Archaeologists in Israel have discovered the remains of a Byzantine-era compound near Jerusalem. They believed it is to have once been a monastery and includes an oil press, wine press and mosaics.
Medieval couple holding hands for 700 years
September 19, 2014 By
In the 14th century a medieval couple were laid to rest holding hands. After 700 years, archaeologists have discovered the pair during a dig to uncover a long lost chapel in Leicestershire, England.
Were medieval monks obese?
September 18, 2014 By
The modern image of the medieval monk, as often depicted in Robin Hood’s Friar Tuck, is of the overweight man who indulges in food. How accurate is this stereotype?
Nine blows to the head killed Richard III, study finds
September 17, 2014 By
Richard III’s final fight at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 left him with 11 wounds, three of which would have been fatal, a new study published the Lancet has found.
The Case of the Greenlandic Assembly Sites
September 8, 2014 By
In the early 20th century, scholars identified two possible Greenlandic assembly sites at Brattahalíð and Garðar respectively. Later scholars, with one exception, have neither refuted nor corroborated this, and research on this topic has therefore not significantly moved forward in the last 100 years. In this article, the two proposed assembly sites are examined in the light of recent research.
Anglo-Saxon Portraits: King Raedwald
September 6, 2014 By
In less than ten days the team unearthed Britain’s richest ever grave – 263 objects of gold, silver, bronze, iron, gems, leather, wood, textiles, feathers and fur, laid out in a wooden chamber at the centre of a buried ship. It was a sensation that attracted a police guard and an article in the Illustrated London News.
Christianity and the Latin tradition in early Medieval Ireland
September 1, 2014 By
The Christianity which arrived in Ireland with the fifth-century missionaries was more than just a literate religion; it was very much a religion of the book.
Anglo-Saxon smiths and myths
September 1, 2014 By
Knowledge of the metalworking and jewellery-making abilities of the Anglo-Saxons has been much enhanced in recent years by metallurgical and other technical studies.
Archaeology, common rights and the origins of Anglo-Saxon identity
September 1, 2014 By
It is generally accepted that rights over land, especially rights of pasture, played a formative role in establishing the identity of early Anglo-Saxon ‘folk groups’, the predecessors of the middle Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Rethinking Hardown Hill: Our Westernmost Early Anglo-Saxon Cemetery?
August 16, 2014 By
This paper reassesses the early Anglo-Saxon assemblage from Hardown Hill, Dorset. Wingrave excavated the objects in 1916 but apart from his 1931 report, and Evison’s 1968 analysis, there has been little subsequent discussion.
Living cheek by jowl: the pathoecology of medieval York
August 15, 2014 By
This paper aims to present the environmental context for disease combined with the human osteological record to reconstruct the pathoecology of medieval York.
Archaeologists uncover human remains in Dublin
August 14, 2014 By
The remains of at least five people have been discovered by archaeologists working at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Since they were found at a depth of 1.5 metres below the surface, it suggests the remains are most likely medieval or earlier in date.
What’s Happening in Medieval Archaeology this Summer
August 13, 2014 By
Here are some videos posted this summer about archaeological work currently taking place that involves medieval finds.
The Muslim Conquest of Byzantine Palestina – Monstrous Invasion or Peaceful Occupation?
August 9, 2014 By
The Persian and Muslim invasions of Palestina brought with them large-scale changes to the whole region
A figurine from Stare Bielsko. Sexuality in Middle Ages
August 9, 2014 By
ceramic figurine from late Middle Ages, found in Stare Bielsko, shows a couple that is having sex and can be a good example of not such sanctimonious way of thinking.
Death as an architect of societies Burial and social identity during the Viking Age in South-western Scania
July 30, 2014 By
In my opinion, the mono-cultural Viking Age is largely the product of one past social group, that had imposed on us their narration about the events, through production of tangible and durable monuments and sources. If analysis of the past should be of any value, it needs to be not only specifically spatially located, but also socially located.
Prisons and Punishments in Late Medieval London
July 27, 2014 By
This thesis begins with an analysis of the purpose of imprisonment, which was not merely custodial and was undoubtedly punitive in the medieval period. Having established that incarceration was employed for a variety of purposes the physicality of prison buildings and the conditions in which prisoners were kept are considered.
People of Medieval Edinburgh revealed from archaeological research project
July 25, 2014 By
Five years ago, archaeologists uncovered a graveyard dating back to the Middle Ages in the Scottish city of Edinburgh. Now a research project to analyze almost 400 people who were buried there has revealed new insights into their lives and even how they might have looked like.
The Byzantine Silver Bowls in the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial and Tree-Worship in Anglo-Saxon England
July 22, 2014 By
The ten Byzantine silver bowls included amongst the grave goods interred in the chamber of the Mound 1 ship burial at Sutton Hoo remain one of the most puzzling features of this site…
Remains of medieval church discovered in Nottinghamshire
July 17, 2014 By
The remains of a medieval church, which was once part of Rufford Abbey in Northamptonshire, England, have been uncovered after a two-week dig.
Researchers discover genome of Brucellosis from 700-year-old skeleton
July 15, 2014 By
A 700-year-old skeleton from a medieval village in Sardinia has given researchers new insights into a chronic disease that causes profuse sweating and muscle and joint pain.
Scandinavia and the Huns: an Interdisciplinary Approach to the Migration Era
July 15, 2014 By
The aim of this paper is to discuss the early Migration period as a particular period of ‘short term history’ and its formative impact on the Scandinavian longue duree in the first millenium.
Earliest case of Down Syndrome discovered
July 8, 2014 By
Researchers in France have discovered the remains of a child from the 5th or 6th century AD that had Down Syndrome. It is the earliest case to have been found so far.
The Medieval Life of the Colosseum
June 30, 2014 By
Archaeologist working on Rome’s Colosseum have discovered that the ancient landmark continued to be used throughout the Middle Ages, but not as a gladiatorial arena. Instead, it was used homes, workshops and even stables.
Climatic Change and the North Atlantic Seaways During the Norse Expansion
June 24, 2014 By
In order to appreciate how the Norse expansion might have been influenced by climatic fluctuations it is necessary to consider in outline the mechanisms which control weather and climate in the North Atlantic area at the present day, and which also obtained in the past.
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