Colchester Archaeological Group and Fordham History Society, with permission from The Woodland Trust are carrying out ongoing excavations on a Roman Site at Fordham Hall, Essex. Geophysics, field-walking, trial trenching and finds from Phase I in 2015 all suggested significant Roman activity on the site. Phase II excavations, begun in 2016, involve open area excavation […]

A recently opened museum at London’s Charterhouse illuminates centuries of life at this former medieval monastery. Lucia Marchini explores some of the highlights.

Sutton Hoo is best known for the elite Anglo-Saxon cemetery excavated there in the 1930s, but more recent campaigns tell an even richer tale. The royal burials sprang from an earlier cemetery, and were followed by dozens of graves of execution victims. How does the sequence track the journey of Anglo-Saxons, from pagan immigrants to […]

The early medieval cemetery at Sutton Hoo has a long and complex history. Our cover feature explores how a royal burial ground was transformed into a grim place of execution; how interpretations of the site have evolved; and how its wider context traces the Anglo-Saxon story, from pagan immigrants to a Christian kingdom. New arrivals […]

Archaeological work at the Garden Museum, housed in the former Lambeth parish church, delivered a major surprise. In January 2016, as builders set to work on a concrete slab, a hole appeared underneath. This cavity led to a long-forgotten crypt where, by the light of mobile phones, coffins could be seen stacked in the gloom. […]

Our cover story examines an unsuspected crypt discovered in a former church during redevelopment work. Although the space was too dangerous to enter, ingenious remote survey revealed that the crypt still contains numerous coffins, including at least two Archbishops of Canterbury. It is caverns rather than crypts that have surrendered the secrets of the humans […]

Antiquity has long been a source of inspiration for artists, with striking images of prehistoric monuments appearing in a variety of media across the centuries. Lucia Marchini visits an exhibition that explores the popularity of British prehistory in the visual arts. The enduring appeal of prehistoric monuments makes them fitting subjects for artworks. From antiquarians […]

Remarkable finds from Must Farm take centre stage in a new exhibition at Peterborough Museum, which tells the story of excavations at the ancient river channel and settlement, and explores their connection with other prehistoric sites around the Fens. Lucia Marchini delves into Bronze Age life at Must Farm and Flag Fen. When the remains […]

In 1653, a small Cromwellian warship was lost off the west coast of Scotland. Excavated between 1992 and 2003, the wreck of the Swan yielded finds that tell stories of cutting-edge weaponry, mishaps on board, and plunder. Now the full report has been published, Colin Martin reveals the ship’s secrets and explains why wrecks are […]

To step into Harmondsworth Barn is not just to enter a space so glorious that it was lauded as the ‘cathedral of Middlesex’ by Sir John Betjeman. It is also to experience a remarkably intact medieval interior. Among majestic oak trusses are opportunities to admire medieval technology that has weathered the centuries unaltered. After being […]