Berryfields, situated to the north-west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, is a site rich in history. Akeman Street, an important Roman road, runs past its southwestern edge, the Roman roadside settlement of Fleet Marston is located in the area, and the earthworks of the medieval settlement at Quarrendon are visible to the north-east.

The legend of the Trojan War is one of the most famous, and most enduring, Classical narratives, inspiring both artistic endeavours and archaeological investigations. Lucia Marchini visited the British Museum to explore Troy’s long-lived legacy.

Almost a century after the discovery of arguably the most-famous pharaoh’s tomb, some of Tutankhamun’s grave goods are on display in London. Lucia Marchini visited to find out more.

Archaeological sleuths Clare Hills, David Barbrook, and Margaret Bockford return in Nicola Ford’s cleverly constructed crime novel, a sequel to The Hidden Bones (see CA 340). This latter book featured a research dig on a barrow cemetery, but its successor dives into the world of commercial archaeology.

The production and use of coinage are closely tied to many other aspects of social history, as is demonstrated in this accessible and engaging book. Focusing on smaller denominations, both those produced officially and the ingenious local responses to a lack of small change, it presents an overview of the development of money around the world, before discussing the story in Britain in detail.

This book offers an alternative view on the well-trodden path of attempting to identify the site of the fabled last stand of the Caledonii. Offering a new analysis of the earliest Roman invasion, Forder re-examines the extent of the occupation, arguing that the dating of some sites is flawed, and suggesting possible locations for the battle.

This important publication is the first study of medieval agriculture in Wales to be produced in many years, and as such offers a valuable contribution to a subject that has been far less comprehensively written about than it has in England and Ireland. It sheds more light on the relationship between agricultural development and wider social and political change in Wales during this period.

In England we are so surrounded by brick, much of our cities and towns being built out if it, that we are in danger of taking it entirely for granted. Carolyne Haynes’ delightful paperback book sets out to change this. She introduces the reader to the joys and intricacies of English brickwork, and most particularly to some of the stories behind those who made it.

The tidal reach of the River Thames is the longest archaeological site in Britain, its rhythmically rising and falling waters exposing a wealth of material spanning millennia of human activity along its banks. For the last decade, thousands of features and objects have been recorded by the Thames Discovery Programme and its volunteers – but people have also been exploring the foreshore and its finds on a more informal basis for centuries.

This book increases understanding of the travel networks of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex. Using a range of sources, it discusses the evidence for early medieval roads and pathways which shaped the movement and communication of people in the area.