World news in brief – giant jars found in India, discoveries at Notre-Dame
A round-up of some of the latest discoveries from across the globe.
UK
‘Prehistoric farming settlement’ found on North York Moors
A community excavation led by DigVentures has unearthed post-holes and artefacts thought to date from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Roman periods.
New analysis from Oxford hospital cemetery
‘We’ve been able to diagnose tuberculosis, a possible case of leprosy [a rare find for this period], and syphilis.’
More than 100 Iron Age settlements identified north of Hadrian’s Wall
The new discoveries include a number of small farmsteads and Iron Age enclosures.
Study sheds light on 70 years of women football fans’ experiences
Interviews also revealed memories of cheering on players Jackie Milburn and the Robledo brothers, and of drinking Bovril during half-time.
Conservation work on Constable painting reveals long-lost Thames skyline
Bright blue skies and a view of the early 19th-century Thames skyline were revealed after layers of yellowed varnish were removed.
Prehistoric pioneers: how female migrants changed the face of Bronze Age Orkney
Analysis of human remains from the Links of Noltland, Westray, has revealed the first concrete evidence of a major influx of non-local people into Orkney during the Bronze Age – and, uniquely for the period, it appears that this movement of migrants was dominated by women. Carly Hilts reports.
CA Letters May 2022
Your views on the latest issues in Current Archaeology.
Last word on Roman London
Traders poured in, London flourished, and in ten years it became the biggest town in Britain. But then, disaster! Boudica rebelled and London was destroyed: traces of burning from this episode are still visible in the lower layers of excavations.
Excavating Hertfordshire
The site began life as a simple farmstead in the 1st century AD and transformed over the centuries into quite a grandiose stone structure, with a swimming pool and bath complex, by the mid-2nd century AD.
UK events, exhibitions, and heritage from home 2022-2023
As we head into spring, there are many fantastic opportunities to get out and about and enjoy the UK’s history, archaeology, and cultural heritage, whether you’re looking for historical re-enactments, excavation opportunities, or new exhibitions. If you prefer, there are also plenty of resources available online, ranging from digital museum collections and 3D tours of heritage sites to activities and archaeological TV shows for the whole family. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the options available.
Museum news: the return of JORVIK Viking Festival, and Darwin’s missing notebooks
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
A festival of finds: celebrating Chichester’s Roman past
The people of Chichester – or Noviomagus Reginorum, as the settlement was known in the 1st century AD – have much to celebrate when it comes to their Roman heritage. Claire Walton and James Kenny explore the city’s Roman archaeology, and explain how it has served as both a platform for public engagement and the inspiration for an annual celebration of all things Roman.
Traces of medieval and modern life unearthed in Haverfordwest
The excavations have revealed the iron foundry’s casting pits and a deep stone-lined cistern filled with roofing slates.
Mosaics in Roman Britain
Review by Stephen R Cosh. Anthony Beeson has been among those at the forefront of mosaic research in Britain for many years, particularly on mythological subjects. This little book is very much a personal journey and summarises his own research…
World news: Peruvian rituals, ancient African trade, and terracotta warrriors
A round-up of the some of the latest archaeological discoveries from across the globe.
Reinventing Ratae: exploring Roman and medieval Leicester
Nearly 50 years of excavations have explored much of Leicester’s north-eastern quarter – and now a newly published thematic volume, Life in Roman and medieval Leicester, draws together the results from these extensive investigations. Covering such a large area, and a time span that starts with the late Iron Age and carries through to the Norman Conquest and beyond, the report looks at the cycles of growth and decline in the life of the town and draws out the similarities and differences between the Roman and medieval settlement, as Chris Catling reports.
Butser Ancient Farm launches latest reconstruction
The structure is based on archaeological remains discovered close by at Church Down, Chalton.
News in brief: Prehistoric Heathlands and Holcombe Moor
Prehistoric heathlands Plans to expand fragments of Neolithic heathland on Brownsea Island in Dorset (below) have been announced by the National Trust and Dorset Wildlife Trust as part of a project to restore the island’s habitat. England’s south coast was…
Evidence of Roman beer production in Bedfordshire
Earlier this year, CA reported on excavations at a 2.3ha site called ‘Field 44’ near Tempsford in Central Bedfordshire, where archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) and the Cambridge Archaeological Unit found the remains of two Iron Age roundhouses…
Ruins, Remains and Relics: Sussex
Review by Robin Hughes. Ruins, Remains and Relics: Sussex is a miscellany, organised into the three titular groups, of various historical curiosities from across the historic county of Sussex. Horlock explicitly emphasises the ‘unusual, offbeat, and decidedly quirky’, and the…
Finds tray – medieval lion figurine
This small lion figurine, which probably dates to c.AD 1300-1500, was found last year by a metal-detectorist on cultivated land near St Teath in Cornwall. The 6.8cm-high animal, which is made from copper-alloy and weighs 173g, was most likely cast…
English Civil War defences unearthed in King’s Lynn
The excavations featured in a recent episode of The Great British Dig.
Unraveling medieval lives with isotopic analysis
The researchers examined the isotopic properties of their samples and were surprised to find strontium and oxygen ratios in the tooth enamel which indicated that some of the Cramond individuals were brought up hundreds of miles away
New details of Stoke Mandeville’s Roman busts
The sculptures could be representations of a family group from inside a Roman mausoleum.
A tale of two temples: tracing religious remains at Maryport Roman fort
The Roman fort at Maryport is best known for the collection of altars, dedicated to the god Jupiter, that were found buried in a series of large pits just outside its walls. Where was this religious stonework originally displayed – and what can we learn from the remains of two temples first discovered almost 150 years ago? Carly Hilts explores a wide-ranging report on the site by Ian Haynes and Tony Wilmott.
Charles Darwin’s notebooks returned 22 years after theft
An envelope addressed to the University Librarian was included, with the printed message: ‘Librarian/ Happy Easter/ X’.
Paintings of Catholic saints returned to Chastleton House following conservation work
A fourth portrait – St Ambrose of Milan – has been missing since the early 20th century.
Weighing up the evidence: did Bronze Age Britons use gold as currency?
‘While gold would still have had an intrinsic value and probably could have been used for trading in any number of circumstances, it most likely wasn’t a generally recognised form of currency.’
Go digging!
While many volunteer excavations were mothballed during COVID-19 restrictions, this summer has plenty of opportunities for you to get involved in fieldwork. Carly Hilts and Emilie Clowry have put together some regional highlights of what is on offer for 2022, but see www.archaeology.co.uk/digs for even more options for archaeological experiences.
Iron Age coin database launched online
The Celtic Coin Index is more technologically advanced than its predecessors.
Exhibitions, events, and heritage from home in Spring and Summer 2022
There are lots of great heritage-related opportunities to get out and about this spring, with conferences to attend, exhibitions to visit, and excavations to sign up for. Or, if you’d prefer, there are still many archaeology-, history-, and heritage-related resources and activities to enjoy at home, whether you’re looking for a virtual tour of an ancient Egyptian pyramid, a podcast about transatlantic shipwrecks, or online games designed for children. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the options available.
Finds tray – Roman vessel mount
This copper-alloy Roman vessel mount, produced sometime between AD 43 and AD 410, was found last year by a metal-detectorist on farmland near St Ives, Cornwall. The c.4.5cm-tall mount, most likely for a tripod, may once have supported some kind…
Excavating Berkshire
One of Berkshire’s oddities is that it is often forgotten that perhaps its most famous historic site is in the county at all – that of Windsor Castle. Such is the nature of this historic royal fortress, palace, and showpiece that the county fades away around it.
CA Letters – April 2022
Your views on the latest issues in Current Archaeology.
Feminine power: the divine to the demonic
The British Museum recently held a preview of their next exhibition, which is set to explore perceptions and depictions of women in mythology throughout history, across the globe. Carly Hilts reports on the upcoming displays, which will open next month.