Current Archaeology would like to thank all those who attended, contributed to, or otherwise aided, this year’s Archaeology LIVE! at the British Museum, making it yet another great success. Since its inception, the conference has to gone from strength to strength, and we look forward to building on this again next year!
Frome Hoard
A massive ceramic jar containing over 52,000 Roman coins has been discovered by a metal detectorist in a Somerset field – the largest coin hoard ever found in Britain in a single pot. What can it tell us about wealth, ritual and political upheaval in Roman Britain? In April 2010, metal detectorist Dave Crisp discovered [...]
Archaeologist of the Year 2011
November 26, 2010 By Filed Under: Archaeology Awards 2011
We are delighted to announce Sam Moorhead as our official Archaeologist of the Year 2011. Sam is the National Finds Advisor for Iron Age and Roman coins in the Department of Portable Antiquities at the British Museum. But he is much more than that: his many achievements and the range of his contributions to archaeology are truly phenomenal.
Book of the Year 2011
November 26, 2010 By Filed Under: Archaeology Awards 2011
Current Archaeology‘s Book of the Year 2011 is awarded to Julian Bowsher and Pat Miller for The Rose and the Globe: Playhouses of Shakespeare. This has been a year filled with fabulous reading. So many great books have crossed our desks! We have done our best to review as many as possible, and we hope you have had a chance to read some.
Research Project of the Year 2011
November 26, 2010 By Filed Under: Archaeology Awards 2011
This year, the much coveted Research Project of the Year prize went to The Ness of Brodgar, and was accepted on behalf of the team by Nick Card, Senior Projects Manager at the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology.
Rescue Dig of the Year 2011
November 26, 2010 By Filed Under: Archaeology Awards 2011
Congratulations to the team behind the Frome Hoard, which was named as Current Archaeology‘s Rescue Dig of the Year 2011.
The award was accepted by Sam Moorhead on behalf of the project team, including Dave Crisp (finder), Katie Hinds and Anna Booth (Finds Liaison Officers), Bob Croft and Alan Graham (excavators).
CA 249
November 26, 2010 By Filed Under: Issues
When a country is invaded, how far does the native population adopt the culture of their conquerors? Do they make changes willingly or is assimilation seen as necessary for survival? These questions resonate through current world conflicts, as well as in CA 249′s opening article, which tackles the question of whether Britain was thoroughly, or [...]
CA 248
November 26, 2010 By Filed Under: Issues
In this time of austerity, we thought it might raise everyone’s spirits to take a look at Britain’s rich history; rich both in terms of interest, and fantastically beautiful objects. CA 248 tackles a hot topic: the practice of hoarding in Britain. Recent years have produced new caches of unusual objects, as well as the [...]
Contradictory policies; Coastal delights; Ringo's house; Museums 'best place to lose wallets'; London Lives 1690-1800
November 20, 2010 By Filed Under: Chris Catling
Contradictory policies David Cameron marked the beginning of the holiday season (now but a distant memory) with a speech on tourism that included some startling statistics: did you know that Britain is only 22nd in the list of most popular destinations for Chinese tourists – by comparison, Germany is 10th. Or that the UK is [...]
The end to 'bad laws'?; Quirky collections; Museum of Leathercraft; re-branding towns and boroughs
October 20, 2010 By Filed Under: Chris Catling
Plans to ‘de-regulate’ Britain ‘Help us repeal bad laws,’ said Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on 1 July, asking the public for feedback on unnecessary legislation the British people would like to see scrapped. One response, published in the Independent on 5 July 2010, was so witty, it deserves a wider audience. ‘In Hereford’s Cathedral [...]
Staffordshire Hoard
October 12, 2010 By Filed Under: News
The largest hoard of Anglo Saxon gold ever found, was discovered the summer of 2009 by a metal-detectorist in a field in Staffordshire and is set to revolutionise our perceptions of life in the 7th and 8th centuries. With more than 650 items made from gold, and more than 500 in silver this is truly [...]
Frome Hoard
October 8, 2010 By Filed Under: News
The Portable Antiquities Scheme has today released news of the Frome Hoard, a cache of 52,503 Roman coins dating to the 3rd century, found by metal detectorist Dave Crisp near Frome in Somerset in 2010. Tony Williams, Coroner for Somerset, will hold an inquest today to determine whether the coins can be declared treasure, in [...]
Bluestonehenge: Stonehenge's little sister
October 6, 2010 By Filed Under: News
Archaeologists have discovered Stonehenge’s little sister, dubbed Bluestonehenge, just 2.8km away on the west bank of the River Avon.
Welcome
October 4, 2010 By Filed Under: About
It’s time for a new guide to Hadrian’s Wall! This is a start of a new venture to present Hadrian’s Wall on the web. We have only done one fort so far, but please tell us how we are doing. Click here for the first fort – Chesters Wallsend More soon! Andrew Selkirk First draft, [...]
Visiting Sutton Hoo
October 1, 2010 By Filed Under: Further Info
Visiting Sutton Hoo For long, Sutton Hoo was in private hands, but in 1998 it was given to the National Trust. A Visitor Centre has been opened, and visitors are now welcome. It is situated off the B10832 road, two miles east of Woodbridge [TM288487]. Here is a short guide to what you may see [...]
Ship burials
October 1, 2010 By Filed Under: Further Info
Ship burials are rare in Britain. The closest parallel to Sutton Hoo comes from Snape, only 9 miles away, where a cluster of mounds overlooking the River Alde was thoroughly examined in the 19th century. Although the records are incomplete, it is clear that one mound overlay the remains of a 14m long vessel, the [...]
Return to Sutton Hoo
October 1, 2010 By Filed Under: Further Info
After such sensational discoveries it was inevitable that archaeologists would return to Sutton Hoo. Rupert Bruce-Mitford was the first to pick up where the 1939 team left off, re-excavating Mound 1 and removing the remaining ship rivets in the 1960s. A more substantial campaign spanning 1983-2001 was masterminded by Martin Carver. This included another look [...]
Treasure
October 1, 2010 By Filed Under: Discovery
They let the earth hold the wealth of the earls, gold in the ground, where still it dwells, as useless to men as it was before – Beowulf The grave goods were stowed in a wooden chamber, about 6m long, occupying the centre of the ship. The more utilitarian objects, such as cauldrons and buckets, [...]
A grave find
October 1, 2010 By Filed Under: Discovery
The 1930s Sutton Hoo excavations were bookended by tragedy. While the curtain call was a catastrophe on an international scale, with archaeologists battling to complete their excavations as war swept across Europe, the opening one was of a very personal nature. In 1934 Mrs Edith Pretty suddenly found herself a widower, with a young child [...]
Sutton Hoo: field of kings
October 1, 2010 By Filed Under: Discovery
This was no ordinary burial. The group that gathered on a grassy promontory overlooking the River Deben around AD 625 was participating in a ceremony that is without equal in Britain. First a huge vessel, 27m long and honourably scarred and patched through long service was hauled a mile uphill to the mounds of a [...]
