Moving megaliths: the Stonehenge-Asia link

I recently gave a talk at the Society of Antiquaries in London about how observers in British colonial Asia – mostly civil servants during the years of the Raj, when the Crown claimed the right to rule India between 1858 and 1947 – recorded their impressions of people creating megaliths. In diaries, talks, books, or …

Quick thoughts on A303 written representations

Well, the Stonehenge A303 proposed works examination representations are now in and available online. Many of the 264 documents (perhaps most) are from Highways England. But there are many more, including from Historic England (579 pages), National Trust (286), Stonehenge Alliance (218), Blick Mead (149, an odd submission, consisting mostly of copies of other people’s …

Arthur ApSimon

Sad news. Archaeologist Arthur ApSimon has died. He was 91. Like Isobel Smith, Arthur was research assistant to Gordon Childe in London. He went to Queen's University Belfast, then to the new Department of Archaeology in Southampton, where he remained until retirement. He published an important paper on the Wessex Culture in 1954, he was …

Archaeology and Brexit

  In a recent news magazine programme on Radio 4, there was a discussion about fruit. “We all love oranges,” says a reporter. “But if you love oranges, you’re in for a shock. Because a new survey has found out that you don’t.” Later in the feature the presenter asks a representative of an organisation …

Brenda Swinbank, archaeologist

Note: I wrote this for the excellent TrowelBlazers in July, but it doesn't seem to have been posted there, so in the meantime here it is as written. Brenda Swinbank was the late Jeremy Heywood’s mother, and as noted by his obituaries, she was an archaeologist. * Brenda Swinbank, born in Ackworth, West Yorkshire, in 1929 …

A close look at Blick Mead and Star Carr

This is very exciting. It’s not often we get large excavation monographs devoted to single mesolithic sites in the UK (Three Ways Wharf stands out, a site that was published in 2011 and excavated in the 1980s), but recently within the space of a few weeks we got two: Blick Mead in mid March (photo …

New British Archaeology!

The July/August edition of British Archaeology is published online today, and members and subscribers will start getting their copies in the post. It’s a terrific issues, with a striking front cover featuring Star Carr. You’ll be able to find it in the shops on Friday. Here are some of the highlights. Star Carr For the …

DNA, executions and Stonehenge: a new British Archaeology

Isn’t this a fabulous photo? We have some great images in the new British Archaeology, and we had fun with a series of shots showing a bronze age hoard under excavation. But I particularly like this photo taken by someone at Cotswold Archaeology (if you are reading this, let me know who you are!) which …

What 250 archaeologists found

It was press day for archaeology on the A14 yesterday. I drove up to Brampton to see, getting a feel on the way of why the roads need improving (though signs saying “Delays until 2020” felt like a comment on more than just roads). I’m going to write a bit about this elsewhere one day, …

Stonehenge deserves better than this

You may have noticed that Blick Mead was in the press today. I’m writing a feature rounding up all the recent excavations in and around the world heritage site for a future British Archaeology (you will be astonished at how much there is!), so I thought I’d have a look at the story. Excavation at …