Excavations in Colchester have unearthed a rare and exceptionally well preserved lead coffin, housing the remains of a woman who lived and died during the later Roman period. Recent analysis has now provided new insights into the experiences of this…
Excavations at Achnacon, an abandoned township in the Scottish Highlands, have uncovered evidence relating to the Glencoe Massacre of 1692. This infamous episode targeted the MacDonald clan on the grounds that they had failed to pledge allegiance to the new…
James Harrell looks at the time-honoured practice of imitating costly materials with cheaper ones.
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.
The three fragments of an Islamic glass vessel were found in the late 1990s at Caerlaverock Castle, near Dumfries.
One of the most exciting discoveries was that of a casket carved out of a single stone, which contained a glass cinerary urn, along with a wealth of stunningly-preserved funerary goods.
What is it? This cage cup, or vas diatretum, dates to the 4th century AD. The intricate, colourless glass bowl is 12.6cm tall and 15cm in diameter and has a flared rim. A Latin inscription in the central part of…
In AD 749, the ancient city of Jerash was hit by a devastating earthquake. Excavating private houses that collapsed during the disaster has revealed a wealth of information about the Umayyad city. These, though, are just some of the finds encountered during recent archaeological work in the north-western part of the site, as Achim Lichtenberger, Eva Mortensen, and Rubina Raja reveal.
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…