Articles
When the Celtic Tiger roared: the golden years of commercial archaeology in Ireland
During the Celtic Tiger economic boom, Ireland experienced a period of prosperity which led to an unprecedented ‘golden age’ for commercial archaeology. In a four-part series, Brendon Wilkins examines the top sites, finds and controversies that defined over a decade of discovery. Imagine a place where the term ‘millionaire archaeologist’ would not sound ridiculous, and [...]
After the Cuts: Scorched earth, or clean slate? (Part I)
As the government threatens to cut all its budgets, CA decided to ask a tough question of our colleagues: `The budget cuts have major implications for archaeology. But is it all bad news? Instead of just being about mass unemployment, lower wages, and fear, could it be that this is a chance to repurpose, do [...]
After the Cuts: Scorched earth, or clean slate? (Part II)
Editor-in-chief, Andrew Selkirk offers his insight on some issues raised by spending cuts. How will universities fare under the new regime, where funds will go to students rather than to universities? Archaeology is not exactly a subject that will set you up to become a big earner, so will archaeology inevitably go into decline? I [...]
Conservation in the community
American-born conservator Dana Goodburn-Brown has worked around the world and made numerous appearances on television. Now, her infectious enthusiasm is inspiring a band of volunteers based in the unlikely location of a Kent shopping centre. CA’s Caitlin McCall went to meet her. What does a conservator do? A conservator is responsible for the care, preservation [...]
Liquid History: Excavating London’s great river, The Thames
Prehistoric forests, the skull of a child, the slipway of a Victorian engineering masterpiece and part of a Tudor palace jetty: all have emerged from the mud and gravel on the foreshore of the Thames, thanks to an exciting new project to record the archaeology of London’s great river. Nathalie Cohen tells CA about the [...]
Howburn Farm: Excavating Scotland’s first people
At Howburn Farm in South Lanarkshire, a scattering of flints, discovered by the Biggar Archaeology Group, turned out to be evidence of the earliest human habitation in Scotland. Tam Ward and Alan Saville explain. How far north did Palaeolithic people settle in Britain? The general belief is that they did not go much further than [...]
Dark Satanic mills? The archaeology of the world’s first industrial city
By 1850, Manchester had a population of 300,000, and most of its 172 textile mills had already been built. Cotton goods were known simply as ‘Manchester goods’. Now, archaeology is adding new insights. We report on ten years’ digging of Manchester’s industrial history. In 1814, Johann Georg May wrote: ‘Manchester is famous throughout the world [...]
Current Archaeology Awards 2010
Current Archaeology is pleased to announce the winners of their 2010 awards, presented 27 February 2010, at the British Museum as part of the Archaeology 2010 conference.
Lanton Quarry: New evidence in northern Northumberland
A routine investigation ahead of gravel quarrying has turned up some exciting results: has the ‘support centre’ for the elite Anglo-Saxon settlement of Yeavering been found? Clive Waddington discusses the evidence. In the very north of Northumberland lies an old, dried-out glacial lake that is surrounded by raised gravel terraces, known as the Milfield Basin. [...]
Magic and Mining at Alderley Edge
Listening to tales told by his blacksmith grandfather in the semi-darkness of his fire-lit forge, Alan Garner absorbed the Cheshire folklore that he then transformed into a classic work of fiction – The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. Inspired by Garner’s story, archaeologists have recently begun to unravel the truth behind the legends of Alderley Edge, as [...]
