Current Archaeology 324

2 mins read

How should we study ancient stone monuments? In the past, great ingenuity has been expended on cataloguing them according to ever more intricate typologies. Now a survey of Neolithic monuments in Pembrokeshire is applying simpler classifications and focusing on what these edifices meant to the communities that raised them. The results raise questions about how efforts to clear the first farming land were commemorated, and whether we can detect a prehistoric desire to keep up with the neighbours.

At Blick Mead, it is understanding the meaning of journeys that is under the spotlight. This remarkable Mesolithic meeting place was established tantalisingly close to the later site of Stonehenge. An unprecedented sequence of radiocarbon dates indicates activity from the 8th to the 4th millennium BC, while a dog tooth suggests that visitors may have been drawn from as far afield as the Vale of York.

The First World War brought more unwelcome visitors to the British coast. Enemy submarines took a terrible toll on shipping, while aircraft offered new ways to strengthen or evade coastal defences. We take a look at a project recording the eroding relics of a forgotten frontline before they are lost forever.

Time has long since obliterated any markers tracing out the territory of the Roman client king Cogidubnus – or so it would seem. An attempt to trace the borders of his domain using Long-Distance Alignments has yielded some surprising results.

Finally, we salute the pioneering work undertaken by female archaeologists.

Matt Symonds

IN THIS ISSUE:

FEATURES

BLICK MEAD

Exploring the ‘first place’ in the Stonehenge landscape
Ongoing excavations at Blick Mead have unearthed an impressive array of evidence of the site’s use in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. What can the latest finds from this ancient spring tell us about the origins of a ritual landscape?


CITiZAN GOES TO WAR

Britain’s coastal frontline: 1914-1918
What traces of the First World War are there on Britain’s shores? We explore the coastal archaeology of a forgotten frontline.


HEATHERY LIVROCKY LAND

Rethinking the stones of Neolithic Pembrokeshire
Should archaeologists start thinking less about monument typologies to understand how people viewed rocks and the landscape in the past? We take a look at new approaches to the meanings of the stones of Neolithic Pembrokeshire.


TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS COGIDUBNUS

Defining the dominions of the Great King
We examine how the Long-Distance Alignments of Roman roads are shaping our knowledge of the borders marking out the territory of the ‘Great King of the Britons’, client king Cogidubnus.


TROWELBLAZERS

Raising our trowels to pioneering women archaeologists
A new touring exhibition celebrating women archaeologists past and present is about to open. Who were some of the earlier female figures who made an impact on the subject, and how were they connected?


NEWS

Rare rural plague burial found at Thornton Abbey; Britain’s earliest monastery at Beckery?; Jam yesterday: West End preserves jars; Chester’s Roman gate; Neanderthals in Jersey; Life and death at Gloucester Cathedral; The Shropshire piano hoard; New Treasure report launched; Roman tools on display; Finds tray


REGULARS

Comment
Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive

Context
Using drones to investigate Roman Northamptonshire

Reviews
The Rural Settlement of Roman Britain; The Birth of Industrial Glasgow; The Mildenhall Treasure; Romano-British Settlement and Cemeteries at Mucking; Treasures of Roman Lincolnshire; Lost Landscapes of Palaeolithic Britain

Museum
A look at Norton Priory’s new museum

Conference
Current Archaeology Live! 2017 is just around the corner. This special section brings you the latest details, including information about our bonus activity and a reminder of how to book.

Sherds
Chris Catling’s irreverent take on heritage issues

Odd Socs
The Carriage Foundation

1 Comment

  1. Fabulous!!

    Where can I find the one on 14-18 Brit Coastal Defences??

    Excellent that females (who are infinitely superior to males) are being lauded!!

    Alan

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