Archaeological and genetic evidence has revealed intriguing clues about the status of women in Late Iron Age Britain, and Roman writers testify to the existence of two female rulers: Boudica and Cartimandua. Here, Miles Russell makes the case for adding a third name to this list, and explores what this would mean for our understanding of the events and political dynamics surrounding the Roman Conquest.
What was the impact of Rome’s numerous attempts to conquer Scotland? A new exhibition in Edinburgh traces the experiences of soldiers, civilian inhabitants of frontier fort communities, and the local people whose lands they occupied. Fraser Hunter reports.
In last month’s column, I touched on two medieval monasteries with known but lost royal burials: Hyde Abbey in Winchester and Reading Abbey in Berkshire, the purported resting places of Alfred the Great (849-899) and Henry I (1068-1135) respectively.
A community-led archaeological project in Argyll has uncovered the remains of a significant religious centre, founded in the 6th century, that was previously only known from historical sources and local tradition. CA reports.
On 30 April 1995, a member of the newly formed South West Maritime Archaeological Group saw a glint of gold in the sand while diving in Devon’s Salcombe Bay. Meticulous excavation by the group led to the discovery of a cargo of coins and jewellery of such importance that it was acquired by the British Museum. Archival research finally led to the identification of the ship that was carrying this extraordinary cargo, revealing new details about life on board the vessel, as well as trading relations between Morocco and northern Europe in the 17th century. Chris Catling reports.
In last month’s CA, Sherds wrote that Reading Museum’s copy of the Bayeux Tapestry was censored by the women of the Leek Embroidery Society when they stitched the facsimile in 1886. Sherds has since learned that the ladies of Leek have been maligned.
When humans settled the Trent Valley after the end of the last Ice Age, they set in train a 10,000-year transformation that saw the wooded wetlands turn into a well-ordered agricultural landscape. At an exhibition tracing the story of the river and those who lived alongside it during prehistory, Carly Hilts spoke to David Knight and Clare Pickersgill to learn more.
John Waddell’s new book, a beautifully illustrated historiography of Celtic Iron Age studies, is a very valuable addition to the literature. To begin, Waddell discusses Celtic identity as debated territory, stating that, for him, a Celt is someone who speaks…
With Bayeux Tapestry fever still seizing London, James Alistair Henry’s debut novel offers a thought-provoking opportunity to imagine how Britain might look if the Norman Conquest had never taken place. The story is set in 21st-century London, but this is…
This volume discusses the changes that have occurred in the realm of archaeology in the wake of the #MeToo movement, acknowledging the discrimination and harassment that women have continued to face despite living in what is considered a post-feminist society.…
The wreck of the London – an English second-rate ship-of-the-line built in Chatham in 1656, during the Interregnum – has been the subject of a decade-long research programme by Cotswold Archaeology (see CA 308). This volume documents the project and…
This book documents the archaeological investigations carried out by Transport Infrastructure Ireland in advance of the construction of the new N5 in County Mayo. While not a full site report, it provides an easily digestible and succinct summarisation of the…
I have a seven-year-old son who, like many children his age today, is obsessed with comics and graphic novels. This art form is seeing a bit of a resurgence at the moment, thanks in part to the growing popularity of…
An enigmatic concrete ring 50m (160ft) in diameter, located at the National Trust site of Orford Ness in Suffolk, has been the subject of much debate for decades. This area was once home to a top-secret military testing site, and…
Sea levels have risen by around 120m (400ft) since the last Ice Age, only stabilising at their current position around 3,000 years ago. Given how much human activity has taken place around the coast in that time, a huge amount…
This is a Bronze Age hoard that was found near Blyth Bridge in the Scottish Borders. It comprises two bronze axe-heads, a complete copper ingot – the first of its kind to be discovered in Scotland – and the remains…
Katherine Slinger explores one of the most important Theban religious festivals.
Among Egyptology’s many ‘unsung heroes’, Ricardo A Caminos counts as a modest yet significant figure. Carl Graves takes a look at his often-overlooked achievements, and his longstanding legacy, both within the profession of epigraphic recording, and the history of the Egypt Exploration Society.
Amir Ebrahim Elkorashy explores an archaeological landscape around a spring in the Western Desert.
W Benson Harer Jr proposes a new theory for the use of birthing bricks in ancient Egypt.
Sandals in ancient Egypt were far more than footwear, as Hilary Wilson explains.
Barbara Boczar explores the materials used to create objects for personal adornment in Egypt from the prehistoric to the Early Dynastic periods.
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith visits the site where the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799.
Thomas Smith relates the saga of the remarkable crusade on the Nile that came close to reshaping the Near East.
Campbell Price describes a New Kingdom pectoral made of electrum and glass.
On the West Bank of the Nile, opposite Aswan, is Qubbet el-Hawa, the necropolis of the governors of Elephantine during the Old and Middle Kingdoms. These officials – the guardians of Egypt’s southernmost border – built monumental tomb complexes on…
A recent series of excavations across Burpham and Wepham in West Sussex has revealed new – and sometimes surprising – insights into their origins and evolution. James Sainsbury reports.
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
Marking the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror, 2027 has been designated the Year of the Normans. Events to mark the millennium are planned all over Europe, with castles as a major theme. In Ireland, the best guide to the hundreds of defended structures surviving from the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169 is the late David Sweetman, Ireland’s former Chief Archaeologist, whose book on The Medieval Castles of Ireland reveals how these 12th- and 13th-century symbols of Anglo-Norman power evolved from earthworks to commodious towers that dominated the landscape. Chris Catling reports.
The caves at East Wemyss are home to traces of human activity spanning prehistory to the present day, including important Pictish carvings. In recent decades some of these interactions have been destructive, but the local community is working to preserve this unique collection. As they mark the 40th anniversary of these efforts, Mike Arrowsmith reports.
The Bayeux Tapestry is perhaps the most recognisable piece of early medieval art – and, almost 1,000 years after the brutal events that it depicts, rather friendlier relations between England and France have seen the famous embroidery travel to the British Museum for a hotly anticipated exhibition. Carly Hilts visited to learn more about what its images can tell us about life in the 11th century.
Britain has been overcome by Bayeux Tapestry fever (as has CA: see our feature on here and more in Sherds on here) with the famous embroidery returning to British soil for the first time since its creation almost 1,000 years…
The Bayeux Tapestry has gone on display at the British Museum at last, despite the fears of some conservators that transporting it to London would cause irreparable damage. In the event, two threads were found to be broken when the Tapestry was inspected after arriving in London.
The Ness of Brodgar in Orkney is home to an unprecedented complex of 5,000-year-old buildings. Ongoing analysis is illuminating their form and function, as Carly Hilts reports.
This unusual burial was recently found by archaeologists from Highland Archaeology Services, working in advance of the expansion of a quarry at Evelix, near Dornoch, in Sutherland. Before it was used for burial, however, the pit is believed to have…
This Stonehenge paperback will sell, probably deservedly, very well. Its text gives a suitable level of detail, while also reflecting current mainstream (and therefore English Heritage) views, and hence is correctly pitched for its audience – namely the interested bystander,…