Current Archaeology 435
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An enduring landscape: Uncovering 8,000 years of life and death on the Cotswold Edge
Recent excavations at Milestone Ground on the eastern edge of Broadway have revealed one of the most intriguing archaeological landscapes yet found in Worcestershire. Beneath quiet pasture lay evidence of human activity stretching back 8,000 years, including Mesolithic flint tools, Bronze Age burials, hundreds of Iron Age storage pits, a Roman farmstead, and the largest late Roman cemetery known in the county. Constance Mitchell reports.
Llanbedrgoch: Exploring a unique early medieval trading centre on Anglesey
Ninth-century Carolingian coins from the reigns of Louis the Pious and Charles the Bald are not the sort of objects you would expect to find on a remote farm on the Isle of Anglesey, so, when metal-detectorists began reporting these and other exceptional artefacts from the early medieval period, the National Museum of Wales (now Amgueddfa Cymru) sent Mark Redknap, then Curator of Medieval and Later Archaeology, to investigate. Between 1994 and 2012, Mark led ten seasons of fieldwork on the site, revealing the remains of a trading settlement with a form unparalleled in Wales. With the full report recently published, Chris Catling describes its key findings.
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
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
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
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
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 http://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
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.
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.