This month’s cover feature showcases a colourful discovery from Roman London: vibrant fragments from one of the largest collections of painted wall plaster of this period ever found in the capital. Once part of fashionable frescos, thousands of pieces of plaster had been dumped in a pit associated with the demolition of a high-status building that stood in Southwark almost 2,000 years ago. Now, work is ongoing to piece this ancient jigsaw puzzle back together, revealing fascinating insights into the tastes and cultural connections of Londinium’s social elite.
From the luxurious residences of Roman Southwark, we then explore the remains of rather humbler dwellings. Archaeological investigations outside St Neots have uncovered traces of a now-vanished rural hamlet; excavated evidence and historical research have now combined to illuminate the experiences and identities of its working-class inhabitants.
For our third feature, we widen our focus from a single settlement to an entire archaeological landscape, tracing thousands of years of human activity within the Rother Valley.
Finally, we examine an often-overlooked chapter within the history of archaeology itself. Descriptions of the early days of Romano-British studies tend to be dominated by the achievements of male excavators, and we often hear of the ‘Fathers’ of archaeology – but there were a number of female archaeologists who also made vital contributions at this time. In our fourth feature, we share the stories of some of these pioneering individuals and explore the social and academic barriers that they faced.
In this issue:
FEATURES
IF WALLS COULD TALK
Reconstructing Roman London’s fashionable frescos
Ongoing efforts to piece together 2,000-year-old frescos from one of the largest collections of painted Roman wall plaster ever found in London are shedding colourful light on the tastes and connections of Londinium’s high-ranking inhabitants.
LITTLE END
Tracing the archaeology and social history of a long-vanished community
Archaeological work near Eaton Socon has revealed the remains of a row of labourers’ cottages. What can excavated evidence and historical research reveal about the experiences of their working-class inhabitants in the late Victorian period and early 20th century?
RIVERINE REFLECTIONS
Visiting the natural and cultural heritage of the Rother Valley
We explore how the landscape of the Rother Valley in the South Downs National Park has changed across time, and how human activity in this area has also evolved over thousands of years.
EXPANDING FRONTIERS
Celebrating the Mothers of Romano-British studies
In what is often thought of as a male-dominated era of archaeology, we share stories of some of the women who helped to pioneer early Romano-British studies.
LETTERS
Your comments, complaints, and compliments
NEWS
Revealing Rathgurreen Ringfort; DNA reveals details of Anglo-Saxon diversity; Rediscovering Welwyn Roman Baths; Rare Anglo-Saxon coin found near Norwich; Discovering the secrets of Gloucester Cathedral; Science Notes; Rediscovering Hannah Newton’s house; Finds Tray
COMMENT
Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive
CONTEXT
Surveying Verulamium: St Albans, Hertfordshire
REVIEWS
Medieval Warhorse: equestrian landscapes, material culture, and zooarchaeology in Britain, AD 800-1550; Life in the Great Army: raiders, traders, and settlers; Cotton ‘Henge’ to Craft: Neolithic to Anglo-Saxon remains at Warth Park, Raunds, Northamptonshire; The Trading and Consumption of Roman Glass in Britain 43-500 CE; The Watermills and Landscape of the River Great Ouse, Cambridgeshire; Late Iron Age to Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon Settlement at Barton Seagrave, Northamptonshire
EXHIBITION
The Trimontium Experience at the Trimontium Museum, Melrose
MUSEUM
Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
MUSEUM
Jewry Wall Museum: a real Roman experience, Leicester
MUSEUM NEWS
The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions
LISTINGS
Our selection of exhibitions and events, as well as historical, archaeological, and cultural resources online
SHERDS
Chris Catling’s irreverent take on heritage issues
ODD SOCS
Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust
