What a month! We thought we had big news at Current Archaeology — preparing to launch our new design in issue 236 — until the Staffordshire Hoard came along and upstaged us. We really hope you like what we’ve done with the new look. And what better way to introduce our redesign than with the dramatic discovery of Britain’s first-ever Anglo-Saxon hoard? A story like the Staffordshire Hoard is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. It has been thrilling to prepare it for CA, and to have the opportunity to get close to the experts who were on the scene. Nothing can prepare you for actually seeing these spectacular finds; they are, quite literally, breathtaking. In our coverage we’ve included all the details of how the hoard was discovered and excavated, as well as exactly what was found, and the first reports of what it might all mean. There are exciting times ahead.
FEATURES
Trophies of Kings: The Staffordshire Hoard
Is this the trophy cache of a mighty Anglo-Saxon warrior king?
Leprosy and the Black Death: The archaeology of plague
Excavating evidence of Medieval pandemic infections.
Water power in Medieval Greenwich: Medieval engineering
Industrial-scale production discovered in 12th century Greenwich.
The Hallaton Treasure: Evidence of a new kind of shrine?
What links a rare Roman helmet, thousands of Iron Age coins, and a mass of pig bones?
REGULARS
News – now includes news-in-brief and world news.
Neolithic cathedral; Essex early industry; prehistoric Birmingham; London’s earliest trackway; Medieval coin charm; Bremore port threat; Norman Canterbury; Castor skeleton; Back to Bronze Age.
Reviews
Books this month: The Invisible Diggers by Paul Everill; Making Anglo-Saxon Devon by Robert Higham; Norwich: The Archaeology of ‘A Fine City‘ by Bryan Ayers; Saving St Teilo’s, Gerallt Nash (ed).
Interview
Martin Carver discusses digs, dates and superpowers.
Sherds
Chris Catling’s irreverent take on heritage issues.
Last Word
Our Editor in Chief takes us on a pilgrimage to Hadrian’s Wall.
Odd Socs
This month’s spotlight falls on: Subterranea Britannica.
[…] site, now underlying farmland outside the village of Hammerwich, some 1,400 years later in 2009 (CA 236), the cache was still unclaimed, although scattered from its original hiding place by modern […]
[…] the Staffordshire Hoard was discovered in 2009 (CA 236), the exquisite artistry of its contents immediately captured the public imagination, vividly […]