Excavating the CA archive
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.
UK
Resurrecting Imber: Exploring relics of a requisitioned village
When the Salisbury Plain village of Imber was taken over by the War Department in 1943, its inhabitants all departed, never to return. What has recent archaeological work revealed about the life and death of a long-lived Wiltshire community? Richard Osgood reports.
Current Archaeology Live! 2024
In partnership with: Current Archaeology Live! 2024 is almost here, but it is not too late to book your place. The conference, held in partnership with University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, will be on 24 February (Saturday) at the…
Museum news
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions
Sherds CA 408
Christopher Catling, Contributing Editor for CA, delves into the eccentricities of the heritage world.
The Pole Society
The Pole Society is the delightful invention of a group of satirists who have taken to the internet to poke fun at Tripadvisor by championing the merits of a new tourist attraction in Gloucestershire’s Forest of Dean: the ‘Cinderford Rusty…
UK news in brief
A round-up of some of the latest archaeology news from around the UK.
A new chronology for Dinas Powys
The hillfort of Dinas Powys, located about 9km south-west of Cardiff, was first excavated by Leslie Alcock in the 1950s. While the excavation and its subsequent report were pioneering for their time and led to Dinas Powys being widely considered…
Finding the lost monastery of Deer
After almost 15 years of searching, the lost monastery of Deer may have finally been found, only 80m from the ruins of Deer Abbey in Aberdeenshire. The search began in 2009 with a series of evaluations and small-scale excavations in…
Becoming Roman – Silchester, a town of change
A new exhibition exploring Silchester, an important Roman town in Hampshire, and the long-running excavations that have brought its remains to light once more, will open later this month. Michael Fulford previews some of its key themes.
An ancient jigsaw puzzle: Reconstructing a Roman arm guard from Trimontium Fort in the Scottish Borders
A piece of armour that would have been worn by a legionary stationed on Rome’s northern frontier almost 2,000 years ago has been painstakingly pieced back together. Bethan Bryan, Fraser Hunter, and Richard Abdy share the latest thinking on this rare object.
Medieval moated farm discovered in Tewkesbury
Work by Cotswold Archaeology has revealed the evolution of a farmstead known as Cowfield Farm, from its medieval origins to its redevelopment in the 18th century. When the centuries-old brick farmhouse at Cowfield Farm burnt down during a fire in…
Finds Tray – Roman brooch
This is a Roman brooch made of copper alloy and dating to c.AD 60-100. It was recently found by a metal-detectorist on cultivated land near Sleaford in Lincolnshire, and has been designated as a find of county or local importance.…
Science Notes: Investigating race and mortality during the Black Death
Past studies of medieval populations have often glossed over any heterogeneity that probably existed in that period, often depicting a majority ‘white’ society. While this may be true of more rural settings, urban ones, particularly in places like London which…
English Orchards: A landscape history
REVIEW BY AB Until the mid-20th century, England was covered with orchards. But these quintessential features of the historic landscape did not simply spring into being: the story of England’s orchards is filled with generations of people who cultivated them.…
London’s Waterfront and Its World, 1666-1800
REVIEW BY KK With additional contributions by I M Betts, Lyn Blackmore, Julian Bowsher, Jacqui Pearce, and Alan Pipe, this latest book on London by John Schofield and Stephen Freeth offers a comprehensive assessment of life on the Thames during…
Road to the Manor: Excavations at Graven Hill, Oxfordshire, 2015-2016
REVIEW BY JACQUELINE PITT This monograph successfully compiles the results of a series of excavations into a comprehensive chronology of a former MOD site south of Bicester. Evidence for prehistoric to modern activity was identified, along with a significant medieval…
Echolands: A journey in search of Boudica
REVIEW BY CHRISTOPHER EVANS Thoroughly researched and well-written, this is simply a very good read, one informed by its author’s long experience of archaeological fieldwork. In it, Mackay tracks down the route of Boudica and her rebel followers, as well…
Mesolithic fish trap found in the Severn Estuary
A research team from the University of Reading, led by Professor Martin Bell, has been working for the last 33 years to record eroding Mesolithic archaeology from the seabed of the Severn Estuary at Goldcliff, near Newport (see CA 331…
Anglo-Saxon cemetery revealed in Lincolnshire
Another Anglo-Saxon cemetery associated with Bronze Age monuments was recently uncovered by Wessex Archaeology in Lincolnshire. The discovery was made during excavations in advance of the National Grid’s ambitious new infrastructure project, the Viking Link, which will allow for the…
Bronze Age barrows and an Anglo-Saxon cemetery discovered in Hampshire
Excavations this past summer have revealed the remains of three Bronze Age barrows, as well as a large Anglo-Saxon cemetery in New Alresford, Hampshire. Led by PCA Winchester and the environmental consulting group RPS, the project was carried out last…
World news: From burials in the Arctic to Beavers at Bilzingsleben
Burials in the Arctic? A recent re-evaluation of the Tainiaro site in Finnish Lapland, c.80km south of the Arctic Circle, suggests that it could be one of the most northernly prehistoric cemeteries known in Europe. Although the site was first…
Current Archaeology’s January Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home
There is a great range of opportunities to get involved in history, heritage, and archaeology this year, with new exhibitions, lectures, activities, and more coming up over the next few months. Or, if you would prefer to get your history fix from the comfort of your home, there are plenty of ways to do so, from virtual tours of museums and heritage sites to recently digitised resources and new radio and TV shows. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the latest options.
Oxford Archaeology at 50: Exploring half a century of excavations
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.
Excavating the CA archive
Joe Flatman explores over half a century of reports from the past.
Finds tray – Medieval ampulla
This is a medieval ampulla, probably dating to c.1350-1500, that was recently found near Titchmarch in Northamptonshire. It is made of lead and has a bulbous body that tapers into an inverted trapezoidal upper portion with an integrated handle on…
Recent storms reveal further burials at the Wemyss Caves
Two burials were discovered this past December along the coastline in front of the Wemyss Caves in Fife. While investigations are ongoing, it is thought – based on the date of other burials that have previously been found nearby –…
Stunning details of the Harpole Treasure revealed by conservation
More than a year after the discovery of one of the most significant early medieval female burials in Britain (see CA 395), expert conservation work has revealed the artistry of the grave goods that were buried with a young woman…
Caithness Broch Project moves forward
The Caithness Broch Project (CBP), a charity aiming to build a replica of an Iron Age broch, has finally found – after an extensive search – the perfect location for their ‘Big Broch Build’ in an area north of Latheron,…
The Swansea Canal: Navigating the history of an industrial artery
In 1789, an opinion column in The Times hailed Britain’s canal-building achievements as a matter of national pride – contrasting them with the revolutionary turmoil in France. Aristocrats and entrepreneurs were losing their heads across the Channel, while in Britain they were busy building and funding a canal network that would serve the rapid growth of the nation as an industrial power. In his new book on the Swansea Canal, Stephen Hughes looks in detail at the archaeology and history of one such pioneering enterprise, as Chris Catling reports.
CA 407 Letters – January
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
People of Ranelagh: Repopulating a forgotten settlement-cemetery in Co. Roscommon
Archaeological investigations ahead of a road improvement scheme near Roscommon town have uncovered traces of more than 1,000 years of medieval life, as well as a major multi-generation cemetery. Carly Hilts spoke to Shane Delaney, Eileen Murphy, and Martin Jones to find out more.
New Roman garden opens at Butser Ancient Farm
A new Roman garden and mosaic has been unveiled at Butser Ancient Farm, an open-air museum in East Hampshire that hosts a number of historical building recon-structions, spanning from prehistory through to the early medieval period. The garden was funded…
World news: From ritual evidence to the Herculaneum scrolls
Ritual evidence from ancient Arabia Recent research into two different mustatils – prehistoric open-air structures seen across northern Arabia – has found that they may have been used for communal ritual activities during the late 6th millennium BC. Each of…
New evidence for the changing importance of cattle husbandry in Ireland
Although cattle were introduced to Ireland during the Neolithic period (specifically, by at least 3800-3700 BC), archaeological and documentary evidence indicate that early medieval communities in Ireland put increased value on cattle husbandry, so much so that it became the…
Final year of excavation at Rendlesham reveals exciting new discoveries
The third and final season of excavation at Rendlesham, the East Anglian royal settlement near Sutton Hoo, has revealed the foundations of at least three new structures, including a possible pre-Christian temple or cult house, as well as illuminating the…