Farmers in the southern Netherlands found themselves in an enviable position during the Roman period. Nearby military bases along the Rhine brimmed with soldiers that needed feeding , while good soil allowed crops to be grown in abundance. Some landowners transformed these advantages into enormous wealth. Their success saw villa estates sprouting across a landscape that has gone on to capture the interest of generations of antiquarians and archaeologists. Bringing the evidence that they gathered together allows us to tell a story of country folk that is anything but everyday.<\/p>\n
Digging in Benin City, Nigeria, is also shedding light on a remarkable residence: in this case, a royal palace. The site can stake a claim to being one of the most celebrated and notorious historic places in Africa. While the palace lay at the heart of a great kingdom, it was destroyed during a raid in 1897, with the loot including the sculptures now known as the \u2018Benin Bronzes\u2019. We go behind the scenes of the excavation project examining this site.<\/p>\n
It is submerged prehistoric settlements that have been under the microscope in the western Balkans. Ancient pile-dwelling sites are often associated with Alpine lakes, but such settlements found favour across a much wider area. The challenge has always been to date the western Balkan sites. Overcoming this hurdle is revealing the remarkable potential of these settlements.<\/p>\n
Where Roman frontiers are concerned, it is their scale rather than assigning them to a broad archaeological era that has posed problems for scholars. Now, though, a book series has managed to encircle the Roman Empire, providing an up-to-date account of the frontiers. We examine what has been accomplished.<\/p>\n
Finally, in our travel section, Richard Hodges shares the results of recent excavations at Butrint, which are providing fascinating new insights into its fortunes in the 9th century AD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In this issue:<\/strong><\/p>\n – Villa life: new light on luxurious Roman residences in the Netherlands Plus: news, reviews, museum, opinion columns, object lesson, and much 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\n– Digging Benin City: excavations at the former royal palace
\n– Submerged prehistoric settlements: seeing beneath the surface in the Balkans
\n– Encircling the Empire: how Rome\u2019s frontier network was chronicled
\n– Albania: new excavations at Butrint
\n– France: exposing an 11th-century abbey<\/p>\n