146-30 BC
REVIEW BY SARAH GRIFFITHS In the third and final instalment of his Ptolemaic series, Grainger presents what he describes as a ‘deeply unpleasant and murderous succession of barely competent kings and queens’, following the dynasty’s decline into ‘confusion and chaos’,…
MHM 147 Letters – July
Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.
Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust
Ruperra Castle (Castell Rhiw’r Perrai; ‘pear-tree hill’) is garlanded with heritage designations, being a Grade II*-listed building and a Scheduled Monument, set within a Grade II Registered Park. Sadly, it is also on the Heritage at Risk Register for Wales,…
The last warrior monarch
Graham Goodlad reviews the military career of a ruler who gained the British throne in a bloodless coup but had to fight to retain it and then analyses in detail his part in the battle against French domination of the Low Countries.
Turncoats: When commanders swap sides
In the first of three articles about celebrated military figures who changed allegiances, Nigel Jones looks at shifting loyalties in English civil conflicts.
The keys to victory: Supplying the armies of the British Civil Wars (1639-1653)
The great military encounters of the British Civil Wars have been well documented. But, as David Flintham reveals, issues beyond the battlefield would also prove crucial.
Inscribed Roman projectile
What is it? This almond-shaped lead object is a type of Roman projectile known as a glans inscripta (‘inscribed bullet’). Measuring 4.5cm by 2cm by 1.7cm and weighing 71g, it has a dent at one end, probably the result of…
A Nasty Little War: The West’s fight to reverse the Russian Revolution
REVIEW BY CALUM HENDERSON Throughout the Cold War, various American presidents liked to say that the West and the Soviet Union had never fought one another directly, with the obvious implication being that they wanted to keep it that way.…
Civil War weapons recovered from South Carolina river
Hundreds of relics from the American Civil War have been recovered from the Congaree River in Columbia, South Carolina. The artefacts, which included some live ordnance, were removed during an extensive clean-up operation of the river which concluded last autumn.…
Archaeology on Prescription: Using fieldwork to support York’s mental health provision
An award-winning social prescribing project has been excavating thousands of years of history within the Walmgate area of York. Meg Barclay reports on its recent finds and how the initiative has been supporting the mental health and wellbeing of local residents.
King’s Lynn under siege: how a small field in North Lynn illuminated Civil War fortress engineering
This year is the 380th anniversary of the Siege of King’s Lynn, an important but often overlooked engagement during the Civil War. David Flintham presents the latest findings of a community archaeology project exploring the town’s fortifications.
The Battle of Baugé, 1421: when the Scots saved France
One of the bloodiest encounters between Scottish and English armies took place not on British soil – but in northern France, as part of the Hundred Years War. William E Welsh describes the events that lead to the Battle of Baugé, on 22 March 1421.
Scars of early Civil War battle found at Coleshill Manor
Archaeologists from Wessex Archaeology, working in advance of HS2 construction, have been excavating the site for the past three years.
Defending the dreaming spires: Civil War ramparts discovered in Oxford
Between 2015 and 2020, Oxford Archaeology and MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) investigated, prior to development, parts of a Civil War rampart buried below an access yard to Savile House at New College School in Oxford. The city’s defences were…
The USSR at 100
There were two revolutions in Russia in 1917. In March, tens of thousands of striking workers, peasants, and soldiers — exhausted by the privations of the First World War — took to the streets of Petrograd (St Petersburg) in protest.…
City of Gallows: tracing the human stories behind London’s history of public executions
A new exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands provides poignant and powerful insights into the seven centuries when London hosted more public executions that anywhere else in Britain. Carly Hilts reports.
The Restless Republic: Britain without a crown
The execution of King Charles I in January 1649 and the subsequent abolition of the monarchy turned Britain into a republic, which it would remain until the Restoration of Charles II 11 years later. Yet it is a period of…
Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921
Over a career as one of Britain’s most prolific military historians, Sir Antony Beevor has produced some of the most compelling narratives of 20th-century conflict. Perhaps most famous for Stalingrad, Beevor has subsequently published a series of well-received studies of…
Seeking a legendary lost city
The civil war had been very disruptive. There had been looting, pillage, and social upheaval. There are records of a most heinous crime, rooting up the boundary markers of land ownership, for which those guilty were impaled.
Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle reopened last year following a £33-million transformation of its grounds and galleries. Carly Hilts dropped by to see what has changed.
Facing the Palmyrenes: exploring life and death in a desert city
What can an extraordinary group of sculptures commemorating the dead reveal about ancient life in Palmyra? Thousands of ancient inhabitants’ portraits once graced lavish family tombs in cemeteries just beyond the desert city. Studying this artistry can reveal much about wealth, power, family, and even the balance between local tradition and outside influences in a major trading hub, as Eva Mortensen and Rubina Raja reveal.
The Abbey Cwmhir Heritage Trust
Suppressed in 1537, the abbey was plundered for its stone and five out of the 14 delicately carved 13th-century arcades ended up beautifying the church at Llanidloes, some ten miles distant.
Military history events, lectures, and exhibitions – July 2021
MHM offers a glimpse into the best military history exhibitions and experiences available to the public in July 2021, including The Tank Museum's fair and auction, and the National Army Museum's exhibit on West Indian servicemen.
Iron in the time of Anarchy: investigating a smithy site forged in 12th-century civil war
When Headland Archaeology excavated a site in Cheveley, Cambridgeshire, there was every expectation that the medieval village would yield archaeological remains. What was found far exceeded the team’s anticipation, though, as they unearthed the remains of a 12th-century smithy surrounded by both the objects and waste material that it had produced. It was the site’s date, and that of its abandonment, which proved the most compelling part of the story, however, suggesting a connection to a dark period in the history of the Fens. Julie Franklin reveals more.
In search of sunken ships: reflections of Britain’s colonial past
Britain’s involvement in the Transatlantic slave trade and the historical injustices of colonialism and the British Empire have been much in the news in recent months. In Britain and the Ocean Road, maritime historian Ian Friel asks how Britain got caught up in these nefarious activities. Chris Catling reports on what the new book reveals.
Cancel culture
No doubt those early Christians would say it was relatively mild revenge for the sufferings of the martyrs.
![Legion versus Legion The Late Republican legionary [below] was a heavily armoured, highly drilled, citizen soldier equipped with shield (scutum), javelins (pila), and short stabbing sword (gladius). The soldiers depicted on the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus [above] are the basis for Peter Connolly’s reconstruction. Those shown on the Mainz relief [right] are somewhat later Imperial legionaries, but they are depicted wielding scutum and gladius in close quarters action in a manner that would have been familiar to Caesar’s men.](https://i0.wp.com/the-past.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/post-1_image3-16.jpg?fit=768%2C286&ssl=1)
The Battle of Pharsalus, 9 August 48 BC
MHM Editor Neil Faulkner analyses Caesar’s greatest victory.
War Reporters: William Howard Russell
Widely regarded as the first modern war correspondent, Russell was a globetrotter with a wide purview, reporting on the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the American Civil War, the coronation of Tsar Nicholas I, the Franco- Prussian War, and the Zulu War among many other key events of the tumultuous 19th century.
War Reporters: Julius Caesar
He was a charismatic leader, a seasoned military veteran, and a formidable politician. It is little wonder that he is rarely thought of as being an ancient example of the modern-day war reporter. Seema Syeda examines battlefield scoops throughout the ages.
Caught in the crossfire: conflict in Syria and Iraq
In 2012, CWA reported on the damage inflicted on Syria’s cultural heritage since the beginning of the civil war. Now we take an updated look at heritage in conflict in Syria and Iraq.
The Wars of the Roses
Our special feature in this issue explores the art of war in late 15th-century England with an article on strategy and tactics, a blow-by-blow analysis of the Battle of Barnet (1471), and a short essay that sets the record straight on the much-maligned Richard III.