First discovered nearly 30 years ago, the wreck of a ship that sank in Salcombe Bay, Devon, in 1633 has now been comprehensively re-examined in this new British Museum volume. On its discovery, the ship was found to be carrying…
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.
The latest phase of excavations at Strata Florida, a former Cistercian abbey near Tregaron, Ceredigion, has uncovered a wealth of new features, some of which pre-date the abbey’s 12th-century origins. Strata Florida was established by Cistercian monks in 1184, and…
Mentioning money I wanted to comment on the excellent article ‘Fields of Gold’ in CA 419.Snettisham is not only notable for buried torcs but it is also a ‘hot spot’ for coins – less spectacular, maybe, than torcs, but equally…
Excavations in Wiltshire’s Chalke Valley have uncovered the remains of a large Roman villa – the first complex of its kind to be found in this part of the county. Clues to the villa’s presence had been emerging over a…
REVIEW BY CH The latest issue of Ash-sharq includes a particularly thought-provoking contribution by Dr St John Simpson, senior curator in the British Museum’s Department of the Middle East, which focuses on artefacts from Anglo-Saxon England. Among the lavish grave…
The Hallaton Helmet, an ornately decorated piece of Roman cavalry equipment discovered in rural Leicestershire in 2000, is undeniably an important artefact – but how do you interpret its now-fragmentary imagery for museum visitors? Helen Sharp describes an initiative that created two contrasting reproductions using traditional and cutting-edge techniques.
Archaeology students from the University of Leicester have uncovered the remains of a Roman villa in Leicestershire, near Loughborough. Clues to the villa’s presence had been surfacing for years, in the form of small finds such as coins, brooches, and…
The first intact bird egg ever recovered from a Romano-British context has recently revealed its possible contents, cementing it as a unique archaeological discovery in Britain, and perhaps in the world. The egg was discovered during excavations in 2010 by…
A study of ‘insignificant’ tiny coins known as nummi minimi has led to a re-evaluation of monetary circulation in Egypt during late antiquity. Researchers from the Polish National Science Centre examined thousands of previously ignored Byzantine and Umayyad coins found…
More than a decade ago, a metal-detectorist discovered a plough-scattered hoard of over 100 Roman coins, together with items of jewellery. Vanessa Oakden explores what has been learned about the finds since then, and what they tell us about life in Cheshire c.2,000 years ago.
Also recently declared as treasure in Wales was a hoard of Roman coins, found between 2014 and 2022
Ongoing excavations on the grounds of the Besselsleigh estate in south-west Oxfordshire are revealing a rich palimpsest of settlement activity spanning the Roman period through to the modern day, bringing to life a once-thriving place that had been forgotten over…
The mosaic will now be carefully preserved in situ with the whole excavated surface re-covered using materials that will protect the tiles from any wear or damage in the future.
Archaeological investigations have revealed more than 20 large statues dating from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, as well as thousands of bronze, silver, and gold coins, and many votive objects
The 7th-century grave of an elite woman who had been laid to rest with stunning grave goods – among them a necklace made of gold, garnets, and Roman coins – has been unearthed in Harpole, Northamptonshire.
Small finds included 3rd- to 4th-century Roman pottery – comprising local coarse ware, Oxfordshire ware, and a few shards of Samian ware – as well as a small number of 4th-century Roman coins.
An Egyptian team has discovered a cache containing a number of coins from different historical eras
Down we probed into each and, before long, another surprise. Each contained a human skeleton, ranging from an adult woman to a child and, finally, a new-born infant. They were burying the dead under the floorboards!
A round-up of some of the latest archaeology news from across the globe.
The project ends in December, but the team are still looking for more places to excavate. For more information, see www.thebishopbigdig.com.
Review by Roger Bland. This volume, based on a conference that was held in 2016, is the first publication to come out of the Coin Hoards of the Roman Empire project, which is creating a record of all coin hoards…
The recipe in question is recorded in an ancient Chinese text known as the Kaogong ji, which is believed to be the world’s first encyclopaedia of technology, probably dating to c.300 BC.
Several Roman sanctuaries are known in the Netherlands, but this is the first to be discovered on the northern boundary of the empire.
Dismissed by one distinguished architectural writer as a regrettable example of Roman pomposity, ‘typical of the rather pretentious magnificence of the [Roman] Empire’, the ‘triumphal arch’ (more correctly the ‘honorary arch’) has proved to be surprisingly enduring, with a history that extends from the Roman period to the present day. Chris Catling reviews a new book by Peter Howell tracing the history of the arch through its many manifestations.
It appears that, in one burial, the skull of the deceased was positioned between their legs.
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
A round up of some of the latest archaeological stories from across the globe, including the discovery of a tudor coin found in Canada, evidence of leprosy in the Caribbean, an ancient murder victim in China.
A collection of ten silver coins minted during the reigns of Edward I and Edward II were among the finds.
The spectacular hoard was unearthed near Silverdale, North Lancashire, by metal-detectorist Darren Webster in 2011.
The coin is a Henry VII ‘half groat’, believed to have been minted in Canterbury, UK.
It is 70m from where archaeological remains thought to represent a 1st-century AD temple were discovered
Coins of Harold II Godwinson (r. 1066), killed at the Battle of Hastings, are not common – the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme has recorded only 28 such single finds in 24 years. Even rarer are those minted in Harold’s…
Are bad Roman emperors really that different from good Roman emperors? Nathalie de Haan and Eric M Moormann look at the case of Domitian, an accomplished military man and prolific builder who emulated Augustus but was reviled as a new Nero.
In this latest book in the 50 Finds series, Arwen Wood, Finds Liaison Officer for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, presents Britain’s history through the objects found across the county and recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS). Sadly lacking in…
The central figure might represent a damnatio ad bestias scene, depicting a condemned captive facing execution by being thrown to the wild beasts in the amphitheatre.