Continuing last month’s exploration of high medieval monasticism, this month I will visit sites across the country, both well known and less well known, that reflect the profound impact the Church had on society during this era, and the discoveries made by modern-day archaeologists which highlight this
One of the joys of the Current Archaeology archive is its ‘tales of the unexpected’. After last month’s column on early medieval monasteries, this and next month’s columns will be companion pieces exploring .
In my previous two columns I explored some of the great religious buildings of Britain; these are primarily known for their medieval and later histories, and for their towering urban architecture. This month, I will move back in time to explore some of the great sites associated with the early church that have been visited by Current Archaeology over the decades.
After last month’s column on Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Canterbury Cathedral, I will continue my ecclesiastical theme this month by exploring three of the great religious buildings in the north of England: York Minster, Durham Cathedral, and Whitby Abbey.
In last month’s column, I examined a series of sites associated with William the Conqueror and the legacy of the Norman Conquest. One of these was Westminster Abbey, which I will now cover in more detail, alongside two other major church buildings
that regularly feature in Current Archaeology: St Paul’s Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral.
The news that the Bayeux Tapestry will be making a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Britain from September 2026 until July 2027 made me think about sites associated with the Norman Conquest that might be of interest to the readers of Current Archaeology
Following on from last month’s column, here I continue my survey of the Saxon Shore forts of south-east England: a series of fortifications on both sides of the English Channel thatwere established in the late 3rd century AD to defend Britain against the incursions of Saxon raiders
The Saxon Shore (litus Saxonicum) was a military command consisting of fortifications built on both sides of the English Channel, which were established in the late 3rd century AD to defend Britain against the incursion of Saxon raiders. Its nine English forts are mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum, a document that details the administrative organisation of the late Roman Empire.
Last month’s column explored prehistoric mines, and this month I will follow up on the topic by visiting medieval and modern examples that have been examined in past issues of CA. The range is wide: from Welsh slate to English coal, and from salt in the Midlands to tin in the south-west.
Since CA 428, my columns have focused on prehistoric Britain, and while researching these I read about a series of mines dating to the Neolithic and/or Bronze Age. This is a fascinating rabbit-hole to climb into, and next month I will follow it with an exploration of medieval and modern mines.
For my third and final column on the Palaeolithic, I will clamber into some of the most famous caves in the country. Even better – as I will outline at the end of this selection – the majority are open to the public, offering unparalleled opportunities to visit these stunning prehistoric sites.
In last month’s column, I explored Palaeolithic Norfolk and Suffolk, visiting some of the most important prehistoric sites not just in Britain but in the whole of western Europe. Here I will follow up on that review by moving south into Kent and Sussex
In the previous few columns I have explored some of the great towns of Roman Britain – so, as a change of pace, here I will begin a new mini-series on the country’s great prehistoric sites. I will commence this month with a series of locations in Norfolk and Suffolk.
To conclude my mini-series on the towns of Roman Britain, I will head to what may be the most famous Romano-British city of all: Verulamium, modern-day St Albans. With much of the city surviving, unexcavated, beneath modern-day park- and farmland, and upstanding elements visible alongside the award-winning museum that was founded by Tessa Verney Wheeler and Mortimer Wheeler in the 1930s .
As part of my ongoing mini-series on the towns of Roman Britain, I will focus in this column on Roman Lincoln (Lindum), which was founded as a legionary fortress during the reign of Nero (AD 54-68), and subsequently developed into a colonia (a settlement for retired soldiers) after AD 86 during the reign of Domitian (AD 81-96).
This month’s column comprises the latest in a ‘Roman towns’ miniseries. I have recently visited Chester and Colchester, and next up is Cirencester (Corinium).
Last month’s visit to Chester/Deva got me thinking about the other great urban sites of Roman Britain. I have previously visited Silchester/Calleva (CA 337, April 2018), Wroxeter/Viroconium (CA 338, May 2018), and London (CA 416, November 2024), but what about other Roman towns and cities?
Roman Chester – Deva Victrix – is one of the unquestioned ‘great sites’ of Roman Britain. This was a major military centre from its late 1st-century AD origins through to its abandonment in the late 4th/early 5th centuries AD, and significant parts of the town survive beneath the medieval and modern city.
My column this month is on one of the least-known ‘great sites’ of all: Offa’s Dyke, the linear earthwork that stretches along the Welsh/English border. Most people know Hadrian’s Wall, and a fair few the Antonine Wall, but how many of us can say that we are familiar with Offa’s Dyke, either the standing sections of it that survive or the National Trail of that name that runs from Sedbury in the south to Prestatyn in the north?
Tintagel in Cornwall can be considered a ‘great site’ for a number of reasons, depending on personal perspective. For some, the draw is its rich archaeology; for others, its links to King Arthur, or its dramatic coastal settings.
My ‘great’ site this month comprises two sites – actually, two ships – linked by common stories of survival against the odds. In September 1992, the remains of a boat dating to the Middle Bronze Age were discovered in central Dover by workers constructing part of the A20 link road leading to Folkestone.
My ‘great site’ this month is one close to many people’s hearts. When I think of the locations that embody the best of Current Archaeology as a magazine and British archaeology as a community, I consistently alight on Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex. This site has it all – great coverage in the magazine, enthusiastic public engagement, stunning finds, and charismatic custodians.
After more than 50 columns exploring the archaeology of the British Isles through a geographic lens, I begin here a new thematic focus: that of ‘great’ sites visited by Current Archaeology down the years. As I neared the end of my tour of the four nations, I reflected on the enduring power of a ‘great’ site.
In my second column on the archaeology of Greater London, I stroll through the Saxon town, meander through the medieval city, and finally alight on some post-medieval and modern sites. There is a lot to review here, from the evidence of London’s last Romans to those who lived here in some of its most difficult of times: the Blitz during the Second World War.
My final geographically themed review focuses on London. I touched on some sites there in my reviews of Roman archaeology and the Thames (CA 330 and CA 343), so these columns will look more widely across modern-day Greater London. There…
Since March 2020 I have criss-crossed the United Kingdom, examining its history through the eyes of Current Archaeology. I have now visited every county in every country, but I have just a few geographical loose ends to tie off, including, this month, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
I concluded last month’s column just east of Avebury at the Sanctuary, a Neolithic and Bronze Age site that is also the start and end point of the Ridgeway, an 87-mile route rich in archaeology that runs between there and Ivinghoe Beacon across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire
After last month’s scramble through Stonehenge, this month I turn north to amble around Avebury. I know I am not the only one to hold this site in high affection.
In my columns to date I have barely mentioned Stonehenge. This is deliberate: for all that I worship archaeology, I am an atheist about this most famous of sites.
Last month I began a tour around the final county of the UK that I had yet to visit in these pages: Wiltshire. I began in the north and headed south as far as the Vale of Pewsey. This month I will continue into what is popularly seen as the most fertile of all archaeological hunting grounds: the county’s central belt around Salisbury Plain
I have now examined the archaeology of every county in Britain bar one – Wiltshire. This was no accident, for I have a confession to make: Wiltshire’s archaeology terrifies me.
The Cotswolds these days have a reputation as a playground of the rich and famous. The Roman occupation of this area certainly had its social high society too.
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.