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 .
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…
Julian Heath recounts the remarkable discoveries made by a French mining engineer and archaeologist.
Peter Lacovara celebrates the achievements of one of the most important, yet under-appreciated, figures in Egyptian archaeology: Dows Dunham.
More than 70 years ago, Brian Hope-Taylor led excavations at Yeavering in Northu mberland – investigations that have gone down in archaeological history, both for his skill in recording and analysing the scant remains of the royal palace of Edwin of Northumbria, and for illuminating a previously unlit period in early medieval history. Roger Miket’s new book Ad Gefrin traces the story of Hope-Taylor’s life and work, and recounts the latest thinking on the sites that he excavated. Chris Catling reports.
Carmen Ruiz recounts the life and legacy of the visual storyteller who sculpted the history of ancient Egypt with light.
For my third and final column on the Palaeolithic, I will clamber into some of the most famous caves in the country. Even better – as I will outline at the end of this selection – the majority are open to the public, offering unparalleled opportunities to visit these stunning prehistoric sites.
Roman Chester – Deva Victrix – is one of the unquestioned ‘great sites’ of Roman Britain. This was a major military centre from its late 1st-century AD origins through to its abandonment in the late 4th/early 5th centuries AD, and significant parts of the town survive beneath the medieval and modern city.
REVIEW BY LISA BRUNDLE The archaeologist Michael J Jones, having worked for 40 years in Lincoln, provides a unique personal account of archaeological discoveries in the former colonia city of Lindum prior to commercial development. For those of us who…
REVIEW BY SARAH GRIFFITHS This slim ‘Spotlight’ volume is the first in a new series of EES publications highlighting the society’s collections and projects, and it is only fitting that the first should focus on the work of Howard Carter.…
My ‘great site’ this month is one close to many people’s hearts. When I think of the locations that embody the best of Current Archaeology as a magazine and British archaeology as a community, I consistently alight on Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex. This site has it all – great coverage in the magazine, enthusiastic public engagement, stunning finds, and charismatic custodians.
Roger Forshaw describes the discovery of the first intact royal tombs in Egypt and explains the importance of the treasures discovered there by French Egyptologist Pierre Montet.
In our last issue, Hilary described what it was like to visit Egypt just before the First World War, based on a 1911-1912 tourist guide by A O Lamplough. Now she uses archive photos to illustrate how the monuments have changed since Lamplough’s book was published.
REVIEW BY GEORGE NASH I have always thought that, for many archaeological projects, the process of data-gathering and reporting on previous archaeological activity is as important as the archaeology itself; the investigative activity at Rushen Abbey, including more than 100…
After last month’s scramble through Stonehenge, this month I turn north to amble around Avebury. I know I am not the only one to hold this site in high affection.
The Cotswolds these days have a reputation as a playground of the rich and famous. The Roman occupation of this area certainly had its social high society too.
This month’s ‘Odd Socs’ column pays tribute to the late Tony Rook, who died on 11 September 2023 at the age of 91. Tony and his wife Merle Rook (who died in 2012) jointly founded the Welwyn Archaeological Society (WAS),…
Some of the most famous photographs of the1939 excavation of the Sutton Hoo ship burial were taken by two women, Mercie Lack and Barbara Wagstaff (see CA 374). This October, part of Mercie’s personal collection relating to the dig was…
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
REVIEW BY BOB BRIER With all the Tutankhamun books published for the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb, it is reasonable to wonder if there is really anything new to say. The Earl and the Pharaoh answers with…
The double-curved seat of the ancient Egyptian stool makes it much more comfortable than the traditional Western styles. When examples were discovered by early Egyptologists, the design was soon copied by contemporary furniture-makers.
The amazing discovery of more than 50 royal mummies.
before I leave the Mainland, I must mention one other site of this era, the stunning Neolithic house at St Ola, just south of Kirkwall... Here was discovered the oldest art yet found on the islands.
Review by Neil Holbrook Many people have a favourite archaeological site, an evocative place that has a personal resonance with the past. The landscape setting is frequently inspirational, sometimes more so than the actual remains of the site itself. Roger…
Across 7 Vegetables domesticated c.8000 BC (8)9 George ___, 20th-century French archaeologist noted for his work in French Indochina and Siam (6)10 Boudica’s tribe (5)11 Huntress of Greek mythology (8)12 Mayan ceremonial centre in Guatemala (5)13 Caleb ___, American antiquary…
Chedworth Roman Villa, near Cirencester, has been open to visitors since its discovery 158 years ago – but, until today, the site never had a formal academic publication. A new monograph has now drawn together decades of research, as Simon Esmonde Cleary, Jason Wood, Emma Durham, Martin Papworth, and Julie Reynolds report.
This ruined city had richly carved monumental gateways and, even more significant, an 8th-century BC stela that, bearing the same text in both the Phoenician alphabet and Luwian hieroglyphics, gave Çambel the key to unlock the Luwian language for future scholars.
The site began life as a simple farmstead in the 1st century AD and transformed over the centuries into quite a grandiose stone structure, with a swimming pool and bath complex, by the mid-2nd century AD.
We all gathered round on another day, when a whoop of excitement emerged from the next-door shop, where Professor Frend was working in a cellar. He had just found the lovely bronze statuette of Venus, now a proud exhibit in the Verulamium Museum
The county is one that historically suffers from being overlooked: its proximity, and partial absorption, into Greater London risks obscuring its significance.
Stonehenge has to be the most intensively studied prehistoric monument in the world, which begs the question: ‘is there anything left to say?’ A new English Heritage study of the wider Stonehenge World Heritage Site landscape has come up with a few surprising facts which, if not all new, are perhaps not widely known, as Chris Catling now reports.
The former frontiers of the Roman Empire are set to become the world’s biggest single archaeological site. UNESCO World Heritage Site status is now in prospect for the frontiers as a whole. Historic Scotland’s David Breeze is a leading advocate of the move. Neil Faulkner asked him to explain why the Roman imperial frontiers deserve such special treatment.