The use of the term ‘the Dark Ages’, to describe the early medieval period (5th-11th centuries AD) is closely tied to many of the misconceptions surrounding that era. This new publication, based on discussions at the 3rd University of Chester Archaeology Student Conference in 2017, examines public understanding of early medieval archaeology, identifying and challenging ideas that persist in popular views of the period.

The discovery of the exquisite and iconic gold cup of Early Bronze Age date at Ringlemere, Kent, in 2001 prompted a small-scale excavation by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust the following year to establish the archaeological context of this internationally important find.

This volume, the 17th published by Oxbow on behalf of the Neolithic Studies Group, returns to two interrelated questions that have long been debated by archaeologists interested in Britain’s earliest monuments. The first is: do the wooden structures associated with long barrows represent ‘houses for the dead’?

This report is about one of the most important Viking sites in England – one that remains shrouded in some confusion and secrecy. Mark Ainsley and Geoff Bambrook had been metal-detecting at the site (known here as ARSNY) since 1996, but it first came to archaeological attention in late 2003 when they approached the Yorkshire Museum with what was described as a Viking hoard.

If there was one thing that Time Team excelled at during its 25-year run, it was bringing communities together to share in the story of their local area. And it is community that lies at the heart of this new book by the popular archaeology TV programme’s creator and series producer, Tim Taylor. Beautifully illustrated, it offers a comprehensive how-to guide for learning more about the area where you live.

In this second volume of London’s Lost Rivers, Tom Bolton presents the history of the city along nine of its more obscure rivers. Through the suggested walks along the routes of rivers such as Bollo Brook, Counters Creek, and Black Ditch, which once ran through the city but are now lost or buried underground, readers are able to follow the development of the landscape over time.

In this new publication, Julian Heath presents a guide to the impressive stone structures created in the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age, which dominate landscapes in many parts of Europe, bringing to life the world of the prehistoric people who once inhabited them.

Forged from a project funded by the City of London Archaeological Trust, this volume weaves together archaeological, historical, and modern-day public health data, resulting in an impressive resource for understanding the health of Londoners past and present. Focusing on data collected from human skeletal remains of nearly 2,400 individuals from 24 pre-industrial (1066–1750) and industrial (1750–1900) sites across Britain, it implements cutting-edge digital radiographic and computerised tomography (CT) analysis on an unprecedented scale.

Excavations at Barrow Clump, Figheldean, by English Heritage in 2003–2004, were designed to ascertain the extent of damage to a round barrow caused by the activity of badgers. In this book, the illustrations alone, which depict the pre-barrow soil riddled with burrows, serve to emphasise that it was considerable. Further excavations, by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and Wessex Archaeology in 2012–2014, aimed to alleviate damage to a series of Anglo-Saxon graves set around the barrow and, given the circumstances, the results are remarkable.

As a mere ‘worked stone specialist’, it was with some trepidation that I took on the task of reviewing a book dealing with matters striking at the very heart of Romanesque art scholarship. The Medieval Academy of America saw the establishment of a largely female tradition of American scholarship, of which this book’s author, Professor Malone, is a part.