Romans in the news

Jim and Dilys Quinlan, who discovered the stone relief of the goddess of victory, have volunteered at Vindolanda, the site of an important Roman fort near Hexham, for 21 seasons. Dilys said: ‘We’ve spent the vast majority of our annual leave at Vindolanda over the years. As veteran diggers, it is without doubt the most wonderful thing we’ve ever done and, importantly, it’s something we do as a couple.’ The 47cm-tall carving is thought to have symbolised the end of war and to have been part of a much bigger reliefAmateur archaeologists unearth winged goddess at Hadrian’s Wall Continue reading…

Exclusive: Married volunteer diggers discover stone relief at site of Roman fort Vindolanda in NorthumberlandA striking Roman depiction of the winged goddess of victory has been discovered near Hadrian’s Wall by volunteers helping archaeologists on an official excavation.The stone relief was found by a Merseyside couple at Vindolanda, the site of the important Roman fort near Hexham, Northumberland. Continue reading…

North Yorkshire coastWith its swooping whale, snapping seal and mischievous god, the artist’s tricksy new work, made with Coralie Turpin, is just one of the fun-filled elements of Scarborough’s Wild Eye coastal art trailIt would be too simple to say that Jeremy Deller is interested in history. It would be more accurate to say he’s interested in things that aren’t there; or things that were once there; or perhaps things that could have been there. Protesting miners, deceased soldiers, inflatable sites of pagan worship have all been created or re-created by the Turner prize-winning artist, who has now turned his hand to a “speculative [Roman] mosaic” for Scarborough’s Wild Eye coastal art and nature trail.Created with sculptor Coralie Turpin, Deller’s mosaic is a “semi-trick” – a suggestion of a Roman masterpiece that has been uncovered on the shores of the seaside town with genuine Roman history. On the cliffs above the work sits the remains of a Roman signal station, and the mosaic is fragmented and inaccurate as if made from memory rather than a photograph, generating a sense of authenticity. “In 100 years’ time – or whenever – when this is all underwater and it is rediscovered, someone will think ‘Fuck, there was a Roman villa here,’” says Deller. Continue reading…

Study offers rare insight into human-animal combat during Roman empireBite marks from a lion on a man’s skeleton, excavated from a 1,800-year-old cemetery on the outskirts of York, provide the first physical evidence of human-animal combat in the Roman empire, new research claims.While clashes between combatants, big cats and bears are described and depicted in ancient texts and mosaics, there had previously been no convincing proof from human remains to confirm that these skirmishes formed part of Roman entertainment. Continue reading…

The pivotal ‘barbarian conspiracy’ of AD367 saw Picts, Scotti and Saxons inflicting crushing blows on Roman defencesA series of exceptionally dry summers that caused famine and social breakdown were behind one of the most severe threats to Roman rule of Britain, according to new academic research.The rebellion, known as the “barbarian conspiracy”, was a pivotal moment in Roman Britain. Picts, Scotti and Saxons took advantage of Britain’s descent into anarchy to inflict crushing blows on weakened Roman defences in the spring and summer of AD367. Continue reading…

Alexandra Morton-Hayward is using cutting-edge methods to crack the secrets of ancient brains – even as hers betrays herThere are more Audio Long Reads here, or search Audio Long Read wherever you listen to your podcasts Continue reading…

Experts say the find, which contains parts of chariots or wagons, harness fittings and an ornate cauldron, could change our understanding of the wealth and status of people in the north of Britain during the iron age. The archaeology team at Durham University, led by Prof Tom Moore, dug up the items after securing £120,000 funding from Historic England. Keith Emerick, an inspector of ancient monuments at Historic England, said the decision to provide funding was agreed the same day Moore contacted himIron age hoard found in North Yorkshire could change Britain’s history Continue reading…

More than 800 objects unearthed near Melsonby show the north was ‘definitely not a backwater’ 2,000 years agoOne of the biggest and most important iron age hoards ever found in the UK has been revealed, potentially altering our understanding of life in Britain 2,000 years ago.More than 800 objects were unearthed in a field near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire. They date back to the first century, around the time of the Roman conquest of Britain under Emperor Claudius, and are almost certainly associated with a tribe called the Brigantes who controlled most of northern England. Continue reading…

With sandals that look fresher than last year’s Birkenstocks, gossipy messages recovered from writing tablets and 73,000 shards of pottery, London Museum’s new collection is like falling head-first into the first centuryArchaeologists don’t always get lucky when a site is redeveloped in the middle of London. People have been building in the city for millennia and, in more recent times, bombing it. But if the building before went too deep, or there has been too much exposure to the air by bomb damage in the past, there won’t be much to find. Things were especially bad before 1991, when there was no planning protection for anything but scheduled ancient monuments. “We used to have to beg to get on site,” says Sophie Jackson, archaeologist at Museum of London Archaeology (Mola).It’s not that developers are insensitive, says Jackson: “When we did the excavation at Barts hospital, [it] was functioning above us – we were right under the MRI machines. Developers recognise the social value.” It’s just that the stars don’t often align. Continue reading…

Archaeologists hail discovery of near-2,000-year-old structure as one of most significant recent finds in the cityThe remains of London’s earliest Roman basilica have been discovered under an office block, in what archaeologists have described as one of the most significant recent discoveries in the capital.The almost 2,000-year-old structure was part of the forum, the Roman capital’s social and administrative centre, and built around the late 70s or early 80s AD, just a few decades after the Romans invaded Britain and 20 years after Boudicca sacked and burned the city in AD60. Continue reading…