This unique and remarkably well-preserved bone box was uncovered during excavations at Milestone Ground in Broadway, Worcestershire. Dating to the late Roman period, it measures 68mm long, 33mm wide, and 30mm deep (2.7in by 1.3in by 1.2in), and is intricately…
Last month’s column explored prehistoric mines, and this month I will follow up on the topic by visiting medieval and modern examples that have been examined in past issues of CA. The range is wide: from Welsh slate to English coal, and from salt in the Midlands to tin in the south-west.
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions.
A routine excavation on the site of a west Norfolk housing development has uncovered a metalwork hoard including two extremely rare Iron Age artefacts: a near-complete carnyx and a boar standard. Conservation and analysis of these fragile objects is ongoing; Carly Hilts reports on the preliminary findings.
Excavations by York Archaeology on the site of a former hospital at Clifton Ings have shed light on the institution’s origins as a Victorian asylum, offering insights into how approaches to mental health care have changed over the centuries. Anne Jenner and Katherine Bradshaw report.
Are letter boxes, postage stamps, Christmas and birthday cards, love etters, thank you notes, pen pals, and postcards all destined to become archaic curiosities, like telephone kiosks? Denmark’s national postal service, PostNord, ended traditional letter delivery on 31 December 2025,…
REVIEW BY CH Nicholas Higham’s comprehensive exploration of how ‘Roman Britain’ transitioned into ‘Anglo-Saxon England’ brings with it a wealth of topics that still resonate today – discussions of migration, integration, and cultural influences; Britain’s relationship with continental Europe; and…
Saving literary homes and cooling towers Chris Catling’s piece about threats to literary homes (CA 431) is nothing new to those of us in Derby. In 1906, we lost the birthplace of Joseph Wright ARA (1734-1797) – replaced by a…
REVIEW BY KK Published from the papers presented at the Belfast Bronze Age Forum, which took place on 9-10 November 2013, the editor makes a point of noting that the proceedings from this forum are not normally published, but that…
REVIEW BY FEDERICO SANTANGELO Shortly after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree, David Breeze gathered an outstanding lineup of contributors to reflect on specific sections of Hadrian’s Wall: the result was a brilliant little book that should be required…
REVIEW BY STEPHEN RIPPON The character of the countryside all around us plays an important part in many communities’ sense of place. This is particularly clear in the south-west of Britain, where Cornwall’s distinctive place-names – those that pre-date its…
REVIEW BY PADDY LAMBERT This report details the results of a large (3.56ha) excavation undertaken by Archaeological Research Services prior to the construction of the new Cambridgeshire South Police Station. The result of the analysis suggests the site formed a…
REVIEW BY KK On the threshold between the Lowlands and the Highlands, the King’s Seat fort, 1.5km (a mile) west of Dunkeld on the River Tay, sits in an important location in the landscape. Despite its importance, little was known…
Excavations in Wapping, east London, have uncovered tangible traces left by Victorian schoolboys, as well as illuminating glimpses of a diverse dockyard community. CA reports.
Over the past few years there have been several research papers that have made headlines because of their insights into major genetic shifts in the population of Britain throughout time (see CA 338 regarding the Bronze Age Beaker migration, CA…
Analysis of a fragment of elephant bone, first discovered during excavations at Boxgrove, West Sussex, in the early 1990s (see CA 153), has revealed that it was used as a hammer by early hominins roughly 500,000 years ago, making it…
A recent geophysical survey in Margam Country Park, near Port Talbot in South Wales, has revealed the clear outline of a large Roman villa. The building’s footprint was identified during a geophysical survey carried out as part of the ArchaeoMargam…
The discovery of the largest number of whetstones ever found at a single site in north-west Europe has illuminated a Roman industrial hub that once operated beside the River Wear in Offerton, near Sunderland. The site was discovered and excavated…
Recent excavations at Brusselstown Ring, a prehistoric hillfort in County Wicklow, Ireland, have confirmed that many of the anomalies found in previous surveys of the site are roundhouse structures. With more than 600 possible examples identified across the hilltop, the…
Ongoing excavations on the site of the planned Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk have uncovered an early medieval barrow cemetery with evidence of high-status activity, including a double burial accompanied by elite grave goods, as well as the…
A Bronze Age barrow containing the cremated remains of eight individuals, who appear to have all been buried at the same time, has been found in the Nithsdale hills, south of Sanquhar, in Dumfries and Galloway. The discovery was made…
This unusual silver seal matrix dates to the medieval period, but has reused a Roman intaglio as part of its design. It was discovered by a metal-detectorist in September 2024 at Gosfield, north of Braintree in Essex. Oval in plan,…
Mesolithic structures identified off the coast of France A series of 11 submerged structures has been found off the coast of France, near Île de Sein in Brittany. They are believed to date to the Mesolithic period and were first…
Funding for Devon Roman villa The SHARE project (Saving Halberton’s Ancient Roman Environment), which is being led by archaeologists from the University of Exeter in partnership with Devon County Council, Tiverton Archaeology Group, and the Sampford Peverell Society, has been…
REVIEW BY SAM LEGGETT This volume reads as a ‘Who’s Who’ of early medieval cremation research, with most of the top historians, funerary-, and bio-archaeologists assembled. Williams and Lippok have been truly innovative here with how they have assembled the…
REVIEW BY JONATHAN LAST Cable routes and similar projects are a challenge to archaeologists because their narrow footprints are not necessarily representative of the broad landscapes they pass through. Yet they often offer glimpses into areas little touched by other…
REVIEW BY KK This book synthesises what is currently known about the Neolithic in Jersey, highlighting the fact that while our knowledge for some areas of the island and for some phases of the Neolithic is fairly extensive, for other…
REVIEW BY KK This is a nice short book on the history of the English banknote, and is rather timely, with the era of the banknote seemingly coming to an end as online transactions and credit card payments become ubiquitous.…
REVIEW BY SIMON ROFFEY Winchester: city of kings presents an authoritative exploration of one of England’s most historic cities, and one that has been the subject of extensive archaeological research. Consequently, this book traces the evolution of Winchester from its…
There are lots of great ways to get involved with history and archaeology over the next few months, including exhibitions, lectures, and conferences exploring a wide range of subjects. If you would prefer to get your heritage fix from the comfort of your sofa, though, there is a variety of resources on offer online, too, from virtual site tours and digital offerings by museums to podcasts, TV shows, and more. Kathryn Krakowka has put together a selection of some of the options available.
New Kingdom fortress found Excavations at the site of Tell el-Kharouba in North Sinai, Egypt, have uncovered the remains of a large military fortress dating to the New Kingdom period, c.1550-1070 BC. The fortification’s southern wall and narrow entrance, as…
Researchers from Canterbury Christ Church University have developed a novel method for visualising Roman footwear, even in cases where the leather has completely disintegrated, by using radiography on soil-blocks containing hobnails. The study was based on a Romano-British (late 3rd…
A major excavation, undertaken in advance of the East Anglia TWO and ONE North developments by ScottishPower Renewables, has uncovered 6,000 years of human activity within an East Anglian landscape, including a previously unknown Anglo-Saxon settlement. The initiative represents the…
Further analysis of the ‘Trojan War’ mosaic, first discovered at Ketton, Rutland, in 2020 (see CA 383), has revealed more details about its imagery, suggesting that Roman Britain was not as isolated from the Classical world as has been previously…
Archaeological investigations in and around the Houses of Parliament have uncovered remains spanning the last 6,000 years, highlighting the site’s importance not just in modern history, but during the medieval period and stretching as far back as the Mesolithic. The…
Recent fieldwork at the Durrington Walls ‘superhenge’ has explored a series of large pits forming what appears to be a 2km-wide (1.2 mile) circular boundary around the monument, revealing new evidence to suggest they were deliberately dug and not natural…