Historytalker
Cotswold Archaeology: A near-pristine Bronze Age spearhead is among the artefacts we’ve uncovered during the creation of a new wildlife habitat at a site in South Cerney, Gloucestershire. The spearhead, which is over 3,000 years old, was discovered just below the soil surface, during excavations for Thames Water’s wetland project, which sits in an archaeologically…
Biodiversity project reveals Bronze Age spearhead — Cotswold Archaeology
Devastating floods in 2009 wreaked havoc in Cumbria; Lynda Howard, however, found a silver lining amongst the clouds in the discovery of enigmatic Roman remains, exposed by the deluge.
After the storm: new Roman remains at Cockermouth — The Past
The Lunt is one of my favourite places in the world. The name is unique and seems to mean steep hill in Old English. It may date back to the small Anglo-Saxon era village that appeared in Baginton from the late 6th century onwards.
If you go there now you can see a partially reconstructed Roman fort. An ambitions 1970s project that emerged from the excavations of the multi-period Roman Fort found in the 1960s. After the site was fully excavated the team began reconstruction of building and fortifications as experimental archaeology. The structures today include an impressive gatehouse, ramparts, ditch and granary building.
Histories are as perfect as the Historian is wise … and … the grand difference between a Dryasdust and a sacred Poet, is very much even this…. When both oblivion and memory are wise, when the general soul of man is clear, melodious, true, there may come a modern Iliad as memorial of the Past: […]
When History Stops — J.R. Nyquist Blog
Playing cards to pass the time War can be hell… and war can be absolute boredom. There are few better ways to pass the time than by playing cards. They’re easy to carry: small and lightweight, they fit into a rucksack, duffel bag or Alice pack without having to sacrifice any piece of essential gear. […]
Playing cards made history — Pacific Paratrooper
By Nigel Swift .You hear it all the time from archaeologists and some detectorists: licensing will improve behaviour as the official code will be adhered to and finds will be recorded not concealed. I think it’s tripe, whoever proposes it. £100 is well worth paying if you’re minded to conceal finds from a farmer in […]
Once and for all, licensing of metal detectorists won’t work — The Heritage Journal
While damaged through constant exposure to the elements and even being once hit by a bus, the Kells Market Cross is a fragile, beautiful yet defiant survivor of over 1,100 years. Dating to the late 9th or perhaps the very early 10th century, the cross has a complex story regarding its art that has yet […]
A Cross in Time: The Market Cross at Kells — Archaeo𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥
Today I ticked a point off my bucket list playing two ancient boardgames in the park with a friend. We played about five games of Hnefatafl and one of Fox and Geese in the War Memorial Park in Coventry. Hnefatafl, also known as Kings Table, is a board game popular in the Viking period. Fox and Geese is a similar game but is heavily weighted to the Geese player and so fell out of popularity in the Middle Ages. Both games are asymmetric games with unequal forces and different winning goals. They challenge the player to be competent, keep focus and work towards specific goals in pursuit of the eventual objective of winning.
My friend is called Arron and despite it being his first time playing (and having just come off a long drive from work) did very well indeed. I obviously play these games daily as part of my job and I did not cut him any slack but he soon picked up the rules and the game and after an hour was making it very hard for me to win.
It was a very enjoyable time with lots of good conversation and game play. We got a lot of interest as well from other park users. One boy sent his mother over to ask if he could have a game. In the future I would like to play more in the park so if anyone would like to join me drop me a message in the comments section.
*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my Disclosure page for more info Chester’s Roman Garden is located just outside the city walls. It’s a place I would highly recommend visiting. Its made up […]
Chester, England: A Roman garden — NattyTravels
Britain enthusiastically adopted the Roman tradition of writing curses on lead (or sometimes pewter) tablets. Maybe that tells us something about the British character. Maybe it doesn’t. Either way, because lead doesn’t rust, they left us a record of daily life, or of one odd corner of it anyway, that we can snoop around in. […]
Curse tablets in Roman Britain — Notes from the U.K.
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