Across 8 Greek island, location of the Loizos Cave archaeological site (6)9 ___ limestone, sedimentary rock made of small grains of calcium carbonate (7)10 Kathleen ___, British archaeologist, author of Ancient Sparta (8)11 Location of a Makah village site in…
The Outer Hebrides are home to over 170 crannogs (small, human-made islands), some of which are proving to be much earlier in date than suspected. Recently published research centred on Loch Bhorgastail has shed detailed light on the make-up of one such site, and has also pioneered an innovative new approach to documenting its above- and underwater remains. CA reports.
In the last couple of years, the rise of artificial intelligence has permeated almost every aspect of society, but (outside exhibitions and other ways of presenting the past) archaeology has remained very much grounded in the physical world. New research,…
When it first took to the skies in 1935, the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator represented a significant leap forward in aircraft design, with its all-metal construction and single low-mounted wing. It was the first plane type in the US fleet with…
Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is famous for its monumental stone sculptures, known as moai. More than 1,000 have been found across the island, and over 95% of these figures were made in Rano Raraku, a quarry on the slopes of…
Digitising Irish towns New technology developed at the University of Bradford has created digital twins of two historic walled towns on the island of Ireland: Kilmallock in Co. Limerick, Ireland (RIGHT), and Derry/Londonderry in Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland. This new…
Underwater archaeology is not all deep-sea diving. Artefacts and historic remains are periodically exposed on the shoreline before vanishing as the tide rises again, and can be found further inland in lakes and other bodies of water. Karen Moule describes the experience – and importance – of documenting these finds, and highlights three initiatives that you can join.
Across 7 Iron Age site at Lake Neuchâtel, discovered in 1857 (2,4)8 Huntress of Greek mythology (8)10 Genre of ancient Greek drama that parodied myths (5,4)11 Egyptian god of the desert and storms (4)12 Epoch of the Palaeogene Period (6)13…
A new 3D digital survey of Skomer Island, located a mile off the coast of Pembrokeshire, has revealed new details of its archaeological sites, allowing the public to appreciate many of them for the first time. The island, which is…
Research in the Bolivian Andes has identified a previously unknown Tiwanaku ceremonial complex. The Tiwanaku civilisation (c.AD 500-1000) was a pre-Inca culture centred around the southern shores of Lake Titicaca, in western Bolivia, but their influence is believed to have…
The face and head of an Iron Age woman whose remains were discovered in Dorset’s Kimmeridge Bay 25 years ago have been reconstructed by an MSc Bioarchaeology student at Bournemouth University. The woman’s skeleton was discovered in 2000, when cliff…
A French-Egyptian team has begun documenting rock carvings and inscriptions south of Aswan that were submerged when the area was flooded to create the Aswan High Dam in the 1970s. Working in the area between the dam and the reservoir,…
REVIEW BY ROB IXER This is a book for stone circle fans. After a brief but succinct account of prehistoric stone circle-building, the stones are described starting at the geographical (and perhaps interest-wise) top in Orkney, around the Ness of…
Researchers working in Venezuela and Colombia are documenting some of the largest prehistoric rock engravings in world. Amy Brunskill spoke to Philip Riris, who led the research, to find out more.
Recent photogrammetry work on Welwyn Roman Baths, Hertfordshire, hopes to aid conservation and enhance public engagement on the site. In March, experts Dr Kris Lockyear and Antonio Reis from UCL Institute of Archaeology conducted the project on the baths, which…
In last month’s ‘Sherds’ column, Chris Catling described the threat to the future of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), so we asked him to tell us more about the work of the Commission, as well as the heritage sector in Wales more generally. Here is his report.
On the outer walls of an old parish church, on the small island of Luing in the Inner Hebrides, are carvings of longships that are thought to date from the 13th century, when Norwegian and Scottish kings were fighting for…
A study just published by an interdisciplinary team from Belgium and France has revealed small changes and ‘touch-ups’ to paintings in Theban tombs, showing that images were often adapted and reworked during their execution, rather than created by means of…
Excavations at Manor Farm in Frindsbury, Kent – in advance of the construction of a Maritime Academy – have revealed more than 800 stone artefacts found within sediments thought to relate to a Middle Pleistocene tributary of the River Medway.…
Other tasks carried out by the team this season included conservation work on the murals of the basilica on site
It appears that this site had been a significant place for local communities for millennia.
The instrument is remarkably well-preserved, and was found in association with medieval pottery dating to between the 12th and 15th centuries.
Glyphs including a serpent amd anthropomorphic figures wearing regalia were revealed using photogrammetry.
Cave diving at the cenotes in Mexico is a magical experience, a never-ending labyrinth of tunnels filled with crystal-clear water where the only limit is how much gas you can carry. With no natural light, and the crazy speleothems (mineral…
Review by George Nash Prehistoric rock art is very much a world phenomenon, with assemblages found in every corner of the globe. To the expert eye, each region has its own unique style, engraving or painting technique, and chronology. Since the…
Halfway between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, the Syrian desert city of Palmyra was once known as the 'Venice of the sands' – a name which reflected not only the magnificence of its architecture but also its importance as a trading centre for the camel caravans which for many centuries carried the riches of East and West along this stretch of the Silk Road.
The results will be shared in spring, in a new episode of Time Team that will air on the ‘Time Team Official’ YouTube Channel.
The fort sits on a sand dune and is thought to have been occupied as early as the 6th century AD
Excavations in Eritrea are revealing early Christian sites from the Kingdom of Aksum. What can these places of worship reveal about cultural connections in the 6th century AD? Gabriele Castiglia, Philippe Pergola, Stefano Bertoldi, Marco Ciliberti, Elie Essa Kas Hanna, Božana Maletic´, and Matteo Pola share the secrets of an extraordinary ecclesiastical complex.
The Phoenicians occupied the coast of the Levant for over 1,000 years, but knowledge of their trade network and practices remains elusive. In 2007, an ancient wreck containing a large cache of ceramic containers was discovered off Malta. This ship proved to be one of only a handful of known Phoenician vessels. Since 2014, further exploration of the site has yielded some very exciting results. Project Director Timmy Gambin and Lucy Woods reveal some of its mysteries, and the challenges of excavating a shipwreck 110m below sea level.
What is it? This engraved stone dating to the early Bronze Age (c.1900-1650 BC) is known as the Saint-Bélec Slab. Made of grey-blue coloured schist, the slab is c.2.2m long, 1.53m wide, and 0.16m thick. New research suggests that the…
What can cutting-edge photographic technology add to our understanding of Orkney’s Neolithic chambered tombs? Georgina Ritchie explores the possibilities of photogrammetry, with contributions from Steve Farrar and Hugo Anderson-Whymark.
The largest excavation undertaken in Leicester for over a decade has shed vivid new light on the city’s early Roman history, as well as revealing evidence of luxurious dwellings, including one of the biggest fragments of mosaic floor found in the city in 150 years. Gavin Speed reports.
Heritage is about more than monuments. It is also about people: how they interacted with the buildings in daily life and how their sense of belonging has shaped them. This is why organisations such as UNESCO were established to protect…