This volume by Helena Hamerow and her team is the interpretive companion to their digital database () for the recently finished five-year FeedSax project. It explores the profound changes in farming and environment across the period, with new insights on…
This site report details excavations carried out by Oxford Archaeology ahead of the replacement of the gas transmission pipeline that crosses the Humber between Goxhill in North Lincolnshire and Paull in East Yorkshire. Palaeoenvironmental evidence sheds light on how this…
This is the latest in the ‘…in 20 Digs’ series. Gavin Speed has been involved in Leicester’s archaeology for more than 20 years, and he has produced a well-illustrated account of 20 key sites in Leicester (with a bonus 21st…
‘There’s no time like the present’, as the adage goes – and those who specialise in Contemporary Archaeology certainly agree. John Schofield explores how applying archaeological techniques to the material remains of our own times can illuminate current issues, as well as improving our understanding of the past.
Mining is rooted in Cornish heritage and woven into the fabric of Cornwall’s historic landscape, and so it seems fitting, as we mark the 20th anniversary year of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape becoming a UNESCO World Heritage…
While this summer’s drought conditions have had a dramatic effect on many aspects of our environment, one upside of the recent hot and dry conditions has been the discovery of long-forgotten or completely unknown archaeological sites. This was the case…
Tiny traces of medieval wall-paintings have been discovered at Goodrich Castle in Herefordshire, transforming our understanding of how its chapel was decorated. Carly Hilts spoke to Sophie Stewart to learn more.
On 9 February 1538, Abbot Thomas Rowland signed a Deed of Surrender, formally handing over his monastery to Henry VIII, and the 1,000-year history of Abingdon Abbey came to an end. As a reward for giving up their property voluntarily,…
The Classical historian Herodotus described the Egyptians as the most religious of peoples. And, indeed, many people today find themselves wondering about the cross-overs between religious concepts in pharaonic, Christian, and Islamic outlooks. The author of the present book has…
Although there is a rich source of archaeological evidence for towns and cities in ancient Egypt, research into urbanism has, according to Nadine Moeller, often avoided mention of it, because many of the settlements could be regarded as anomalous, not…
Cleopatra VII now joins such luminaries as Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, and Henry VIII, as the latest historical celebrity to have her own volume in Bloomsbury’s ‘Significant Figures in World History’ series. Rather than a conventional biography, the aim of…
Following George Reisner’s discovery (in 1925) and meticulous excavation of the Tomb of Queen Hetepheres I at Giza, William Arnold Stewart was engaged by Reisner to reconstruct the furniture (‘the carrying-chair, the bed, the arm-chair, the jewel- box, and the…
Textiles have long remained in the shadow of more conspicuous archaeological finds such as monumental sculpture, decorated coffins, and jewellery. Yet these often-overlooked artefacts offer vital insights into technology, economics, religion, dress, and daily life. Weaving for Eternity is therefore…
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith pays a return visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum to view the new galleries.
Robert R Frost explores the life and legacy of the antiquary, traveller, and pioneer of British Egyptology.
Simone Petacchi explores the often fragmentary evidence for women’s voices in ancient Egypt’s written culture.
James A Harrell looks into the uncertain origins of ancient Egypt’s most popular gemstone: carnelian.
The Osirion is one of the most intriguing New Kingdom monuments. It is located behind the Sety I temple at Abydos, the burial place of Osiris. Now open to the sky, this unique structure was originally subterranean, built to resemble…
Having explored herbal pain-killing remedies in the last issue of AE, Ira Rampil now looks at the physical and magical interventions used to relieve pain.
Andrew Fulton describes an important New Kingdom text that invokes 75 forms of the sun god.
Hilary Wilson shows how the ancient Egyptians were paid in food and drink.
Campbell Price describes a symbolic votive object from the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.
Pioneering research in the Francis Crick Institute’s Ancient Genomics Lab is boosting our understanding of past populations, people, and pathogens. Carly Hilts spoke to Tom Booth and Kat Nilsson and explored a new exhibition sharing some of these findings.
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.
My recent ‘Odd Socs’ column on the Ancient Tree Forum (CA 436) proved to be unexpectedly topical when, on 18 June, it was announced that Sherwood Forest’s 1,200-year-old Major Oak had died. The expressions of sadness that followed showed that many people loved this tree and considered it an important part of our national heritage.
Norwich today has more medieval churches than any other city north of the Alps. The Brooke Commission concluded in 1970 that only six were required for parish worship and that either alternative uses should be found for the rest or they should be demolished. Fortunately, 31 remain, with half a dozen continuing to be used as churches and 18 in the care of the Norwich Historic Churches Trust. A newly published and sumptuously illustrated interdisciplinary study shows us what these churches can tell us about the city’s past and its people, as Chris Catling reports.
In mid-May, the day before CA 437’s print deadline, we joined a press conference to hear about an exciting discovery associated with Stonehenge. Keen to keep to our commitment to bringing you ‘current’ archaeology, we included a brief summary of the key findings in last month’s issue – here is a fuller account of the research that was described by Phil Harding, Matt Leivers, and Fabio Silva.
Two recent discoveries – Britain’s largest hoard of Iron Age gold coins and a series of unusual elite burials – unearthed about 8km (5 miles) apart on opposite sides of Chelmsford, have shed vivid light on the area’s Iron Age importance, and how local communities responded to the turbulent period around the Roman conquest. Carly Hilts spoke to Angus Forshaw and visited a new exhibition of some of the finds.
The Cerne Abbas Giant has just undergone its once-in-a-decade rechalking, restoring the famous foothill figure to its striking white appearance. With the Giant standing at an impressive 55m (180ft) tall, the task required some 20 tonnes (3,150 stone) of fresh…
A recently discovered high-status burial offers rare insights into ancient funerary practices and Colchester’s late Roman past. Carly Hilts spoke to Laura Pooley at a new exhibition about the finds.
Starting with the opening of the UK’s first science park in 1970, Cambridge has grown from the sleepy market town of 60 years ago into an internationally renowned centre of technical research and innovation at the centre of a metropolis…
Excavation reports often have a long gestation, and the publication of the City of Hereford Archaeology Unit’s 1993 excavations on the site of Hereford Cathedral’s new Mappa Mundi museum has been eagerly awaited. Yet any frustration at the delay quickly…
Aberdeenshire is known for its Pictish symbol stones, but until recently evidence for Pictish settlements in the region was sparse and our understanding of Pictish sites even more tenuous. This has now changed dramatically, in large part due to a…
First discovered nearly 30 years ago, the wreck of a ship that sank in Salcombe Bay, Devon, in 1633 has now been comprehensively re-examined in this new British Museum volume. On its discovery, the ship was found to be carrying…
The latest in the British Archaeological Association’s regional conference volumes covers Shropshire. The 16 contributions might seem at first sight to concentrate on the county’s best-known Roman and medieval sites – such as Wroxeter, Shrewsbury, Much Wenlock Priory, Buildwas Abbey,…
The Archaeology of Industrial Cheshire in 20 Digs is a well-illustrated introduction to Cheshire’s industrial past. Each concise chapter combines documentary evidence with excavation results to trace the development of the county’s key industries across two millennia. The book opens…