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 …

Stonehenge stories on Twitter

How to Build Stonehenge comes out on February 17 2022. Published by Thames & Hudson, it has many illustrations (including new photos and diagrams by me) and is the first book to focus exclusively and comprehensively on this theme since Herbert Stone’s The Stones of Stonehenge, published in 1924. There was a lot to say: …

Do you recognise these archaeologists?

This remarkable photo shows an excavation team in Dorset in 1970. At the time of posting this, we’ve been able to identify 35 of the people there, but 18 remain unknown to us [updated, currently 36/17]. Can you help? The story begins in Wiltshire, near Stonehenge, in 1966. The council had decided to straighten a …

Antony Gormley at the Royal Academy 2019

I was privileged to attend a press view of the new Antony Gormley show at the Royal Academy this morning. I liked it very much. It opens on September 21 and closes on December 3. Key points: 1. It’s a real co-operation between gallery and artist, unique to the place and the time and enhancing …

Stonehenge 1979

More evidence for Southampton University help at Stonehenge. Excavating the Avenue ditch is Sue Davies See https://mikepitts.wordpress.com/2019/04/26/arthur-apsimon/

Brexit: The Uncivil War

I haven’t enjoyed a TV drama (Brexit: The Uncivil War, Channel 4 January 7) so much since Killing Eve. But I’m not heartened by the reaction of many people, whose views about Brexit I share, who seem to feel The Uncivil War somehow let down our side, that it glamorised Brexit and concealed its darker …

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 …

Albertopolis. Or, there’s still a Britain to believe in

I had to go to the V&A this morning, and as it was so warm and I had an hour I walked from Paddington station across Hyde Park. Here are some random photos in the order I took them, walking through a park in London, down a street and back again. It’s a walk that …

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 …

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 …