England - Archaeology News

Archaeologists carry out first dig at tomb linked to King Arthur

July 4, 2022

Archaeologists from The University of Manchester have started a dig at a 5,000-year-old tomb linked to King Arthur, hoping to answer some of the mysteries surrounding the enigmatic site in the process. Arthur’s Stone [Credit: University of Manchester] The experts are working in partnership with English Heritage, which looks after Arthur’s Stone in Herefordshire, to…

Archaeology, England, Europe, UK, Western Europe

2000-year-old human remains and animal sacrifices found in Dorset

July 1, 2022

Archaeology students from Bournemouth University have found the remains of prehistoric people and animal sacrifices in a recently discovered Iron Age settlement in Dorset. The skeletal remains were found in crouched positions in oval shaped pits [Credit: Bournemouth University] The site, which consists of typical Iron Age round houses and storage pits was discovered by…

Archaeology, England, Europe, UK, Western Europe

More than 8,000 frog bones found by Iron Age roundhouse in Cambridgeshire

June 15, 2022

Archaeology is not just the study of past human activity. It also looks at the animals that inhabited ancient landscapes. During excavations on the National Highways A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Road Improvement Scheme we retrieved more than four tonnes of animal bones, which we are now studying in detail. Research will tell us which species…

Archaeology, England, Europe, UK, Western Europe, Zooarchaeology

Wreck of historic royal ship discovered off the English coast

June 9, 2022

The wreck of one of the most famous ships of the 17th century — which sank 340 years ago while carrying the future King of England James Stuart — has been discovered off the coast of Norfolk in the UK, it can be revealed today. Julian and Lincoln Barnwell measure one of the Gloucester’s cannons[Credit:…

Archaeology, England, Europe, Ticker, UK, Underwater Archaeology, Western Europe

Europe’s largest land predator unearthed on the Isle of Wight

June 9, 2022

Research led by palaeontologists at the University of Southampton has identified the remains of one of Europe’s largest ever land-based hunters: a dinosaur that measured over 10m long and lived around 125 million years ago. Illustration of White Rock spinosaurid [Credit: UoS/A Hutchings] Several prehistoric bones, uncovered on the Isle of Wight, on the south…

Dinosaurs, England, Fossils, Palaeontology, UK

Ancient graffiti uncovered in Vindolanda

May 27, 2022

Nestled in the picturesque Northumberland countryside, Vindolanda with its fort and settlement is a treasure trove of everyday life during the Roman occupation of Britain and beyond. What makes this part of the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site so exceptional, is that some of the nearly 2,000-year-old artefacts uncovered reveal human emotions and feelings. Perhaps…

Archaeology, England, Europe, Ticker, UK, Western Europe

Prehistoric feces reveal parasites from feasting at Stonehenge

May 19, 2022

A new analysis of ancient faeces found at the site of a prehistoric village near Stonehenge has uncovered evidence of the eggs of parasitic worms, suggesting the inhabitants feasted on the internal organs of cattle and fed leftovers to their dogs. The prehistoric monument of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, UK [Credit: Adam Stanford] Durrington Walls was…

Archaeology, England, Europe, Forensics, UK, Western Europe

Study reveals Stonehenge landscape before the world-famous monument

April 28, 2022

Four thousand years before Stonehenge was constructed, land within the World Heritage Site was covered by open woodland, with meadow-like clearings, inhabited by grazing animals and hunter-gatherers, according to new research by the University of Southampton. A) Timeline of the Stonehenge landscape, including radiocarbon dates from Blick Mead and other significant Stonehenge World Heritage Archaeological Sites….

Ancient Environment, Archaeology, Earth Science, England, Europe, UK, Western Europe

Anglo-Saxon kings were treated to huge barbecues by peasantry, new study argues

April 21, 2022

Very few people in England ate large amounts of meat before the Vikings settled, and there is no evidence that elites ate more meat than other people, a major new bioarchaeological study suggests. Its sister study also argues that peasants occasionally hosted lavish meat feasts for their rulers. The findings overturn major assumptions about early…

Archaeology, England, Europe, Forensics, UK, Western Europe

The race to preserve the oven bricks of the Tudor warship the Mary Rose

April 7, 2022

After hundreds of years submerged in sea water, marine archaeological objects are complex materials due to degradation and inclusion of foreign compounds from the surrounding environment. When excavated and exposed to air these can transform to damaging products which can destroy material, and therefore historical loss. The Mary Rose, King Henry VIII’s favorite warship was…

Archaeology, England, Europe, Heritage, UK, Western Europe