A chance discovery at Liman Tepe prompted a pioneering archaeological project that is setting the submerged portions of this ancient city alongside its remains on dry land. Evidence won from the sea is revealing new stories about how a major emporium evolved over the millennia, as Vasıf Sahoglu explained to Matthew Symonds.
William Robinson Clarke breached the colour bar to become Britain’s first Black combat pilot. Clive Webb reveals how a chance discovery in the RAF Museum archive allowed his story finally to be told.
In the final part of our series on Napoleon Bonaparte, Graham Goodlad examines the reasons for his decline and eventual defeat.
Henry Bolingbroke was the rebel leader who inspired Shakespeare and – as Henry IV – founded the Lancastrian dynasty. Here, Stephen Roberts looks at the campaign that brought him to power.
In the second part of our series marking the 80th anniversary of the last months of World War II, Taylor Downing asks why crossing the Rhine in March 1945 was not the great obstacle that Allied commanders feared.
Fred Chiaventone reveals how Abraham Lincoln was forced to reorganise his forces, hoping for better results after a series of stunning reversals.
Infographics: Calum Henderson / Images: Wikimedia Commons
In our Special Feature for this issue, and over the next two editions of MHM, historian Fred Chiaventone marks the 160th anniversary of the war’s end by tracing the long and painful road to Appomattox – from Southern secession to final surrender.
Over the course of eight decades, at least 14 separate hoards of Iron Age metalwork have been recovered from a single field at Snettisham in Norfolk. Now, following the publication of a new book describing the excavation, conservation, and scientific investigation of these spectacular finds, Jody Joy and Julia Farley describe how they came to be discovered, and reveal some of the secrets that have come to light since then.
The Caistor Roman Project has returned for another summer excavation outside the walls of Venta Icenorum – once the most important town in Roman East Anglia. Carly Hilts visited the site and spoke to Will Bowden and the Caistor team to hear the latest thinking about the settlement and its inhabitants.
Barbara Gai explores Hadrian’s obsession with a young Greek boy and the events that led to the founding of Antinoöpolis in Middle Egypt.
Archaeological work ahead of the construction of a new hospital in Berwick-upon-Tweed has revealed significant new evidence of the border town’s medieval defences. David Fell reports.
The websites of upmarket estate agents will typically feature a dozen or more properties for sale in Sussex or Kent converted from 19th-century oast houses. These desirable residences once served a humbler purpose, drying the resinous hop flowers that are an essential ingredient in the nation’s beer. Patrick Grattan recorded the last of these buildings in use for that purpose in the 1960s, and his knowledge has fermented into a detailed history of the oast, as Chris Catling now reports.
Medieval histories are often dominated by the deeds of ‘great men’, but a rich record of female stories can still be found in the archival and archaeological record, as a new exhibition reveals. Carly Hilts reports.
Last month, CA 418 reported on excavations uncovering a sumptuous 3rd-century building at Carlisle Cricket Club. Its date coincides with the period when Septimius Severus and his family are known to have been in northern Britain, and of the emperor’s military campaigns in Caledonia. One translation of the Historia Augusta states that Severus travelled to Luguvalium, Roman Carlisle, during this visit – but is it correct? David Breeze and Alan Wilkins investigate the documentary evidence.
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.
Gordon Longworth traces the evolution of ancient Egyptian watercraft over the millennia and uses his skills as a model-maker to illustrate how they were built.
Andrew Fulton continues his series exploring specific vignettes from Ani’s Book of the Dead.
Alan Lloyd considers the motives of certain individuals from antiquity for studying ancient Egypt. Were they Egyptologists?
For this issue, Hilary turns her attention to one form of jewellery worn by both women and men in ancient Egypt.
Excavations at Carlisle Cricket Club are uncovering the remains of the largest Roman building ever found on Hadrian’s Wall. Carly Hilts visited the site and spoke to Frank Giecco to find out more.
The Royal Collection Trust, the Department of the Royal Household that manages the public opening of the King’s official residences, has published new histories of Windsor Castle (CA 341) and St James’s Palace (CA 394) in recent years. Now it is the turn of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the King’s official Scottish residence, to be the subject of a comprehensive new history, as Chris Catling reports.
Intertidal archaeological sites are challenging to investigate, often being exposed for just a few hours at a time, but they can be rich repositories of organic finds and environmental evidence. Martin Bell, Thomas Walker, and Adam Turner describe the illuminating discoveries that have been made at Goldcliff in the Severn Estuary over the last three decades.
In CA 417, we described how best-practice reporting, expert archaeological work, and cutting-edge analysis were coming together to give intriguing insights into a remarkable assemblage that had lain undisturbed in the Scottish Borders for 3,000 years. Matthew G Knight, Emily A Freeman, Mary Davis, and Fraser Hunter take up the story to reveal what has been learned so far.
An exhibition running at the University of Nottingham Museum showcases the intriguing and eclectic Bronze Age metalwork that has been recovered from the waters and wetlands of the River Trent. Carly Hilts spoke to Mark Pearce and Clare Pickersgill to learn more.
The discovery of a Roman fortification high in the Alps is the most recent development in a remarkable series of findings that allow us to trace the progress of a legionary battlegroup in the 1st century BC. As well as following part of their march, we can see how they sought to control this mountainous terrain, and where they clashed with local forces, as Hannes Flück told Matthew Symonds.
Surveying an area of remote Mexican jungle that was previously devoid of Maya sites has produced remarkable results. Ivan Šprajc told Matthew Symonds how he set about discovering lost settlements in an archaeological black hole.
Obsolete photographic formats can hold valuable or even unique information about ancient sites and artefacts. Such archives are, though, at increasing risk of being thrown out for being of no further use in a digital age. What can be done? Janice Kinory and Katharina Ulmschneider introduce us to a solution.
Excavation of execution sites in Sweden has shed light on the realities of capital punishment in the country. Caroline Arcini and Emma Karlsson explain what can be revealed by examining the skeletons of those condemned to death and the sites where their sentences were carried out.
Stephen Roberts analyses the engagement that helped launch Britain’s empire in India.
In our special feature for this issue, Stephen Roberts first traces the life of this highly effective but undeniably divisive commander, then looks in more detail at the Battle of Plassey, the key victory that helped launch Britain’s empire in the subcontinent.
Infographics: Calum Henderson / Images: Wikimedia Commons
In the first part of a new series marking the 80th anniversary of World War II’s final months, Taylor Downing asks whether hopes of an early defeat of Nazi Germany were ever realistic.
In the second part of our series on Napoleon’s rise and fall, Graham Goodlad analyses his extraordinary run of military successes in the decade between 1800 and 1810.
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.
The Kriegsmarine’s last major military undertaking was the evacuation of more than a million German troops and civilians trapped around the Baltic, as David Porter explains.