Stephen Cosh, together with his colleague Dr David Neal, are the authors of a truly monumental and authoritative five-volume survey of all the Roman mosaics of Britain, the only province of the Empire which brought such a venture to completion:…
An Egyptian team working in the northern area of Alexandria has uncovered the remains of a residential villa and circular public baths. The villa, dating to the Roman Period, had mosaic floors in a variety of styles, reflecting the diversity…
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.
For the first time in more than 200 years, colourful fragments of the ‘Orpheus’ mosaic excavated at Withington Roman Villa in 1812 have been reunited in a new display at the Corinium Museum in Cirencester, thanks to long-term loans from…
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith visits the archaeological museum in Alexandria, now reopened after a long period of renovation.
Exhibitions currently running at the Royal Armouries in Leeds and at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery focus on ancient Rome’s famous arena fighters, separating fact from fiction and exploring the latest archaeological research. Carly Hilts visited both to learn more.
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).
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.
In 2022, MOLA archaeologists working on the Liberty development site in Southwark on behalf of Landsec, Transport for London (TfL), and Southwark Council, uncovered a pair of striking Roman mosaics. This beautiful flooring featured stunning flower motifs in black, yellow,…
REVIEW BY JO DAY Imagining Roman baths conjures up scenes of mosaics and frescoes, perfumes, hot rooms and cold pools, and steamy air thick with watery sounds and chattering. These structures were so much more than just a place to…
REVIEW BY STEPHEN R COSH David Neal’s autobiography is a candid – sometimes perhaps too candid – account of his personal life and almost 70 years involvement in archaeology, lavishly illustrated. From humble beginnings, David’s interest in archaeology and talent…
W Benson Harer Jr says we should thank the Roman legionaries for our ginger feline friends.
Ongoing excavations in Insula 10, Regio IX, at Pompeii have uncovered a luxurious private bathhouse, one of the biggest ever found in a domestic context in the ancient city. The thermal complex is the latest remarkable discovery inside the grand…
These photographs show a colourful mosaic at North Leigh Roman Villa: the only example in Oxfordshire that remains in situ. The villa was excavated in 1813 by Henry Hakewill, and originally boasted at least 19 geometric mosaics. Today, only one…
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.
Excavations in Wiltshire’s Chalke Valley have uncovered the remains of a large Roman villa – the first complex of its kind to be found in this part of the county. Clues to the villa’s presence had been emerging over a…
Archaeologists working at Pompeii have uncovered a spectacular banquet hall decorated with mythological images connected to the Trojan War. This luxurious space, once used for feasting and entertaining, was part of a grand private residence located in Insula 10 of…
The traditional portrayal of post-Roman Britain as a landscape in decline, devoid of the cultural richness that had been infused into it by the presence of the Empire, was turned on its head in 2020, when a mosaic at Chedworth…
A luxurious domus dating to the late Republican period has been discovered in Rome in the area between the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. The site, which has been named the Domus del Vicus Tuscus, was first discovered in…
A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York examines
the artistic and cultural relationships between medieval Africa and Byzantium.
A new Roman garden and mosaic has been unveiled at Butser Ancient Farm, an open-air museum in East Hampshire that hosts a number of historical building recon-structions, spanning from prehistory through to the early medieval period. The garden was funded…
AFRICA & BYZANTIUM An exhibition of nearly 180 works exploring the tradition of Byzantine art and culture in North Africa, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, and other powerful African kingdoms, from the 4th century to the 15th century and beyond. On display…
Excavations in Israel have unearthed a 1,600-year-old synagogue, home to an exceptional set of mosaics.
More still to uncover at Pompeii While investigations at Pompeii have been ongoing for centuries, much of the site remains unexplored, and new excavations have recently begun in one such previously unexamined section. This new project aims to uncover an…
How did water go from being something to fear to a place of privilege in Greece and Rome? Karen Eva Carr plunges into the cultural history of swimming.
The dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings.
One of archaeology’s distinctive features has always been the lack of hard boundaries between professional and amateur. Archaeology is perhaps unique in the degree to which anyone can participate in the discipline, even at the highest level. That is especially…
This year’s overall winner is Nickolas Warner’s photo of the West Cemetery of Meroë, Sudan.
The mosaic will now be carefully preserved in situ with the whole excavated surface re-covered using materials that will protect the tiles from any wear or damage in the future.
The study suggests that the archaeological sites of Apollonia, Ptolemais, and Tocra are at risk of extensive erosion.
Review by Helen Whitehouse Originally published in French (Mosaïques d’Alexandrie: pavements d’Égypte grecque et romaine, 2019), this handsome volume now appears in an excellent English translation by Colin Clement. Excavations in Alexandria, on land and at sea, over the last…
Last month’s CA reviewed an exhibition in Cirencester that features six ‘gladiator’ skeletons excavated in York. Struck by the fact that Cirencester has an impressive amphitheatre, but no direct evidence for the individuals who may have fought there, while York has potential gladiators but as-yet no trace of any amphitheatre, Carly Hilts presents a tale of two settlements, exploring life and death in the ancient arena.
Detailed analysis of an elaborate 13th-century mosaic at Canterbury Cathedral has revealed a medieval masterpiece that may be unparalleled in either Roman or medieval Britain. Warwick Rodwell explains further.
Review by Simon Esmonde Cleary The excavations at Druce Farm in Dorset were carried out by local volunteers between 2012 and 2018, along with geophysical, drone, and laser surveys of the environs. The full publication of the results only four…
This past summer, the team returned to explore other buildings on the site, in order to learn more about the complex as a whole.
Down we probed into each and, before long, another surprise. Each contained a human skeleton, ranging from an adult woman to a child and, finally, a new-born infant. They were burying the dead under the floorboards!