The Peloponnesian War
In the first part of our special, Paul Rahe examines the background to the struggle between Athens and Sparta for control of the ancient Greek world.
Paid
The Peloponnesian War: the Battle of Mantineia
In the second part of our special feature, Paul Rahe reveals how Sparta won the largest land battle fought within Greece during the Peloponnesian War.
Tally-Ho: RAF tactical leadership in the Battle of Britain, July 1940
REVIEW by COLIN POMEROY A renowned writer on air combat in World War II, Professor Patrick Eriksson is well known for his detailed research, something he fully demonstrates in this new book, which takes its name from the fighter pilot’s…
At First Light: a true World War II story of a hero, his bravery, and an amazing horse
REVIEW by MARC DeSANTIS Popular memory of the Second World War is inconsistent. Certain events, such as the Battle of Britain, El Alamein, the Atlantic Campaign, D-Day, and Operation Market Garden, loom large in modern consciousness. Other events and fronts,…
Churchill’s American arsenal: the special relationship that won World War II
In a new book, Larrie D Ferreiro explains how a special relationship between British and US combat scientists and engineers produced the innovations that won the Second World War.
Stand ‘Easy’: searching for the ‘Band of Brothers’ at Aldbourne
Before the celebrated US paratroopers known as ‘Easy’ Company were deployed on D-Day, they were based at Aldbourne in Wiltshire. What have recent excavations revealed about their camp? Richard Osgood reports.
Film Review: Lebanon
Lebanon is a powerful vision of men at war, made real and intense by the fact that we never once move outside the tank, and only see the outside world from the interior.
The Battle of Baugé, 1421: when the Scots saved France
One of the bloodiest encounters between Scottish and English armies took place not on British soil – but in northern France, as part of the Hundred Years War. William E Welsh describes the events that lead to the Battle of Baugé, on 22 March 1421.
The Path of Peace: walking the Western Front Way
REVIEW by TOBY CLARK During the First World War, a young soldier called Douglas Gillespie used a letter home from the trenches to expound on an idea for remembering the dead after the fighting was over. Gillespie proposed a path…
Echoes from the arena: exploring evidence for gladiators in York and Cirencester
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.
Austria-Hungary’s Viribus Unitis-class battleships
Although the Austrian navy had won a remarkable victory against the Italians at the Battle of Lissa in the Adriatic on 20 July 1866, economic problems following the creation of the Dual Monarchy the following year meant that the new…
History’s first draft: the art of the van de Veldes
The exhibition 'The Van de Veldes: Greenwich, art and the sea' continues at the Queen’s House in Greenwich, London SE10 9NF, until 14 January 2024.
Dictionary of Fortifications
REVIEW by DAVID FLINTHAM Until relatively recently, there were more terms relating to fortifications than to probably any other area of military history. Confusion is easy, especially since many of the words and phrases come directly from languages other than…
![Right Kitchener [on the left] and Roberts [right] had a proven record of success in colonial warfare, but the two had not campaigned together before arriving in South Africa.](https://i0.wp.com/the-past.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/post-1_image0-18-e1677858429147.jpg?fit=768%2C873&ssl=1)
Imperial firefighters: Roberts, Kitchener, and the Anglo-Boer War
Graham Goodlad reveals how two late-Victorian commanders forged a winning partnership in South Africa – but left controversy in their wake.
Demetrius: sacker of cities
REVIEW by MARC DeSANTIS The death of Alexander the Great in Babylon in 323 BC left the empire he had conquered without blood heirs ready to take up the heavy burden of governance. Thus, in the days following his passing,…
War Classics – The Guns of August
Tuchman aims to explore how a series of political and military decisions, often based on personal factors, faulty intelligence, or naïve assumptions, gradually escalated tensions to the outbreak of war.’
Detectorists and levelling up the heritage sector
the programme dramatised one of the essential differences between detectorists and archaeologists: the first are interested in objects (preferably ones that are worth a bob or two), the latter in knowledge.
Facing the Enemy? A GIS study of 1st century Roman fortifications in the Scottish landscape
Review by Kathryn Murphy In Facing the Enemy, Andrew Tibbs presents analysis of Roman fortifications and the Scottish landscape, focusing on the positioning, intervisibility, orientation, and interconnectivity of Flavian sites. Stemming from his PhD thesis, this volume discusses one of…
Cosmati at Canterbury Cathedral? Piecing together the history of a medieval mosaic
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.
Royal Photographic Society
Every month, when we open the pages of Current Archaeology or any of its sister publications, we are presented with wonderful photographs as well as compelling stories about our heritage. It is evident that there are many skilled photographers working…
Becoming an Archaeologist: a guide to professional pathways (2nd edition)
Review by Edward Biddulph Ask most people what comes to mind when they hear the word ‘archaeologist’ and, if not immediately going to Indiana Jones, they will most likely imagine an academic poring over artefacts or heavy tomes, or carefully…
Conserving the keep
Orford Castle in Suffolk has reopened to visitors after detailed conservation work – a project 13 years in the making – was completed in January. The castle was originally built for Henry II between 1165 and 1174, as a royal…
Dictionary of Fortifications: an illustrated glossary
Review by David Flintham From Iron Age hillforts to Second World War pillboxes, fortifications are all around us. Yet there are probably more terms relating to fortifications than anything else in military history. Author Jean-Denis Lepage has challenged himself to…
Druce Farm Roman villa: celebrating a community dig in the heart of Dorset
Roman villas are rarely excavated these days, because we already ‘know about them’. Yet when a villa is excavated – in part or as a whole – what we find defies what we think we know. The report on Druce Farm Roman villa, excavated between 2012 and 2018 by volunteer members of the East Dorset Antiquarian Society, has been published in quick time and in exemplary form. As Chris Catling discovers, it makes us think again about what defines a villa.
Down the Bright Stream: the prehistory of Woodcock Corner and the Tregurra Valley, Cornwall
Review by Jacqueline A Nowakowski A late Neolithic decorated slate disc adorns the front cover of this substantial and well-illustrated publication. Down the Bright Stream presents full technical reports on excavations (2009-2015) in Tregurra Valley by Cornwall Archaeological Unit. Key…
Excavating the Hebrides
the star of the show is undoubtedly Cladh Hallan in the south of the island, famous for its Bronze Age ‘mummies’, the earliest evidence of deliberate mummification found in Britain.
Secrets of a secluded life: updating the story of the All Saints ‘anchoress’
When an unusual female burial was discovered in the apse of All Saints Church, York, it was interpreted as possibly representing the remains of a religious recluse. Since then, archaeological science and historical research have given new perspectives on the woman’s life, as Carly Hilts reports.
Finds tray – Romano-British putto
This is a Romano-British figurine of a chubby, naked boy, known as a putto. Although discovered in 2019 in Cox Green in Windsor and Maidenhead, it was recently highlighted in the latest Portable Antiquities Scheme annual report. It is made…
Into the Labyrinth: unravelling the myths and archaeology of Minoan Knossos
Myth surrounds the famous Palace of Knossos, but there is much more to the Cretan site than the fabled Minotaur and King Minos. A new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum delves into the archaeology of the Minoan site and the later work that is reshaping Arthur Evans’ controversial interpretations, as Maev Kennedy finds out.
Island lives: art and identity in the Mediterranean
Water may separate the Mediterranean islands from the mainland, but the sea also offers a vital link. Anastasia Christophilopoulou considers how objects from Crete, Cyprus, and Sardinia reveal aspects of shifting island identities over time, and stories of their connections.
Touring the ancient theatres of Epirus, Greece
The mountains and forests of Epirus offer a dramatic backdrop for a tour through the theatres of the Greek region’s ancient cities. Diana Bentley finds stories of a famed oracle and a celebrated victory along the way.
Signature style: the artists behind Maya masterpieces
Recent breakthroughs in the study of Maya hieroglyphs have revealed artist signatures on artefacts long considered to be the work of anonymous artisans. Joanne Pillsbury and Laura Filloy Nadal introduce us to the newly identified sculptors and painters who worked in the Maya royal courts.
Palatial pleasures in Parma
The former palace of the Farnese family in Parma contains no fewer than five cultural institutions. Dalu Jones is our guide to the recently renovated Pilotta complex, where the dukes of Parma put art, archaeology, and theatre to use.
Ashoka and the Maurya Dynasty: the History and Legacy of Ancient India’s Greatest Empire
Review by Robert Harding The ancient Mauryan Empire and its third emperor Ashoka (c.304-232 BC) represent a striking departure for Colleen Taylor Sen. The author’s reputation rests on her series of food books, most notably Curry: a global history. Nevertheless,…
Digging Tell en-Nasbeh, 1929
Between 1926 and 1935, American scholar William F Badè and his team unearthed the remains of a small town at the site of Tell en-Nasbeh in Mandate-era Palestine. Thought to be the biblical town of Mizpah, the site, which flourished…
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East
Review by Diana Bentley The ancient Near East has not always attracted the popular attention it deserves, especially in comparison with other cultures of the surrounding area, like Greece, Rome, and Egypt. This latest work by Amanda H Podany, Professor…