Recent assessment of a unique burial assemblage from the Isle of Man has helped illuminate a rare type of funerary practice also found in parts of Wales and northern England. This new work provides a blueprint for moving away from…
This is an imported Roman bowl, made of copper-alloy, found in Wingham, Kent. The metal-detectorist who discovered the bowl left it in situ and reported it to the local Finds Liaison Officer. This allowed the Canterbury Archaeological Trust to conduct…
The definition of what is considered ‘Treasure’ is to be revised by the Government, to broaden its parameters and provide increased protection for archaeological finds made in England and Wales. It will be the first change made to the Treasure…
Footprints in the desert The earliest-known human footprints from the Arabian Peninsula have been discovered in an ancient lake deposit in the south-west of the Nefud Desert. They were discovered as part of the Palaeodeserts Project, which is studying the…
The remains of a Roman villa have been revealed near Rossett, Wrexham. It is the first site of its kind to be found in north-east Wales, adding to our knowledge of the region during this period. The first clues to…
Around 8,150 years ago, a sudden shift in the seabed created the Storegga tsunami in the North Sea. With all known evidence pointing towards this event greatly affecting, but not completely inundating, Doggerland (the strip of land that once connected…
A new robust set of radiocarbon dates from the Glastonbury Lake Village in Somerset has allowed researchers to establish a more-precise chronology for how the site was used during the Iron Age. As the settlement contains so many well-preserved finds…
Funding for Strictly ballroom The Blackpool Tower Ballroom, home to Strictly Come Dancing’s annual ballroom special, has received £764,000 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund to help enable repairs to be made to the venue, including its historic plasterwork ceiling.…
A century after the site was dismantled, can the ephemeral remains of Oxford’s tented First World War flying training aerodrome be rediscovered? The Wolvercote WWI Aerodrome Memorial Project, a community initiative, sought to find out with the help of scientific surveying. Roger Ainslie reports.
Excavations in Bath have revealed the remains of one of the earliest Victorian wash houses. Constructed during a time of revolutionary social reform and seismic shifts in attitudes towards poverty and public health, what can it tell us about how local authorities and community campaigners strove to improve the well-being of the poor following the arrival of a devastating pandemic? Current Archaeology explores recent research by Cai Mason.
Today, glass is a commodity so ubiquitous and cheap that we take it for granted, but it wasn’t always so. A new book by David Dungworth traces the rise of glass from small-scale manufacturing in the medieval period to the major industrial production of the 20th century. Chris Catling reports.
It was long thought that huge and complex monuments like Mount Pleasant in Dorset had developed over many centuries – but new dating evidence suggests that the diverse elements of this site came together much faster than previously imagined, with intriguing implications for our understanding of these late Neolithic enclosures. Carly Hilts reports.
The vibrant late 4th-century mosaic discovered in Boxford, Berkshire, has been hailed as one of the most important discoveries of its kind. Anthony Beeson explores the latest thinking on the stories told by its intricate imagery.
On entering the gallery, visitors are reminded that, despite their prominence in the story of the early colonists, the passengers of the Mayflower were not the first Europeans to settle in the ‘New World’.
Christopher Catling highlights threats to Fab Four-related buildings in their home city of Liverpool
The archaeological riches of God's Own Country: Joe Flatman explores half a century of reports from the past
Scientific analysis of a human skeleton discovered at Tarrant Hinton in Dorset has shed new light on life – and the transmission of infectious disease – in Iron Age Britain. The remains were originally found during excavations at a small…
This is a medieval ampulla, made of lead alloy and probably dating to the late 12th or early 13th century. Discovered by a mudlarker along the Thames foreshore in London, it was probably originally purchased during a pilgrimage to the…
Many miles of Hadrian’s Wall survive beneath turf and rubble, unexplored and often under threat from erosion, people, and animals. A recent excavation at Walltown Crags in Northumberland, undertaken in advance of fixing some of this damage, revealed sections of…
Unusual graffiti have been discovered among the ruins of the medieval church of St Mary’s in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire. Archaeologists from Fusion JV have been carefully excavating and deconstructing the church ahead of HS2-related construction. The building was supposedly demolished…
Evidence for an extensive settlement, possibly dating to either the Bronze Age or Iron Age, has been uncovered on the outskirts of Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire, on a site overlooking the North Sea. It is the first major prehistoric site…
Medieval bridge discovered in Scotland Over the last two years, the Ancrum and District Heritage Society (ADHS) have, with the help of Historic Environment Scotland, Dendrochronicle, and Wessex Archaeology, surveyed and researched a medieval wooden bridge that was discovered underwater…
COVID-19 restrictions have not stopped the Sligo Community Archaeology Project, which can boast of some very exciting prehistoric discoveries in the county over the past few months. This initiative (undertaken in partnership with the Heritage Council) aims to connect archaeologists…
Anglo-Saxon law codes speak of facial mutilation as a punishment for certain crimes, but until recently no archaeological evidence had been found for it in England. Now the skull of a young woman discovered in Oakridge, Basingstoke, has been identified…
Burial grounds dedicated to domestic animals offer unique opportunities to investigate how our relationships with pets have changed over time. When and how did these cemeteries develop? Recent research by Eric Tourigny holds the key to new understanding, as Current Archaeology reports.
The Ness of Brodgar: as it stands Nick Card, Mark Edmonds, and Anne Mitchell (eds) The Orcadian, www.orcadian.co.uk/shop, £35.99 ISBN 978-1912889082 Review CH
When the UK locked down against COVID-19 last spring, many archaeologists were unable to work as normal – but Rob Wiseman found a silver lining. He brought together more than 100 furloughed archaeologists to create a volunteer task force that has shed light on sites all over the country, spanning prehistory to the present day. Here, he shares some of the project’s highlights.
Excavation just outside Corby has shed vivid light on the construction of a Roman villa, the reuse of an enigmatic religious building, and a bustling array of industrial activity, as Paddy Lambert explains.
Hillforts of the Tay: community archaeology at Moncreiffe Hill and Castle Law, Abernethy AOC Archaeology Group Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, £5 ISBN 978-527264052 Review Miles Russell
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
Excavations at Chester: the northern and eastern Roman extramural settlements, excavations 1990-2019 and other investigations Leigh Dodd Archaeopress, £30 IBSN 978-1789696271 Review Nick Hodgson
Hinterlands and Inlands: the archaeology of west Cambridge and Roman Cambridge revisited Christopher Evans and Gavin Lucas McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, £45 ISBN 978-1902937892 Review Kasia Gdaniec
Your thoughts on Hilderstone, Bath plaster ceilings, and Norwich Castle
The Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s was one of the most-important religious, political, and social events ever to unfold in England and Wales. This act, and the associated (but separate) Reformation of the Church, brought about fundamental change…
It played a crucial role in World War Two and is considered the birthplace of computing. Now, the struggling museum at Bletchley Park has been given a bailout by Facebook.
It is one of only three complete medieval equestrian armour displays in the world. Now, the 15th-century masterpiece can be viewed by the public for the first time in over 100 years.