The early medieval cemetery at Sutton Hoo has a long and complex history. Our cover feature explores how a royal burial ground was transformed into a grim place of execution; how interpretations of the site have evolved; and how its wider context traces the Anglo-Saxon story, from pagan immigrants to a Christian kingdom.
New arrivals to these shores were also a feature of the Mesolithic period, when, as Britain’s last Ice Age ended c.11,000 years ago, intrepid groups of humans from continental Europe repopulated the landscape.
From pioneering journeys to pioneering initiatives, this month we mark the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the Treasure Act, and the subsequent birth of the Portable Antiquities Scheme: revolutionary developments aimed at ensuring that finds can be properly recorded and the most important acquired for public collections.
It was also for the public good that Roman citizens pooled their resources to form ‘burial clubs’, cooperative funds for funerary expenses. Might a York cemetery shed further light on how poorer Romans were able to lay their loved ones to rest with dignity?
No such care had been shown to a man from Roman London whose skull was found in a pit near the city wall. His battle-scarred features led him to be interpreted as a possible gladiator; we look for traces of these famous fighters in the capital.
Finally, I would like to welcome two new members of the CA team – Joe Flatman, as a contributing editor, and Edward Biddulph, as books editor – and thank my predecessor, Dr Matthew Symonds, who now heads Current World Archaeology. I am excited to be following in his footsteps, and I hope you will enjoy walking with me.
Carly Hilts
IN THIS ISSUE:/n
FEATURES/n
AFTER THE ICE/n
Exploring Britain 11,000-6,000 years ago
The Mesolithic period was a watershed in Britishprehistory, when ice sheets retreated and largenumbers of people resettled the landscape, but alsowhen rising sea levels cut us off from the Continent.
MOUND-BUILDING ANDSTATE-BUILDING/n
A wider context for the SuttonHoo burials
Sutton Hoo is best known for the elite Anglo-Saxoncemetery excavated there in the 1930s, but morerecent campaigns tell an even richer tale. We explorehow the site can be seen as a local showing of a biggerEuropean drama, with a legacy that still lingers today.
ON THE RECORD/n
20 years of the Treasure Act
In 1997, the Treasure Act came into force and thePortable Antiquities Scheme was born. We reflect on howthese initiatives evolved, and how they have transformedour understanding, and recording, of the past.
THE BURIAL CLUB/n
Excavating Eboracum’scommon people
How did Romans of slender means bury their dead?The discovery of more than 70 graves in York shedsnew light on the funerary traditions of its low-statusinhabitants in the 2nd-4th centuries AD.
FIGHTING TALK/n
Searching for gladiatorsin Roman London
Gladiatorial combat is a famous featureof life in ancient Rome, but whatdo we know about thosewho fought in London’samphitheatre?
NEWS/n
Tudor traces of Greenwich Palace revealed; Moreevidence of ritual cannibalism at Gough’s Cave; UnusualBronze Age hoard found in Cumbria; Brunswick wreckidentified in Bristol Port?; Rescuing the Rooswijk; Pictishlonghouse unearthed at Burghead Fort?; Multiplying Luftonfishes; Beating London’s bodysnatchers; Finds tray
REGULARS/n
Comment
Joe Flatman excavates theCAarchive
Context
Roman ritual at Red Lodge, Suffolk
Reviews
Agriculture and Industry in South-EasternRoman Britain; Segedunum;Gatherings: Pastand Present; Excavations at the British Museum;The Pilum; The Making of Prehistoric Wiltshire
Museum
Medieval monasticism at Hailes Abbey,Gloucestershire
Scottish Archaeology Month
Highlights of heritage-themed events taking placethis September as part of Scotland’s month-longcelebration of archaeology
Sherds
Chris Catling’s irreverent take onheritage issues
Odd Socs
Cardiff Transport Preservation Group