Chedworth Roman Villa, near Cirencester, has been open to visitors since its discovery 158 years ago – but, until today, the site never had a formal academic publication. A new monograph has now drawn together decades of research, as Simon Esmonde Cleary, Jason Wood, Emma Durham, Martin Papworth, and Julie Reynolds report.
Non-conformist chapels and meeting houses have greatly enriched our townscapes, though we have been slow to recognise their merits. Indeed, the late Princess Margaret, when opening the Keele office of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of…
Under normal circumstances, archaeologists tend to report on ancient ceramics, discussing the age, condition, colour/lustre, whether it is glazed or unglazed, sometimes focusing on the petrology of the fabric. To understand the petrology element, Quinn’s book is an essential reference…
Ever fancied a behind-the-scenes tour of Hadrian’s Wall? While there are many ways to explore its Roman past on the page or in the field, securing an insider’s peek at the day-to-day management of the monument has always been more…
to highight Langley’s contribution, the film underplays or completely omits the work of the many female academics who played a key role in the project. Jo Appleby does appear in some scenes, but others like Turi King, Deirdre O’Sullivan, and Lin Foxhall are absent.
A new exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands provides poignant and powerful insights into the seven centuries when London hosted more public executions that anywhere else in Britain. Carly Hilts reports.
Odin is a war god, fomenting conflict to see who is worthy of entering his hall, Valhalla, and ultimately fighting at Ragnarök (the events, including a battle, at the end of the world). But he is also a god of magic and wisdom, something he is always seeking
A newly discovered hoard of gold was buried in Vindelev in the 6th century. Why? And what can its regal riches reveal about power and religion in Denmark before the Vikings? Mads Ravn shares what we know so far.
As the British Museum marks the 200th anniversary of the decoding of the Rosetta Stone in a new exhibition, Lindsay Fulcher talks to its curator, Ilona Regulski, about the two men who worked to decipher its text, what it revealed, and the powerful role of the scribes who created these petrified books.
Review by Eugenia Ellanskaya Why do we spend what makes up almost 20 per cent of our life being children? What is the purpose of our incredibly drawn-out pregnancies and post-birth investment into our offspring? These are just some of…
Gilbert was one of the first Americans – of any ethnicity – to undertake archaeological work in Greece. There, he is likely to have met Heinrich Schliemann, rediscoverer of Troy, and certainly he did groundbreaking excavation work on the neighbourhoods of Athens
The presence of ancient Greece and Rome can be felt in many places in the early history of the United States of America. Lucia Marchini speaks to Sean Burrus and Emilie Johnson to find out how Americans like Thomas Jefferson were putting antiquity to use as a new nation was forged.
What Carter and his Egyptian team found at the bottom of the stairs and along a short corridor stunned the world, of course – especially those countries barely beginning to recover from the dreadful losses of the First World War.
One archaeological milestone this year is the centenary of the founding of the Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan (DAFA) in 1922. Their century of research has included investigations at Aï Khanoum, a Hellenistic city on the banks of the Oxus…
Review by Sadie Watson Scholars of Roman London might wait years for a major synthesis such as Dominic Perring’s London in the Roman World to be published. This is hardly surprising when you consider the amount of research that has…
As a new exhibition opens at the Stonehenge visitor centre, curator and archaeologist Susan Greaney explores the incredible artistry and ingenuity of people living during Japan’s Jomon period and the parallels to their contemporaries in Britain and Ireland.
Enheduanna, high priestess at the ancient city of Ur, is thought to be the world’s first named author. She was a poetic innovator, but she was not alone in Mesopotamian history as a prominent or a literate woman, as Lucia Marchini learns from Sidney Babcock.
If there is a challenger to Piddington’s crown as the ‘prime’ site of Northamptonshire, then the multi-period site of Raunds in the north-east of the county, with its intriguing history of early medieval and later settlement, is a strong contender.
Review by Graham Keevill The Historic Towns Trust was established in 1965 as part of the International Commission for European Towns to publish analytical maps of our historic urban centres. The early publications in the 1960s-1970s were multi-town volumes covering…
Review by Andrew Tibbs The Antonine Wall in Falkirk District is the culmination of more than 35 years of archaeological research and excavation along Scotland’s Roman wall by the local authority: the Keeper of Archaeology and Local History in Falkirk,…
I was reminded of his contempt for journalism during the summer, when the BBC and scores of newspapers that consider themselves serious reported that the drought was so severe that the source of the River Thames had dried up.
The Hardmans’ House, Liverpool
Review by George Nash L ittered throughout much of southern Britain are stark reminders of the later prehistoric landscape: the Iron Age hill enclosure (or hillfort). As the generic name – ‘hill enclosure’ – suggests, these enigmatic features are located around…
What is it about Ministry of Works signage that motivates so many people to share images via social media? Partly it is just the fact of their survival, as reminders of a simpler age of heritage tourism before the era…
Review by Timothy Darvill Using archaeological sites and museum collections in new and imaginative ways to improve people’s wellbeing has become a significant theme in recent years. This wide-ranging volume of essays provides a welcome addition to the fast-growing literature…
Review by KK. This thought-provoking book reimagines how we approach maritime archaeology – demonstrating that it is not solely for the adventurous diver but can, and should, be practised from the comfort of dry land. Specifically, by examining all of…
This is the terminal of a medieval staff, which was recently discovered by a metal-detectorist near St Mary in the Marsh, Kent. Many similar objects have been identified over the centuries across England – including several examples recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
Recent debate about women’s roles in the Ice Age raises questions about how much can be said about everyday lives in this era. Elle Clifford and Paul Bahn examine the evidence for who did what in the Palaeolithic.
Barbara Gai recounts the discovery of the Embalming Cache KV54 and its astonishing contents.
Review by George Nash. Throughout prehistoric Europe, there are significant areas where rock art was commissioned, executed, consumed, and abandoned. One of these is southern Scandinavia. Here, during the later prehistoric period, ancient artists provided a sometimes- cryptic insight into…
Numerous ancient stone circles are known in Japan, but how and why were these monuments built? Simon Kaner examines what these enigmatic structures can tell us about a key period of Japanese prehistory.
Saudi Arabia is a paradise for researching engraved rock art (see ‘Saudi Arabian rock art’ in CWA 102). In March 2022, I returned to the Saudi provinces of Najran and ‘Asir. In the latter, the exploration of Wadi al-Khayyur, located…
The city of Narbonne in southern France has opened a brand new archaeological museum. Roger Wilson is our guide.
One common motif is that of a knight in armour engaging in combat with a snail. Another is that of the killer rabbit, shown wielding sword, axe, or bow and arrow as it fights against those hunting it.
What is it? This small, carved figurine depicting a falconer was discovered in Oslo, Norway. The object, made of bone, antler, or walrus tooth, is 7.5cm long, with a flat, oval cross-section. The lower half of the figurine is hollow,…
The human ape, with our big, social brain, is well suited to a life of dense social interaction. So, when faced with limited resources and growing populations, similar solutions tend to present themselves – in very different corners of the planet.