This is a 'classic' issue of Current Archaeology, with articles on prehistory, Romans and medieval.
- Islay: Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherers in the Inner Hebrides
Around 6,000 BC, an intrepid band of hunters finally reached the island of Islay, off the west coast of Scotland. How did they live? and what did they live on? Steve Mithen has been tracking down the elusive traces.
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Roman Catterick
What was Roman Catterick? Originally it was a Roman fort, but a settlement soon sprang up outside the fort, which soon dominated the fort, and Catterick became one of the most important 'Small towns' in the north of Britain. In 1959 the new bypass went straight through the town, destroying the 'mansio' or posting station that was at its heart. Excavations over the past 40 years have produced a mass of material, which we here pull together to unveil the mystery of Roman Catterick
- The Picts
The Picts are traditionally a problem: their carved stones are well known, but where did they live, and where did they die? At Redcastle, on the east coast of Scotland, a cemetery of square barrows has been excavated: radiocarbon dating showed that it was 'Pictish' with dates clustering in the 4th - 7th centuries AD
- Wood Hall
In the later Middle Ages, those who would today be called the upper middle classes liked to demonstrate their position by surrounding their home with a moat. At Wood Hall, in the south of Yorkshire, one of these moated sites has just been excavated before it is covered by an ash dump. Here we can see the development of the timber hall including the evidence for the 'Great Rebuilding' when the open hall had a ceiling inserted, and was divided up into smaller rooms, and a staircase inserted.
The most impressive aspect however remained the stone gatehouse, and the elaborate bridges over the moat, still perfectly preserved in the still-wet moat.
- Wigmore Castle: a problem of conservation
English Heritage spend a million pounds - and has nothing to show for it!
Wigmore Castle is one of the more largest castles in the Welsh marches: it was traditionally the home of the Mortimers, one of the most powerful families in the Middle Ages. However following their decline, it became a ruin and has long been abandoned and indeed dangerous. English Heritage has now spent £1m conserving it and making it safe - but the result is virtually invisible - it has been left (deliberately) a wilderness. Is this a triumph? or is it as case where the final score is Ecology 1, Archaeology 0?
In addition there is also the Diary, Books and Letters, including the results of the Current Archaeology/Royal Archaeological Institute awards.
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