A piece of armour that would have been worn by a legionary stationed on Rome’s northern frontier almost 2,000 years ago has been painstakingly pieced back together. Bethan Bryan, Fraser Hunter, and Richard Abdy share the latest thinking on this rare object.
A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York examines
the artistic and cultural relationships between medieval Africa and Byzantium.
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Reviewing the best military history exhibitions with Calum Henderson
A new exhibition is set to explore what ordinary life was like for soldiers in the Roman army. Legion, opening in February at the British Museum, will boast more than 200 objects on display, including the world’s only intact legionary…
For a brief snapshot of the mid-19th century, flower festivals drew thousands of visitors to Stonehenge, long before the Neolithic monument became a popular tourist attraction in its own right. Carly Hilts visited the site and spoke to Louise Crawley, Brian Edwards, and Jennifer Wexler to learn more about this colourful but little-known episode of Salisbury Plain’s past.
The latest on exhibitions, acquisitions, and key decisions.
The UK’s first major exhibition to focus on the history of Myanmar (also known as Burma) is set to open at the British Museum next month, marking the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence. In this preview, Carly Hilts explores what will be on show.
Reviewing the best Military History Exhibitions with Christopher Warner.
A new exhibition running at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge explores the wealth of human stories that have been brought to light in the surrounding region, through excavations old and new. Carly Hilts visited the displays with curator Dr Jody Joy to learn more.
Colchester was the first capital of Roman Britain, and excavations within the town frequently uncover evidence of this chapter of its past. Colchester Castle, built over the ancient temple of Claudius, is currently home to an exhibition exploring one aspect of Roman life (and, for many unlucky participants, death): the gladiatorial games. Glynn Davis is our guide.
A new exhibition running at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth takes a deep dive into how perceptions of piracy have evolved since the 17th century, and the reality behind romanticised accounts of their activities. Carly Hilts visited to find out more.
The latest on exhibitions, acquisitions, and key decisions.
This image was taken outside the air-raid shelter in the garden of Roland Penrose’s house in Downshire Hill, Hampstead, north London, at the height of the Blitz in 1941. Penrose was a Surrealist artist by trade, but also worked as…
Join in this July with the Council for British Archaeology’s Festival of Archaeology! The theme for 2023 is ‘Archaeology and Creativity’, which will be explored online and in-person across the programme. Ceri Pennington has put together a selection of this year’s regional highlights.
England’s largest public display of human anatomy has reopened after five years’ closure and a £4.6 million redevelopment. Carly Hilts visited to learn more about the new displays, and the complex story of medical advances and ethical questions that they explore.
Stereoscopy is as old as photography itself. The techniques for tricking the suggestible brain into seeing three dimensions by placing two overlapping images side by side was first described in 1838 in a Royal Society paper ‘on some remarkable, and…
In this picture, a conservator at the National Army Museum in London holds the skull of Marengo, the most famous of the horses that belonged to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Named after Napoleon’s victory over the Austrian Empire at the…
Over the coming months, there are many great ways to get stuck into history and heritage around the UK, from exciting new exhibitions to a variety of events and activities for the whole family. Or, if you would prefer to get involved from home instead, there are plenty of archaeological and historical resources available online, including virtual museum tours and online exhibitions, digital platforms and archives, and new TV shows. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the latest options.
The dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings.
There are, according to the heritage body Historic England, at least 37,000 shipwrecks strewn along the country’s coastline – a legacy of more than 6,000 years of maritime trade, exploration and warfare. Such a torturous proliferation offers a poignant reminder…
There are lots of great archaeological events coming up over the next few months, including new exhibitions, lectures, and conferences. Or, if you would prefer to get your history and heritage fix at home, there is a wide selection of resources available, from virtual tours of museums and heritage sites to radio and TV shows, games, and activities. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the options available.
A new exhibition running at St James’s Church in Piccadilly tells the story of how HS2 works uncovered a huge Georgian and Victorian burial ground near Euston Station, and introduces some of the individuals laid to rest there. Carly Hilts visited to find out more.
Among the objects on show are the pipes from the cathedral’s great organ and a stained-glass panel from the cloister of the sacristy
Among the artefacts on display are 180 original bronze objects from the Naples National Archaeological Museum and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
Egyptian expeditions MUSÉE ART ET HISTOIRE, BRUSSELSParc du Cinquantenaire 10, 1000 Brussels, Belgiumwww.artandhistory.museum31 March-1 October 2023 Telling the story of 200 years of discoveries in Egypt and the formation of the museum’s Egyptian collection, the exhibition will include nearly 200…
SOME OF THE BEST MILITARY HISTORY EVENTS, LECTURES, AND EXHIBITIONS TO CHECK OUT THIS YEAR
He is one of the most famous figures in human history, the subject of countless legends, and a commander regularly claimed as the greatest of all time. But who was Alexander the Great really? We know that he was born…
Alexander the Great’s ambitions of conquest took him far from his Macedonian home and into Asia and Babylon, where he died. Ursula Sims-Williams investigates the mythical legacy of Alexander in the East, where different traditions cast him variously as an accursed figure, a philosopher-king, and even a prophet.
The drawings and paintings of Romantic-era artist Henry Fuseli showcase his fascination with fantasy, expression, and elaborate hairstyles. Lucia Marchini takes a look at the imaginative work of the artist, and how he challenged conventions in public and private.
A new exhibition at the British Library explores the 2,000-year history of storytelling and myth-making surrounding Alexander the Great.
The collection forms part of a new exhibition, Nelson in His Own Words, which opened recently at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) in Portsmouth.
A new exhibition at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre explores striking similarities between the stone monuments built by two unconnected but contemporary cultures, 6,000 miles apart. Carly Hilts went to find out more.
These days in Britain, we like to think of public executions as belonging to a distant and more barbaric age – one far removed from the modern world in which we now live. It is sobering, therefore, to reflect that…
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.
A finely crafted suit of armour can be as much a work of art as it is a carefully honed piece of military technology. Carly Hilts visited the Wallace Collection to explore a new temporary exhibition that showcases its internationally important holdings of arms and armour, tying into a new film about the search for Richard III’s grave.