UK

Power of place: Illuminating Iron Age hillforts in Wales

In CA 388 we asked, ‘what are hillforts for?’, and Toby Driver’s new book Hillforts of Iron Age Wales has some suggestions. Based on his many years spent recording these monuments on the ground and from the air, he concludes that no single explanation fits every example. Rather, like terraces of seemingly identical Victorian or Edwardian houses, external similarities disguise the many different functions, ideas, and ways of life that hillforts supported, as Chris Catling reports.

The Hidden Valley: Finding Anglo-Saxons in rural Lincolnshire

More than 20 years ago, CA 175 described the investigation of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in Winterton Vale. Since then, interpretations of the finds have changed and understanding of their significance has grown. Now, with the excavation report about to be published and the full data made available online, Kevin Leahy shares the illuminating early medieval story that has come to light.

Current Archaeology’s October Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home

There are lots of great opportunities to get stuck into history and heritage this autumn, whether you’re looking for conferences, exhibitions, or archaeological days out. If you would rather get involved at home, though, there are a wider variety of resources on offer, from new virtual museums and digital tours of heritage sites to podcasts, blogs, TV shows, and more. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the options available.

Burma to Myanmar

The UK’s first major exhibition to focus on the history of Myanmar (also known as Burma) is set to open at the British Museum next month, marking the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence. In this preview, Carly Hilts explores what will be on show.

Finds Tray – Eprouvette

This unusual object was recently found in a garden near Boldre in the New Forest. While its function was a bit of a mystery when the finder first brought it to the Finds Liaison Officer to be recorded, it was…

National Churches Trust

Many societies are concerned with a specific aspect of church heritage (monuments, sculptures, or wall paintings, for example) but the National Churches Trust (NCT) is arguably the most holistic, raising money for places of worship of all denominations and in…

World news

Cooking curries in Vietnam 2,000 years ago Microscopic analysis of plant remains from 12 grinding stone tools found at the site of Óc Eo, in southern Vietnam, has provided new insight into the spice trade in the region between 2,000…

Whales in Anglo-Saxon England

Two recent studies have assessed a large quantity of worked whale-bone recovered from Anglo-Saxon contexts in Southampton (Hamwic), Ipswich, and Flixborough, finding that each site may have employed different strategies for obtaining cetacean remains. Whether whales were actively hunted or…

Bronze Age burial found at Iron Age site in Dorset

Staff and students from Bournemouth University, together with local volunteers, have been excavating Iron Age settlements around Winterborne Kingston in Dorset as part of the Durotriges Project since 2009. This past excavation season, however, while investigating an enclosed Iron Age…

Multi-period finds at Faughan Hill

A recent publication in the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society () has brought to light a major archaeological complex – spanning in date from the Neolithic to the Iron Age – on Faughan Hill in County Meath, placing it within…

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Ballynahatty: Reconstructing a rare Neolithic timber monument

Ballynahatty, in County Down, Northern Ireland, is an astonishing site that deserves to be far better known for what it tells us about Neolithic timber monuments. At the core of the site is a series of deep post pits that once held 471 tree-sized wooden posts. The newly published excavation report seeks to reconstruct the original appearance of the monument and tell the story of its creation, use, and deliberate destruction, as Chris Catling reports.

Before and after Hadrian’s Wall: Living on the Roman frontier east of the Pennines

How did the construction of Hadrian’s Wall affect the communities living in its shadow? In CA 277, we reported on the apparent depopulation of Iron Age settlements in lowland Northumberland and Tyne & Wear after the Roman frontier was fortified c.AD 122. Now, Philippa Hunter, Rupert Lotherington, Clive Waddington, and Nick Hodgson describe how recent research and two developer-funded excavations in County Durham and Northumberland add to our understanding of the Wall’s social and economic impact.