History First

Archival detective work and scientific analysis by archaeologists have revealed the likely origin of one of the largest and most unusual hoards of late Roman artefacts discovered in Britain.

Given the new light shed on its provenance and archaeological context, the researchers said that, after 150 years in relative obscurity, the Knaresborough Hoard “can rightfully claim its place as one of the most important collections of late Roman metalwork from Britain and the western provinces of the Roman Empire.”

Although the hoard was discovered in North Yorkshire around 1864, no detailed analysis of the items was previously undertaken and the circumstances of the find were unknown. Newcastle University archaeology student Jessica DeMaso carried out the first comprehensive study of the hoard as part of her MA degree and the results are published in The Antiquaries Journal.

She said: “The Yorkshire Museum have a research initiative called Old Collections, New Questions and had written up some research prompts. I thought, ‘This Knaresborough Hoard sounds so interesting — why has no one studied it before?' And it turns out to be an incredible story [ . . . ]" Click on the link to read on.

Victorian map unlocks 'incredible' tale of Romano-British metal hoard - History First Archival detective work and scientific analysis by archaeologists have revealed the likely origin of one of the largest and most unusual hoards of late-Roman artefacts discovered in Britain. Given the new light shed on its provenance and archaeological context, the researchers said that, after 150 y...

A Roman dodecahedron unearthed on a community dig in Lincolnshire is the “find of a lifetime” and one of the finest examples of the rare mystery objects, archaeologists say.

Scores of the hollow 12-sided artefacts, cast in copper alloy, have been found across the Roman Empire’s former northern and western provinces — mostly in England and Wales, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. They are not mentioned in Roman literature and their purpose or significance has been a topic of speculation and debate since the 18th century.

The new example comes from the village of Norton Disney, near Lincoln, close to the site of a Roman villa discovered in 1933. Excavations between 1934 and 1937 found evidence for the villa’s occupation from the mid-first century AD to the mid-fourth century. During that time, it evolved from simple timber structures to a complex of mostly stone-built buildings with features such as mosaic floors and underfloor heating [ . . . ] Click on the link to read the full story.

Mysterious Roman dodecahedron is 'find of a lifetime' - History First A Roman dodecahedron unearthed on a community dig in Lincolnshire is the "find of a lifetime" and one of the finest examples of the rare mystery objects, archaeologists say.

It was the most shocking loss of a Royal Navy warship in the Second World War, and may have been completely misunderstood. HMS Hood did not sink due to a “lucky hit” from the German battleship Bismarck, but as a result of catastrophic metal fatigue, a new paper suggests.

The British battlecruiser, which had been the world’s largest warship for over 20 years, sank only six minutes into the Battle of the Denmark Strait in the early morning of May 24, 1941. All but three of the 1,418 men on board perished. The New York Times‘ Washington Correspondent wrote: “The gravity of the blow to British naval supremacy could be measured here by the stunned silence with which the news of the Hood was received.”

The action unfolded in rough seas in the strait between Greenland and Iceland when Hood, along with the battleship Prince of Wales, sought to prevent Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen breaking out into the North Atlantic to prey on Allied merchant shipping [ . . . ] Click on the link to read the full story.

HMS Hood 'sunk by mechanical failure, not Bismarck' - History First It was the most shocking loss of a Royal Navy warship in the Second World War, and may have been completely misunderstood. HMS Hood did not sink due to a "lucky hit" from the German battleship Bismarck, but as a result of catastrophic metal fatigue, a new paper suggests.

Medals awarded to a British soldier who took part in one of the most audacious missions of the Second World War — a 48-day 4,000 mile round-trip commando raid on Singapore Harbour — are expected to make £60,000-£80,000 at auction.

Acting Sergeant Ronald George “Taffy” Morris was attached to the Special Operations Executive and Special Operations Australia when he served as medical orderly on the fishing boat MV Krait for Operation Jaywick. The 14-man mission, commanded by Captain Ivan Lyon, resulted in sinking or damaging six enemy ships totalling over 25,000 tons. With no uniforms or ID tags, and flying the Japanese flag, the men risked certain death if captured [ . . . ] Click on the link to read the full story.

Medals of Welsh hero of 4,000-mile WW2 commando raid up for sale - History First Medals awarded to a British soldier who took part in one of the most audacious missions of the Second World War — a 48-day 4,000 mile round-trip commando raid on Singapore Harbour — are expected to make £60,000-£80,000 at auction.

Remains of a man buried near a rural farmstead in Roman Britain may hold the first genetic evidence for the presence of Iranian-speaking Sarmatians in the province, according to scientists.

The bones of the man, who lived sometime between 126 and 228AD and died in early adulthood, were found in 2017 during excavations for the A14 road improvement scheme near the village of Offord Cluny in Cambridgeshire.

The man, known as Offord Cluny 203645, was buried alone without any personal possessions in a trackway ditch, so little could be inferred without scientific analysis. Now, in a study published in Current Biology, researchers from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), the Francis Crick Institute and Durham University, show that he grew up over 1,000 miles away and carried ancestry related to Sarmatians and other ancient inhabitants of the Caucasus.

The nomadic Sarmatians spoke a Middle Iranian language and were renowned horse riders who​ lived around today’s southern Russia and Ukraine before some groups moved south and west. Herodotus claimed, fancifully, that they were descended from unions of Scythian men and Amazon female warriors [ . . . ]

Cambridgeshire bones may hold first DNA evidence of Sarmatians in Britain - History First Remains of a man buried near a rural farmstead in Roman Britain may be the first genetic evidence for the presence of Iranian-speaking Sarmatians in the province, according to scientists.

Pablo Picasso had his vision for his masterpiece Guernica weeks before the bombing of the Basque town and based its composition on a painting by Francisco Goya and two famous war photographs, according to a new analysis that overturns traditional assumptions.

The mural, displayed at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, was painted at the height of the Spanish Civil War and is one of the best-known antiwar artworks. However, while its title links the painting to the Nationalists’ aerial attack on Guernica on April 26, 1937, much about its genesis and meaning has remained mysterious, due partly to the artist’s reticence.

Now researchers in Canada have concluded that, earlier in 1937, Picasso had already conceived of the mural as a triptych, or three-part composition, with dimensions based on Goya’s The Second of May 1808. They argue that the artist used that 19th-century masterpiece, depicting an uprising of Spanish civilians against tyrannical French rule, as the inspiration for the central, largest section. And they believe he appropriated civil war photographs by Robert Capa and David “Chim” Seymour, showing a falling soldier and a breastfeeding mother, on the right and left-hand sides.

According to their review of the masses of relevant literature, none of these three works — each very well-known — has previously been recognised as a central inspiration for the painting. The study’s lead author, Michael Young, a retired lecturer in art theory and ceramic sculpture at Okanagan University College, said: “I could not believe that other people hadn’t looked at Goya’s The Second of May and gone, ‘There it is!" [ . . . ]

Picasso's Guernica 'inspired by Goya and Capa weeks before bombing' - History First Pablo Picasso had his vision for his masterpiece Guernica weeks before the bombing of the Basque town and based its composition on a painting by Francisco Goya and two famous war photographs, according to a new analysis that overturns traditional assumptions.

An 1820s railway pub built before the development of train stations and still serving pints is one of some 227 historic buildings and sites added to the National Heritage List for England this year. Others include a drive-in “carriage splash” likened to a 17th-century carwash, a Second World War radar station, and a Norfolk manor house that has had so many additions over the centuries that it resembles an entire village street.

Altogether, over 400,000 sites have been granted protection through addition to the list, which is managed by Historic England on behalf of the government. Here are eight of the most interesting new, upgraded or amended entries of 2023 [ . . . ]

Railway pub that predates train stations among newly listed sites - History First An 1820s railway pub built before the development of train stations and still serving pints, is one of some 227 historic buildings and sites added to the National Heritage List for England this year.

A Roman town once considered so unpromising that no one bothered to excavate it boasted a bustling river port, rare roofed theatre and fine monumental buildings — and rewrites the history of Italy, according to archaeologists.

The newly released findings of a 13-year investigation, including excavations and comprehensive geophysical surveys, show that Interamna Lirenas was a far more significant and impressive settlement than historians had realised. It was evidently part of a complex regional trading network that prospered well into the imperial period, when Italy was thought to have been in steady decline.

Archaeologist Dr Alessandro Launaro, the study’s author and Interamna Lirenas Project lead at Cambridge’s Classics Faculty, said: “There was nothing on the surface, no visible evidence of buildings, just bits of broken pottery. But what we discovered wasn’t a backwater — far from it. We found a thriving town adapting to every challenge thrown at it for 900 years [ . . . ]”

'Backwater' town was bustling trade hub that rewrites Roman history - History First A Roman town once considered so unpromising that no one bothered to excavate it boasted a bustling river port, rare roofed theatre and fine monumental buildings — and rewrites the history of Italy, according to archaeologists. The newly released findings of a 13-year investigation, including excav...

Ancestry from early medieval Slavic migrations is widespread right across the Balkans, including in Greece and other countries that do not have Slavic national identities, according to the first major study of ancient and modern DNA from the region.

Historical records indicate that during the sixth and seventh centuries, while the Eastern Roman Empire was afflicted by plague and warfare, large numbers of people migrated from Eastern Europe into the Balkan Peninsula. The new research, from an international team, confirms this influx but also shows mixing and continuity with earlier local populations such as ancient Greeks, Thracians and Illyrians.

It indicates that today’s Balkan residents have around 30-60 per cent Slavic ancestry, with the higher levels in the north. “We found this genetic signal of Slavic migration all across the Balkans,” said paleogenomicist Professor Carles Lalueza-Fox of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Natural Sciences in Barcelona, senior author of the study published in Cell. “This could have important social and political implications given that the Balkans has had a long history of conflict associated with their perceived identities [ . . . ]”

Medieval Slavic migration transformed gene pool across Balkans - History First Ancestry from early medieval Slavic migrations is widespread right across the Balkans, including in Greece and other countries that do not have Slavic national identities, according to the first major study of ancient and modern DNA from the region.

An obelisk in Yorkshire celebrating the achievements of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain in the 18th century, has been awarded a higher listing status and named as one of England’s most important historic sites.

Erected in the gardens of Wentworth Castle, near Barnsley, in the 1730s or 1740s, and dedicated to Lady Mary’s memory between 1762 and 1785, the monument was listed at grade II in 1968.

The upgrade to grade II* by the government, on the advice of Historic England, means the obelisk, known as the Sun Monument, is considered to be among the top 10 per cent of England’s most significant heritage landmarks. Conservators said this doesn’t only reflect Lady Mary’s contribution to tackling the deadly disease but also the obelisk’s rarity as an early landscape monument to a woman who was not royalty [ . . . ]

Obelisk to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu given new protection - History First An obelisk in Yorkshire celebrating the achievements of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain in the 18th century, has been awarded a higher listing status and named as one of England's most important historic sites.

A hoard of over 400 silver coins buried during the collapse of Roman rule in Britain is expected to make £20,000 at auction after it was discovered by a metal detectorist.

The coins, found in Norfolk, include a rare commemorative issue depicting a phoenix — a symbol of Roman immortality and renewal — that may have been given to soldiers in 380AD, after the defeat of a Gothic army in the Balkans. By the time the coin was stashed, a generation later, barbarians were threatening Italy and Britain was in disarray.

It was in 2020 that the detectorist, who wishes to remain anonymous, found the first coins of the Colkirk hoard on arable land a few miles outside Fakenham. After hours of searching that produced a medieval halfpenny and a few buttons, he had decided to call it a day. Starting back to his car he found a single siliqua — a late Roman silver coin. Searching the immediate vicinity, he found more of the coins almost at once and had recovered around 40 by the end of the day, from an area of about 20m2 [ . . . ]

Coin hoard buried in fall of Roman Britain estimated at £20,000 - History First A hoard of over 400 silver coins buried during the collapse of Roman rule in Britain is expected to make £20,000 at auction after it was discovered by a metal detectorist.

Two inscribed metal tablets discovered in York were left as offerings by a Greek traveller whose exploratory mission to islands off the coast of first-century Britain is described by Plutarch.

That’s according to new analysis which considers the information contained within the artefacts, and their broader historical context, in unprecedented detail. It revives a link between the tablets and the ancient author Plutarch’s Demetrius of Tarsus that was first made in Victorian times but had fallen out of favour as insufficiently supported and too good to be true.

If the identification is accepted, the tablets — which may have been hung on the walls of a shrine or on devotional statues or statuettes — are extraordinarily rare examples of Roman artefacts that can be linked to an individual known from literature who was not an emperor, empress, general or politician [ . . . ]

Inscriptions at York link Greek literary figure to Roman Britain - History First Two inscribed metal tablets discovered in York were left as offerings by a Greek traveller whose exploratory mission to islands off the coast of first-century Britain is described by Plutarch.