Across 7 Daughter of King Minos and wife of Theseus in Greek mythology (7)9 Legendary island where King Arthur was taken after his final battle (6)10 Roman poet whose major works include the Eclogues and the Georgics (6)11 Welsh island,…
By AD 150, the Roman road system extended for some 300,000km (more than 186,000 miles – 7.5 times the circumference of the earth). This comprehensive transport infrastructure underpinned the mobility and trade that characterised the Roman Empire. Later, it enabled…
When it first took to the skies in 1935, the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator represented a significant leap forward in aircraft design, with its all-metal construction and single low-mounted wing. It was the first plane type in the US fleet with…
Monumental finds in Mexico Excavations at Aguada Fénix in Tabasco, south-east Mexico, have revealed a large complex that was constructed c.3,000 years ago, making it possibly the oldest Mayan monument ever discovered. The site was first identified during a LiDAR…
Investigations at Aguada Fénix, in the lowlands of Tabasco, south-east Mexico, are uncovering evidence of a vast ritual complex constructed c.3,000 years ago. The site was first discovered via LiDAR in 2017, and initial explorations uncovered a large artificial platform…
A collection of undersea constructions dating to the end of the Mesolithic period has been discovered off the coast of France near Île de Sein, Brittany. A total of 11 submerged structures were identified through analysis of a LiDAR survey…
Excavations at the largest Maya site in Belize have uncovered a tomb believed to belong to the city’s first king.
A temporary marching camp used by the Roman military has been discovered near the village of Hoog Buurlo in the Veluwe region of the Netherlands. The research was carried out by ‘Constructing the Limes’, a project focused on exploring the…
Over the past 15 years, a series of research projects at Wrest Park, a 19th-century country house in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, has revealed in detail how the grounds of this estate evolved over the centuries. This work was recently highlighted during…
REVIEW BY GARY LOCK The Baltinglass area has rightly been called ‘Ireland’s Hillfort Capital’ due to the 13 or so large enclosures on hilltops surrounding the modern town. The area has been intensively studied by a team from University College…
A wide-ranging LiDAR survey in Co. Wicklow has revealed hundreds of previously undocumented archaeological features, including a cluster of five cursus monuments that are helping to illuminate this enigmatic site-type. Carly Hilts reports.
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…
REVIEW BY FINOLA O’CARROLL This book details the results of research into the monument known as Tlachtga, which combined LiDAR and geophysics to build a picture of an extensive multi-phase monument, confirmed by three seasons of excavations from 2014 to…
A specialist grant that helps volunteer and community groups to date their finds has opened applications for its 2023 funding cycle. Robin Holgate discusses some of the key findings from the projects supported by the CARD Fund in 2022 – and how to apply this year.
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.
REVIEW BY ANDREW TIBBS The Road is a personal journey by the author to experience Roman roads and how they impacted the lives of those around them, and the surrounding landscape, not just 2,000 years ago, but in more recent…
A large mill complex was discovered in the south-east corner, on the banks of the River Nore.
Review by David Field. Rarely in recent times have extant barrows, let alone groups of them, been excavated, for in most cases developer-funded excavation has only encountered levelled examples and the ditch alone has been sampled. At Petersfield Heath, 14…
A look at the latest archaeology stories from across the globe, including a 4th century galley sunk off Egypt, evidence of social links between Mayan cities, and a study of Late Pleistocene husbandry.
According to the dictionary, it means simply 'land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation'. But in the context of our human story, the word 'jungle' – which derives from the Hindi 'jangal' – has often taken on unfairly negative connotations.
A century after the site was dismantled, can the ephemeral remains of Oxford’s tented First World War flying training aerodrome be rediscovered? The Wolvercote WWI Aerodrome Memorial Project, a community initiative, sought to find out with the help of scientific surveying. Roger Ainslie reports.
An archaeological project on Alderney has uncovered information about the labour and concentration camp of Sylt that once stood on the island, shedding light on the lives of prisoners during the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands in the Second…
The deeds of royal dynasties presiding over Maya city-states in northern Guatemala can still be followed on ornate inscriptions raised in their name. But just how large were their dominions? Recent survey work has revealed that the Maya were far more populous and sophisticated than previously suspected. Tom Garrison told Matthew Symonds how follow-up fieldwork is revolutionising our knowledge of Maya state power.
As cities, ceremonial centres, watchtowers, and irrigation systems emerge from the Guatemalan forest, a new LiDAR survey shows that there is more to the Maya than meets the eye.
The stupendous temple of Angkor Wat and its forested environs are currently the focus of a major project involving LiDAR aerial laser-scanning and more. The archaeology is radically changing our understanding of this staggering site, but how? Brian Fagan and Nadia Durrani get the inside story from project co-director Roland Fletcher.
In his final column, Mick leaves us with some tips on how to unpick the evolution of a local parish on the ground. What could you discover in your neighbourhood?