The Magna Carta, the English medieval document considered a cornerstone of modern democracy, is to get an overhaul and be brought back into the public spotlight in time for its 800th anniversary, academics said on Thursday. A three-year research project will also attempt to discover whether King John, the monarch who signed the document in…
The results of the restoration of paintings dating back to the 1220s are being displayed on a new website. The paintings inside Lakenheath’s St Mary the Virgin church were discovered in 1864 but had been damaged by leaks in the roof and a build up of dirt. Project manager Matthew Champion said he hoped the…
An archaeological survey carried out on a former grain silos site near Lynn’s South Quay should help to fill gaps in knowledge of that part of the town’s historic core, an expert says. Dr Ken Hamilton, senior historic environment officer with Norfolk County Council, said the recent dig at the former Sommerfeld and Thomas site,…
A mass grave found in Dorset could belong to a crew of Viking mercenaries who terrorised Europe in the 11th century – according to a new documentary on National Geographic which pieces together the story behind the burial. A crew of Viking mercenaries – some of the fiercest and most feared killers in the medieval…
The excavation, or trial by trenching, of the former library site in Church Street is being headed by Chris Birks Archaeological Services, based in Frettenham, near Norwich. It was originally ordered by Breckland Council and Norfolk County Council’s Historic Environment Service, based at the Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Museum, near Dereham. An application has been…
Archeologists from the Danish National Museum have now proven that Eric the Red, who founded the Icelandic settlement in Greenland at the end of the tenth century AD, and his contemporaries were able to brew ale. There have long been speculations whether the climate in the southernmost part of Greenland was warm enough in the…
A medieval west London barn described by the poet John Betjeman as the “cathedral of Middlesex” has been rescued from decay and neglect for the nation, English Heritage has said. Grade I-listed Harmondsworth Barn in west London joins the likes of Stonehenge, Osborne House and parts of Hadrian’s Wall in the national collection of historic…
Plundering, pillaging and plenty of sea food — what wasn’t to like about the life of a Viking? How it sometimes ended, suggests an archeological study in the current Oxford Journal of Archeology. In the study led by Mark Pollard of the United Kingdom’s University of Oxford, archeologists thought they had uncovered the victims of…
Thieves have stolen thousands of pounds’ worth of rare Saxon silver coins from the Museum of St Albans, which represent the rich history and heritage of the district. St Albans District Council has said the 30 coins were taken from a locked display cabinet in the Medieval Gallery at the Hatfield Road museum. It is…
Medieval nuns may return to haunt a developer by putting a halt to a proposed wind farm. Banks Renewables wants to build five 115-metre turbines near Hamsterley Forest. The company has already been told its wildlife survey work is not up to scratch and unless more is done, the project is likely to be refused…
A medieval fishing village is believed to have been found in the Outer Hebrides after a tip-off from an islander. The site is among potential new historic finds made along the islands’ coasts following information from members of the public. Archaeologists said they were told about the village after bumping into local man JJ MacDonald….
Hulme’s history is often associated with the notorious Crescents or its vital role in the Manchester music scene. But an archaeological dig is trying to unearth the inner-city district’s forgotten Medieval past. Archaeologists will carry out a three-week excavation at Birley Fields in Hulme before a new university campus is built on the land. One…
The underground remains of Northampton Castle could be brought to the surface under new proposals to regenerate a historic area of the town. Dr Marie Dickie, a member of the Friends of Northampton Castle (FONC), believes exposing some of the remains of the medieval site would bring both social and economic benefits to the town….
The flanks of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales National Park have given up one of their secrets to a team of amateur archaeologists. Members of the Ingleborough Archaeology Group spent weeks investigating a remote site on the side of one of the National Park’s famous Three Peaks to the west of Selside in Upper Ribblesdale….
Once laid to rest, the remains of many who died in medieval Europe were not left in peace. As much as 40 percent of graves from the mid-fifth to mid-eighth centuries appear to have been disturbed after burial. Grave robbers, searching for wealth buried along with the dead, have frequently born the blame from archaeologists….
