This summer has been typically busy for archaeology, and it has been brilliant zipping around to visit as many projects as possible. This issue’s cover story, one of a trio of site visits (more to come in CA 356!), marks the 80th anniversary of the discovery of the great Sutton Hoo ship burial and explores changes that have been made to the site, which has just reopened to the public after a £4 million transformation.
Sutton Hoo revolutionised our understanding of Anglo-Saxon England – and the Anglo-Saxons also feature in the second part of this trilogy, which takes us to Lyminge in Kent. There, excavations have uncovered what may be one of the earliest post-Roman churches built in the country. Moving into the later medieval period, CA has also visited Shrewsbury, where the first excavation ever carried out within the castle’s inner bailey has shed interesting new light on how the site’s defences evolved.
This month’s features are bookended by two thought-provoking pieces. The first challenges long-held assumptions about the immediately post-Roman period, and asks whether we should completely rethink our interpretation of the Anglo-Saxons; the other considers the ethics of archaeologists’ interactions with the dead.
We also bring you the latest from a major development-led excavation in Raunds, Northamptonshire, home to finds spanning the Neolithic to the Anglo-Saxon period.
Finally, I’d like to thank Edward Biddulph, who is hanging up his Books Editor hat after two years of masterminding our reviews section. Edward,
you’ve been a star – thanks for your help and hard work!
Carly Hilts
PS. Save the date! CA Live! 2020 will be on 28-29 February –
more details to come in CA 356.
In This Issue:
FEATURES
AXE THE ANGLO-SAXONS?
Rethinking the migration period
The transition between the Roman and early medieval periods is still not well understood. Here we consider whether we should be rethinking our approach to the study of the Anglo-Saxons.
LAYERED LANDSCAPES
Excavating a multi-period site at Raunds
The investigation of a large site at Warth Park in Raunds, Northamptonshire, has uncovered a rich landscape yielding traces of the people who lived there from the Neolithic through to the medieval period.
ROYAL REMAINS
Tracing a 7th-century church in Kent
Excavation beside Lyminge’s village church has revealed the remains of its Anglo-Saxon predecessor, founded by a female member of the Kentish ruling house.
BENEATH THE BAILEY
Examining the evolution of Shrewsbury Castle’s defences
Shrewsbury Castle’s violent past is belied by its attractive surroundings. Now, the first excavation to take place within its inner bailey has brought this martial story to light once more.
WHAT’S NEW AT SUTTON HOO?
Reinterpreting a world-famous site
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship burial, and the celebrated site has recently reopened to the public following a £4 million transformation. How has its well-known story been redisplayed?
DEBATING THE DEAD
Exploring the ethics of modern bioarchaeology
How should we interact with the remains of the dead? We examine what rules and regulations are currently in place regarding the excavation of human remains, and what might change in the future.
NEWS
New finds from the Pembrokeshire chariot burial; Beautiful beads and a Bronze Age burial mound revealed at Berk Farm; Norse hall discovered on Rousay; Preserving a POW camp in Yorkshire; Fishy fragment from Chedworth Roman Villa; Science Notes; Investigating Carrowmore’s unusual monument; Finds Tray
NEWS FOCUS
A pointed message – interpreting an inscribed stylus from Roman London
SPECIAL REPORT
Highlights from the CARD fund: the latest news from a community radiocarbon-dating initiative
REGULARS
Comment
Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive
Context
Reformation and reconstruction: Holy Trinity Church, St Andrews
Reviews
The Prittlewell princely burial: excavations at Priory Crescent, 2003; Personifying Prehistory: relational ontologies in Bronze Age Britain and Ireland; The Prehistory of Britain and Ireland; Early Neolithic, Iron Age, and Roman Settlement at Monksmoor Farm, Daventry, Northamptonshire; Scapa 1919: the archaeology of a scuttled fleet; Seahenge: a journey
Exhibition
Linda Brothwell: Conversations in Making at the Stonehenge visitor centre
Scottish Archaeology Month
Our selection of highlights from Scotland’s month-long celebration of heritage and archaeology, taking place this September
Sherds
Chris Catling’s irreverent take on heritage issues
Odd Socs
The Friends of Nottingham Museums
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