Current Archaeology 379

3 mins read

As things opened up again this summer, it has been wonderful to visit excavations and exhibitions again, to meet project directors and curators, and to see archaeological discoveries with my own eyes – what a difference a year makes. This month we have a number of shorter articles reporting on these trips – I have also been to Bath and, by the time you read this, will have visited digs in Winchester and Caistor St Edmund too, so watch this space for future coverage of these and other sites (have notebook, will travel!).

Our first feature takes us to Anchor Church, near Repton, where recent architectural analysis has revealed hints that the artificial caves may boast early medieval origins and links to a royal religious recluse.

Next comes news from visits to two summer digs: one exploring the extra-mural settlement at Birdoswald Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall, and another at Sedgeford in north-west Norfolk, where a long-running project is uncovering traces of middle Saxon malting.

From there, we are marking the inscription of the UK’s newest World Heritage site: the dramatic landscapes associated with slate-working in north-west Wales. This month’s ‘In Focus’ ties into this theme, featuring the UK’s other UNESCO-recognised sites and how this status can be threatened or, in the recent case of Liverpool, lost.

Speaking of special status, this year marks the Sussex Archaeological Society’s 175th birthday, making it one of the oldest county-based archaeological societies in the country. We have been learning about its origins following a dramatic discovery at Lewes Priory, and the historic properties in its care; this is followed by a spotlight on one of its more enigmatic sites, the Long Man of Wilmington.

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In This Issue:

FEATURES

ANCHOR CHURCH

The refuge of a 9th-century royal religious recluse?
Recent analysis of the Anchor Church cave, long-thought to have been the remains of an 18th-century folly, has revealed that it may have early medieval origins.


BIRDOSWALD

Exploring a Roman town on Hadrian’s Wall
This summer, CA visited a new project excavating the extra-mural settlement at Birdoswald Roman fort. What has been discovered so far?


BREWING UP HISTORY

Unearthing evidence for middle-Saxon malting at Sedgeford
Now in its 25th digging season, the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project continues to make exciting finds at an Anglo-Saxon settlement in Norfolk.


THE INDUSTRIAL SUBLIME

Appreciating the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
We take a tour of the most-recent UK addition to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites, the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, whose rich history combines natural and man-made features.


SUSSEX PAST AND PRESENT

Tracing the origins of a 175-year-old archaeology society
The Sussex Archaeological Society is one of the oldest county-based archaeology societies in the UK. We explore how it was created following a dramatic discovery in the Victorian period, and the sites in its care today.


THE LONG MAN OF WILMINGTON

Memorialising a Sussex martyr?
Recent research into the enigmatic hill figure at Wilmington has revealed evidence for a Tudor date, as well as a possible political meaning behind its design.


LISTED AND LOST

Cultural World Heritage sites in the UK
UK landmarks were both added to and removed from the register of World Heritage sites this year. Here we consider those changes and take a look at the other UNESCO-recognised sites in the UK and beyond.


NEWS

Early origins of Arthur’s Stone uncovered; Revealing a rich prehistoric landscape at Biddenham; Digging returns to the Ness of Brodgar; Three new Treasure finds in Wales; Roman origins revealed for statue of Alfred the Great; Science Notes; A ‘lost’ Anglo-Saxon monastery discovered in Berkshire; Finds Tray


NEWS FOCUS

Rock legends: the earliest family photo from Stonehenge?


REGULARS

Comment
Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive

Context
Cromwell’s mansion: Austin Friars, City of London

Reviews
Brickmaking: history and heritage; Belonging and Belongings: portable artefacts and identity in the civitas of the Iceni; The Viking Great Army and the Making of England; Cumbria’s Prehistoric Monuments; Mammoths and Neanderthals in the Thames Valley: excavations at Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire; 50 Finds from Buckinghamshire: objects from the Portable Antiquities Scheme

Exhibition
John Pull: Worthing’s hero archaeologist at Worthing Museum and Art Gallery

Heritage from Home
A selection of sites that have recently reopened, as well as plenty of historical, archaeological, and cultural resources from around the world that are still available online.

Sherds
Chris Catling’s irreverent take on heritage issues

Odd Socs
The Red Phone Box and Post Box Appreciation Society


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