Stepping stones: Travelling on the trail of the Stonehenge bluestones
Professor Keith Ray completed his 222-mile journey from the Preseli Hills to Stonehenge on Sunday 21 April. Carly Hilts joined him for the final few miles of his adventure.
landscape archaeology
LiDAR uncovers evidence of Middle Neolithic activity in Ireland
Recent LiDAR work intended to record the state of the landscape in Baltinglass, Ireland, has revealed a complex of five Neolithic cursus monuments, shedding new light on the importance of the area during this period. The archaeological landscape of Baltinglass…
Amesbury History Centre
With Amesbury’s recently opened History Centre celebrating six months of operations, Carly Hilts learned more about its displays and plans for the site’s future from Andrew Doig, one of its trustees.
Go digging!
Following on from CA 410, this selection of summer digging opportunities includes projects in North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Dorset, and Aberdeenshire.
Between the salt water and the sea strand: Excavating the Hornsea Project One Cable Route in Lincolnshire
A 40km trench dug to accommodate cables linking an offshore windfarm to the National Grid sparked eight years of archaeological excavations along its route. With the results of Wessex Archaeology’s wide-ranging work now published in a new monograph, Ashley Tuck summarises key findings from the heavy clay marshes of northern Lincolnshire.
A tale of three giants? New evidence for the evolution of Cerne Abbas’ chalk colossus
The 55m-tall hill-figure that towers above the village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset has long been the subject of debate, in terms of both its date and whom it represents. Mike Allen reports on fieldwork undertaken in 2020-2024 which revealed new clues – and surprises – about the Giant.
Mapping histories: Recent fieldwork at Jebel Hafeet
An international team of archaeologists specialising in early prehistory has undertaken pioneering survey work in and around one of the tallest mountains in the United Arab Emirates. George Nash, Genevieve von Petzinger, Aitor Ruiz, Juan F Ruiz López, and Yamandu Hilbert explain how their work unfolded and what they discovered.
Gloucestershire
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.
Bronze Age burnt mounds discovered in Annan
Recently published research by GUARD Archaeology reports on the discovery of a pair of Bronze Age burnt mounds at Hallmeadow in Annan, 24km south-east of Dumfries. They were first identified in 2020, during archaeological works ahead of the construction of…
Prehistoric Sussex
REVIEW BY AB In the 1990s, archaeologists excavating in West Sussex made a remarkable discovery: human remains belonging to ancient humans who lived around half a million years ago. These discoveries from Boxgrove continue to represent the oldest human remains…
Life in Early Medieval Wales
REVIEW BY HOWARD WILLIAMS A truly stupendous achievement of synthesis and evaluation, Life in Early Medieval Wales is a first for Welsh archaeology. Nancy Edwards’ concise prose draws on the experience of a lifetime spent teaching and researching early medieval…
Warham Camp: Investigating an Iron Age enigma
Last summer, excavations at Warham Camp – a monumental Iron Age enclosure in north Norfolk – revealed intriguing clues to the site’s date and purpose. Carly Hilts visited the project and spoke to Andy Hutcheson to find out more.
CA 408 Letters – February
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
Medieval moated farm discovered in Tewkesbury
Work by Cotswold Archaeology has revealed the evolution of a farmstead known as Cowfield Farm, from its medieval origins to its redevelopment in the 18th century. When the centuries-old brick farmhouse at Cowfield Farm burnt down during a fire in…
Echolands: A journey in search of Boudica
REVIEW BY CHRISTOPHER EVANS Thoroughly researched and well-written, this is simply a very good read, one informed by its author’s long experience of archaeological fieldwork. In it, Mackay tracks down the route of Boudica and her rebel followers, as well…
Facing the Sea of Sand: the Sahara and the peoples of Northern Africa
REVIEW BY ANDREW SELKIRK What fields are left for Barry Cunliffe to conquer? After the Celts and the Bretons, Europe between the oceans, the Atlantic Ocean, the Scythians, and the Steppe, he has now turned his attention to Africa, and…
Excavating the CA archive
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.
CA 407 Letters – January
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
Christianity and continuity: Discovering life in early medieval Wales
Archaeologists and historians tend to approach the early medieval period through the lens of what was lost after the collapse of Roman rule. In her new book on life in Wales between c.AD 300 and 1050, Nancy Edwards shows us what survived from the centuries of Roman control – in particular Christianity and Latin literacy – and the ways in which these were used to create new identities in a formative period in the development of Wales, as Chris Catling discovers.
Excavating the CA archive
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.
New finds at Navan Fort
An ongoing project at Navan Fort, led by Dr Patrick Gleeson and Dr James O’Driscoll, is providing new evidence on the long-term evolution of the site and how it fits into the wider archaeological landscape. Navan Fort is a hilltop…
Community dig uncovers prehistoric site at Glendaruel
A recent excavation at Glendaruel’s Stronafian Community Forest on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll has uncovered evidence of prehistoric occupation of the site. It had long been thought that a pattern of unusual cell- like features found at a site…
The Hillforts of Iron Age Wales
REVIEW BY IAN RALSTON This monograph on Welsh hillforts is by a man who knows them well. It builds on Driver’s innovative doctoral examination of those in Ceredigion, and his general book on Cardigan Bay, to consider the entirety of…
The Year 1000
It is often thought that AD 900-1100 was a time when nothing much happened in the area that is today the Netherlands; many overviews of Dutch history have a tendency to skip straight from the Romans to the later Middle…
In Search of Ancient Tsunamis: A Researcher’s Travels, Tools, and Techniques
REVIEW BY GINA L BARNES As an archaeologist, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book – a personalised adventure into the science of detecting tsunami deposits in the sedimentary record. This detective story begins with investigations into geological tsunami deposits, then…
Rooted in the future: A cultural ecology of the Sycamore Gap tree
Do archaeological remains represent static monuments, or do they remain ‘alive’ in their natural and cultural landscapes? Emily Hanscam and Cornelius Holtorf discuss how Hadrian’s Wall and the Sycamore Gap tree can encourage us to rethink the relationships between humanity, nature, and the planet.
Alternative views: Exploring ‘icons’ of the Hadrian’s Wall landscape
In the aftermath of the felling of the famous tree at Sycamore Gap, David Breeze examines how artistic interest in different sections of Hadrian’s Wall has changed over the centuries.
Roman Towns
REVIEW BY KK Rogers’ book serves well as a succinct introduction to the Roman towns of Britain. It starts by discussing how these towns evolved, whether de novo or through the expansion of pre-existing settlement sites, and highlights the different…
Power of place: Illuminating Iron Age hillforts in Wales
In CA 388 we asked, ‘what are hillforts for?’, and Toby Driver’s new book Hillforts of Iron Age Wales has some suggestions. Based on his many years spent recording these monuments on the ground and from the air, he concludes that no single explanation fits every example. Rather, like terraces of seemingly identical Victorian or Edwardian houses, external similarities disguise the many different functions, ideas, and ways of life that hillforts supported, as Chris Catling reports.
The Hidden Valley: Finding Anglo-Saxons in rural Lincolnshire
More than 20 years ago, CA 175 described the investigation of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in Winterton Vale. Since then, interpretations of the finds have changed and understanding of their significance has grown. Now, with the excavation report about to be published and the full data made available online, Kevin Leahy shares the illuminating early medieval story that has come to light.
Modelling the Roman road network in the south-west
A recent modelling project has created a probable map of the Roman road network across the counties of Devon and Cornwall, showing how it may have connected with the wider province of Britannia. While the presence of a few Roman…
From Hunter-Gatherers to Early Christians: The archaeology of ancient societies in the Llŷn peninsula
REVIEW BY KATE WADDINGTON This very readable book discusses the archaeology from a beautiful stretch of coastal north-west Wales: the Llŷn peninsula. As this volume demonstrates, it has produced a diverse range of well-preserved monuments that are of national importance.…
Beacons in the Landscape: The Hillforts of England, Wales, and the Isle of Man (2nd edition)
REVIEW BY GEORGE NASH One of the most impressive archaeological site-types in the British Isles is the Iron Age hillfort. Archaeological evidence has shown that it took many generations to construct and remodel these structures. Even after Roman occupation, hillforts…
Volos: Archaeology and myth in Thessaly
Looking for somewhere off the beaten track to explore in Greece? Martin Davies is our guide to the rich prehistoric heritage of Volos.
Above the Downs: Documenting human history from the Neolithic to the Cold War
A recent survey project has analysed almost 10,000 aerial photographs as well as LiDAR imagery to explore archaeological features preserved within a large swathe of the South Downs National Park. From monuments to military remains, both well-known sites and new discoveries have been brought to light, as Carly Hilts reports.
Excavating the CA archive
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.