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Current Archaeology’s December Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home

There are lots of great ways to get involved with history and archaeology over the next few months, including exhibitions, lectures, and conferences exploring a wide range of subjects. If you would prefer to get your heritage fix from the comfort of your sofa, though, there is a variety of resources on offer online, too, from virtual site tours and digital offerings by museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Kathryn Krakowka has put together a selection of some of the options available.

A life on the tiles: Exploring the work of David Neal as artist and archaeologist

David Neal’s name is synonymous with Romano-British mosaics: since 1960, he has documented every new discovery (more recently in collaboration with Stephen Cosh). His meticulous records and reconstructions fill the five-volume corpus of Roman Mosaics of Britain published by the Society of Antiquaries between 2002 and 2024 (see CA 223). Based on his new autobiography, Chris Catling reports on David’s formative years and the people who led him to a life in archaeology.

Antiquarian or archaeologist? Illustrating the influence of Edmund Tyrrell Artis

In the early part of the 19th century, there began a gradual move away from antiquarian ways of simply describing archaeological features and sites towards a more analytical approach of enquiry into the past. Stephen Upex takes up the story of Edmund Artis, one of the pioneers of this progress who, he argues, should be considered among the founding figures of modern British archaeology.

Below Some of HEIR’s many historic photographs preserve images of past archaeological work, such as this photo (by J P Gibson; HEIR ID 41281) of excavations at Aesica (Great Chesters) Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall in 1894 1897.

HEIR to the past: exploring the Historic Environment Image Resource

A unique digital archive preserves a wealth of images spanning the history of photography, offering long-lost views and vivid insights into how the historic environment has evolved over time. Janice Kinory is our guide.