How did medieval villagers understand the world around them? Stephen Mileson and Stuart Brookes addressed this question in a research project and recently published book. Here Stephen reports on their findings, and how they met the challenges of uncovering the perceptions and sense of identity of ordinary rural people in the past.
It’s a scary thought for parents. After an enforced pause in 2020, Halloween spending is expected this year to return to something like pre-pandemic levels – which in 2019 stood at £474m in the UK alone, according to market analyst…
On which historical figure is Bram Stoker's Dracula thought to have been based?
When exactly did we begin to lose touch with the natural cycle of the sun, the stars, and the seasons? Was it at the start of the Industrial Revolution, when people moved from land-based activities to working in factories?
The origins of the imposing East Sussex hill figure known as the Long Man of Wilmington have long posed a mystery for archaeologists. Rodney Castleden discusses recent research suggesting a Tudor date for the monument – and a possible political message.
No doubt those early Christians would say it was relatively mild revenge for the sufferings of the martyrs.
Within its 225 square miles, the Isle of Man boasts an impressively diverse historic landscape spanning some 10,000 years of human activity. In this compact but wide-ranging book, our guide is Matthew Richardson, curator of social history at Manx National…
Following our feature exploring the Cerne Abbas Giant’s date, Brian Edwards offers some thought-provoking insights into the Dorset hill figure’s historical context.
The Cerne Abbas Giant, a 55m-tall chalk hill figure depicting a nude man, has been in the care of the National Trust for 100 years. To mark this anniversary, small-scale excavations retrieved dating samples from the Dorset landmark – and, although the present lockdown has put analysis on hold, intriguing clues are already beginning to emerge. Mike Allen and Martin Papworth report.
What link is there between archaeology and a best-selling series of children’s books? To find out, Lucia Marchini tours the British Library’s major new exhibition.
The increasing popularity of historical graffiti surveys is providing valuable new perspectives on the past. Matt Beresford discusses recent discoveries at Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire, and how magical markings were used to protect animals as well as people during the Stuart era.
Why was a sinister malediction cut into a beam at a 19th-century farmstead near Llandudno? Catherine Rees and Richard Suggett explore this surprising discovery.
The 17th- to 18th-century graves contain features designed to stop the deceased returning after death, such as a sickle across the neck or body, and a stone beneath the chin.
A new generation of castleologists believe that castles were about much more than trebuchets, portcullises, galloping hooves, boiling oil, and the clash of swords on armour: instead, castles were centres of lordship, symbols of wealth, and expressions of status, alluding to the past and expressing poetic ideals. Current Archaeology's Chris Catling reports.
Dressing up as a ghost or ghoul seems a relatively harmless activity by contrast with the inflammatory implications of burning a religious fanatic, especially to children bought up on a diet of Harry Potter and TV vampires.
How do you deal with a witch? In 17th century England, the answer was obvious: you prepare a ‘witch bottle’, with contents equally as bizarre as those in the cauldron of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. Witch bottles were white magic devices, that…