Leiston Abbey: The Archaeological Story So Far

14 Christmas Gift Ideas for Archaeology Lovers

Love it or hate it, it’s that time of year again when you start thinking about what to get the archaeology-lover in your life. Wondering how to pick the right present for someone who…

Costa dos Castros – Spain’s first successful crowdfunded dig!

It’s taken four months and support from people across three continents, but the people of Costa dos Castros have reached 100% of their first crowdfunding campaign to help them champion the extraordinary Bronze Age…

Site Diary: What Kind of Hillfort Have We Actually Found?

Where is everybody? Or rather, where WAS everybody in the Iron Age, at Chavella hillfort? Because they certainly don’t seem to have been living where we thought they were! All good things come to…

Site Diary: How to Dig an Iron Age Hillfort, Spanish Style!

What happens on the first day of excavation at an Iron Age hillfort? Beer, bagpipes and bulls were not what we expected! The first day of excavation is always one full of anticipation. You…

Cheese Was Food Of the Gods for Britain’s Neolithic Henge Builders

Archaeologists at Durrington Walls say that pots found in residential areas were used for cooking meat, while pottery in ceremonial areas were used for cheese and dairy. Cheese. We all love cheese and many…

Be the Next Person to Discover Victoria Cave

Over the next 18 months, we’re exploring the Ice Age gems hidden in Victoria Cave. This is your chance to help bring them to national attention. Archaeology is fascinating not just for its discoveries,…

Investigating Yorkshire’s Ice Age Bears

Imagine being the first human to arrive in the north of England after the last Ice Age. After an incredibly long journey, you reach a cave that looks like somewhere you could rest. You…

Sneak Preview of What’s Inside Victoria Cave

Catch the first behind-the-scenes glimpse of Yorkshire’s Ice Age treasures, and even handle them for real. One afternoon in 1837, just before the accession of the young Queen Victoria, two men were walking in…

This Petroglyph Captures the Moment when Atlantic and Mediterranean Cultures Met

Archaeologists are beginning to change their views of the contact made between Atlantic and Mediterranean cultures before the Romans, says Xosé Gago, with increasing evidence that connections were earlier and more intense than previously…

Close Up Look Reveals Mummification Was Common in Bronze Age Britain

It really is amazing what you can do with a microscope. A new study of ancient skeletons suggests that Bronze Age bodies were smoked over fire, kept in peat bogs and even brought out…

Bronze Age Sauna Discovered in Scotland

A sauna? In Scotland? Well I never! It does sound bizarre, but it’s not the only evidence that ancient people heated water with hot rocks and steamed themselves together. The island of Westray in…

Why Looking for Rock Art is Best Done in the Dark

Sarah has been out to record some of the Bronze Age rock art that lines the Atlantic coast of Spain. Here she tells us why working with these panels is an adventure of body,…

How Fifty Skeletons Ended Up Under the Toilet Block of Westminster Abbey

Work to replace a toilet block at Westminster Abbey has turned up 50 medieval skeletons, including a child and a headless man. But whose are they? And how did they get there? So here’s…

Extinct Tree Grows Again from Jar of Ancient Seeds

Archaeologists found a 2,000 year-old jar of Judean date palm seeds, a tree which has been extinct since 500 AD. They planted them and they GREW! What if archaeologists could bring the long-dead back…

Medieval Body Found Dangling from the Roots of an Upturned Tree

An ancient Irish tree toppled over in a storm to reveal an even more ancient burial… When this 215 year old beech tree in the Irish town of Collooney blew over in a storm,…

How you can help archaeologists bring an ancient woodland back to life

Archaeologists may be used to rooting around in the ground for clues to the past, but this time they’re planning to regrow a living, breathing piece of history. We spoke to archaeologist Xosé Gago…

New human ancestor had big thumbs, a tiny brain and disposed of their dead

Deep in an underground cave, archaeologists have discovered a new human ancestor with big thumbs and a tiny brain. But is it a new species? How old are they? And did they deliberately dispose…