A major archaeological search began on Tuesday to find evidence from the Battle of Lewes. The dig got under way in driving rain at Landport Bottom on the anniversary of the battle 749 years earlier. Tantalisingly, it achieved immediate results. Luke Barber, Research Officer for the Sussex Archaeological Society, said the first day uncovered a…
A team of dedicated trustees are on a mission to reveal the true identity of one of Derbyshire’s finest standing castles. This year the Codnor Castle Heritage Trust has been busy clear the undergrowth in the south court of the medieval ruins – getting rid of all thorn, scrub and ivy that has built up…
In the United Kingdom, British archaeologists have made a number of significant discoveries as of late, from the battered remains of King Richard III — found buried beneath a parking lot — to, more recently, a 14th-century burial ground for plague victims in London. British soil is, in fact, full of traces of the past….
The 13th-century cadaver, says Philippe Charlier, actually smells good. That’s because its veins have been filled with a mixture of mercury and beeswax, preserving the body. “Also it was smoked, like salmon or like pork,” he says. So even after 800 years, it’s in pretty good shape. Charlier is a physician and forensic scientist at…
A few months ago Sarah Gristwood came on the podcast for an interview and we talked about her book Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses. At the time the remains of King Richard III were being tested to confirm it was actually the King. During the interview Sarah explained how the…
A facial reconstruction based on the skull of Richard III has revealed how the English king may have looked. A skeleton found under a car park in Leicester has been confirmed as that of the king. The reconstructed face has a slightly arched nose and prominent chin, similar to features shown in portraits of Richard…
In this video Dr. Jo Appleby discusses the skeleton of King Richard III and the wounds he received in the Battle of Bosworth.
While we (or at least the USA) slept the University of Leicester held a press conference to disclose the results of a DNA test. The test was conducted on remains found in a Grey Friars car park last fall and believed to by those of King Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England. To…
There was a lot going on in the news regarding the middle ages this year. Viking massacres, Viking shipwrecks, medieval vampires, and even medieval underwear. But the hottest news of the year came out of a car park in Leicester. Instead of re-hashing all the stories I will list a few and hit the ones…
Underwear dating from medieval times that was found under flooring of an Austrian castle is hardly racy by the standards of today. But the discovery does suggest that women in 15th-century Europe took pride in their appearance, and perhaps not just the privileged classes. The University of Innsbruck announced this summer that “the world’s oldest…
A stunning array of death-dealing swords from the Medieval period and earlier, including Viking weapons, form the main thrust of Bonhams sale of Antique Arms and Armour on November 28th in Knightsbridge. David Williams, Director of Arms and Armour at Bonhams, comments: “Many of these rare and remarkable weapons would have been used in battle….
The discovery of a skeleton found with metal spikes through its shoulders, heart and ankles, dating from 550-700AD and buried in the ancient minster town of Southwell, Notts, is detailed in a new report. It is believed to be a ‘deviant burial’, where people considered the ‘dangerous dead’, such as vampires, were interred to prevent…
London is built on layers of its own past. Occasionally they poke through to the present, like the old Roman walls and the Temple of Mithras. Now two current construction projects have revealed glimpses of the city’s previous epochs. Work to build a leisure center at Elephant and Castle has uncovered some 500 medieval skeletons,…
Archaeologists working at the site of a medieval monastery in Veliki Preslav, one of the former capitals of Bulgaria, have found 101 copper coins said to date from the late 12th to early 13th centuries CE. Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Kingdom from 893 to 972 CE. The site is about 20km…
Fires have swept through the medieval marketplace of Aleppo, a district that helped make the heart of Syria’s largest city a UNESCO world heritage site. Some described the overnight blaze as the worst blow yet to a historic district that helped make the heart of Syria’s largest city and commercial hub a UNESCO world heritage…
