Current Archaeology 292

2 mins read

001_CA292_Cover_FINAL.inddAn 11th-century jaunt across Lough Corrib, Co. Galway, in a sleek  logboat ended in disaster. A mishap cracked the hull open, forcing  the crew to abandon both their boat and the Viking-style war  axes stowed on board. Now survey of the Lough has revealed  that this vessel was neither the first, nor the last to be swamped  by its waters. Archaeologists are discovering a lost fleet of vessels — ranging  from Bronze Age logboats to Victorian pleasure craft — preserved in its depths.

Survey also yielded spectacular results on Solsbury Hill, where it virtually peeled  back the turf to reveal a hillfort interior in startling clarity. The riot of features within  betray the presence of a thriving settlement, but how are they to be interpreted, and  what can they tell us about the hillfort’s role in the wider landscape?

Excavation plans of Kingsmead Quarry, Horton, are on a scale normally associated  with survey. Over a decade of excavation has laid bare almost 34 hectares of a  palimpsest landscape. Among its field systems and farmsteads lay at least four Early  Neolithic houses. These remarkable survivals are shedding new light on life within  hem, right down to the sweepings of their house-proud inhabitants.

On Iona, monastic table-scraps from around the time of St Columba have been  on the archaeological menu. Typical high-status fodder such as  venison shared kitchen space with a more local dish: seal. The  monastery’s design, though, fed off more exotic archetypes. New  research reveals how the brethren set out to build Jerusalem among  Iona’s dark, panoramic hills.

 

FEATURES

ON SOLSBURY HILL

Seeing inside a hillfort
Geophysical surveys of a 20ha hilltop near Bath have given an intriguing perspective on the interior of this Iron Age structure.

 

HORTON’S NEOLITHIC HOUSES

Exploring a prehistoric landscape at Kingsmead Quarry
Over 10 years of excavations have revealed extensive evidence of a prehistoric landscape outside Windsor, including a cluster of Neolithic houses, and a burial containing some of Britain’s earliest gold ornaments.

 

IONA

Exploring Scotland’s most sacred place
1,450 years after  St Columba founded his monastery on Iona, a major research project has shed new light on a tiny settlement that became one of the most influential Christian centres in Medieval Europe.

 

ASPARAGUS IN THE ROMAN WORLD

Investigating Imperial eating habits
What did the Romans do for us? They introduced a number of delicacies that we now take for granted, including cherries, peaches, and asparagus. With asparagus season now underway, we explore how this crop flourished in Rome’s northern provinces.

 

 

NEWS

The die that struck Britain’s earliest coins?; Corieltauvi capital in Leicester; London’s Mesolithic moments; New dates for Vespasian’s Camp; Recently recorded Roman rarities.

Special report
The logboats in the lake

 

 

REGULARS

Festival of British Archaeology
Highlights from this year’s nationwide celebration of all things archaeological.

Reviews
The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Contemporary World; Masterpieces: Early Medieval Art; Roman Roads in North-West Wales

Sherds  
Chris Catling’s irreverent take  on heritage issues

Interview
CA talks to Fiona Hyslop, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, about the role of archaeology and archaeologists in modern Scotland, and her vision for its future.

Odd Socs
The Goodluck Mine Preservation Club

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