Current Archaeology 429

This month’s articles are bookended by unusual artefacts with intriguing tales to tell. The first is an elaborate pendant bearing emblems associated with Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Analysis of its imagery has revealed a much wider story than was previously imagined, illuminating not only a royal marriage and the world of the Tudor court, but political ambitions and hopes for a lasting peace in 16th-century Europe. The other is a mysterious Roman dodecahedron. Theories abound for how these objects may have been used – but crucially, unlike many previous such discoveries, this example from Norton Disney in Lincolnshire was found during a modern excavation, within a securely datable context.

Dates also form a key part of our feature about Woodhenge. It is a century since the Neolithic monument was first spotted on Salisbury Plain and, to mark the milestone, we explore the story of its discovery, and discuss recent dating evidence that sheds new light on its place within the Stonehenge landscape.

It was a military veteran who first identified the remains of Woodhenge, and our next article has a martial flavour, too. In 2008-2010, the first modern excavation of a legionary storehouse anywhere in the Roman Empire was carried out at Caerleon in south Wales. What has subsequent analysis of the project’s findings revealed about life in the fortress, and the site’s ‘post-Roman’ afterlife?

We remain in the west as we visit a new exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool, examining Treasure finds from north-west England and Wales and drawing out the stories that they can tell us about past events and individuals.

Finally, we leap forward to the 19th century to examine how accommodation built specifically for single female workers transformed women’s fortunes in the Victorian and Edwardian periods.

In this issue:

FEATURES

100 YEARS OF WOODHENGE

Tracing an archaeological icon, from discovery to new dating evidence
This year marks a century since Woodhenge, a timber monument close to Stonehenge, was first identified. In recognition of this milestone, we revisit the story of how this important site was found, and what has been learned about it since then.

A STORE OF SECRETS

Excavating military kit and personal possessions at Caerleon
The first modern excavation of a legionary storehouse undertaken anywhere in the Roman Empire has shed intriguing light on fortress life – and what happened on the site when official administration ended.

STORIES FROM THE SOIL

Exploring Treasure finds in north-west England and Wales
Archaeological ‘Treasure’ artefacts are so much more than their glamorous appearance or their modern monetary value. We examine some of the highlights of a new exhibition running at the Museum of Liverpool, which shares the stories preserved by finds of this kind.

MAKING ACCOMMODATIONS

How 19th-century housing helped launch women’s independence
Newly published research explores how a pioneering programme of construction specifically focused on accommodation for single working women transformed female fortunes in the Victorian and Edwardian periods.

A MULTI-SIDED STORY

Examining the Norton Disney dodecahedron in its wider context
Dodecahedra are among the most mysterious kinds of artefact from the Roman world. A particularly well-preserved example was recently discovered in Lincolnshire. What can we learn from this enigmatic object and the settlement in which it was found?

LETTERS
Your comments, complaints, and compliments

NEWS
Leicester Market’s secrets uncovered; Areas of early Roman Wroxeter revealed on Attingham Estate; Uncovering Scotland’s earliest railway; Evidence of Glasgow’s medieval expansion uncovered at Gallowgate; Search ongoing in Essex for missing Secord World War pilot; Science Notes; Conservation reveals new details in the Peebles Hoard; Finds Tray

SPECIAL REPORT
Devotion and diplomacy: examining a treasure from the heart of the Tudor court

COMMENT
Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive

CONTEXT
Celebrating Railway200: Sheringham Station, Norfolk