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• Glass beads shed light on Pre-Columbian trade
• X-ray of a pregnant mummy
• Constantine the Great reunited with a messing finger
radiocarbon dating
Letters from CA – August 2021
Your view on past Current Archaeology issues.
Count your chickens: a new ageing technique for domesticated fowl
The team from the University of Exeter applied their formula to 1,366 domestic fowl skeletons found across Britain, ranging in date from the Iron Age through to the modern day.
Road to the past: exploring the prehistoric heart of Galloway
The construction of a new bypass on the A75 near Dunragit has uncovered a wealth of archaeological finds, illuminating around 8,000 years of human activity within a rich and complex historic landscape on the south-west coast of Scotland. With the project’s findings now published in full, Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts surveys some of the key discoveries.
News in brief: Shigir idol, Emperor Constantine, ancient tattoos
New dating of the Shigir Idol, the oldest known wooden monumental statue in the world, has revealed that it was created even earlier than previously thought.
The Maltese Archipelago at the Dawn of History
This, the third volume to tackle the legacy data from Malta (Tanasi et al. 2011; 2015), effectively lays the groundwork from which to launch renewed archaeological investigations. Its reinterpretation of past excavations highlights the fragile nature of the archaeological remains…
Prehistoric structures in Saudi Arabia
At the excavated mustatil, archaeologists uncovered an assemblage of cattle horns and skull fragments interpreted as an offering, perhaps related to a ‘cattle cult’, further supporting the ‘ritual’ interpretation of these sites.
Cloggs Cave: a temporary hunting camp or secluded retreat and source of magical supplies?
How do we interpret archaeological sites? Excavations conducted 50 years ago at Cloggs Cave, in south-eastern Australia, revealed what seemed to be a temporary hunting camp. Fresh research, though, points to this cavity having been used as a secluded place of magic and danger, accessed only by a few powerful individuals. Russell Mullett and Bruno David told Current World Archaeology's Matthew Symonds what has changed.
Venetian beads found in arctic Alaska
Eight of the ten beads were found at Punyik Point, a site in the Brooks Range, located on ancient trade routes from the Bering Strait to the Arctic Ocean.
Dating the Plain of Jars
It is evident that the sites were reused over time, well into the historic period, and had retained some kind of ritual significance when the later burials took place in the 9th-13th century AD.
25,000-year-old human genome recovered from cave soil
Further analysis revealed the genome derived from a female individual, or multiple females.
Oldest shark attack victim discovered in Japan
'Based on the character and distribution of the tooth marks, the most likely species responsible was either a tiger shark or white shark.'
Neolithic hunter-gatherer identified as the oldest plague victim
The high bacterial load of plague bacterium in their bloodstream indicates it was likely transmitted through the bite of an infected rodent, resulting in septicemia plague.
Cornish connections in Bronze Age Germany
This identification of Cornish gold in Central Europe indicates that there was probably contact between these two regions during the Bronze Age, and perhaps even a well-established trade route.
Examining a shackled Roman burial at Great Casterton
The skeleton of a Roman man with iron shackles locked around his ankles has been described as ‘perhaps the most convincing candidate for the remains of a Roman slave yet to be found in Britain’. Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts reports on recently published analysis illuminating this unique burial.
Medieval village uncovered near Netherton
Underneath the foundation level was an eclectic assemblage of artefacts, including a whetstone of fine-grained sandstone, a spindle whorl made of cannel coal, a possible gaming piece or counter crafted from a sherd of green glaze pottery, two 17th-century coins, and an iron dagger.
Centuries-old beeswax candle discovered at Norwegian glacier
As part of the project ‘Secrets of the Ice’, the Innlandet County-based Glacier Archaeology Programme (GAP) have been conducting surveys at Lendbreen since 2011, when the ice began melting away and exposing remarkable finds dating from the Roman Iron Age to the late medieval period.
Lost and found: Bjerringhøj burial
Textile traces Sometime in the late 19th century, the remains of an elite individual that had been excavated from the Viking Age burial mound at Bjerringhøj, Denmark, in 1868 were lost. According to a recent paper in Antiquity, Charlotte Rimstad…
Striking gold in Germany
The discovery of the gold object in an Early Bronze Age grave was unusual, as precious metals are rare in the region at this date.
Bringing an Anglo-Saxon brooch back to life
Given the prominent location of this woman’s grave, overlooking the Ock valley, and the elaborate items she was buried with, it is likely she was a member of a leading family.
The World Before Us: how science is revealing a new story of our human origins
After decades of slowly piecing together the puzzle of our human origins, the last ten years have seen a gigantic leap forward in our knowledge, spurred by advances in aDNA (see CA 338), radiocarbon dating, and other areas of archaeological…
Carmarthenshire’s missing monument: how one of the biggest excavations in Wales uncovered a long-lost henge
The installation of the South Wales Gas Pipeline allowed archaeologists to investigate a 317km corridor stretching from the Pembrokeshire Coast to Gloucestershire. Their finds have illuminated more than 10,000 years of human history, including the previously unknown remains of Britain’s most south-westerly Neolithic henge. Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts reports.
Archaeology: Western science or global practice?
Delving into ancient sites to illuminate the past is generally seen as a Western innovation. But just how novel is this approach? Excavating in Papua New Guinea has prompted Chris Urwin to make the case for many different archaeologies.
Australia’s ancient rock art
Researchers in Australia have used wasp nests on a cave wall to identify the earliest known example of in situ rock art in the country: a painting of a kangaroo created over 17,000 years ago.
News in brief: Neanderthals and Waterloo
A quick round-up of news stories from around the globe, including a study of how Neanderthals spoke, an analysis of a chesnut tree from the Battle of Waterloo, and the discovery of stone artefacts in South America dating to c. 24,000 years ago.
Cerne Abbas Giant is an Anglo-Saxon creation, study confirms
Is the Cerne Abbas Giant a prehistoric creation honouring a fertility god, or perhaps even a crude representation of Oliver Cromwell?
A detective story: rediscovering elite Viking burial remains
The grave goods included two iron axes, a bronze kettle, and metres of lavish textiles embroidered with silver, gold, and silk threads, all suggesting this was the grave of a high-status, elite individual.
Neolithic salt production at Street House?
Many of these characteristics bear a close resemblance to other salt-production sites in Britain from the Bronze and Iron Ages, and are features in common with known Neolithic salterns from the Continent.
Connecting the dots: analysing skeletal remains with limited context
Overall, these results seem to be consistent with lay individuals who may have entered into a monastic life as children and subsequently gained access to a higher-status diet.
Digging Dunragit’s prehistoric past
If these post-holes form part of this larger complex, it would mean the entire site extends for 2.5km across the landscape, making in one of the most significant prehistoric ceremonial clusters in Britain, perhaps on a par with those at the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney, Kilmartin Glen in Argyll, and even on Salisbury Plain.
Arabia’s mustatils identified as the earliest monumental landscape
The discovery of cattle horns and skull fragments during the excavation has been interpreted as an apparent offering, and as confirmation that the structures were built for a ritual, cultic, or religious purpose.
New dating for Australia’s ancient paintings
While the kangaroo is the oldest known painting in Australia so far, there may even be older paintings yet to be discovered.
Rabbits dig up prehistoric finds on Welsh island
Evidence of Late Mesolithic and Bronze activity has been discovered on a Welsh island.
Dig finds 6,000-year-old salt production site in Yorkshire
The discovery includes a trench containing three hearths and hundreds of pottery fragments, as well as stone tools and a storage pit – all evidence of salt production.
Illuminating St Kilda’s Iron Age inhabitants
A newly published report from GUARD Archaeology has revealed evidence for the Iron Age inhabitation of St Kilda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and isolated archipelago located 64km west of the Outer Hebrides.
Unique spearhead sheds light on Bronze Age Jersey
The largest and most-complete late Bronze Age spearhead to be found in the Channel Islands has been discovered in Jersey, sparking questions about the ritual practices of the prehistoric islanders.