This month CA turns 50 and we are taking the opportunity to celebrate. Alongside the usual array of fascinating archaeological discoveries, we have sprinkled a selection of offerings with an anniversary theme. Our special wraparound cover pays homage to the very first issue, giving a modern and CA 1-style treatment to the excavations at the Over Narrows. Which is your favourite?
For a magazine that regularly chronicles events that played out thousands of years ago, there is a danger that a mere half century might seem a little parochial. Yet 50 years is not only a fair span in human and indeed magazine terms; it is long enough for archaeology to have undergone massive changes as a discipline. I’m not among those who experienced 1967 for themselves – although raiding my parents’ record collection as a teenager made me wish that I had – but through the pages of CA I can see how the archaeological world I took for granted as a student came into being.
This seems like a good moment to pay tribute to Andrew and Wendy Selkirk, for following their dream and working tirelessly to make CA a success. The magazine they created has showcased countless archaeological discoveries and brought much joy to its readers along the way. I joined their ranks as a teenager – at about the same time I started rifling through my parents’ records, funnily enough – and now, thanks to my association with the magazine, I have a wonderful wife and son. It is fair to say that when I filled out my first subscription form I had no idea what I was signing up for!
Matt Symonds
IN THIS ISSUE:/n
FEATURES/n
CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY AT 50/n
Half a century of keeping upwith the past
As we celebrate CA’s golden anniversary, we take a lookback at how the magazine has charted the happeningsin British archaeology over the past 50 years.
CARTIMANDUA’S CAPITAL?/n
Roman diplomacy and the riseof Stanwick
We examine theremarkable fortifiedcomplex at Stanwick,North Yorkshire. Was thisstronghold a centre ofresistance against Romein northern England oran aid to the empire’sdomination of the area?
THE SECRETS OF SHAKESPEARE’SGRAVE/n
Separating fact from fiction at HolyTrinity Church
With a famous epitaph cursing anyone whomight disturb his remains, Shakespeare’s grave inStratford-upon-Avon has attracted many visitorsas well as tales of graverobbers and stolen bones.We look at the surprising findings of the firstarchaeological investigation of the Bard’s final resting place.
DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE/n
Exploring Iron Age rituals in the Fens
Excavations on the banks of the Great Ouse in theCambridgeshire Fens have revealed intriguing newinsights into this ancient landscape of mid-riverislands and ridges. With human body parts and evidence of bird sacrifice unearthed, what do thefinds tell us about the mortuary practices of thearea’s Iron Age inhabitants?
CAUGHT KNAPPING/n
Revealing the secrets of Blick Mead’sMesolithic toolmakers
An unusually large number of Mesolithic workedflints has been discovered at Blick Mead, nearStonehenge. We find out what the 35,000 struck flints found so far can reveal about the peoplewho made them.
NEWS/n
Late Roman luxury living in Leicester; Shrivenham’smystery beast revealed; Neolithic origins for Hebrideancrannogs?; Henry VII’s birthplace revealed at PembrokeCastle?; Excavating Cambridge’s Augustinian friary; Lastcoin removed from largest Celtic coin hoard; Highlandhistory revealed; Aberdeenshire beakers decoratedwith bone; Finds tray
REGULARS/n
An archaeology of ale
Recreating lost local ales of Scotland
Context
West Stow revisited
Reviews
Underground Archaeology; The Lost Dark AgeKingdom of Rheged; William Boyd Dawkins andthe Victorian Science of Cave Hunting; The Gladius;Rescued from the Sea; Celtic from the West 3
Exhibition
Tunnel: the Archaeology of Crossrail at the Museum ofLondon Docklands
Sherds
Chris Catling’s irreverent take onheritage issues
Last Word
Andrew Selkirk takes a stroll through 50 years of CA
Odd Socs
The Friends of the Dymock Poets
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