This cake, which was enjoyed at the 3D Archaeological Society Christmas Dinner, is of a ruined Roman floor – complete with hypocaust, mosaic fllor, walls and flues. The border mosaics display the society name, and the creature in black is a smiling squid, which we saw as part of the mosaic floor in the Roman [...]
Stratigraphy
April 5, 2011 By Filed Under: Cakes
This cake is in the form of a section, with turf and layers, and a trowel beside it. It was made by Basingstoke Archaeological & Historical Society member Nicola Turton for a farewell party for a previous chairman, Tim Herrington. It was delicious! Sent in by Barbara Applin, featured in CA254
CA254
April 1, 2011 By Filed Under: Issues
Even here at CA, we are not immune to the Royal Wedding fever sweeping the nation. Issue 254 opens with our nod to the most magnificent of royal occasions, covering every angle: the venue! Thefamilies! The dress! And most importantly – the dirt. Joking aside, what can archaeology tell us about royal weddings? We highlight [...]
The Archaeology of Royal Weddings
April 1, 2011 By Filed Under: News
As Prince William’s and Kate Middleton’s nuptials this month stir up feverish national excitement, what light can archaeology shed on the pomp and pageantry of the most magnificent of Royal occasions? Brendon Wilkins goes in search of the evidence. The sound of smashing porcelain paralysed us with fear. Looking down at the kitchen floor, [...]
Fit For A King
March 25, 2011 By Filed Under: News
Scotland’s Stirling Castle has been yielding Renaissance secrets. Gordon Ewart and Dennis Gallagher of Kirkdale Archaeology report on the fashionable grandeur in which the 16th century kings of the northern realm clothed their power. Stirling Castle is one of Scotland’s most iconic sites. Perched on its great rock, it represents a sequence of fortification from obscure [...]
CA253
March 24, 2011 By Filed Under: Issues
This month, our features and news stories highlight just how important advancing technology is for archaeology. Revisiting old sites, old bones, and old theories with new tools, perspectives, and practice will invariably shed a whole new light on what we thought we knew. If there is a better argument for the importance of investing in [...]
Time Team book competition now closed
To celebrate the return of Time Team to our screens, Current Archaeology has offered the chance to win two Team Team books. Competition closed!! Thanks to all our entrants for the overwhelming response we have received, proving once again Time Team’s place in the nation’s heart. The winners who correctly identified five members of Time Team’s [...]
Hackney Double Eagles
When several companions set about an ambitious piece of landscaping in the back garden of their residence in Hackney, Greater London, a chance discovery brought them to a halt: a large group of gold coins from America. Ian Richardson discusses this curious find. On a summer’s day three years ago, a group of friends set [...]
Burnham Hoard
Yet another hoard has been discovered by metal detectorists in a farmer’s field. Laura McLean and Stefanie White discuss the pottery vessel and metalworking hoard that was buried almost 3,000 years ago. This past summer, John Humphreys was enjoying a relaxing August bank holiday searching for artefacts with his metal detector near Burnham-on-Crouch. Walking across [...]
CA252
February 1, 2011 By Filed Under: Issues
This is a big month for Current Archaeology – with issue 252, we will be available in most W H Smiths and better newsagents across the country. It’s a big change, and one that we hope will bring CA to the attention of an even wider audience. Issue 252 opens with a celebration of another [...]
When the Celtic Tiger roared: the golden years of commercial archaeology in Ireland
January 25, 2011 By Filed Under: Features
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 [...]
An Interview with Rónán Swan of the National Roads Authority
January 24, 2011 By Filed Under: Lisa Westcott
The road more travelled: Rónán Swan discusses life on the road schemes with CA Editor Lisa Westcott. Why did you become an archaeologist? My father, Leo Swan, was an archaeologist, so I grew up with it. All my holidays were spent on sites, or fieldwalking places like the Dublin mountains, Tara, and the Boyne Valley. My [...]
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 [...]
Are we all Druids now?; National Trust lacks soul?; Carlisle Castle; Socks with sandals; World Heritage diet
January 20, 2011 By Filed Under: Chris Catling
Are we all Druids now? Tuning in to the BBC’s religious affairs programme on 1 October, Sherds was amused to hear Emma Restall Orr, founder of the Druid Network, talking about the ‘long hard struggle’ to persuade the Charity Commission for England and Wales to grant charitable status to the Druids. This was a frustrating [...]
State of play; concrete countryside; Halloween reflections; advice on meeting a witch
January 20, 2011 By Filed Under: Chris Catling
State of play Believing that things are not what they used to be is a viral disease that strikes as you enter adulthood and gets worse with age, says folklorist Steve Roud. One symptom is the perennial complaint that children do not play proper games any more. In 1804, the demise of childhood games was [...]
Rock and roll; The Dunster cobbles; Historic Scotland; stonemason sparks cathedral row; Berlusconi's appendage
January 20, 2011 By Filed Under: Chris Catling
Rock and roll Bits of rock, in various guises, form a running theme in this month’s Sherds, starting with Neolithic ball bearings. Numerous attempts have been made to explain how the slabs of stone used in the construction of Stonehenge got to their destination. Could these huge blocks, weighing up to 4 tonnes, have been [...]
CA251
January 19, 2011 By Filed Under: Issues
Our features this month range from new osteological research on some of Britain’s most famous skeletons, to an in-depth look at the mysterious network of small Roman fortifications stretching across southwest Scotland, an examination of mosaics at the end of Roman Britain, and, finally, the Hackney Double Eagles. This hoard of gold coins may turn [...]
CA250
January 19, 2011 By Filed Under: Issues
This month, CA celebrates our 250th issue. Rather than looking back at what has happened since issue 200, however, we found ourselves looking forward. What will we be writing about in issue 300? Where do the opportunities lie for archaeology? The cover image says it all: we, as archaeologists, are heading into the unknown. The [...]
Time Team Season 2011 coming soon!
We are delighted to announce that Time Team will return to the small screen very soon! The new series of the long-running and much beloved archaeology programme will air on Channel 4 from February this year. Tony Robinson and the trusty team (including Professor Mick Aston) will be raising their trowels once more to grace [...]
UnRoman attitudes: exposing the myth of Britannia
December 25, 2010 By Filed Under: Features
We traditionally see Roman Britain from the Rome-centred view; but how did the Britons really react? Now, a new book by Miles Russell and Stuart Laycock explores a different perspective, asking: what did the Romans truly ever do for us? In 2010, 1600 years after the traditional date when Rome cut the province of Britannia [...]
