Archaeologists have discovered four military mass graves from the 18th and 19th centuries during rescue excavations in advance of the construction of the D11 highway between the towns of Jaroměř and Trutnov in the Czech Republic. The first mass grave…
A well-worn joke goes that archaeologists find their careers in ruins. This is sometimes literally true: at least since the 1970s, and in cities on all inhabited continents, crises sparked by deindustrialisation, decay, and dereliction have been an assured portent of large-scale excavations. It is not just that when business goes down, archaeology goes in.
Excavations in coastal Ecuador have uncovered an intriguing burial belonging to a woman who appears to have died under violent circumstances before being interred with a striking selection of grave goods. Buen Suceso is a site primarily from the Valdivia…
My ‘great’ site this month comprises two sites – actually, two ships – linked by common stories of survival against the odds. In September 1992, the remains of a boat dating to the Middle Bronze Age were discovered in central Dover by workers constructing part of the A20 link road leading to Folkestone.
Obsolete photographic formats can hold valuable or even unique information about ancient sites and artefacts. Such archives are, though, at increasing risk of being thrown out for being of no further use in a digital age. What can be done? Janice Kinory and Katharina Ulmschneider introduce us to a solution.
Samar Ahmed Abu-Dahab explores recent excavations at the Graeco-Roman Tanis Street cemetery site.
This year’s CA Live! conference was our biggest yet, with more than 500 people coming together at UCL’s Institute of Education in London to share the latest news about the past. Here is a round-up of what went on.
With one of the UK’s oldest commercial units recently celebrating its 50th birthday, Carly Hilts spoke to its founding director, Tom Hassall, and current CEO, Ken Welsh, about how the archaeological profession has changed over this period – and what the future might hold for the ways in which we engage with the past.
We are pleased to share the winners of year’s CA Awards, announced on 25 February at Current Archaeology Live! 2023.
On the edge of a former prehistoric river channel, archaeologists found mammal bones, plant fossils, insect remains, and mollusc shells, along with stone tools, indicating that humans were exploiting this resource at least 500,000 years ago.
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
One discovery in Essex above all others has regularly hit the archaeological headlines since the early 2000s – the spectacular Saxon princely burial from Prittlewell, near Southend-on-Sea. This was... one of the most exciting finds made in Britain in this period.
While investigating a site near Clifton in the south-western suburbs of Nottingham, Wessex Archaeology found evidence of a late Iron Age/early Romano-British farmstead, as well as the remains of two of its residents.
Large infrastructure projects have led to some remarkable discoveries down the years – think of Heathrow Terminal 5, as well as the more recent work along the route of HS2
Before development-led archaeology was enshrined in law, many archaeological features were destroyed by construction projects without being documented – so, in the 1970s, a number of ‘rescue’ groups were set up to help record these remains before they were lost forever. The Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit marks its 50th anniversary this year, and Brian Philp guides us through some of its trials and triumphs to-date.
Devastating floods in 2009 wreaked havoc in Cumbria; Lynda Howard, however, found a silver lining amongst the clouds in the discovery of enigmatic Roman remains, exposed by the deluge.
The team behind the ‘Exeter: A Place in Time’ project tell us about the sites that were excavated in the last 50 years.
The film The Dig has shown that public interest can be engaged by a vintage excavation, and this book likewise recounts the results and evokes the mood of three seasons of digging, in this case in the 1960s. We cannot…
Sheffield Castle is a rare archaeological treat put together by a university team working with local authorities and professional archaeologists. It is about a place that has topographical and historical meaning thanks to recent well-designed rescue excavations and sleuth-like digging…
Gloucester: the Roman forum and post-Roman sequence at the city centre H E Hurst Gloucester Archaeological Publications, £25 ISBN 978-0948386022 Review Richard Hodges
The breathtaking monuments on Rousay, Orkney, have made an internationally celebrated contribution to archaeology. Now, with marine erosion increasingly threatening the island’s coastal heritage, a team has been put together to investigate sites in danger of being lost forever. Steve Dockrill and Julie Bond explain how this work is overturning long-held beliefs.
Rapid erosion has revealed spectacular Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeology on the coast of Westray, Orkney. Contemporary with the Ness of Brodgar’s religious monuments but with a domestic focus, what can this settlement tell us about daily life in prehistoric Orkney? Hazel Moore and Graeme Wilson explain.
Erosion poses a constant threat to Scotland’s rich coastal heritage. Tom Dawson and Joanna Hambly reveal how knowledge is being saved from the waves.