‘Prototype’ for Stonehenge’s solar alignment found
Excavations at Bulford have revealed the remains of a 5,000-year-old structure suggesting that the solstice was celebrated on Salisbury Plain centuries earlier than thought. CA reports.
Grooved ware
British Pottery: The first 3,000 years – Ceramic Art in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age
REVIEW BY ALISTAIR BARCLAY This is the latest in a series of accessible and well-illustrated books by the author on the development of British Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery. In it, he shares his fascination for the subject in a…
Prehistoric continuity in the Cambridgeshire landscape: Exploring recent excavations at Needingworth Quarry
For almost 30 years, the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) has been uncovering diverse archaeological features and finds at one of the UK’s largest sand- and gravel-extraction sites. Excavations have illuminated a landscape of prehistoric settlements, field systems, and monuments, located just three miles east of St Ives in Cambridgeshire. Matthew Brudenell, Charles Barker, Jonathan Tabor, and Chris Wakefield report on the latest discoveries.
Down the Bright Stream: the prehistory of Woodcock Corner and the Tregurra Valley, Cornwall
Review by Jacqueline A Nowakowski A late Neolithic decorated slate disc adorns the front cover of this substantial and well-illustrated publication. Down the Bright Stream presents full technical reports on excavations (2009-2015) in Tregurra Valley by Cornwall Archaeological Unit. Key…
Clare Tuffy and Newgrange
I would restore the great chambers of Boyne, prepare a sepulchre under the cupmarked stones. Seamus Heaney, ‘Funeral Rites’
CA Letters – December 2021
Your views on the latest issues of CA.
Orkney fingerprints belonged to Neolithic teenager
Both fingerprints were male and had been left by individuals around 13 and 14 years old.
Neolithic artistry from the Stonehenge landscape
Cutting-edge photographic techniques have shed illuminating light on a series of carved chalk plaques excavated close to Stonehenge. What have they revealed about artistic endeavour in Neolithic Britain? CA explores a new study by Bob Davis, Phil Harding, and Matt Leivers.
Digging returns to the Ness of Brodgar
These are the first examples of wood surviving in situ to be found at the Ness.
Neolithic fingerprint found at the Ness of Brodgar
Further analysis of the print will contribute to ongoing research into the identification of archaeological fingerprints, and may reveal more details of the anonymous potter thanks to known variations in fingerprint patterns based on sex and age.
Ness of Brodgar project finds 5,000-year-old fingerprint
‘Working on such a high-status site as the Ness of Brodgar, with its beautiful buildings and stunning range of artefacts, it can be all too easy to forget about the people behind this incredible complex.'
Bronze Age burials at Lechlade skatepark
Archaeological investigations in Lechlade-on-Thames, Gloucestershire, have revealed two very unusual Bronze Age burials in an extensive ceremonial landscape spanning many phases of prehistory. The excavations were carried out by Foundations Archaeology in 2017, in advance of the construction of a…
Neolithic food miles: feeding the ‘builders of Stonehenge’
A newly opened exhibition at Stonehenge documents the diet of the community thought to have been responsible for erecting the main phase of the monument – including the surprisingly far-flung origins of some of their food. Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts spoke to Susan Greaney, Richard Madgwick, and Mike Parker Pearson at the exhibition launch to find out more.
A tale of two Neolithics? Investigating the evolution of house societies in Orkney
For decades, the accepted view of the Orcadian Neolithic was one of two cultural packages with a sharp break in the middle. New research has revealed a much more complex and nuanced picture, however. Carly Hilts spoke to Colin Richards to find out more.