Defending the Demetae I enjoyed the fascinating feature on the wonderful Halberton Roman villa in CA 438. By a happy coincidence, the day before, I had visited Carmarthenshire Museum, which has recently renovated its galleries, including the Roman display for…
This Stonehenge paperback will sell, probably deservedly, very well. Its text gives a suitable level of detail, while also reflecting current mainstream (and therefore English Heritage) views, and hence is correctly pitched for its audience – namely the interested bystander,…
Lead isotopes have frequently been used in archaeology to determine the provenance of metal objects. More recently, they have also been helping to assess mobility in humans and other animals. This form of analysis is still in its infancy, however,…
This year’s CA Live! was our biggest conference yet, with around 600 people coming together at UCL’s Institute of Education in London to share the latest news about the past. For those who weren’t there, here is a round-up of what went on.
In CA 415, we reported on new scientific analysis suggesting that the origins of the Stonehenge Altar Stone lay hundreds of miles from Salisbury Plain, in the Orcadian Basin of north-east Scotland. The story has already moved on, however, with recently published research narrowing the search further, ruling out Orkney itself as a potential source. Rob Ixer, Richard Bevins, and Nick Pearce bring us up to date.
REVIEW BY ROB IXER This is the second of two recent, non-mainstream Stonehenge books (the other is Mike Pitts’ publication on the technicalities of building the circle), both of which must be on the required reading list for this monument.…
Cutting-edge scientific research indicates that a stone at the centre of Stonehenge may have travelled hundreds of miles from north-east Scotland to Salisbury Plain. Carly Hilts reports.
Radiocarbon dating at Woodhenge has revealed that it was built at almost exactly the same time as the circle at neighbouring Stonehenge. This exciting new data shows that Stonehenge was not a one-off in its original landscape. Woodhenge lies just…
I have now examined the archaeology of every county in Britain bar one – Wiltshire. This was no accident, for I have a confession to make: Wiltshire’s archaeology terrifies me.
For a brief snapshot of the mid-19th century, flower festivals drew thousands of visitors to Stonehenge, long before the Neolithic monument became a popular tourist attraction in its own right. Carly Hilts visited the site and spoke to Louise Crawley, Brian Edwards, and Jennifer Wexler to learn more about this colourful but little-known episode of Salisbury Plain’s past.
REVIEW BY ROB IXER After a slight temporal dip, we are back riding up on to a crest of the sine curve called ‘popular Stonehenge book publication’ (sadly, for a sun-orientated temple, this appears out of phase with the solar…
The latest on exhibitions, acquisitions, and key decisions.
The team found that the modified stone cobbles had been used with a percussive action – either as stationary anvils or hammers – and that some preserved traces of gold contemporary with their use.
What does Stonehenge have to do with Christmas? How did the Romans celebrate midwinter? Was Jesus really born on 25 December? How did the Medieval church merge the celebration of the Nativity with earlier pagan tradition? Why did Parliament abolish Christmas in the 17th century? What are the origins of Christmas trees, carols, and crackers? And who is Santa Claus?
Traces of gold residue have been identified on five stone grave goods from a Bronze Age burial in Wiltshire.
In the middle-to-late Neolithic in southern and eastern Britain a number of important monumental landscapes were host to a series of cremation cemeteries, the deposition of the dead in some cases being a catalyst and inspiration for the elaborate monument-building and…
A new exhibition at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre explores striking similarities between the stone monuments built by two unconnected but contemporary cultures, 6,000 miles apart. Carly Hilts went to find out more.
In the decades since the cracking of the human genome, the study of ancient DNA – known as archaeogenetics – has had a dramatic effect on our understanding of the distant past. The analysis of genetic material preserved in archaeological…
As autumn approaches, there are many fantastic opportunities to get involved in history, heritage, and archaeology around the UK, including new exhibitions, events, and conferences. There are also still plenty of online resources available if you’re looking for ways to get your heritage fix at home, ranging from new virtual museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the options available.
A fascinating exhibition opening at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre this autumn shines new light on a remarkable group of ancient stone circles. Spread across 17 sites, and mostly dating from c.2500 to 300 BC, these extraordinary monuments served for centuries as the focus for ceremonies associated with solar alignments and the seasons, as well as with death and the afterlife. Such is their importance that these stone circles were even granted UNESCO World Heritage status last summer. Even so, they will be unknown to many here in Britain.
Recent geochemical research has found that most of the sarsen stones come from the same geographical area
A new exhibition at the British Museum explores the landscape that Stonehenge emerged from, and the social, cultural, and technological transformations it witnessed. Neil Wilkin and Jennifer Wexler told CA more.
As the UK's most famous ancient monument, it is a sight familiar to millions around the world. But despite its popularity both as a tourist attraction and as an icon of Britishness, there is a sense in which Stonehenge has always felt strangely isolated.
Twenty years ago, one of the richest Bell Beaker burials ever found in Europe was discovered close to Stonehenge. At that time, DNA analysis was not sufficiently advanced to learn more about the individual, dubbed ‘the Amesbury Archer’ – but the intervening decades have seen significant scientific advances that have shed illuminating light on this enigmatic figure, as well as his relationship to a younger man buried nearby. Andrew Fitzpatrick, Jacqueline McKinley, Alistair Barclay, Ian Armit, Iñigo Olalde, and David Reich report on what has been revealed.
Which 12th-century chronicler suggested that Stonehenge had originally been transported from Ireland to Salisbury Plain with help from the wizard Merlin?
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
Cutting-edge photographic techniques have shed illuminating light on a series of carved chalk plaques excavated close to Stonehenge. What have they revealed about artistic endeavour in Neolithic Britain? CA explores a new study by Bob Davis, Phil Harding, and Matt Leivers.
This autumn, specialists have been working to conserve some of the Stonehenge sarsens, the latest in a series of initiatives stretching back to the dawn of the 20th century. CA Editor Carly Hilts spoke to Heather Sebire to find out more.
The idea that there was no pre-existing Roman settlement on the site of medieval Venice is hard to credit when you realise that the Italian peninsula was heavily populated under the Roman Empire
A Victorian 3D image thought to be the earliest-known family photograph to have been taken at Stonehenge has been identified in the collection of Queen guitarist Dr Brian May. CA went to see the ‘stereo view’ on display at the monument’s visitor centre.
This summer, the UK gained a new World Heritage site in the form of the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, but also saw Liverpool demoted from this status. CA considers these recent changes, and takes a tour of other UNESCO-protected sites within the UK.
Britain pulled out the red carpet last weekend, as world leaders arrived in Cornwall for this year's G7 summit. It wasn't the first time in history that power and pleasure have been so mixed, however. Indeed, last week's gathering would have seemed strangely familar to the 6,000 Englishmen and women who 501 years earlier accompanied their king, Henry VIII, as he crossed the Channel to join his French counterpart, Francis I, at the lavish three-week summit-cum-carnival known as the Field for the Cloth of Gold.
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.
Excavations begin along the A303 Preliminary investigatons by Wessex Archaeology in advance of the planned A303 tunnel scheme are in progress. So far they have undertaken more than 462ha of geophysical survey and 440 evaluation trenches, uncovering diverse finds in…
Recent research has potentially identified an intriguing new connection between Stonehenge and a partially dismantled stone circle in south-west Wales – furthering the connection between these two areas during the Neolithic period. Previous work on the origins of Stonehenge’s smaller…
Archaeological investigations just outside Salisbury have uncovered echoes of early Bronze Age activity, including the burial of an infant who was laid to rest with a scaled-down beaker. Rachel McMullan reports.