Excavation reports often have a long gestation, and the publication of the City of Hereford Archaeology Unit’s 1993 excavations on the site of Hereford Cathedral’s new Mappa Mundi museum has been eagerly awaited. Yet any frustration at the delay quickly…
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…
Recent analysis of the remains of two children who were buried in the same grave in 7th-century Gloucestershire has revealed them to be brother and sister. CA reports.
The discovery of a mass grave in the Jordanian city of Jerash (ancient Gerasa) has provided evidence of the impact on the population of the Justinian Plague. A newly published study of the burial site has revealed that at least 230 individuals were hastily buried on top of each other, rather than in individual graves, within the city’s abandoned hippodrome
REVIEW BY CH Nicholas Higham’s comprehensive exploration of how ‘Roman Britain’ transitioned into ‘Anglo-Saxon England’ brings with it a wealth of topics that still resonate today – discussions of migration, integration, and cultural influences; Britain’s relationship with continental Europe; and…
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.
Newly published research has added more evidence to our growing understanding of kinship and migration in Anglo-Saxon England, revealing that two 7th-century individuals, buried over 250km (153 miles) apart, each had a grandparent with West African ancestry. One of these…
Malta is one of the most remote archipelagos in the Mediterranean, located almost 100km from the nearest landmass, Sicily. For many years, it was thought that European hunter-gatherers were unable or unwilling to travel to such remote islands; on Malta,…
REVIEW BY CARLY HILTS Popular imaginings of the Viking Age are often dominated by larger-than life figures – kings, warlords, explorers, poets – with the experiences of ordinary men, women, and children fading anonymously into the background. This vibrant book…
DNA analysis of human remains from a mass burial at Chichén Itzá in Mexico is revealing new details about the ritual practices of the ancient Maya, as well as their genetic links to modern populations. In 1967, the remains of…
Analysis of ancient wooden tools from Germany Results from the analysis of more than 700 pieces of prehistoric wood from Schöningen 13, Germany, have revealed that they had been transported from at least 3-5km away. A variety of techniques were…
DNA analysis of the Avar empire people, who lived on the Great Hungarian Plain some 1,500 years ago, is revealing details of their social structure, kinship practices, and marriage traditions. The Avar empire was founded by groups of mounted warriors…
Cutting-edge scientific analysis of horse remains excavated in Westminster 30 years ago has opened a unique window on how such animals were sourced from far afield and put to work in 15th- and 16th-century London. Carly Hilts reports.
Last month I began a tour around the final county of the UK that I had yet to visit in these pages: Wiltshire. I began in the north and headed south as far as the Vale of Pewsey. This month I will continue into what is popularly seen as the most fertile of all archaeological hunting grounds: the county’s central belt around Salisbury Plain
It might have been used as an antiseptic or… a hunger suppressant – or just because people liked the taste.
Roman histories attest that thousands of Sarmatian warriors – renowned horse-riders from the Caucasus – were resettled in Britain after their defeat by Marcus Aurelius in AD 175, but vanishingly few archaeological traces of their presence here have been found. Now scientific analysis of a skeleton found during the excavation of a Roman farmstead in Cambridgeshire has produced what is thought to be the first genetic evidence of an individual from that region. Carly Hilts reports.
A new multidisciplinary research facility has been created at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat to provide specialist micro-analysis of archaeological finds. The first of its kind in the Middle East, the new centre houses state-of-the-art technology to…
It seems that every few months ‘Science Notes’ is covering another breaking story on advances in a DNA research, a testament to how quickly the field is evolving. After our reporting of the successful, non-invasive extraction of human DNA from…
REVIEW BY ANGELA BOYLE This monograph presents the results of excavations at Burnby Lane and The Mile in Pocklington, East Yorkshire, which were carried out in several phases between 2014 and 2017 by MAP Archaeological Practice Ltd and commercially funded.…
This discovery represents the earliest example of its kind found in the ancient Near East.
The discovery of a burial in pride of place in Gårdby Church, Sweden, marked the beginning of an archaeological detective story. What could explain the unusual treatment of the man’s body? Caroline Arcini investigates.
by Nicholas Reeves.Thames & Hudson, 2022ISBN 978-0-5000-5216-7Hardback, £40. Who does not have a copy of the 1990 The Complete Tutankhamun on their bookshelves? This new, expanded, centenary edition follows the same format, but is updated to incorporate the “extraordinary advances”…
Genomic analysis of skeletons excavated from the ancient Greek city of Himera, Sicily, has shed light on the diverse cultural backgrounds of those who had defended it against attacks from Carthage in the 5th century BC.
Historians have long believed that walrus ivory traded throughout Ukraine and Russia during the Middle Ages came from the Barents Sea.
Analysis of the Pompeian individual's skeletal remains revealed they likely suffered from spinal tuberculosis.
Joseph L. Thimes reassesses the 2010 genetic testing of the royal mummies and proposes a new set of tests to build a more accurate Amarna family tree.
The perfectly preserved Stone Age village of Skara Brae is perhaps Orkney's most celebrated ancient site, offering stunning proof that these northerly islands were once at the cutting edge of Neolithic civilisation. But Skara Brae was only inhabited from about 3200 to 2200 BC – after which date, according to the traditional view, Orkney's fortunes slipped into a decline from which they were slow to recover.
Each of the bodies showed signs of serious injury and were buried with swords, maces, and arrows.
It is believed that this group may represent a Viking population who had settled in Oxford for some years.
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A cargo of ancient African ivory recovered from a 16th-century shipwreck is shedding light on early trade networks and historical elephant populations.
Archaeological investigations just outside Salisbury have uncovered echoes of early Bronze Age activity, including the burial of an infant who was laid to rest with a scaled-down beaker. Rachel McMullan reports.
Scientific analysis of a human skeleton discovered at Tarrant Hinton in Dorset has shed new light on life – and the transmission of infectious disease – in Iron Age Britain. The remains were originally found during excavations at a small…
Christopher Catling examines new evidence of the ancient links between Celtic Britain and the eastern Mediterranean
Recent DNA analysis of whalebone artefacts found at The Cairns, Orkney, has shed light on the relationship between these marine mammals and the site’s Iron Age community, as well as hinting why the large local broch may have been demolished…
The ‘Europe’s Lost Frontiers’ project, led by researchers from the University of Bradford, is examining the entire evolution of the Doggerland landscape.